Navaratri – The Cosmic Dance
Oct. 2010
Chinmaya Chitrakoot inaugurated the cultural hall for its members during the Navaratri festivities on Oct. 29, 2010. This event was open to all CM DF/W members and their guests. A wonderful team of volunteers created the perfect ambiance that immediately spiritually transported the guests to Gujarat, to land of this popular folk dance. Images and cultural artifacts placed on the tables, walls, and other places depicted Shri Krishna’s Raas Leela with the gopis (female cowherds). They were displayed gracefully in the hall and took the observer to Kutch and Saurashtra where the raas is performed. Many girls and women wore their traditional colorful ghaghra-cholis, and adorned with necklaces, bindis, and bangles, they personified to the vibrat colors that represent India.
Our acharya Br. Uddhav Chaitanya performed the Devi puja. The altar included a lamp, symbolizing the embryonic life, inside a perforated earthen pot called Garba (womb). It reminded us that this festival is to celebrate the Universal life which emanated from the womb of the Divine Mother. People were encouraged to sponsor the aarti and everyone who was present enjoyed a chance to do the aarti.
About 150 people then partook the Prasad in the form of a sumptuous meal before getting ready to participate in the Cosmic Dance – more popularly known as Raas Garba or Dandiya Raas. People of all age ranges – from 3 years to 80 years – danced in merriment to the accompaniment of live music, singers and folk instruments. The joy exuberated in the simple dance movements was no less than the excitement of watching the seasoned dancers with intricate dance patterns. Whether you were an active participant or simply an observer, you could be revelling in bliss, amazed at how the cosmos creates such an unique divine opportunities as our experiences. Life itself is The Cosmic Dance when each moment and experience choreographed by The Creator is gracefully expressed through our movements. One could not but be mesmerized watching The Cosmic Dance in light of the divine flame enlivening this earthen pot.
