Ahmedabad: In yet another blunder by monks of the Swaminarayan sect against Hindu customs, a video of Anupam Swarup Swami has gone viral, causing controversy as he referred to the festival of Navratri as “Love Ratri.”

In the viral video, Swami remarked that Navratri today is just a namesake event. “O Gujaratis… do you know what people call your favorite festival, Navratri? Some say it is not Navratri, but ‘Loveratri.’ Others say it’s a nine-night fashion show, and there’s nothing more to it. Some say these days are not for the worship of Maataji but for the ‘priests of lust,’ while others describe it as a public invitation to spoil innocent daughters,” Swami stated, claiming that people are expressing such views.

In a post about divorce, someone asked, “What could be the main reason for divorce?” In response, various people mentioned reasons like disrespect, bad behavior, lack of communication, financial struggles, and increasing responsibilities. However, someone also wrote that Navratri causes divorce,” Swami said, adding that people claim Navratri is a cause of divorce, and he suggested that the writer must have had something in mind when making that statement.

Swami also said that Garba should be stopped after 12 or 12:30 at night during Garba events. “In the true sense, Garba is sung only until 12 o’clock; anything after that is just entertainment,” he said. DeshGujarat