Removing the obstacles with Flower Power!!

According to theYogic scriptures and traditions, no spiritual practice can start without an offering to Ganesha, the elephant shaped deity, the Remover of the obstacles… So, starting a spiritual festival without his blessing would be definitely an offence to the powerful God!

Rachel Zinman, a really inspiring yoga teacher from Australia, was the one to make the offering this first morning of the Bali Spirit Festival by creating the Yantra of Ganesha with many colorful flower petals. Yantra is a mystical or astronomical diagram that represents a symbol in terms of shape. In Sanskrit, Yantra means any instrument for holding, restraining, or fastening” …for instance a symbol which ‘holds’ the essence of a concept, or helps the mind to ‘fasten’ on a particular idea… So, by creating this powerful symbol, Rachel and some of the festival participants meditated on the powers of Ganesha in order to remove all the obstacles and let everybody enjoy this wonderful experience!!

Essential part of the meditation is keeping inner and outer silence and chanting internally a mantra, a repetitive spiritual song… in this case «Om gam ganapataye namaha»… Other important factors are the selection of the colours and the observation of our thoughts..

Rachel will be every morning at the Dharma Fair Garden from 9 am to 10 am, creating a different Yantra every day, blessing the festival and all of us… She will also teach a yoga class at the Amphitheater on Thursday with theme: «Yoga and the Hidden treasures of Hanuman». Check the program here and let’s join her!!!

Written by : Dimitra Pappa