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T H E "M I S S S H A K T I" C O N T E S T - A C O N T E S T 
The international yogic camps from Costinesti have one famous, genuine tradition: the "Miss Shakti" contest.This contest is not as it may appear a regular contest of feminine beauty. This is a truly spiritual contest in which the participants do not try to compete with each other, but rather with themselves, surpassing their own limits. This is why we can say that this contest is a quick means to awaken the energies of Shakti in a woman. The spiritual orientation of this contest is set forth from the very beginning, through the special consecration performed even before the contest begins. This act of consecration implies the total, unconditional offering or consecration of the fruits of the contest to Shiva or to one of the 10 Great Cosmic Powers or to other divine aspects of manifestation. This offering performed before each "Miss Shakti" contest determines the contest to be under the protection and inspiration of one or the other divine aspect to whom the consecration was performed. For a deeper understanding of the spiritual valences brought about by the "Miss Shakti" contest, we present to you an interview of Miss Shakti 2001 offered to the Yoga Magazin from Romania: "Anyone who has seen a cute elephant can understand. For the Hindu, Ganesha represents more than a plump god with trump and ivory fangs. He is a warm divine presence, a close friend who ensure the perfect protection. He opens the way to any daring project, offers fabulous prosperity and is a patron of the arts. 
In 2001, Ganesha was the patron of the "Miss Shakti" contest, a spiritual event that brought on the stage the most beautiful and charming women who practice yoga in Romania and in other 10 foreign countries.Cristina Petrea was awarded the crown of queen. She is absolutely convinced that she did not take part in an ordinary beauty contest: "It was like a magic game and we are privileged to have been granted the access to it. For us, life has now more charm and more mystery." The chosen of the god Ganesha was born in Suceava, under the sign of Pisces, is 19 years old and a student at the Faculty of International Relations in Bucharest. If you get to meet her face to face, you are seduced by the openness she discusses. There is nothing conventional about her. Nothing predictable as well. After chess, basketball, ballet, and fashion presentations, Cristina Petrea has definitely chosen yoga: "It is all I could ever want. And a bit more. It is a gift from God." Cristina Petrea did not think of Ganesha as a mere stage-design option. Ganesha was indeed present in the "Miss Shakti" contest. The god has answered the invocation. How? By playing, as he so much likes: "There were signs, as if he was winking at me. At the first selection, I came to support a friend, I did not want to participate in the "Miss Shakti" contest. Nonetheless, here I was on the stage, almost ready to act the selection trial, I had the feeling that it was just a game and that nothing will come out of it. At the end of the "Miss Shakti" contest when I went off the stage with the crown still on my head, my sister reminded me that a year before, after flunking an eliminatory and preliminary "Miss Shakti" test, I left the contest saying: "It’s ok, next year I will be Miss Shakti"." 
After the contest, a friend gave her a miniature statue of Ganesha, bought for her from India, without suspecting at the moment of the purchase how appropriate this gift will be.During the show - well, the final artistic moment, before the awards were announced, took her breath away. The actor representing Ganesha’s soul was supposed to throw towards the sky five white doves. He was up, on trump of Ganesha (the scene was designed to represent Ganesha's head). Only four doves flew away, the fifth came right behind the scenes, sat on Cristina Petrea’s shoulder, then came back on stage, on the actor’s chest and stayed in his hands for the rest of the show. "I felt at that moment that this is the divine grace...and when I realized that my name was announced at the awards I cannot describe the feeling of gratitude."
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