Offered at His Lotus Feet: Hearts Filled with Gratitude - Region 2 Retreat
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Susheel Bathla <president.region2@sssgc-usa.org>
Date: Fri, May 29, 2026 at 8:46 AM
Subject: Offered at His Lotus Feet: Hearts Filled with Gratitude from our Region 2 Retreat
To: Susheel Bathla <president.region2@sssgc-usa.org>, Sundar Sreenivasan <education.region2@sssgc-usa.org>, Sudha Ram <devotion.region2@sssgc-usa.org>, Navya Jajimi <advisor.yaf.region2@sssgc-usa.org>, Raghavendra Srinivas <mc.region2@sssgc-usa.org>, Krishnan Shankar <advisor.yam.region2@sssgc-usa.org>, “Dr. Ved Viswanathan” <md.region2.sssgc.usa@gmail.com>, Arunkumar Chegu <vp.region2@sssgc-usa.org>, Subbu Peddibhotla <service.region2@sssgc-usa.org>, Soham Adhikary <rep.yam.region2@sssgc-usa.org>, Monika Dharani <rep.yaf.region2@sssgc-usa.org>, Pradosh And Pratibha Dessai <pdessai@gmail.com>
CC: Balu Karanam <president@sssgc-usa.org>
Sairam Dear SSSGC-USA Region2 Center Presidents/Group Leaders,
***Please share the following message to all the Sai families.
Our hearts are filled with immense gratitude, peace, and joy as we reflect on the divine conclusion of our Region 2 Retreat. By Bhagawan’s grace, our historic retreat truly lived up to our theme, "Transform the Self, Transform the World," through our unity and devotion.
As a Regional Team, we are deeply humbled to serve a community that lives Swami’s teachings so beautifully. Bringing together over 900 devotees, serving thousands of meals, and managing all the logistics could only succeed because of your wonderful spirit of Seva. While it is impossible to count every single act of love, we wish to extend our deepest appreciation to our esteemed guests and dedicated teams:
Our Guest of Honor, Sri R. J. Rathnakar: We extend our most profound gratitude to the Managing Trustee of the Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust. Your deeply moving plenary address, straight from the heart, and the blessed experiences shared during your quality time with our regional family left us inspired and deeply connected as we march toward Swami's 100th Birth Centenary.
Our Esteemed Speakers: Thank you to Dr. P.V. Shankar and Dr. Vineet Basotia for your uplifting, practical spiritual wisdom. We are deeply grateful to you for sharing your sacred memories with Swami; your beautiful stories guided our hearts closer to Him and left us inspired to live His message every single day.
Our Men's Panelists: Thank you for sharing your spiritual journeys so openly. By beautifully explaining how the wisdom of the Vedas and Rudram connects to our daily lives, you become instruments of Swami's grace, filling our hearts with practical spiritual clarity and peace.
Our Women's Panelists: Thank you for sharing your personal experiences and life stories so openly. By letting us into your hearts, you beautifully brought Swami’s message to life. Your journeys touched our souls, reminding us how a woman’s pure love and selflessness can truly heal our families and transform the world.
The SSSE Team: Thank you for the outstanding Sai Symphony, the heartwarming cultural program, and the wonderful Center for Human Values booth with its uplifting panels exhibited by our SSSE kids. The pure love and dedication of our children and gurus truly showered Swami's sweet presence upon us all and touched every heart at the retreat.
Education, Exhibitions, & Displays: Thank you for the creative hand-on workshops showcasing vital service (like the knitting of baby caps, NICU blankets, and the stitching of reusable sanitary pads), alongside the beautiful VV (Vidya Vahini) exhibition, which brought Swami's vision for integral education to life, and the CHV (Center for Human Values) displays, which beautifully reminded us how to anchor our lives in His core values. The beautifully crafted Divine Palki and Golden Chariot added immense devotional splendor to our sacred space.
The Young Adults Team: Thank you for your vibrant energy and tireless involvement across all facets of the retreat. From setting the atmosphere on fire with your high-energy dhol beats and joyful Bhangra welcome, to your soul-stirring musical offering, you elevated the spiritual vibration and reminded us all that devotion is full of pure joy!
The Devotional Team: Thank you for creating a heaven on earth—from the beautiful altar setup and sacred Paduka Pooja to the soul-stirring Bhajans.
The Media Team: Thank you for working tirelessly behind the scenes to bring the retreat to everyone, everywhere. Through your seamless live telecasting, beautiful video production, photography, and capturing the spectacular "SAI-100" human drone formation, you preserved these sacred moments for a lifetime.
The Service,Transportation, & Sanitation Teams: You were our absolute heroes. From managing complex parking and driving carts through the rain, to setting up extra tents at the last minute, you kept us safe, dry, and comfortable. By maintaining our environment so pristinely, our sanitation team truly put Swami's teaching into practice: “Cleanliness is Godliness.” Your selfless, unconditional labor of love was a beautiful form of worship.
The Food & Dining Team: Feeding a gathering of this size with flawless warmth, patience, and love ensured that no one left without a full stomach and an even fuller heart.
While the cold and rainy weather shifted some outdoor activities, it was truly a divine blessing. The rain washed away outside distractions, drawing us closer together indoors where Swami’s warmth filled every heart. It beautifully reminded us that when external conditions change, our true sunshine is found within the love of our divine family.
To all our center officers, national leadership, regional team, and volunteers: thank you for being the hands and feet of Swami. Let us take this vibrant energy and the love we shared back in Camp Green Lane to our Sai centers and communities.
With love and profound gratitude,
With Sai Love,Susheel Bathla (She/Her) - On Behalf of Region 2 TeamPresident, SSSGC-USA Region 2.