Mt. Shasta & Haritachala Experience

Written by Namita Bhavanam

Going to Mt. Shasta for the first time after Covid was a long-awaited, needed, and refreshing experience. Within that 4 year gap from the last time long weekend satsang happened, the kids my age grew up from being just kids to high schoolers and college students. It was wonderful reuniting with the other gurubandu families and catching up on everyone’s unique stories and experiences from the past few years that we missed out on. It was a family reunion and retreat like no other and to be able to share this experience with our US Saipatham community is truly a blessing. From meeting my Sai Blossoms peers after a while (some even for the first time) and dancing for the Sunday kids activities to revisiting the beauty of Mt. Shasta and sitting at satsang, I am very happy and fulfilled to have been able to attend the 2023 May long weekend satsang.

Firstly, the teen girls that came to satsang this year coordinated a dance together for kids’ activities. We had a group of girls from all over America: Dallas, LA, Seattle, San Diego, and North Carolina. Some of the girls helped choreograph and we all learned the steps from our respective places and then coordinated in person during the long weekend. The satsang hall was in the perfect location, where we could see a clear view of Mt. Shasta from the back patio, so we danced again in front of the breathtaking view. This entire experience was unforgettable because we were able to share our love for Baba tatayya and Guruji tatayya through dance with a big group and produce a beautiful output from it. Also, this was the first time some of the Sai Blossoms girls were able to meet in person but we could feel an instant connection, which only increased our excitement for the upcoming Haritachala camp together.

Next, as we usually do, the kids had an opportunity to spend time together in the designated kids room and hear each others experiences and connections with Baba and Guruji tatayya. Hearing everyone’s personal experiences, especially those of the younger kids and the miracles they were experiencing, was so enlightening. During the adults experience sharing this time around, the teen girls had the opportunity to share about our upcoming Haritachala camp.

I shared my personal experience about the Haritachala camp as well. I have always loved Mt. Shasta experience sharing and hearing gurubandus from all over the US share their experiences. Over the years, hearing everyone’s journeys in their pursuit of spirituality has instilled a sense of pride in me for the community we have been blessed to be a part of and strengthened my own relationship with Baba and Guruji tatayya. Being able to hear these experiences in person again filled me with an overwhelming joy as I could feel the love and grace in the air. I remember sitting in Satsang during experience sharing in the past and hoping that one day I could personally be blessed with experiences that I can share with everyone. But even when I did have experiences, I was always too nervous to share. However, after some push from my mom and some gurubandus, I shared my recent experience and it was a feeling like no other. This in itself was an experience for me: to have shared with such a large group of people. I did not think that day would come so soon- for me to even have experiences let alone have the courage to share. As I was closing, I mentioned how Baba tatayya and Guruji tatayya have helped me like this in every big situation in my life and have guided me to where I am today. I was so happy that I couldn’t even control my emotions and was overwhelmed with tears of joy by the end of it. I truly understood for the first time what Guruji tatayya meant by “share happiness, by sharing it grows.”  

The experience that I shared was about my summer plans and how Baba tatayya and Guruji tatayya ensured that my summer goals were fulfilled. I am approaching my last year in college, so this summer before my senior year is very important in terms of having an internship because it would benefit my resume when recruiting for full time roles or I could continue in this same job with a full time return offer. However, our long-awaited Sai Blossoms Haritachala camp is also happening this summer in July. I knew about the camp dates already almost a year earlier before starting my third (junior) year of college, so I knew I would have to plan around it because no matter what, I wanted to be in India for the retreat regardless of the rest of my summer plans. The fall semester of junior year is when I started recruiting for summer internships. I really wanted to get my internship offer before winter break so that I could request for an accommodation in the dates for the summer so that I could complete the internship before the camp. I prepped. I struggled. I interviewed. I failed. However, I didnt feel like I failed. I knew whatever was meant to happen would happen. I interviewed for multiple companies and positions but nothing worked out, and that was OK. I thought this is what Baba tatayya and Guruji tatayya had in store for me. Maybe they didn't want me to work this summer. It was my last summer before adulthood, so maybe I was meant to just enjoy it. I was happy to just go to India over the summer for longer and spend more time there- with family, in Shirdi, and at the Haritachala camp. I was content and even though the rest of my peers around me had internships, it did not worry me a bit and I was proud to feel at peace with my position. 

I think somewhere in the back of my head, though, there was that tiny sliver of worry. The feeling that I might fall behind in the future because of not working this summer. Anyways, I stopped recruiting completely after the fall. Mid-March, a week before my spring break, I got an email from Amazon requesting an interview for a Business Analyst intern position. With the countless number of applications I submitted, I didn't even remember this one and after looking for it, I realized I submitted it back in October. They wanted to interview me during the week of spring break, and my family had a trip planned to Murnau and then Italy. But that was the only option I had, so I reserved my interview during the week and decided to give it a try without having too high of expectations. 

We left for our spring break Europe trip. Our trip to Murnau was an amazing experience- we went to all the places that Guruji tatayya was at. We feel his presence everywhere, but in Murnau we felt it especially stronger. I felt connected to him: walking in the same paths he walked, seeing the same views he saw, and breathing the same air he breathed. My Amazon interview happened in Rome, the day following our trip to Murnau. It was almost as if I got direct blessings from Guruji tatayya going into this interview.

Within two days, I got an email that I got the job. I was so happy but also confused because I didn't know what to do with the timeline. The internship was set for 12 weeks from June to mid-August, which was a problem because the dates of my Haritachala camp session started in July. I tried asking my recruiter and followed up for almost a week about accommodations but got no response and my decision deadline was approaching. I was very close to completely rejecting the offer because going to camp was my priority. However, I knew this happened for a reason and Baba tatayya and Guruji tatayya wanted me to have this opportunity. So I took a risk with my decision and submitted that I would accept it only if I can be accommodated for the retreat and that I would be willing to do anything to make it work, but if they couldn't make it work, that I would have to reject the offer. I prayed and prayed and hoped everything would work out. 

They sent me an email the following day offering a shortened internship timeline of 8-weeks with an early start date in May so that I would be able to complete it before I have to leave for India for the camp- no questions asked. Baba and Guruji tatayya knew somewhere in my heart I wanted to have an internship this summer and also made sure that it would work with the Haritachala dates. I got this job completely due to their blessings and grace, and now I have the best of both worlds. They know what's best for me and have always taken care of me in every moment of my life. 

Even with my journey to Mt. Shasta satsang, everything ran smoothly even though my plans for the summer changed. I was placed in Seattle for my position. We had already booked flight tickets from Dallas to California for Mt. Shasta satsang since I would have been at home around that time, but I had to cancel those ticket since I was moving to Seattle for the job. Luckily, I was still able to make my way to long weekend satsang with gurubandus that drove from Seattle to Mt. Shasta! As for the upcoming summer, we are all so blessed and grateful to be a part of the Haritachala camp and spend time with Sruti akka and Ammamma. Everything worked out at the end of the day, and I owe it all to Baba tatayya and Guruji tatayya.