Osho-Rajneesh movement
Encyclopedia
The Rajneesh movement is a term used by Hugh B. Urban and other commentators to refer collectively to persons inspired by the India
n mystic Osho
(formerly known as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, 1931–1990), particularly initiated disciples who are referred to as "neo-sannyasins" or simply "sannyasins
", also formerly known as Rajneeshees or "Orange People", because of the orange and later red, maroon and pink clothes they used from 1970 until 1985. Members of the movement are also sometimes called Oshoites in the Indian press.
The movement was controversial in the 1970s and 1980s, due to the founder's hostility to traditional values, first in India
and later in the United States of America. This was particularly the case in the state of Oregon
, where the movement had a large intentional community
in the early 1980s, called Rajneeshpuram
. In the USSR the movement was banned as being contrary to "positive aspects of Indian culture and to the aims of the youth protest movement in Western countries". These "positive aspects" were seen as being subverted by Osho, who was portrayed as a reactionary religious ideologist of the monopolistic bourgeoisie
of India, promoting the ideas of the consumer society in a traditional Hindu guise. Tensions peaked in Oregon when leading members of the Rajneeshpuram Oregon commune were arrested for a host of crimes, including a bioterrorist attack
. Citizens of the city of The Dalles, Oregon
, were subjected to deliberate salmonella
food poisoning in order to influence the outcome of a local election. Osho was deported from the United States in 1985 for immigration violations and the movement's headquarters eventually returned to Pune
, India.
The movement in India gradually received a more positive response from the surrounding society, especially after the founder's death in 1990. The Osho International Foundation (OIF) is presently managed by an "Inner Circle" set up by Osho before his death. They jointly administer Osho's estate and operate the Osho International Meditation Resort in Pune. Towards the late 1990s, a rift within the movement saw rival factions challenging both OIF's copyright holdings over Osho's works, and the validity of its royalty claims on publishing or reprinting of materials. In the United States, following a 10-year legal battle with Osho Friends International (OFI), the OIF lost their exclusive rights over the trademark OSHO in January 2009. There are a number of smaller Osho centres in India and around the world; including the United States, United Kingdom
, Germany
, and the Netherlands
.
. He lectured throughout India during the 1960s, promoting meditation and the ideals of free love
, a social movement based on a civil libertarian philosophy that rejects state regulation and religious interference in personal relationships; he also denounced marriage as a form of social bondage, especially for women. He criticised socialism and Gandhi, but championed capitalism, science, technology and birth control; warning against over-population and criticizing religious teachings that promote poverty and subjection.
He became known as Acharya Rajneesh, Acharya meaning "teacher or professor" and "Rajneesh" being a childhood nickname. By 1964 a group of wealthy backers had initiated an educational trust to support Osho and aid in the running of meditation retreats. The association formed at this time was known as Jivan Jagruti Andolan (Hindi
: Life Awakening Movement). As Goldman expresses it, his rapidly growing clientele suggested "that he was an unusually talented spiritual therapist". Around this time he "acquired a business manager" from the upper echelons of Indian society, Laxmi Thakarsi Kuruwa, a politically well-connected woman who would function as his personal secretary and organisational chief and would become Osho's first sannyasin
, taking the name Ma Yoga Laxmi. Laxmi, the daughter of a key supporter of the Nationalist Congress Party
, with close ties to Gandhi
, Nehru
and Morarji Desai
, would retain this role for almost 15 years.
University of Jabalpur officials forced Osho to resign in 1966, and he shifted his attention to his role as a spiritual teacher, supporting himself through lectures, meditation camps and, for his wealthier followers, private counselling (Darśana or Darshan - meaning "sight"). In 1971 he initiated 6 people, which led to the emergence of the Neo-Sannyas International Movement. Osho differentiated his sannyas from the traditional practice, admitting women and viewing renunciation as a process of renouncing ego
rather than the world
. Disciples nevertheless adopted the traditional ochre robe, mala and change of name. At this time, Osho adopted the title "Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh".
By 1972 there were already 3,800 sannyasins in India. The total for the rest of the world, at that time, was 134, including 56 from the United States
, sixteen each from Britain
and Germany
, twelve each from Italy
and the Philippines
, eight in Canada
, four in Kenya
, two in Denmark
and one each from France
, Holland, Australia
, Greece
, Sweden
, Norway
and Switzerland
. After a house was purchased for Osho in Pune in 1974, an ashram
was founded, and membership of the movement grew. More western seekers began to visit, including therapists from the Human Potential Movement
, who began to run group therapy
at the ashram. Osho became the first Eastern guru to embrace modern psychotherapy
. He discoursed daily upon religious scriptures, combining elements of Western philosophy
, jokes and personal anecdotes. He commented on Hinduism
, Zen
and other religious sources and Western psychotherapeutic approaches.
Swami Prem Amitabh (Robert Birnbaum), one of the therapists in the Pune ashram, estimates that there were about 100,000 sannyasins by 1979. Bob Mullan, a sociologist from the University of East Anglia
, states that "at any one time there were about 6,000 Rajneeshees in Poona, some visiting for weeks or months to do groups or meditations, with about two thousand working and living on a permanent basis in and around the ashram." Lewis F. Carter, a sociologist from the Washington State University
, estimates that 2,000 sannyasins resided at Rajneeshpuram at its height.
The ashram in Pune became the Osho International Meditation Resort, one of India's main tourist attractions. Describing itself as the Esalen of the East, it teaches a variety of spiritual techniques from a broad range of traditions and promotes itself as a spiritual oasis, a "sacred space" for discovering one's self and uniting the desires of body and mind in a beautiful resort environment. According to press reports, it attracts some 200,000 people from all over the world each year; prominent visitors have included politicians, media personalities and the Dalai Lama.
To this end, communities would be founded around the world and groups of sannyasins would tour the world to aid seekers and demonstrate techniques of meditation. Other groups would perform kirtan
(call and response chanting) and conduct experiments in healing. Communities would run their own businesses and various publishing companies would be founded. A central International University of Meditation would have branches all over the world and run meditation camps, while study groups would investigate the key texts of Tantra
, Taoism
, Hinduism
and other traditions.
In one survey conducted at Rajneeshpuram, over 70 percent of those surveyed listed their religious identification as "none"; however, 60 percent of sannyasins participated in activities of worship several times a month. In late 1981 Osho, through his secretary Ma Anand Sheela
(Sheela Silverman), announced the inception of the 'religion of Rajneeshism', the foundation of which would be fragments taken from various discourses and interviews Osho that had given over the years. In July 1983 Rajneesh Foundation International published a book entitled Rajneeshism: An introduction to Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and His Religion" in an attempt to systematise Rajneesh's religious teachings and institutionalise the movement. Despite this, the publication claimed that Rajneeshism was not a religion, but rather "a religionless religion [...] only a quality of love, silence, meditation and prayerfulness". Carter notes that the motivation for formalising Osho's teachings are not easy to determine, but might perhaps have been tied to a visa application made to the Immigration and Naturalization Service
to obtain a "religious worker" status for him.
With Sheela having fled in disgrace, in the last week of September 1985 Rajneesh declared that the religion of "Rajneeshism" and "Rajneeshees" no longer existed and that anything bearing the name would be dismantled.
His disciples set fire to 5,000 copies of the Book of Rajneeshism, a 78-page compilation of his teachings that had defined Rajneeshism as "a religionless religion". Osho said he ordered the book-burning to rid the sect of the last traces of the influence of Sheela, whose robes were also added to the bonfire.
. In the survey, Krishna Deva polled 300 American sannyasins and discovered that their median age was just over thirty. Sixty percent of them had been sannyasins for less than two years and most continued to live in the United States; half of them hailed from California
, 97 percent were white, 25 percent were Jewish, and 85 percent belonged to the middle class and upper-middle class. Almost two-thirds had university degrees and viewed themselves to be "successful in worldly terms". Three quarters had previously been involved in some therapy and more than half had earlier experimented with another spiritual group.
In 1984 the average age of members in the Rajneesh movement was 34; 64 percent of the followers had a four-year college degree. Although the movement was without clearly defined and shared values it was well-known that Osho discouraged marrying and having children; seeing families as inherently prone to dysfunction and destructiveness. No children were born at the communes in Oregon or in England
and contraception
, sterilisation, and abortion
were accepted. According to Pike, some women justified leaving their children when moving to the ashram by reasoning that spiritual development was more important.
A survey of 635 Rajneeshpuram residents was conducted by Norman D. Sundberg, director of the University of Oregon
's Clinical/Community Psychology Program, and three of his colleagues. It revealed a middle-class group of predominately thirtyish, college-educated whites; the majority of whom were females. Nearly three-fourths of those surveyed attributed their decisions to become Rajneeshees to their love for Osho or his teachings. Ninety-one percent stated that they had been looking for more meaning in their lives prior to becoming members. When asked to rate how they felt about their lives as Rajneeshees, 93 percent stated they were "extremely satisfied" or nearly so, with most choosing the top score on a scale of 0 to 8. Only 8 percent stated that they had been as happy before joining.
in July 1981, renaming it Rancho Rajneesh and later Rajneeshpuram
. Initially, approximately 2,000 people took up residence in the intentional community
and Rajneesh abruptly, rapidly and without warning, moved there too. The organisation purchased a reception hotel in Portland
that, in July 1983, was bombed by the radical Islamic group Jamaat ul-Fuqra, a group with connections to Pakistani-held Azad Kashmir
that sought to attack "soft" targets in the United States that had Indian connections.
The Rajneesh movement clashed with Oregon officials and government while at Rajneeshpuram, resulting in tensions within the commune itself. A siege mentality set in among the commune's leaders and intimidation and authoritarianism ensued. Disillusioned followers began to leave the organisation, commune members were instructed to break off communications with anyone that chose to leave.
cars Osho had amassed, reported to be 93 in the final count. James S. Gordon reported that some sannyasins saw the cars as an unmatched tool for obtaining publicity, others as a good business investment or as a test, while others said they expressed Osho's scorn for middle-class aspirations and yet others said that they were indicative of the love of his disciples. Gordon opined that what Osho loved most about the Rolls-Royces, apart from their comfort, was "the anger and envy that his possession of so many—so absurdly, unnecessarily, outrageously many—of them aroused." and wrote of a popular bumper sticker among sannyasins; "Jesus Saves. Moses Invests. Bhagwan Spends."
Hugh B. Urban comments that "one of the most astonishing features of the early Rajneesh movement was its remarkable success as a business enterprise". It "developed an extremely effective and profitable corporate structure", and "by the 1980s, the movement had evolved into a complex, interlocking network of corporations, with an astonishing number of both spiritual and secular businesses worldwide, offering everything from yoga and psychological counseling to cleaning services." It has been estimated that at least 120 million dollars were generated during the movements time in Oregon, a period when the acquisition of capital, donation collection, and legal work, were a primary concern.
By the mid 1980s, the movement, with the assistance of a sophisticated legal and business infrastructure, had created a corporate machine that consisted of various front companies and subsidiaries. At this time, the three main identifiable organisations within the Rajneesh movement were the Ranch Church or Rajneesh Foundation International (RFI), which was managed through the Rajneesh Investment Corporation (RIC), and the Rajneesh Neo-Sannyasin International Corporation (RNSIC). The umbrella organisation that oversaw all investment activities, a company incorporated in the UK
but based in Zurich
, was Rajneesh Services International Ltd. There were also smaller organisations such as Rajneesh Travel Corp, Rajneesh Community Holdings, and the Rajneesh Modern Car Collection Trust; the sole purpose of which was to deal with Rolls Royce acquisition and rental. By the early 21st century, members of the movement were running stress management
seminars for corporate clients such as BMW
, with a reported (2000) revenue between $15 and $45 million annually in the U.S.
.
Urban adds that the most surprising feature of the Osho phenomenon lies in Osho's "remarkable apotheosis upon his return to India", which resulted in his achieving even more success in his homeland than before. According to Urban, his followers had succeeded in portraying Osho as a martyr, promoting the view that "[the Ranch] was crushed from without by the Attorney General's office ... like the marines in Lebanon, the Ranch was hit by hardball opposition and driven out." Sociologist
Stephen Hunt, on the other hand, writes in Alternative Religions (2003) that "the movement has declined since 1985, and some would argue it is now, for all intents and purposes, defunct."
After Osho's death, various disagreements relating to his wishes and his legacy, ensued. This led to the formation of a number of rival collectives. One of the central disagreements related to Osho International Foundation's copyright control over his works. One group, Osho Friends International, spent 10 years challenging the OIF's use of the title OSHO as an exclusive trademark. In the United States, on 13 January 2009, the exclusive rights that OIF held over the trademark were finally lost. OIF filed a Notice of Appeal on 12 March, but eventually filed for withdrawal in the Court of Appeals on 19 June, therefore leaving the trademarks of Osho in the US canceled.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n mystic Osho
Osho (Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh)
Osho , born Chandra Mohan Jain , and also known as Acharya Rajneesh from the 1960s onwards, as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh during the 1970s and 1980s and as Osho from 1989, was an Indian mystic, guru, and spiritual teacher who garnered an international following.A professor of philosophy, he travelled...
(formerly known as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, 1931–1990), particularly initiated disciples who are referred to as "neo-sannyasins" or simply "sannyasins
Sannyasa
Sannyasa is the order of life of the renouncer within the Hindu scheme of āśramas, or life stages. It is considered the topmost and final stage of the ashram systems and is traditionally taken by men or women at or beyond the age of fifty years old or by young monks who wish to renounce worldly...
", also formerly known as Rajneeshees or "Orange People", because of the orange and later red, maroon and pink clothes they used from 1970 until 1985. Members of the movement are also sometimes called Oshoites in the Indian press.
The movement was controversial in the 1970s and 1980s, due to the founder's hostility to traditional values, first in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and later in the United States of America. This was particularly the case in the state of Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, where the movement had a large intentional community
Intentional community
An intentional community is a planned residential community designed to have a much higher degree of teamwork than other communities. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, religious, or spiritual vision and often follow an alternative lifestyle. They...
in the early 1980s, called Rajneeshpuram
Rajneeshpuram
Rajneeshpuram, Oregon was an intentional community in Wasco County, Oregon, briefly incorporated as a city in the 1980s, which was populated with followers of the spiritual teacher Osho, then known as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh.- History :...
. In the USSR the movement was banned as being contrary to "positive aspects of Indian culture and to the aims of the youth protest movement in Western countries". These "positive aspects" were seen as being subverted by Osho, who was portrayed as a reactionary religious ideologist of the monopolistic bourgeoisie
Bourgeoisie
In sociology and political science, bourgeoisie describes a range of groups across history. In the Western world, between the late 18th century and the present day, the bourgeoisie is a social class "characterized by their ownership of capital and their related culture." A member of the...
of India, promoting the ideas of the consumer society in a traditional Hindu guise. Tensions peaked in Oregon when leading members of the Rajneeshpuram Oregon commune were arrested for a host of crimes, including a bioterrorist attack
1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack
The 1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack was the food poisoning of 751 individuals in The Dalles, Oregon, United States, through the deliberate contamination of salad bars at ten local restaurants with salmonella...
. Citizens of the city of The Dalles, Oregon
The Dalles, Oregon
The Dalles is the largest city and county seat of Wasco County, Oregon, United States. The name of the city comes from the French word dalle The Dalles is the largest city and county seat of Wasco County, Oregon, United States. The name of the city comes from the French word dalle The Dalles is...
, were subjected to deliberate salmonella
Salmonella
Salmonella is a genus of rod-shaped, Gram-negative, non-spore-forming, predominantly motile enterobacteria with diameters around 0.7 to 1.5 µm, lengths from 2 to 5 µm, and flagella which grade in all directions . They are chemoorganotrophs, obtaining their energy from oxidation and reduction...
food poisoning in order to influence the outcome of a local election. Osho was deported from the United States in 1985 for immigration violations and the movement's headquarters eventually returned to Pune
Pune
Pune , is the eighth largest metropolis in India, the second largest in the state of Maharashtra after Mumbai, and the largest city in the Western Ghats. Once the centre of power of the Maratha Empire, it is situated 560 metres above sea level on the Deccan plateau at the confluence of the Mula ...
, India.
The movement in India gradually received a more positive response from the surrounding society, especially after the founder's death in 1990. The Osho International Foundation (OIF) is presently managed by an "Inner Circle" set up by Osho before his death. They jointly administer Osho's estate and operate the Osho International Meditation Resort in Pune. Towards the late 1990s, a rift within the movement saw rival factions challenging both OIF's copyright holdings over Osho's works, and the validity of its royalty claims on publishing or reprinting of materials. In the United States, following a 10-year legal battle with Osho Friends International (OFI), the OIF lost their exclusive rights over the trademark OSHO in January 2009. There are a number of smaller Osho centres in India and around the world; including the United States, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, and the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
.
Origins
Osho began speaking in public in 1958, while still a lecturer (later professor) in philosophy at Jabalpur UniversityRani Durgavati University
The University of Jabalpur, also known as Rani Durgavati University, Hindi: रानी दुर्गावती विशवविधालय, is a public university in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India. It was named after the queen Rani Durgavati...
. He lectured throughout India during the 1960s, promoting meditation and the ideals of free love
Free love
The term free love has been used to describe a social movement that rejects marriage, which is seen as a form of social bondage. The Free Love movement’s initial goal was to separate the state from sexual matters such as marriage, birth control, and adultery...
, a social movement based on a civil libertarian philosophy that rejects state regulation and religious interference in personal relationships; he also denounced marriage as a form of social bondage, especially for women. He criticised socialism and Gandhi, but championed capitalism, science, technology and birth control; warning against over-population and criticizing religious teachings that promote poverty and subjection.
He became known as Acharya Rajneesh, Acharya meaning "teacher or professor" and "Rajneesh" being a childhood nickname. By 1964 a group of wealthy backers had initiated an educational trust to support Osho and aid in the running of meditation retreats. The association formed at this time was known as Jivan Jagruti Andolan (Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
: Life Awakening Movement). As Goldman expresses it, his rapidly growing clientele suggested "that he was an unusually talented spiritual therapist". Around this time he "acquired a business manager" from the upper echelons of Indian society, Laxmi Thakarsi Kuruwa, a politically well-connected woman who would function as his personal secretary and organisational chief and would become Osho's first sannyasin
Sannyasa
Sannyasa is the order of life of the renouncer within the Hindu scheme of āśramas, or life stages. It is considered the topmost and final stage of the ashram systems and is traditionally taken by men or women at or beyond the age of fifty years old or by young monks who wish to renounce worldly...
, taking the name Ma Yoga Laxmi. Laxmi, the daughter of a key supporter of the Nationalist Congress Party
Nationalist Congress Party
The Nationalist Congress Party is a centre to centre left political party primarily based in the state of Maharashtra, India.-Background:...
, with close ties to Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , pronounced . 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement...
, Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru , often referred to with the epithet of Panditji, was an Indian statesman who became the first Prime Minister of independent India and became noted for his “neutralist” policies in foreign affairs. He was also one of the principal leaders of India’s independence movement in the...
and Morarji Desai
Morarji Desai
Morarji Ranchhodji Desai was an Indian independence activist and the fourth Prime Minister of India from 1977–79. He was the first Indian Prime Minister who did not belong to the Indian National Congress...
, would retain this role for almost 15 years.
University of Jabalpur officials forced Osho to resign in 1966, and he shifted his attention to his role as a spiritual teacher, supporting himself through lectures, meditation camps and, for his wealthier followers, private counselling (Darśana or Darshan - meaning "sight"). In 1971 he initiated 6 people, which led to the emergence of the Neo-Sannyas International Movement. Osho differentiated his sannyas from the traditional practice, admitting women and viewing renunciation as a process of renouncing ego
Ego (spirituality)
In spirituality, and especially nondual, mystical and eastern meditative traditions, individual existence is often described as a kind of illusion. This "sense of doership" or sense of individual existence is that part which believes it is the human being, and believes it must fight for itself in...
rather than the world
Samsara
thumb|right|200px|Traditional Tibetan painting or [[Thanka]] showing the [[wheel of life]] and realms of saṃsāraSaṅsāra or Saṃsāra , , literally meaning "continuous flow", is the cycle of birth, life, death, rebirth or reincarnation within Hinduism, Buddhism, Bön, Jainism, Sikhism, and other...
. Disciples nevertheless adopted the traditional ochre robe, mala and change of name. At this time, Osho adopted the title "Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh".
By 1972 there were already 3,800 sannyasins in India. The total for the rest of the world, at that time, was 134, including 56 from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, sixteen each from Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, twelve each from Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, eight in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, four in Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, two in Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
and one each from France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Holland, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
and Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. After a house was purchased for Osho in Pune in 1974, an ashram
Ashram
Traditionally, an ashram is a spiritual hermitage. Additionally, today the term ashram often denotes a locus of Indian cultural activity such as yoga, music study or religious instruction, the moral equivalent of a studio or dojo....
was founded, and membership of the movement grew. More western seekers began to visit, including therapists from the Human Potential Movement
Human Potential Movement
The Human Potential Movement arose out of the social and intellectual milieu of the 1960s and formed around the concept of cultivating extraordinary potential that its advocates believed to lie largely untapped in all people...
, who began to run group therapy
Group therapy
Group psychotherapy or group therapy is a form of psychotherapy in which one or more therapists treat a small group of clients together as a group...
at the ashram. Osho became the first Eastern guru to embrace modern psychotherapy
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy is a general term referring to any form of therapeutic interaction or treatment contracted between a trained professional and a client or patient; family, couple or group...
. He discoursed daily upon religious scriptures, combining elements of Western philosophy
Western philosophy
Western philosophy is the philosophical thought and work of the Western or Occidental world, as distinct from Eastern or Oriental philosophies and the varieties of indigenous philosophies....
, jokes and personal anecdotes. He commented on Hinduism
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
, Zen
Zen
Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán , which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state."Zen...
and other religious sources and Western psychotherapeutic approaches.
Swami Prem Amitabh (Robert Birnbaum), one of the therapists in the Pune ashram, estimates that there were about 100,000 sannyasins by 1979. Bob Mullan, a sociologist from the University of East Anglia
University of East Anglia
The University of East Anglia is a public research university based in Norwich, United Kingdom. It was established in 1963, and is a founder-member of the 1994 Group of research-intensive universities.-History:...
, states that "at any one time there were about 6,000 Rajneeshees in Poona, some visiting for weeks or months to do groups or meditations, with about two thousand working and living on a permanent basis in and around the ashram." Lewis F. Carter, a sociologist from the Washington State University
Washington State University
Washington State University is a public research university based in Pullman, Washington, in the Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest. Founded in 1890, WSU is the state's original and largest land-grant university...
, estimates that 2,000 sannyasins resided at Rajneeshpuram at its height.
The ashram in Pune became the Osho International Meditation Resort, one of India's main tourist attractions. Describing itself as the Esalen of the East, it teaches a variety of spiritual techniques from a broad range of traditions and promotes itself as a spiritual oasis, a "sacred space" for discovering one's self and uniting the desires of body and mind in a beautiful resort environment. According to press reports, it attracts some 200,000 people from all over the world each year; prominent visitors have included politicians, media personalities and the Dalai Lama.
Religion
A 1972 monograph outlined Osho's concept of sannyas. It was to be a worldwide movement, rooted in life affirmation, playful, joyful, and based in science rather than belief and dogma. It would not rely on ideology and philosophy, but on practices, techniques and methods aimed towards offering every individual the chance to discover and choose their own proper religious path; the intent was to lead to an essential, universal religiousness. The movement would be open to people of all religions or of none, experimenting with the inner methods of all religions in their pure, original form; not seeking to synthesise them but to provide facilities whereby each might be revived, maintained and defended and their lost and hidden secrets rediscovered. The movement would not seek to create any new religion.To this end, communities would be founded around the world and groups of sannyasins would tour the world to aid seekers and demonstrate techniques of meditation. Other groups would perform kirtan
Kirtan
Kirtan or Kirtana is call-and-response chanting or "responsory" performed in India's devotional traditions. A person performing kirtan is known as a kirtankar. Kirtan practice involves chanting hymns or mantras to the accompaniment of instruments such as the harmonium, tablas, the two-headed...
(call and response chanting) and conduct experiments in healing. Communities would run their own businesses and various publishing companies would be founded. A central International University of Meditation would have branches all over the world and run meditation camps, while study groups would investigate the key texts of Tantra
Tantra
Tantra , anglicised tantricism or tantrism or tantram, is the name scholars give to an inter-religious spiritual movement that arose in medieval India, expressed in scriptures ....
, Taoism
Taoism
Taoism refers to a philosophical or religious tradition in which the basic concept is to establish harmony with the Tao , which is the mechanism of everything that exists...
, Hinduism
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
and other traditions.
In one survey conducted at Rajneeshpuram, over 70 percent of those surveyed listed their religious identification as "none"; however, 60 percent of sannyasins participated in activities of worship several times a month. In late 1981 Osho, through his secretary Ma Anand Sheela
Ma Anand Sheela
Ma Anand Sheela is a former follower, secretary and spokeswoman for the Indian mystic and spiritual teacher Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, now commonly known as Osho...
(Sheela Silverman), announced the inception of the 'religion of Rajneeshism', the foundation of which would be fragments taken from various discourses and interviews Osho that had given over the years. In July 1983 Rajneesh Foundation International published a book entitled Rajneeshism: An introduction to Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and His Religion" in an attempt to systematise Rajneesh's religious teachings and institutionalise the movement. Despite this, the publication claimed that Rajneeshism was not a religion, but rather "a religionless religion [...] only a quality of love, silence, meditation and prayerfulness". Carter notes that the motivation for formalising Osho's teachings are not easy to determine, but might perhaps have been tied to a visa application made to the Immigration and Naturalization Service
Immigration and Naturalization Service
The United States Immigration and Naturalization Service , now referred to as Legacy INS, ceased to exist under that name on March 1, 2003, when most of its functions were transferred from the Department of Justice to three new components within the newly created Department of Homeland Security, as...
to obtain a "religious worker" status for him.
With Sheela having fled in disgrace, in the last week of September 1985 Rajneesh declared that the religion of "Rajneeshism" and "Rajneeshees" no longer existed and that anything bearing the name would be dismantled.
His disciples set fire to 5,000 copies of the Book of Rajneeshism, a 78-page compilation of his teachings that had defined Rajneeshism as "a religionless religion". Osho said he ordered the book-burning to rid the sect of the last traces of the influence of Sheela, whose robes were also added to the bonfire.
Marriage and the family
One of the first surveys on sannyasins was conducted in 1980 at the Poona ashram by Swami Krishna Deva (David Berry Knapp), an American clinical psychologist who would later serve as mayor of RajneeshpuramRajneeshpuram
Rajneeshpuram, Oregon was an intentional community in Wasco County, Oregon, briefly incorporated as a city in the 1980s, which was populated with followers of the spiritual teacher Osho, then known as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh.- History :...
. In the survey, Krishna Deva polled 300 American sannyasins and discovered that their median age was just over thirty. Sixty percent of them had been sannyasins for less than two years and most continued to live in the United States; half of them hailed from California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, 97 percent were white, 25 percent were Jewish, and 85 percent belonged to the middle class and upper-middle class. Almost two-thirds had university degrees and viewed themselves to be "successful in worldly terms". Three quarters had previously been involved in some therapy and more than half had earlier experimented with another spiritual group.
In 1984 the average age of members in the Rajneesh movement was 34; 64 percent of the followers had a four-year college degree. Although the movement was without clearly defined and shared values it was well-known that Osho discouraged marrying and having children; seeing families as inherently prone to dysfunction and destructiveness. No children were born at the communes in Oregon or in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and contraception
Contraception
Contraception is the prevention of the fusion of gametes during or after sexual activity. The term contraception is a contraction of contra, which means against, and the word conception, meaning fertilization...
, sterilisation, and abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
were accepted. According to Pike, some women justified leaving their children when moving to the ashram by reasoning that spiritual development was more important.
A survey of 635 Rajneeshpuram residents was conducted by Norman D. Sundberg, director of the University of Oregon
University of Oregon
-Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...
's Clinical/Community Psychology Program, and three of his colleagues. It revealed a middle-class group of predominately thirtyish, college-educated whites; the majority of whom were females. Nearly three-fourths of those surveyed attributed their decisions to become Rajneeshees to their love for Osho or his teachings. Ninety-one percent stated that they had been looking for more meaning in their lives prior to becoming members. When asked to rate how they felt about their lives as Rajneeshees, 93 percent stated they were "extremely satisfied" or nearly so, with most choosing the top score on a scale of 0 to 8. Only 8 percent stated that they had been as happy before joining.
Intentional community
Osho held that families, large cities and nations would ultimately be replaced by small communities with a communal way of life. By 1972, small communes of disciples existed in India and Kenya, and a larger one, to be known as Anand Shila, was planned as a "permanent world headquarters" in India. However, this plan was repeatedly thwarted. Large communes were planned in the west. The Rajneesh organisation bought the 64229 acres (259.9 km²) Big Muddy Ranch located near Antelope, OregonAntelope, Oregon
Antelope is a city in Wasco County, Oregon, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 46.-History:The Antelope Valley was probably named by members of Joseph Sherar's party who were packing supplies to mines in the John Day area. Sherar became known as the operator of a toll bridge...
in July 1981, renaming it Rancho Rajneesh and later Rajneeshpuram
Rajneeshpuram
Rajneeshpuram, Oregon was an intentional community in Wasco County, Oregon, briefly incorporated as a city in the 1980s, which was populated with followers of the spiritual teacher Osho, then known as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh.- History :...
. Initially, approximately 2,000 people took up residence in the intentional community
Intentional community
An intentional community is a planned residential community designed to have a much higher degree of teamwork than other communities. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, religious, or spiritual vision and often follow an alternative lifestyle. They...
and Rajneesh abruptly, rapidly and without warning, moved there too. The organisation purchased a reception hotel in Portland
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
that, in July 1983, was bombed by the radical Islamic group Jamaat ul-Fuqra, a group with connections to Pakistani-held Azad Kashmir
Azad Kashmir
Azad Jammu and Kashmir or Azad Kashmir for short, is the southernmost political entity within the Pakistani-administered part of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir...
that sought to attack "soft" targets in the United States that had Indian connections.
The Rajneesh movement clashed with Oregon officials and government while at Rajneeshpuram, resulting in tensions within the commune itself. A siege mentality set in among the commune's leaders and intimidation and authoritarianism ensued. Disillusioned followers began to leave the organisation, commune members were instructed to break off communications with anyone that chose to leave.
Commerce
During the movement's stay in Oregon, the popular press reported widely on the large collection of Rolls RoyceRolls-Royce (car)
This a list of Rolls-Royce motor cars and includes vehicles produced by:*Rolls-Royce Limited *Rolls-Royce Motors , which was owned by Vickers between 1980 and 1998, and after that by Volkswagen...
cars Osho had amassed, reported to be 93 in the final count. James S. Gordon reported that some sannyasins saw the cars as an unmatched tool for obtaining publicity, others as a good business investment or as a test, while others said they expressed Osho's scorn for middle-class aspirations and yet others said that they were indicative of the love of his disciples. Gordon opined that what Osho loved most about the Rolls-Royces, apart from their comfort, was "the anger and envy that his possession of so many—so absurdly, unnecessarily, outrageously many—of them aroused." and wrote of a popular bumper sticker among sannyasins; "Jesus Saves. Moses Invests. Bhagwan Spends."
Hugh B. Urban comments that "one of the most astonishing features of the early Rajneesh movement was its remarkable success as a business enterprise". It "developed an extremely effective and profitable corporate structure", and "by the 1980s, the movement had evolved into a complex, interlocking network of corporations, with an astonishing number of both spiritual and secular businesses worldwide, offering everything from yoga and psychological counseling to cleaning services." It has been estimated that at least 120 million dollars were generated during the movements time in Oregon, a period when the acquisition of capital, donation collection, and legal work, were a primary concern.
By the mid 1980s, the movement, with the assistance of a sophisticated legal and business infrastructure, had created a corporate machine that consisted of various front companies and subsidiaries. At this time, the three main identifiable organisations within the Rajneesh movement were the Ranch Church or Rajneesh Foundation International (RFI), which was managed through the Rajneesh Investment Corporation (RIC), and the Rajneesh Neo-Sannyasin International Corporation (RNSIC). The umbrella organisation that oversaw all investment activities, a company incorporated in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
but based in Zurich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
, was Rajneesh Services International Ltd. There were also smaller organisations such as Rajneesh Travel Corp, Rajneesh Community Holdings, and the Rajneesh Modern Car Collection Trust; the sole purpose of which was to deal with Rolls Royce acquisition and rental. By the early 21st century, members of the movement were running stress management
Stress management
Stress management is the alteration of stress and especially chronic stress often for the purpose of improving everyday functioning.Stress produces numerous symptoms which vary according to persons, situations, and severity. These can include physical health decline as well as depression. According...
seminars for corporate clients such as BMW
BMW
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...
, with a reported (2000) revenue between $15 and $45 million annually in the U.S.
Current status
The movement has survived the guru's death. The organisation "Osho International Foundation", the successor to "Neo-Sannyas International Foundation", now propagates his views, operating once more out of the Poona commune in India and the movement began to communicate on the InternetInternet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
.
Urban adds that the most surprising feature of the Osho phenomenon lies in Osho's "remarkable apotheosis upon his return to India", which resulted in his achieving even more success in his homeland than before. According to Urban, his followers had succeeded in portraying Osho as a martyr, promoting the view that "[the Ranch] was crushed from without by the Attorney General's office ... like the marines in Lebanon, the Ranch was hit by hardball opposition and driven out." Sociologist
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
Stephen Hunt, on the other hand, writes in Alternative Religions (2003) that "the movement has declined since 1985, and some would argue it is now, for all intents and purposes, defunct."
After Osho's death, various disagreements relating to his wishes and his legacy, ensued. This led to the formation of a number of rival collectives. One of the central disagreements related to Osho International Foundation's copyright control over his works. One group, Osho Friends International, spent 10 years challenging the OIF's use of the title OSHO as an exclusive trademark. In the United States, on 13 January 2009, the exclusive rights that OIF held over the trademark were finally lost. OIF filed a Notice of Appeal on 12 March, but eventually filed for withdrawal in the Court of Appeals on 19 June, therefore leaving the trademarks of Osho in the US canceled.
Literature and thought
- Joachim-Ernst BerendtJoachim-Ernst BerendtJoachim-Ernst Berendt was a German music journalist, book author and producer specialized on Jazz.-Life:...
, JazzJazzJazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
musician, journalist and author, became a member of the movement in 1983. When Osho died in 1990, he wrote an obituary calling him the "master of the heart" as well as "the holiest scoundrel I ever knew".
- Elfie DonnellyElfie DonnellyElfie Donnelly is a British-Austrian author, who has written numerous books and radio dramas for children. Her major works are Benjamin Blümchen and Bibi Blocksberg.-Biography:...
, award-winning Anglo-Austrian children's book author. She joined the movement in the 1980s and was among the disciples Osho appointed to the "Inner Circle"; the group entrusted with administering his estate after his death.
- Jörg Andrees Elten, German writer and journalist. He was a well known reporter for SternStern (magazine)Stern is a weekly news magazine published in Germany. It was founded in 1948 by Henri Nannen, and is currently published by Gruner + Jahr, a subsidiary of Bertelsmann. In the first quarter of 2006, its print run was 1.019 million copies and it reached 7.84 million readers according to...
prior to joining the movement, and later took the name Swami Satyananda.
- Tim GuestTim GuestTim Guest was an English author and journalist.-Early childhood:...
, journalist and author. He grew up in the movement with the name Yogesh and later wrote a critical book, My Life in OrangeMy Life in OrangeMy Life in Orange: Growing Up with the Guru is an account of a child growing up in the Rajneesh movement led by Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. The book is a firsthand account, written by Tim Guest years after his experiences, at the age of 27. The book was published in 2004 by Granta Books...
, about his difficult childhood.
- Bernard LevinBernard LevinHenry Bernard Levin CBE was an English journalist, author and broadcaster, described by The Times as "the most famous journalist of his day". The son of a poor Jewish family in London, he won a scholarship to the independent school Christ's Hospital and went on to the London School of Economics,...
, English columnist. He joined the movement with his then girlfriend Arianna HuffingtonArianna HuffingtonArianna Huffington is a Greek American author and syndicated columnist. She is best known as co-founder of the news website The Huffington Post. A popular conservative commentator in the mid-1990s, she adopted more liberal political beliefs in the late 1990s...
in the early 1980s, and later published glowing accounts of Osho and the movement in The TimesThe TimesThe Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
. About Osho, he stated: "He is the conduit along which the vital force of the universe flows". He later joined the Movement of Spiritual Inner AwarenessMovement of Spiritual Inner AwarenessThe Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness is a 501 non-profit religious corporation, incorporated in California on June 25, 1971. Before incorporation, the group was founded in California in 1968 by John-Roger...
with Huffington.
- Peter SloterdijkPeter SloterdijkPeter Sloterdijk is a German philosopher, television host, cultural scientist and essayist. He is a professor of philosophy and media theory at the University of Art and Design Karlsruhe. He currently co-hosts the German show Im Glashaus: Das Philosophische Quartett.-Biography:Sloterdijk's father...
, German philosopher. He joined the movement in the 1970s. In interviews given in 2006, he credited the experience with having had a fundamental, beneficial and still ongoing effect on his outlook on life.
Spirituality and psychology
- Margot AnandMargot AnandMargot Anand is a French author, teacher, seminar leader and public speaker. She has written numerous books including The Art of Sexual Ecstasy; The Art of Everyday Ecstasy; and The Art of Sexual Magic....
, a teacher of tantraTantraTantra , anglicised tantricism or tantrism or tantram, is the name scholars give to an inter-religious spiritual movement that arose in medieval India, expressed in scriptures ....
who was a student of Osho's and first began to teach tantra in his ashram.
- Jan Foudraine, Dutch psychiatrist, psychotherapist, writer and mystic. His sannyasin name is Swami Deva Amrito.
- Nirmala SrivastavaNirmala SrivastavaNirmala Srivastava was the founder of Sahaja Yoga, a new religious movement...
, Indian spiritual teacher. She was an early member of the Rajneesh movement and later founded a spiritual movement of her own, Sahaja YogaSahaja YogaSahaja Yoga is a new religious movement founded by Nirmala Srivastava, more widely known as 'Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi' and affectionately as 'Mother' by her followers . According to the movement, Sahaja Yoga is the state of self realization produced by kundalini awakening and is accompanied by the...
, repudiating Osho.
- Ma Prem UshaMa Prem UshaMa Prem Usha was an Indian tarot card reader and columnist. Usha, who was well known as a clairvoyant and fortune-teller both inside Indian and abroad, travelled extensively to read her tarot cards.-Beginnings:...
, Indian tarot card reader, fortune teller and journalist, was a movement member for 30 years until her death in 2008.
Performance arts
- Parveen BabiParveen BabiParveen Babi was an Indian actress, who is most remembered for her glamorous roles alongside top heroes of the 1970s and early 1980s in blockbusters like Deewar, Namak Halaal, Amar Akbar Anthony and Shaan...
, Indian actress. She joined the movement along with her former boyfriend, the producer Mahesh Bhatt in the mid-1970s, and later became a devotee of philosopher U.G. Krishnamurti.
- Mahesh BhattMahesh BhattMahesh Bhatt , is a prominent Indian film director, producer and screenwriter.Bhatt's early directional career consisted of acclaimed films, such as Arth, Saaransh, Janam, Naam and Zakhm....
, Indian film director, producer and screenwriter. He became a sannyasin in the mid-1970s, but later left the movement and instead found spiritual companionship and guidance with U.G. Krishnamurti; whose biography he later wrote in 1992.
- Georg Deuter, also known as Swami Chaitanya Hari; Musician of the Rajneesh movement. He composed the music that accompanies Osho's meditationMeditationMeditation is any form of a family of practices in which practitioners train their minds or self-induce a mode of consciousness to realize some benefit....
s recordings in Poona and later at the city of Rajneeshpuram in Oregon.
- Mike Edwards (musician)Mike Edwards (musician)Mike Edwards , known as Swami Deva Pramada or simply Pramada, was an English cellist and music teacher. His wide-ranging career was most widely notable for his membership of the Electric Light Orchestra.-Early life:...
, British former member of the Electric Light OrchestraElectric Light OrchestraElectric Light Orchestra were a British rock group from Birmingham who released eleven studio albums between 1971 and 1986 and another album in 2001. ELO were formed to accommodate Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne's desire to create modern rock and pop songs with classical overtones...
, known as Swami Deva Pramada or simply Pramada.
- Albert MolAlbert MolAlbert Mol was a popular Dutch author, actor and TV personality, who appeared in movies and TV shows in a career that spanned nearly 60 years....
, Dutch actor and author, was a follower of Osho.
- NenaNenaGabriele Susanne Kerner , better known by her stage name Nena, is a German singer and actress. She rose to international fame in 1983 with the New German Wave song "99 Luftballons". In 1984, she re-recorded this song in English as "99 Red Balloons". Nena was also the name of the band with whom she...
, German singer and actress. In 2009, she stated that she had become a fan of Osho, his books and meditation techniques, which she had discovered a few years earlier.
- Ramses ShaffyRamses ShaffyRamses Shaffy was a Dutch singer and actor. He became popular during the 1960s. His most famous songs include Zing, vecht, huil, bid, lach, werk en bewonder , We zullen doorgaan , Pastorale, Sammy and Laat me...
, Dutch singer, actor. He was a heavy drinker, but stopped drinking when he joined the movement in the early 1980s, and became Swami Ramses Shaffy. He later relapsed back into alcoholismAlcoholismAlcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
.
- Terence StampTerence StampTerence Henry Stamp is an English actor. Since starting his career in 1962 he has appeared in over 60 films. His title role as Billy Budd in his film debut earned Stamp an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor and a BAFTA nomination for Best Newcomer.His other major roles include...
, British actor. In the 1970s, he spent time in the Poona ashram meditating and studying the teachings of Osho. Stamp was initiated into sannyas by Osho and became Swami Deva Veetan.
- Anneke WillsAnneke WillsAnneke Wills is an English actress, best-known for her role as the Doctor Who's companion Polly in the long-running BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who.-Biography:...
(Ma Prem Anita), British actor most famous for her rôle as Doctor WhoDoctor WhoDoctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
sidekick Polly. She moved to India to stay at the Poona ashram with her son Jasper (Swami Dhyan Yogi) during the 1970s and later moved again to a sannyasin commune in California during the early 1980s.
Politics
- Arianna HuffingtonArianna HuffingtonArianna Huffington is a Greek American author and syndicated columnist. She is best known as co-founder of the news website The Huffington Post. A popular conservative commentator in the mid-1990s, she adopted more liberal political beliefs in the late 1990s...
, Greek-American political activist, and her then partner Bernard Levin were disciples in the early 1980s. She later joined joined the Movement of Spiritual Inner AwarenessMovement of Spiritual Inner AwarenessThe Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness is a 501 non-profit religious corporation, incorporated in California on June 25, 1971. Before incorporation, the group was founded in California in 1968 by John-Roger...
with Levin.
- Vinod KhannaVinod Khanna-Early life:Khanna was born to Kamla and Kishanchand Khanna, a textiles, dyes and chemicals businessman of Hindu Punjabi Khatri origin, on 6 October 1946, in Peshawar, British India . He has three sisters and one brother...
, Indian film star and politician, was Osho's gardener in Rajneeshpuram. He later became India's Minister of State for External AffairsIndian Foreign MinisterThe External Affairs Minister or the Indian Foreign Minister is a position of office at cabinet level within the Government of India. The chief responsibility of the External Affairs Minister is to represent India and its government in the international community...
(junior foreign secretary), holding office from 2003 to 2004. He became a sannyasin on 31 December 1975 and received the name Swami Vinod Bharti.
- Barbara RüttingBarbara RüttingBarbara Rütting is a German film actress and author. She appeared in 50 films between 1952 and 1979. She was born in Ludwigsfelde-Wietstock, Germany.-Selected filmography:* The Last Bridge * Mädchen ohne Grenzen...
, German actress, author and Die GrünenAlliance '90/The GreensAlliance '90/The Greens is a green political party in Germany, formed from the merger of the German Green Party and Alliance 90 in 1993. Its leaders are Claudia Roth and Cem Özdemir...
politician. Her sannyasin name is Ma Anand Taruna.
Others
- Pratiksha ApurvPratiksha ApurvPratiksha Apurv is one of the well known Indian painters. She has exhibited her paintings across the country which was inaugurated by prominent personalities of India. The name includes Brajesh Mishra and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, both of whom praised her work, which is based on...
, a fashion designer, is Osho's niece and has been a movement member since the age of 11.
- Prince Welf Ernst of HanoverPrince Welf Ernst of HanoverPrince Welf Ernst of Hanover , Prince of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg was the eldest son of Prince George William of Hanover and his wife Princess...
(eldest son of Prince George William of Hanover and Princess Sophie of Greece and DenmarkPrincess Sophie of Greece and DenmarkPrincess Sophie of Greece and Denmark was the fourth child and youngest daughter of Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark and Princess Alice of Battenberg, making her the elder sister of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
, sister of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh). Welf was a first cousin of Charles, Prince of WalesPrince of WalesPrince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
. Joined the movement in 1975, died from a ruptured brain aneurysmAneurysmAn aneurysm or aneurism is a localized, blood-filled balloon-like bulge in the wall of a blood vessel. Aneurysms can commonly occur in arteries at the base of the brain and an aortic aneurysm occurs in the main artery carrying blood from the left ventricle of the heart...
at the age of 34, while at the Poona ashram. He was named Swami Vimalkirti by Osho.
- Turiya HanoverTuriya HanoverTuriya Hanover, otherwise Wibke, Prinzessin von Hannover, née van Gunsteren , is an Australian spiritualist, and a married-in member of the Royal Family of Hanover. She has published some new-age music....
(born Wibke van Gunsteren), Australian spiritualist and wife of Prince Welf Ernst of Hanover. She took sannyas with her husband, and was given the name Turiya by Osho.
- Shannon Jo Ryan, daughter of former Congressman Leo RyanLeo RyanLeo Joseph Ryan, Jr. was an American politician of the Democratic Party. He served as a U.S. Representative from California's 11th congressional district from 1973 until he was murdered in Guyana by members of the Peoples Temple shortly before the Jonestown Massacre in 1978.After the Watts Riots...
who investigated the JonestownJonestownJonestown was the informal name for the Peoples Temple Agricultural Project, an intentional community in northwestern Guyana formed by the Peoples Temple led by Jim Jones. It became internationally notorious when, on November 18, 1978, 918 people died in the settlement as well as in a nearby...
commune of the People's Temple in GuyanaGuyanaGuyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
and was killed there by cultists, joined the Rajneesh movement shortly after her father's death in 1981. She took the name Ma Prem Amrita Pritam, and married another sannyasin Peter Waight (Swami Anand Subhuti) at Rajneeshpuram in 1982.
See also
- 1985 Rajneeshee assassination plot1985 Rajneeshee assassination plotThe 1985 Rajneeshee assassination plot was a conspiracy by a group of high-ranking followers of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh to assassinate Charles Turner, the then-United States Attorney for the District of Oregon...
- 2010 Pune bombing2010 Pune bombingThe 2010 Pune bombing occurred on 13 February 2010 at approximately 7:15 pm ISTwhen a bomb exploded at the German Bakery in the city of Pune, Maharashtra, India. The blast killed seventeen people, and injured at least 60 more...
- Breaking the Spell: My Life as a Rajneeshee and the Long Journey Back to FreedomBreaking the Spell: My Life as a Rajneeshee and the Long Journey Back to FreedomBreaking the Spell: My Life as a Rajneeshee and the Long Journey Back to Freedom is a non-fiction book by Catherine Jane Stork about her experiences as a Rajneeshee, a follower of Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. It was published in April 2009 by Pan Macmillan...
- Byron v. Rajneesh Foundation InternationalByron v. Rajneesh Foundation InternationalByron v. Rajneesh Foundation International was a 1985 lawsuit filed by Helen Byron in Portland, Oregon against Rajneesh Foundation International, the organization of Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh . Byron had been recruited to join the Rajneesh movement by her daughter, Barbara. She traveled to...
External links
- Osho International Meditation Resort
- Moscow Osho Centre "Winds" and Osho-Commune "Bhavata"
- sannyas.org incl. Sannyas Wiki
- Neosannyas.org
- Considering Controversy and Stagnation in the Osho Rajneesh Movement
- Article The Rise and Fall of Rajneeshpuram in Ashé Journal
- Rajneeshees in Oregon: The Untold Story – Five-part series in The OregonianThe OregonianThe Oregonian is the major daily newspaper in Portland, Oregon, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 1850...
newspaper, April 2011 - List of attacks attributed to the Rajneeshees on the START terrorism database