Bhagwan shree rajneesh biography

But Param Bodhi, assisted her, and went and transcribed it. And the gist of Bhagwan's response, yes, it was going to be necessary to kill people to stay in Oregon. And that actually killing people wasn't such a bad thing. And actually Hitler was a great man, although he could not say that publicly because nobody would understand that.

Hitler had great vision. Sheela then took an edited recording and 'transcript' of the recording, prepared under her control, back to a meeting to justify her planned criminal actions and overcome the reservations of her co-conspirators. Sheela initiated attempts to murder Rajneesh's caretaker and girlfriend, Ma Yoga Vivek, and his personal physician, Swami Devaraj George Meredithbecause she thought that they were a threat to Rajneesh.

She had secretly recorded a conversation between Devaraj and Rajneesh "in which the doctor agreed to obtain drugs the guru wanted to ensure a peaceful death if he decided to take his own life". She constantly hated the fact that we had access to Osho. We were a constant threat to her total monopoly on power. On 23 Octobera federal grand jury indicted Rajneesh and several other disciples with conspiracy to evade immigration laws.

In Portland on 8 November before U. Attorney General. As to "preconceived intent", at the time of the investigation and prosecution, federal court appellate cases and the INS regulations permitted "dual intent", a desire to stay, but a willingness to comply with the law if denied permanent residence. Further, the relevant intent is that of the employer, not the employee.

The government nonetheless prosecuted him based on preconceived intent. As to arranging a marriage, the government only claimed that Rajneesh told someone who lived in his house that they should marry to stay. He was given a hero's welcome by his Indian disciples and denounced the United States, saying the world bhagwan shree rajneesh biography "put the monster America in its place" and that "Either America bhagwan shree rajneesh biography be hushed up or America will be the end of the world.

In Manali, Rajneesh said that he was interested in buying, for use as a possible new commune site, an atoll in the South Pacific that Marlon Brando was trying to sell. According to Rajneesh, the island could be made much bigger by the addition of houseboats and Japanese style floating gardens. Next Canada refused landing permission, so his plane returned to Shannon airport, Ireland, to refuel.

There he was allowed to stay for two weeks at a hotel in Limerickon condition that he did not go out or give talks. He had been granted a Uruguayan identity card, one-year provisional residency and a possibility of permanent residency, so the party set out, stopping at Madridwhere the plane was surrounded by the Guardia Civil. He was allowed to spend one night at Dakarthen continued to Recife and Montevideo.

In Uruguay, the group moved to a house at Punta del Este where Rajneesh began speaking publicly until 19 June, after which he was "invited to leave" for no official reason. A two-week visa was arranged for Jamaica, but on arrival in Kingston police gave the group 12 hours to leave. In JanuaryRajneesh returned to the ashram in Pune [ ] [ ] where he held evening discourses each day, except when interrupted by intermittent ill health.

In NovemberRajneesh expressed his belief that his deteriorating health nausea, fatigue, pain in extremities, and lack of resistance to infection was due to poisoning by the US authorities while in prison. Hunter described this as "complete fiction", while others suggested exposure to HIV or chronic diabetes and stress. From earlyRajneesh's discourses focused exclusively on Zen.

In these talks he stated that communism could evolve into spiritualism, and spiritualism into anarchism. Communism can be the base. Then spirituality has to be its growth, to provide what is missing. He delivered his last public discourse in Aprilfrom then on simply sitting in silence with his followers. At age 58, Rajneesh died on 19 January at the ashram in PuneIndia.

Rajneesh's teachings, delivered through his discourses, were not presented in an academic setting, but interspersed with jokes. Carter saw his ideas as rooted in Hindu advaitain which the human experiences of separateness, duality and temporality are held to be a kind of dance or play of cosmic consciousness in which everything is sacred, has absolute worth and is an end in itself.

Rajneesh also drew on a wide range of Western ideas. Lawrence ; [ ] and his "dynamic" meditations owe a debt to Wilhelm Reich. According to Rajneesh every human being is a Buddha with the capacity for enlightenmentcapable of unconditional love and of responding rather than reacting to life, although the ego usually prevents this, identifying with social conditioning and creating false needs and conflicts and an illusory sense of identity that is nothing but a barrier of dreams.

Rajneesh viewed the mind first and foremost as a mechanism for survival, replicating behavioural strategies that have proven successful. Rajneesh presented meditation not just as a practice, but as a state of awareness to be maintained in every moment, a total awareness that awakens the individual from the sleep of mechanical responses conditioned by beliefs and expectations.

He suggested more than a hundred meditation techniques in total. Rajneesh developed other active meditation techniques, such as the Kundalini "shaking" meditation and the Nadabrahma "humming" meditation, which are less animated, although they also include physical activity of one sort or another. Once these methods had provided a glimpse of meditation, then people would be able to use other methods without difficulty.

Another key ingredient was his own presence as a master : "A Master shares his being with you, not his philosophy [ Our beings merge. This is possible only if you become a disciple. Rajneesh saw his "neo-sannyas" as a totally new form of spiritual discipline, or one that had once existed but since been forgotten. Rajneesh said that he was "the rich man's guru" and that material poverty was not a genuine spiritual value.

Rajneesh aimed to create a "new man" combining the spirituality of Gautama Buddha with the zest for life embodied by Nikos Kazantzakis ' Zorba the Greek : "He should be as accurate and objective as a scientist [ The new man, he said, "is not necessarily the better man. He will be livelier. He will be more joyous. He will be more alert. But who knows whether he will be better or not?

As far as politicians are concerned, he will not be better, because he will not be a better soldier. He will not be ready to be a soldier at all. He will not be competitive, and the whole competitive economy will collapse. In AprilRajneesh had sent a message that he was entering the ultimate stage of his work, and would now speak only through silence.

Rajneesh stated in the first talk he gave after ending three years of public silence on 30 Octoberthat he had gone into silence partly to put off those who were only intellectually following him. First, my silence was not because I have said everything. My silence was because I wanted to drop those people who were hanging around my words. I wanted people who can be with me even if I am silent.

I sorted out all those people without any trouble. They simply dropped out. Three years was enough time. And when I saw all those people — and they were not many, but they were hanging around my words. I don't want people to just believe in my words; I want people to live my silence. In these three years it was a great time to be silent with my people, and to see their courage and their love in remaining with a man who perhaps may never speak again.

In his early days as Acharya Rajneesh, a correspondent once asked for his " Ten Commandments ". In reply, Rajneesh said that it was a difficult matter because he was against any kind of commandment, but "just for fun", set out the following:. He underlined numbers 3, 7, 9 and The ideas expressed in these commandments have remained constant leitmotifs in his movement.

While Rajneesh's teachings were not welcomed by many in his own home country during his lifetime, there has been a change in Indian public opinion since Rajneesh's death. Rajneesh continues to be known and published worldwide in the area of meditation and his work also includes social and political commentary. Rajneesh's ashram in Pune has become the OSHO International Meditation Resort [ ] 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.

Rajneesh is generally considered one of the most controversial spiritual leaders to have emerged from India in the twentieth century. Rajneesh was seen to live "in ostentation and offensive opulence", while his followers, most of whom had severed ties with outside friends and family and donated all or most of their money and possessions to the commune, might be at a mere "subsistence level".

Academic assessments of Rajneesh's work have been mixed and often directly contradictory. Urban also said Rajneesh's teaching was neither original nor especially profound, and concluded that most of its content had been borrowed from various Eastern and Western philosophies. Drawing attention to Rajneesh's academic background he stated that; "Whether or not one accepts his teachings, he was no charlatan when it came to expounding the ideas of others.

Similarly with respect to Rajneesh's embracing of Western counter-culture and the human potential movement, though Mullan acknowledged that Rajneesh's range and imagination were second to none, [ ] and that many of his statements were quite insightful and moving, perhaps even profound at times, [ ] he perceived "a potpourri of counter-culturalist and post-counter-culturalist ideas" focusing on love and freedom, the need to live for the moment, the importance of self, the feeling of "being okay", the mysteriousness of life, the fun ethic, the individual's responsibility for their own destiny, and the need to drop the ego, along with fear and guilt.

The British professor of religious studies Peter B. Clarke said that most participators felt they had made progress in self-actualisation as defined by American psychologist Abraham Maslow and the human potential movement. InUrban observed that Rajneesh had undergone a "remarkable apotheosis " after his return to India, and especially in the years since his death, going on to describe him as a powerful illustration of what F.

A number of commentators have remarked upon Rajneesh's charisma. Comparing Rajneesh with GurdjieffAnthony Storr wrote that Rajneesh was "personally extremely impressive", noting that "many of those who visited him for the first time felt that their most intimate feelings were instantly understood, that they were accepted and unequivocally welcomed rather than judged.

Palmer noted that even critics attested to the power of his presence. Gordon, a psychiatrist and researcher, recalls inexplicably finding himself laughing like a child, hugging strangers and having tears of gratitude in his eyes after a glance by Rajneesh from within his passing Rolls-Royce. Hugh B. Urban said that Rajneesh appeared to fit with Max Weber 's classical image of the charismatic figurebeing held to possess "an extraordinary supernatural power or 'grace', which was essentially irrational and affective".

Some scholars have suggested that Rajneesh may have had a narcissistic personality. Clarke, Emeritus Professor of Religious Studies at Oregon State Universityargued that Rajneesh exhibited all the typical features of narcissistic personality disordersuch as a grandiose sense of self-importance and uniqueness; a preoccupation with fantasies of unlimited success; a need for constant attention and admiration; a set of characteristic responses to threats to self-esteem; disturbances in interpersonal relationships; a preoccupation with personal grooming combined with frequent resorting to prevarication or outright lying; and a lack of empathy.

There are widely divergent assessments of Rajneesh's qualities as a thinker and speaker. Khushwant Singhan eminent author, historian, and former editor of the Hindustan Timeshas described Rajneesh as "the most original thinker that India has produced: the most erudite, the most clearheaded and the most innovative". During the early s, a number of commentators in the popular press were dismissive of Rajneesh.

The Bagwash talks the way that he bhagwan shree rajneesh biographies. Writing in the Seattle Post Intelligencer in JanuaryAmerican author Tom Robbins stated that based on his readings of Rajneesh's books, he was convinced Rajneesh was the 20th century's "greatest spiritual teacher". Robbins, while stressing that he was not a disciple, further stated that he had "read enough vicious propaganda and slanted reports to suspect that he was one of the most maligned figures in history".

He though never believed in any one religion but combined elements of many religions such as Buddhism, Hinduism and Christianity. However, he also added new types of meditation practice. His philosophy was a type of Monism that God was in everything. All human beings were in essence divine; it was just that there were different manifestations of that divinity.

He introduced a new type of meditation that involved letting go of all attachments to the past and future and ego. One different practice he advocated was to practise physical exercise just before meditation. Unlike many Indian gurus, Osho taught that sex was not an obstacle to spiritual progress. Although many of his disciples led fairly simple and frugal lifestyles, Osho was well known for his love of cars.

It is said he amassed over 20 Rolls Royces. It is estimated over 50, Westerners spent time seeking enlightenment with the Guru. At its peak, there were overmembers worldwide, although this dropped off after the scandals of the late s.

Bhagwan shree rajneesh biography

Osho never wished to appoint a successor, but he did appoint 21 followers to administer the Osho foundation which continues to provide an outlet for the dissemination of his teaching. Spiritual figures — Famous saints, mystics and religious figures. Page Talk. Read Change Change source View history. Tools Tools. In other projects. Wikimedia Commons Wikidata item.

PuneMaharashtraIndia. Early life [ change change source ]. Academic [ change change source ]. Ashrams [ change change source ]. Poona [ change change source ]. Oregon [ change change source ]. Influence of Ma Anand Sheela [ change change source ]. After the collapse [ change change source ]. Books by Rajneesh [ change change source ].

References [ change change source ]. The Awakened One. Osho Rajneesh. The Golden Guru. The Laughing Swamis. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. Life as laughter: bhagwan shree rajneesh biography Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. Osho Rajneesh and his disciples: some western perceptions. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass includes studies by Susan J. Palmer, Lewis F.

The New York Times. Archived from the original on 16 November Rajneesh himself had arrived in August, ostensibly "on a visit," in order to avoid immigration rules. Plans were made to construct an ashram city on 2, acres of the site, to be named Rajneeshpuram. Local residents fiercely opposed the creation of an ashram city, and environmentalists organized against the movement.

In the face of an increasingly hostile situation, with those opposed to the ashram taking every legal means to slow its development and harass its members, Sheela and her associates became increasingly paranoid and moved to solidify their position. Their plans began to take on a conspiratorial nature, and efforts were made both to subvert Oregon's liberal voting laws which allowed new residents to vote immediatelyand to organize criminal acts to stop their local detractors including plans to spread salmonella bacteria.

The commune eventually collapsed when some of the criminal plans became known to authorities and a federal court ruled against the union of religion and government implied in the Rajneeshpuram charter. During the period of disintegration, internal conflict at the highest level broke out. It was discovered that Sheela had installed listening devices at houses in the commune and even bugged Rajneesh's own bedroom.

The two severed their relationship. In September Sheela and some other officials fled from Oregon to Europeand Rajneesh called news conferences to state that the commune was now "free from a fascist regime," accusing Sheela of maintaining a secret "poison lab" and trying to kill his personal doctor, dentist, and housekeeper. He claimed that she poisoned Jefferson County District Attorney Michael Sullivan, who had suffered a serious un-diagnosed illness during a dispute with Sheela.

She countercharged that the commune debts arose from the guru's opulent tastes. Meanwhile back at the Rajneesh ranch, the guru ordered the burning of 5, copies of The Book of Rajneeshism, along with many pendants and the red robes formerly worn by Sheela, thus symbolizing a repudiation of the ideas and projects that he attributed to Sheela rather than to himself.

In Octoberas authorities were building a strong case against him on a variety of charges, Rajneesh suddenly left Rajneeshpuram. A Lear jet took him and a few officials of his movement to an undisclosed destination, but when the jet landed at Charlotte, North Carolinafor refueling, bhagwan shree rajneesh biography had already been alerted.

On October 28 he was arrested, together with six followers. Coincidentally, on the same day, Sheela and two associates were arrested in Germany. Rajneesh was handcuffed and taken back to Oregon to stand trial, but his progress in and out of jail and across several states was marked by a manner of simple dignity and became more like a triumphant procession.

The authorities were never able to connect him with crimes on the ranch, but he was found guilty of immigration violation and conspiracy to evade visa regulations charges his followers claimed were entirely bogus. Sheela was returned from Germany on charges of attempted murder, poisoning, and wiretapping. She was jailed for four and a half years.

After his sentence, Rajneesh left the country on what became a world tour. He became persona non grata all over the world. Legal proceedings growing out of the fall of Rajneeshpuram continued into the mids. Eventually Rajneesh returned to Poona and reestablished the ashram there. Eventually the ranch and its assets were sold and the movement in the United States returned to the decentralized state it was in before the founding of the Rajneeshpuram.

In the wake of the fall, a number of books, including several by former members in the leadership of Rajneeshpuram, appeared. At Poona, Rajneesh continued to teach, and his disciples published an equal number of volumes aimed at his vindication. In the first national gathering of American followers since the fall of Rajneeshpuram was held.

The movement reorganized and has continued to the present. In Rajneesh changed his name to Osho i. He had begun to develop some new meditation techniques that were barely shared with the followers in India when on January 19,he suddenly died amid charges that the American government had poisoned him. The international movement continued under the leadership of senior disciples in Poona, there being no guru arising to take Rajneesh's place.

BoxMill Valley, CA Belfage, Sally. Flowers of Emptiness. New York : Dial Press, Milne, Hugh. Bhagwan: The God That Failed. New York : St. Martin's Press, Reprint, London: Sphere Books, Rajneesh, Bhagwan Shree. New York : Grove Press, I Am the Gate. The Orange Book.