153-558: (Redirected from Rajnish ) [REDACTED] Look up Rajneeshee or sa:रजनीश in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Rajneesh (1931–1990) was an Indian mystic and guru with an international following. Rajneesh or Rajnish may also refer to: Antelope, Oregon , a small town in Oregon that was renamed to "Rajneesh" in 1984 and then renamed back to "Antelope" in 1985 Rajneeshpuram ,
306-634: A national guard takeover and a planned violent arrest of Rajneesh led to tension and fears of shooting. On the strength of Sheela's tape recordings, authorities later said they believed that there had been a plan that sannyasin women and children would have been asked to create a human shield if authorities tried to arrest Rajneesh at the commune. On 28 October, Rajneesh and a small number of sannyasins accompanying him were arrested aboard two rented Learjets in North Carolina at Charlotte Douglas International Airport ; according to federal authorities
459-533: A prolapsed disc in early 1981 and treated by several doctors, including James Cyriax , a St. Thomas' Hospital musculoskeletal physician and expert in epidural injections flown in from London. Rajneesh's previous secretary, Laxmi, reported to Frances FitzGerald that "she had failed to find a property in India adequate to Rajneesh's needs, and thus, when the medical emergency came, the initiative had passed to Sheela". A public statement by Sheela indicated that Rajneesh
612-456: A sham marriage to acquire U.S. residency. Under the deal his lawyers made with the U.S. Attorney's office he was given a ten-year suspended sentence, five years' probation, and a $ 400,000 penalty in fines and prosecution costs and agreed to leave the United States, not returning for at least five years without the permission of the U.S. Attorney General . As to "preconceived intent", at
765-411: A "gang of fascists". He accused them of having committed serious crimes, most dating back to 1984, and invited the authorities to investigate. The alleged crimes, which he stated had been committed without his knowledge or consent, included the attempted murder of his personal physician, poisonings of public officials in Oregon, wiretapping and bugging within the commune and within his own home, and
918-868: A 60- to 90-minute spontaneous lecture in the ashram's "Buddha Hall" auditorium, commenting on religious writings or answering questions from visitors and disciples. Until 1981, lecture series held in Hindi alternated with series held in English. During the day, various meditations and therapies took place, whose intensity was ascribed to the spiritual energy of Rajneesh's "buddhafield". In evening darshans , Rajneesh conversed with individual disciples or visitors and initiated disciples ("gave sannyas"). Sannyasins came for darshan when departing or returning or when they had anything they wanted to discuss. To decide which therapies to participate in, visitors either consulted Rajneesh or selected according to their own preferences. Some of
1071-922: A Hindu lunar deity People [ edit ] Rajneesh Dahiya , an Indian politician Rajneesh Duggal , an Indian model and actor Rajneesh Harvansh Singh , an Indian politician Rajneesh Narula , a British-Indian economist Rajneesh Chopra , an Indian former cricketer Rajneesh Gurbani , an Indian cricketer Rajneesh Harvansh Singh , an Indian politician Rajneesh Karnatak , an Indian banker Rajnish Khanna , an Indian-American photobiologist Rajnish Kumar (disambiguation) Rajnish Kumar (banker) , an Indian banker Rajnish Kumar (peace activist) , an Indian peace activist Rajnish Kumar (politician) , an Indian politician Rajnish Mehra , an Indian-American economist Rajneesh Mishra , an Indian cricketer Rajnish Mishra , an Indian film and music director Rajnish Rai , an Indian police officer and management professor, notable for investigating
1224-473: A Uruguayan identity card, one-year provisional residency and a possibility of permanent residency, so the party set out, stopping at Madrid , where the plane was surrounded by the Guardia Civil . He was allowed to spend one night at Dakar , then 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
1377-545: A beautiful 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 . The movement continued after Rajneesh's death. The Osho International Foundation (OIF), the successor to the Neo-Sannyas International Foundation, now propagates his views, operating once more out of
1530-498: A book, Dying for Enlightenment , featuring photographs and lyrical descriptions of the meditations and therapy groups. Violence in the therapy groups eventually ended in January 1979, when the ashram issued a press release stating that violence "had fulfilled its function within the overall context of the ashram as an evolving spiritual commune". Sannyasins who had "graduated" from months of meditation and therapy could apply to work in
1683-747: A corporate machine consisting of various front companies and subsidiaries. At this time, the three main identifiable organisations within the Rajneesh movement were: the Ranch Church, or Rajneesh International Foundation (RIF); the Rajneesh Investment Corporation (RIC), through which the RFI was managed; and the Rajneesh Neo-Sannyasin International Commune (RNSIC). The umbrella organisation that oversaw all investment activities
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#17328730913751836-399: A deliberately irradiated mattress, since his symptoms were concentrated on the right side of his body, but presented no hard evidence. US attorney Charles H. Hunter described this as "complete fiction", while others suggested exposure to HIV or chronic diabetes and stress. From early 1988, Rajneesh's discourses focused exclusively on Zen . In early 1989, Rajneesh gave a series of some of
1989-431: A disciple apparently meant assuming a new name and wearing the traditional saffron dress of ascetic Hindu holy men, including a mala (beaded necklace) carrying a locket with his picture. However, his sannyasins were encouraged to follow a celebratory rather than ascetic lifestyle. He himself was not to be worshipped but regarded as a catalytic agent , "a sun encouraging the flower to open". He had by then, acquired
2142-513: A failed attempt to affect the outcome of an election, before releasing them into surrounding towns and leaving some to the State of Oregon to return to their home cities at the state's expense. In March 1982, local residents formed a group called Citizens for Constitutional Cities to oppose the Ranch development. An initiative petition was filed that would order the governor " 'to contain, control and remove'
2295-441: A fascist state and Sheela was, in the words of Ma Prem Sangeet, " Hitler in a red dress", had been deleted. Rajneesh spoke almost daily, except for a three-month gap between April and July 1985. In July, he resumed daily public discourses; on 16 September, a few days after Sheela and her entire management team had suddenly left the commune for Europe, Rajneesh held a press conference in which he labelled Sheela and her associates
2448-498: A few key disciples, including Ma Anand Sheela and his caretaker girlfriend Ma Yoga Vivek (Christine Woolf). He lived in a trailer next to a covered swimming pool and other amenities. At this time he did not lecture and interacted with followers via a Rolls-Royce 'drive-by' ceremony. He also gained public notoriety for amassing a large collection of Rolls-Royce cars, eventually numbering 93 vehicles. In 1981 he had given Sheela limited power of attorney , removing any remaining limits
2601-568: A few weeks later, to Crete . Arrested after a few days by the Greek National Intelligence Service (KYP), he flew to Geneva , then to Stockholm and London, but was in each case refused entry. 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 Limerick , on condition that he did not go out or give talks. He had been granted
2754-447: A form of social bondage, especially for women. He criticised socialism and Gandhi , but championed capitalism, science, technology and birth control, warning against overpopulation and criticising religious teachings that promote poverty and subjection. He became known as Acharya Rajneesh, Acharya meaning "teacher or professor" and "Rajneesh" being a childhood nickname (from Sanskrit रजनि rajani, night and ईश isha, lord). By 1964,
2907-546: A former intentional community established near Antelope, Oregon, by members of the Rajneesh movement Byron v. Rajneesh Foundation International , a 1985 lawsuit against the Rajneesh Foundation International Campbell Court Hotel , a historic hotel in Oregon that was bombed in 1983 while operating as Hotel Rajneesh Rajneesh movement , a new religious movement based on the teachings of Rajneesh Chandra or Rajnish and Rajnipati,
3060-414: A group of wealthy backers had initiated an educational trust to support Rajneesh 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
3213-426: A loyal following that included a number of wealthy merchants and businessmen. These people sought individual consultations from him about their spiritual development and transforming their daily lives, in return for donations and his practice snowballed. From 1962, he began to lead 3- to 10-day meditation camps, and the first meditation centres (Jivan Jagruti Kendra) started to emerge around his teaching, then known as
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#17328730913753366-622: A martyr, promoting the view that the Ranch "was crushed from within by the Attorney General's office ... like the marines in Lebanon, the Ranch was hit by hardball opposition and driven out." A long drawn out fight with land use non-profit organisation 1000 Friends of Oregon also hurt the organisation. This took the form of both organisations pursuing legal interventions against each other. 1000 Friends objected to Rajneesh proposed building plans. The fight lasted for several years and attracted
3519-595: A more positive response from the surrounding society, especially after the founder's death in 1990. The Osho International Foundation (OIF) (previously Rajneesh International Foundation [RIF]), is managed by an "Inner Circle" set up by Rajneesh before his death. They jointly administer Rajneesh's estate and operate the Osho International Meditation Resort in Pune. In the late 1990s, rival factions challenged OIF's copyright holdings over Rajneesh's works and
3672-856: A national seminar on Rajneesh's teachings was inaugurated at the Department of Philosophy of the Mankunwarbai College for Women in Jabalpur . Funded by the Bhopal office of the University Grants Commission , the seminar focused on Rajneesh's "Zorba the Buddha" teaching, seeking to reconcile spirituality with the materialist and objective approach. As of 2013, the resort required all guests to be tested for HIV/AIDS at its Welcome Center on arrival. In July 2020, singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens released
3825-594: A new exclusivity, and a 1983 article in the Rajneesh Foundation Newsletter, announcing that "Rajneeshism is creating a Noah's Ark of consciousness ... I say to you that except this there is no other way", increased the sense of urgency in building the Oregon commune. In March 1984, Sheela announced that Rajneesh had predicted the death of two-thirds of humanity from AIDS. Sannyasins were required to wear rubber gloves and condoms if they had sex, and to refrain from kissing, measures widely represented in
3978-625: A number of crimes, including a 1984 mass food-poisoning attack intended to influence county elections, an aborted assassination plot on U.S. attorney Charles H. Turner , the attempted murder of Rajneesh's personal physician, and the bugging of his own living quarters; authorities later convicted several members of the ashram, including Sheela. That year, Rajneesh was deported from the United States on separate immigration-related charges in accordance with an Alford plea . After his deportation, 21 countries denied him entry. Rajneesh ultimately returned to Mumbai, India, in 1986. After staying in
4131-412: A potentially lethal bioterror attack sickening 751 citizens of The Dalles , using Salmonella to impact county elections. While his allegations were initially greeted with scepticism by outside observers, the subsequent investigation by U.S. authorities confirmed these accusations and resulted in the conviction of Sheela and several of her lieutenants. On 30 September 1985, Rajneesh denied that he
4284-704: A previous association between Rajneesh and the Indian Congress Party dating back to the sixties, was unwilling to intercede for it after her return to power. In May 1980, during one of Rajneesh's discourses, an attempt on his life was made by Vilas Tupe, a young Hindu fundamentalist . Tupe claims that he undertook the attack because he believed Rajneesh to be an agent of the CIA . By 1981, Rajneesh's ashram hosted 30,000 visitors per year. Daily discourse audiences were by then predominantly European and American. Many observers noted that Rajneesh's lecture style changed in
4437-561: A reception hotel in Portland . In July 1983 it was bombed by the radical Islamic group Jamaat ul-Fuqra , a group that had connections with militants in Pakistani-held Azad Kashmir and sought to attack "soft" targets with Indian connections in the United States. 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
4590-667: A reported (in 2000) revenue of between $ 15 and $ 45 million annually in the US. OSHO International Meditation Resort has described itself as the Esalen of the East, and teaches a variety of spiritual techniques from a broad range of traditions. It 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, prominent visitors have included politicians and media personalities. In 2011,
4743-513: A secretary, Laxmi Thakarsi Kuruwa, who as his first disciple had taken the name Ma Yoga Laxmi. Laxmi was the daughter of one of his early followers, a wealthy Jain, who had been a key supporter of the Indian National Congress during the struggle for Indian independence , with close ties to Gandhi , Nehru , and Morarji Desai . She raised the money that enabled Rajneesh to stop his travels and settle down. In December 1970, he moved to
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4896-461: A settlement of Rajneesh's immigration case. While the various legal battles ensued Rajneesh remained behind the scenes, having withdrawn from a public facing role in what commune leadership referred to as a period of "silence." During this time, which lasted until November 1984, in lieu of Rajneesh speaking publicly, videos of his discourses were played to commune audiences. His time was allegedly spent mostly in seclusion and he communicated only with
5049-580: A sociologist from the Washington State University , estimates that 2,000 sannyasins resided at Rajneeshpuram at its height. Several incidents that led to a decline of the movement occurred in The Dalles , the county seat and largest city of Wasco County, Oregon . In 1984, Rajneeshee teams engaged in a bio-terror attack in which they purposely contaminated salad products with salmonella at local restaurants and shops. Their actions resulted in
5202-756: A song themed after the movement titled "My Rajneesh". In September 2020, the OSHO International Foundation, which owns the OSHO International Meditation Resort, decided to sell two 1.5 acre plots of land, currently housing a swimming pool and a tennis court. As a charitable trust, the OIF filed an application with the Charity Commissioner in Mumbai requesting permission for the sale. In the application, they cited financial distress due to
5355-507: A specific deity. Later, when he changed his name, he redefined the meaning of Bhagwan. While living in Mumbai he developed diabetes , asthma , and numerous allergies . In 1974, on the 21st anniversary of his experience in Jabalpur, he moved to a property in Koregaon Park , Pune, purchased with the help of Ma Yoga Mukta (Catherine Venizelos), a Greek shipping heiress. Rajneesh spoke at
5508-418: A specific purpose and it has been serving well, because people who used to come to gather knowledge, they stopped. The day I called myself Bhagwan, they stopped. It was too much for them, it was too much for their egos, someone calling himself Bhagwan...It hurts the ego. Now I've changed my function absolutely. I started working on a different level, in a different dimension. Now I give you being, not knowledge. I
5661-496: A spiritual teacher, supporting himself through lectures, meditation camps and individual meetings ( Darśana or Darshan —meaning "sight") for his wealthier followers. In 1971 he initiated six sannyasins, the emergence of the Neo-Sannyas International Movement. Rajneesh differentiated his sannyas from the traditional practice, admitting women and viewing renunciation as a process of renouncing ego rather than
5814-499: A target. Several months later, on 30 October 1984, he ended his period of public silence, announcing that it was time to "speak his own truths". On 19 December, Rajneesh was asked if organisation was necessary for a religion to survive. Disciples present during the talk remember Rajneesh stating that "I will not leave you under a fascist regime". According to the testimony of Rajneesh's dentist, Swami Devageet, this statement seemed directly aimed at Sheela - or to be directly against
5967-487: 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". When asked if he was targeted because of a plan to give the guru euthanasia in a 2018 interview with ‘The Cut’, Rajneesh's doctor denied this and claimed that "She attacked his household and everybody in it and found any excuse she could to do that. She constantly hated
6120-448: A transfer as he considered him a danger to his students' morality, character, and religion. From 1958, he taught philosophy as a lecturer at Jabalpur University , being promoted to professor in 1960. A popular lecturer, he was acknowledged by his peers as an exceptionally intelligent man who had been able to overcome the deficiencies of his early small-town education. In parallel to his university job, he travelled throughout India under
6273-465: A vocal critic of the orthodoxy of mainstream religions, as well as of mainstream political ideologies and of Mahatma Gandhi . In 1970, Rajneesh spent time in Mumbai initiating followers known as " neo-sannyasins ". During this period, he expanded his spiritual teachings and commented extensively in discourses on the writings of religious traditions, mystics, bhakti poets , and philosophers from around
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6426-400: A year of arriving, Rajneesh and his followers had become embroiled in a series of legal battles with their neighbours, the principal conflict relating to land use. The commune leadership was uncompromising and behaved impatiently in dealing with the locals. They were also insistent upon having demands met, and engaged in implicitly threatening and directly confrontational behaviour. Whatever
6579-469: A young boy, reading was his primary interest. After showing an interest in the writings of Marx and Engels , he was branded a communist and was threatened with expulsion from school. According to Joshi, with the help of friends, he built a small library containing mostly communist literature. Rajneesh, according to his uncle Amritlal, also formed a group of young people that regularly discussed communist ideology and their opposition to religion. Rajneesh
6732-490: Is a polite form of address roughly equivalent to the English "Sir"; Bhagwan means "blessed one", used in Indian tradition as a term of respect for a human being in whom the divine is no longer hidden but apparent. In Hinduism it can also be used to signify a deity or avatar . In many parts of India and South Asia, Bhagwan represents the abstract concept of a universal God to Hindus who are spiritual and religious but do not worship
6885-477: Is considered the first confirmed instance of chemical or biological terrorism to have occurred in the United States. Rajneesh stated that because he was in silence and isolation, meeting only with Sheela, he was unaware of the crimes committed by the Rajneeshpuram leadership until Sheela and her "gang" left and sannyasins came forward to inform him. A number of commentators have stated that they believe that Sheela
7038-430: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Rajneeshee The Rajneesh movement is a religious movement inspired by the Indian mystic Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (1931–1990), also known as Osho. They used to be known as Rajneeshees or "Orange People" because of the orange they used from 1970 until 1985. Members of the movement are sometimes called Oshoites in
7191-482: Is fully supported in the testimony of Ava Avalos, an admitted co-conspirator, Sheela presented Osho with a general question about whether people would have to die if the Community was attacked and used his general response that it would perhaps be necessary. 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
7344-708: Is missing." In late December, he said he no longer wished to be referred to as "Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh", and in February 1989 took the name " Osho Rajneesh", shortened to "Osho" in September. He also requested that all trademarks previously branded with "Rajneesh" be rebranded "OSHO". His health continued to weaken. He delivered his last public discourse in April 1989, from then on simply sitting in silence with his followers. Shortly before his death, Rajneesh suggested that one or more audience members at evening meetings (now referred to as
7497-454: Is the ultimate result of capitalism, and capitalism itself, of revolution that brings about socialism. Rajneesh stated that he believed that in India, socialism was inevitable, but fifty, sixty or seventy years hence, India should apply its efforts to first creating wealth. He said that socialism would socialise only poverty, and he described Gandhi as a masochist reactionary who worshipped poverty. What India needed to escape its backwardness
7650-500: The Isha Upanishad —replaced discourses. Around the same time, Ma Anand Sheela (Sheela Silverman) replaced Ma Yoga Laxmi as Rajneesh's secretary . In 1981, the increased tensions around the Pune ashram, along with criticism of its activities and threatened punitive action by Indian authorities, provided an impetus for the ashram to consider the establishment of a new commune in the United States. According to Susan J. Palmer ,
7803-487: The Shankaracharya of Puri , who tried in vain to have his lecture stopped. At a public meditation event in early 1970, Rajneesh presented his Dynamic Meditation method for the first time. Dynamic Meditation involved breathing very fast and celebrating with music and dance. He left Jabalpur for Mumbai at the end of June. On 26 September 1970, he initiated his first group of disciples or neo-sannyasins . Becoming
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#17328730913757956-616: The COVID-19 pandemic . This has sparked controversy amongst Osho followers, and their representative Yogesh Thakkar was quoted saying “This place is made by Osho devotees for Osho devotees, and it belongs to Osho devotees.” Ten Osho disciples filed an objection to the sale with the Charity Commissioner. Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh Rajneesh (born Chandra Mohan Jain ; 11 December 1931 – 19 January 1990), also known as Acharya Rajneesh , Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh , and later as Osho ( Hindi pronunciation: [ˈo:ʃo:] ),
8109-586: The Oregon Republican Party 's state convention. One of the first surveys of 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 Rajneeshpuram . In the survey, Krishna Deva polled 300 American sannyasins and discovered that their median age was just over 30. 60 per cent of them had been sannyasins for less than two years, and most continued to live in
8262-662: The White Robe Brotherhood ) were subjecting him to some form of evil magic. A search for the perpetrators was undertaken, but none could be found. At age 58, Rajneesh died on 19 January 1990 at the ashram in Pune , India. The official cause of death was heart failure, but a statement released by his commune said that he died because "living in the body had become a hell" after an alleged poisoning in U.S. jails. His ashes were placed in his newly built bedroom in Lao Tzu House at
8415-629: The death of Sohrabuddin Sheikh See also [ edit ] Osho (disambiguation) , another name of the mystic Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Rajneesh . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rajneesh_(disambiguation)&oldid=1177879015 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
8568-408: 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 counselling to cleaning services." It has been estimated that at least 120 million dollars were generated during the movement's time in Oregon, a period when the acquisition of capital,
8721-634: The First Amendment to the Constitution. The Court found that the City property was owned and controlled by the Foundation, and entered judgement for the State. The court disregarded the controlling US constitutional cases requiring that a violation be redressed by the "least intrusive means" necessary to correct the violation, which it had earlier cited. The city was forced to "acquiesce" in the decision, as part of
8874-701: The INS in Portland. An INS memo stated that the Senator was "very concerned" about how this "religious cult" is "endangering the way of life for a small agricultural town ... and is a threat to public safety". Such actions "often do have influence on immigration decisions". In 1983 the Oregon Attorney General filed a lawsuit seeking to declare the City void because of an alleged violation of the Establishment Clause of
9027-652: The Indian press. The movement was controversial in the 1970s and 1980s, due to the founder's hostility, first to Hindu morality in India , and later to Christian morality in the United States . In the Soviet Union , 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". The positive aspects were allegedly being subverted by Rajneesh, whom
9180-473: The Life Awakening Movement (Jivan Jagruti Andolan). After a controversial speaking tour in 1966, he resigned from his teaching post at the request of the university. In a 1968 lecture series, later published under the title From Sex to Superconsciousness , he scandalised Hindu leaders by calling for freer acceptance of sex and became known as the "sex guru" in the Indian press. When in 1969, he
9333-817: The Netherlands, Australia, Greece, Sweden, Norway and Switzerland. After a house was purchased for Rajneesh in Poona in 1974, he founded an ashram , and membership of the movement grew. More seekers began to visit from western nations, including therapists from the Human Potential Movement . They began to run group therapy at the ashram. Rajneesh 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
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#17328730913759486-416: The Netherlands. Rajneesh began speaking in public in 1958, while still a lecturer (later professor) in philosophy at Jabalpur University . 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
9639-626: The Pune ashram from 1974 to 1981. The two adjoining houses and 6 acres (2.4 ha) of land became the nucleus of an ashram , and the property is still the heart of the present-day OSHO International Meditation Resort. It allowed the regular audio recording and, later, video recording and printing of his discourses for worldwide distribution, enabling him to reach far larger audiences. The number of Western visitors increased sharply. The ashram soon featured an arts-and-crafts centre producing clothes, jewellery, ceramics, and organic cosmetics and hosted performances of theatre, music, and mime. From 1975, after
9792-470: The Pune ashram in India. The organization ran a pre-web, global computer network called "OSHONET". The movement has begun to communicate on the Internet. Current leaders downplay early controversies in Oregon in an effort to appeal to a wider audience. After Rajneesh's death, various disagreements ensued concerning his wishes and his legacy. This led to the formation of a number of rival collectives. One of
9945-543: The Rajneesh Investment Corporation (RIC), through which the RIF was managed; and the Rajneesh Neo-Sannyasin International Commune (RNSIC). The umbrella organisation that oversaw all investment activities was Rajneesh Services International Ltd., a company incorporated in the UK but based in Zürich . There were also smaller organisations, such as Rajneesh Travel Corp, Rajneesh Community Holdings, and
10098-525: The Rajneesh Modern Car Collection Trust, whose sole purpose was to deal with the acquisition and rental of Rolls-Royces. Rajneesh had coached Sheela in using media coverage to her advantage and during his period of public silence he privately stated that when Sheela spoke, she was speaking on his behalf. He had also supported her when disputes about her behaviour arose within the commune leadership, but in early 1984, as tension amongst
10251-556: The Rajneesh movement's efforts refocused on activities in the United States and Rajneesh relocated to a facility known as Rajneeshpuram in Wasco County, Oregon . The movement ran into conflict with county residents and the state government , and a succession of legal battles concerning the ashram's construction and continued development curtailed its success. In 1985, Rajneesh publicly asked local authorities to investigate his personal secretary Ma Anand Sheela and her close supporters for
10404-480: The Soviet government considered a reactionary ideologue of the monopolistic bourgeoisie of India and a promoter of consumerism in a traditional Hindu guise. In Oregon , the movement's large intentional community of the early 1980s, called Rajneeshpuram , caused immediate tensions in the local community for its attempts to take over the nearby town of Antelope and later the county seat of The Dalles . At
10557-439: The U.S. if denied benefits. 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. Such encouragement appears to constitute incitement , a crime in the United States, but not a conspiracy , which requires the formation of a plan and acts in furtherance. Following his exit from
10710-496: The US, Rajneesh returned to India, landing in Delhi on 17 November 1985. He was given a hero's welcome by his Indian disciples and denounced the United States, saying the world must "put the monster America in its place" and that "Either America must be hushed up or America will be the end of the world." He then stayed for six weeks in Manali, Himachal Pradesh . In Manali, Rajneesh said that he
10863-414: The United States. Half of them came from California , 97 per cent were white, 25 per cent were Jewish, and 85 per cent belonged to the middle and upper-middle classes. Almost two-thirds had university degrees and viewed themselves as "successful in worldly terms". Three-quarters had previously been involved in some therapy and more than half had previously experimented with another spiritual group. In 1984
11016-538: The Woodlands Apartments in Mumbai, where he gave lectures and received visitors, among them his first Western visitors. He now traveled rarely, no longer speaking at open public meetings. In 1971, he adopted the title "Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh". Speaking about the name change from Acharya to Bhagwan, Rajneesh said in later years, "I loved the term. I said, 'At least for a few years that will do. Then we can drop it.'" Rajneesh also added, “I have chosen it for
11169-441: The arrival of several therapists from the Human Potential Movement , the ashram began to complement meditations with a growing number of therapy groups, which became a major source of income for the ashram. The Pune ashram was by all accounts an exciting and intense place to be, with an emotionally charged, madhouse-carnival atmosphere. The day began at 6:00 a.m. with Dynamic Meditation. From 8:00 am, Rajneesh gave
11322-543: The ashram underwent expansion, now as a "Multiversity" where therapy was to function as a bridge to meditation. Rajneesh devised new "meditation therapy" methods such as the "Mystic Rose" and began to lead meditations in his discourses after a gap of more than ten years. His western disciples formed no large communes, mostly preferring ordinary independent living. Red/orange dress and the mala were largely abandoned, having been optional since 1985. The wearing of maroon robes—only while on ashram premises—was reintroduced in
11475-509: The ashram, in an environment that was consciously modelled on the community the Russian mystic Gurdjieff led in France in the 1930s. Key features incorporated from Gurdjieff were hard, unpaid labour, and supervisors chosen for their abrasive personality, both designed to provoke opportunities for self-observation and transcendence. Many disciples chose to stay for years. Besides the controversy around
11628-422: The attention of the media. In 1990, Rajneesh died and was cremated at the ashram in Poona; which became the Osho International Meditation Resort. Identifying as the Esalen of the East, the resort has classes in a variety of spiritual techniques from a broad range of traditions and markets the facility as a spiritual oasis, a "sacred space" for discovering one's self, and uniting the desires of body and mind in
11781-465: The average age of members of the Rajneesh movement was 34; 64 per cent of the followers had a four-year college degree. A survey of 635 Rajneeshpuram residents was conducted in 1983 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 predominantly college-educated whites around the age of 30,
11934-417: The book Rajneeshism . Rajneesh said he ordered the book-burning to rid the sect of the last traces of the influence of Sheela, whose robes were added to the bonfire. Rajneesh 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,
12087-498: The central disagreements related to OIF'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 2003, sociologist Stephen Hunt wrote in Alternative Religions that "the movement has declined since 1985, and some would argue it is now, for all intents and purposes, defunct." In the United States, on 13 January 2009,
12240-554: The charges that he made false statements on his initial visa application about his alleged intention to remain in the US when he came from India. On 13 June 1981, Sheela's husband, John Shelfer, signed a purchase contract to buy property in Oregon for US$ 5.75 million, and a few days later assigned the property to the US foundation. The property was a 64,229-acre (260 km ) ranch, previously known as "The Big Muddy Ranch" and located across two counties ( Wasco and Jefferson ). It
12393-475: The collection of donations, and legal work were a primary concern. The popular press reported widely on the large collection of Rolls-Royce cars Rajneesh had amassed, reported to be 93 at the final count. James S. Gordon reported that some sannyasins saw the cars as an unrivalled tool for obtaining publicity, others as a good business investment or as a test, others as an expression of Rajneesh's scorn for middle-class aspirations and yet others as an indication of
12546-459: The commune's leaders, and intimidation and authoritarianism ensued. Disillusioned followers began to leave the organisation. Commune members were instructed to cease communication with anyone who left. Although the movement was without clearly defined and shared values, it was well known that Rajneesh discouraged marrying and having children, since he saw families as inherently prone to dysfunction and destructiveness. Not many children were born at
12699-487: The communes in Oregon and England, and contraception, sterilisation, and abortion were accepted. According to Pike, some parents justified leaving their children when moving to the ashram by reasoning that spiritual development was more important. 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
12852-475: The deportation of the leader of the movement, Rajneesh, along with a 10-year suspended sentence and $ 400,000 fine, in 1985. Urban has commented that the most surprising feature of the Osho phenomenon lies in Rajneesh's "remarkable apotheosis upon his return to India", which resulted in his achieving even more success in his homeland than before. According to Urban, Rajneesh's followers had succeeded in portraying him as
13005-468: The early therapy groups in the ashram, such as the encounter group , were experimental, allowing a degree of physical aggression as well as sexual encounters between participants. Conflicting reports of injuries sustained in encounter group sessions began to appear in the press. Richard Price , at the time a prominent Human Potential Movement therapist and co-founder of the Esalen Institute, found
13158-477: 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, thus cancelling the trademarks of Osho in the US. On 16 March 2018, Netflix released a six-part documentary entitled Wild Wild Country regarding the Rajneesh movement. A 1972 monograph outlined Rajneesh's concept of sannyas. It
13311-431: The fact that we had access to Osho. We were a constant threat to her total monopoly on power. " On 23 October 1985, a federal grand jury indicted Rajneesh and several other disciples with conspiracy to evade immigration laws. The indictment was returned in camera , but word was leaked to Rajneesh's lawyer. Negotiations to allow Rajneesh to surrender to authorities in Portland if a warrant were issued failed. Rumours of
13464-535: The following year. In 1983, Sheela announced that he would henceforth speak only with her. He later said that she kept him in ignorance. Many sannyasins expressed doubts about whether Sheela properly represented Rajneesh and many dissidents left Rajneeshpuram in protest of its autocratic leadership. Resident sannyasins without US citizenship experienced visa difficulties that some tried to overcome by marriages of convenience. Commune administrators tried to resolve Rajneesh's own difficulty in this respect by declaring him
13617-597: The group was en route to Bermuda to avoid prosecution. Cash amounting to $ 58,000, as well as 35 watches and bracelets worth a combined $ 1 million, were found on the aircraft. Rajneesh had by all accounts been informed neither of the impending arrest nor the reason for the journey. Officials took the full ten days legally available to transfer him from North Carolina to Portland for arraignment , which included three nights near Oklahoma City . In Portland on 8 November before U.S. District Court Judge Edward Leavy , Rajneesh pleaded "not guilty" to all 34 charges,
13770-528: The groups encouraged participants to 'be violent' rather than 'play at being violent' (the norm in encounter groups conducted in the United States), and criticized them for "the worst mistakes of some inexperienced Esalen group leaders". Price is alleged to have exited the Pune ashram with a broken arm following a period of eight hours locked in a room with participants armed with wooden weapons. Bernard Gunther, his Esalen colleague, fared better in Pune and wrote
13923-407: The head of a religion, "Rajneeshism". During the Oregon years there was an increased emphasis on Rajneesh's prediction that the world might be destroyed by nuclear war or other disasters in the 1990s. Rajneesh had said as early as 1964 that "the third and last war is now on the way" and frequently spoke of the need to create a "new humanity" to avoid global suicide. This now became the basis for
14076-536: The homeless being brought by the Rajneeshis(followers) from voting. During the selection of Oregon's thirteen alternate delegates to the 1984 Republican National Convention Ma Prem Kavido, a precinct committee member from Rajneeshpuram and member of the Rajneeshpuram city council, and Ma Prem Debal ran, but both were defeated placing 14th and 15th respectively. Four Rajneeshis(followers) from Wasco and Jefferson counties were selected to serve as delegates at
14229-498: The house of a disciple where he resumed his discourses for six months, he returned to Pune in January 1987 and revived his ashram, where he died in 1990. Rajneesh's ashram, now known as OSHO International Meditation Resort, and all associated intellectual property, is managed by the registered Osho International Foundation (formerly Rajneesh International Foundation). Rajneesh's teachings have had an impact on Western New Age thought, and their popularity reportedly increased between
14382-410: The inception of the "religion of Rajneeshism", the basis of which would be fragments taken from various discourses and interviews that Rajneesh had given over the years. In July 1983 Rajneesh Foundation International published a 78-page book entitled Rajneeshism: An introduction to Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and His Religion , in an attempt to systematise Rajneesh's religious teachings and institutionalise
14535-418: The inner circle peaked, a private meeting was convened with Sheela and his personal house staff. According to the testimony of Rajneesh's dentist, Swami Devageet (Charles Harvey Newman), she was admonished during a meeting, with Rajneesh declaring that his house, and not hers, was the centre of the commune. Devageet claimed Rajneesh warned that Sheela's jealousy of anyone close to him would inevitably make them
14688-747: 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 of spiritual enlightenment 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
14841-420: The late '70s, becoming less focused intellectually and featuring an increasing number of ethnic or dirty jokes intended to shock or amuse his audience. On 10 April 1981, having discoursed daily for nearly 15 years, Rajneesh entered a three-and-a-half-year period of self-imposed public silence, and satsangs —silent sitting with music and readings from spiritual works such as Khalil Gibran 's The Prophet or
14994-481: The longest lectures he had given, titled "Communism and Zen Fire, Zen Wind", in which he criticised capitalism and spoke of the possibilities of sannyas in Russia. In these talks he stated that communism could evolve into spiritualism, and spiritualism into anarchism. "I have always been very scientific in my approach, either outside or inside. Communism can be the base. Then spirituality has to be its growth, to provide what
15147-515: The love of his disciples. Gordon opined that what Rajneesh 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". He wrote of a bumper sticker that was popular among sannyasins: "Jesus Saves. Moses Invests. Bhagwan Spends." By the mid-1980s, the movement, assisted by a sophisticated legal and business infrastructure, had created
15300-428: The majority of whom were women. Nearly three-quarters of those surveyed attributed their decisions to become Rajneeshees to their love for Rajneesh or his teachings. 91 per cent 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 per cent stated they were "extremely satisfied" or nearly so, most of them choosing
15453-506: The move to the United States was a plan from Sheela. Sheela and Rajneesh had discussed the idea of establishing a new commune in the US in late 1980, although he did not agree to travel there until May 1981. On 1 June that year he travelled to the United States on a tourist visa, ostensibly for medical purposes, and spent several months at a Rajneeshee retreat centre located at Kip's Castle in Montclair, New Jersey . He had been diagnosed with
15606-600: The movement was reported in 2000 to be making $ 15–45 million annually in the U.S. During elections the Rajneesh's secretary Sheela would bring thousands of homeless people from New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and other cities to live and vote in Rajneeshpuram and Antelope, Oregon . Representative Wayne H. Fawbush , who represented both areas, wanted a special session of the Oregon Legislature to be called to change Oregon's voter registration laws to prevent
15759-514: The movement. Despite this, the book claimed that Rajneeshism was not a religion, but rather "a religionless religion ... only a quality of love, silence, meditation and prayerfulness". Carter comments that the motivation for formalising Rajneesh'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 "religious worker" status for him. People followed
15912-425: The name Acharya Rajneesh ( Acharya means teacher or professor; Rajneesh was a nickname he had acquired in childhood), giving lectures critical of socialism , Gandhi , and institutional religions. He travelled so much that he would find it difficult to sleep on a normal bed, because he had grown used to sleeping amid the rocking of railway coach berths. According to a speech given by Rajneesh in 1969, socialism
16065-453: The next six years numerous court and administrative actions to void the incorporation and cause buildings and improvement to be removed. 1000 Friends publicly called for the city to be "dismantled". A 1000 Friends Attorney stated that if 1000 Friends won, the Foundation would be "forced to remove their sewer system and tear down many of the buildings. At one point, the commune imported large numbers of homeless people from various US cities in
16218-603: The non-lethal poisoning of 751 people. The motivation behind the attack was to rig the local election allowing the Rajneeshees to gain political power in the city and county. The Rajneesh were also discovered to have been running what was called "the longest wiretapping operation ever uncovered". These revelations brought criminal charges against several Rajneesh leaders, including Ma Anand Sheela , personal secretary to Rajneesh, who pleaded guilty to charges of attempted murder and assault. The convictions would eventually lead to
16371-431: The norms of wearing similar clothes and participating in the same activities. The people were allowed to come and go as they pleased as long as they did not hurt anybody. In the last week of September 1985, after Sheela had fled in disgrace, 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
16524-615: The peak of these tensions, a circle of leading members of the Rajneeshpuram Oregon commune was arrested for crimes including an attempted assassination plot to murder U.S. Attorney Charles H. Turner and the United States's first recorded bio-terror attack calculated to influence the outcome of a local election in their favour; these efforts ultimately failed. In the bioterror attack, Salmonella bacteria were deployed to infect salad products in local restaurants and shops, which poisoned several hundred people. The Bhagwan, as Rajneesh
16677-546: The present organisational structure. The next day, sannyasins usually responsible for the editing and transcribing of the talks into book form were told by the management that the tapes of the discourse had been irreparably damaged by technical trouble and were unavailable. After rumours that Sheela had suppressed the discourse grew, Sheela created a transcription of the talk, which was reproduced in The Rajneesh Times. All suggestions that Rajneeshpuram itself had become
16830-487: The press as an extreme over-reaction since condoms were not usually recommended for AIDS prevention because AIDS was considered a homosexual disease at that stage. During his residence in Rajneeshpuram, Rajneesh also dictated three books under the influence of nitrous oxide administered to him by his private dentist: Glimpses of a Golden Childhood , Notes of a Madman and Books I Have Loved . Sheela later stated that Rajneesh took sixty milligrams of valium each day and
16983-407: The ranch". According to court testimony by Ma Ava (Ava Avalos), a prominent disciple, Sheela played associates a tape recording of a meeting she had with Rajneesh about the "need to kill people" to strengthen wavering sannyasins' resolve in participating in her murderous plots, but it was difficult to hear, so Sheela produced a transcript of the tape. "She came back to the meeting and ... began to play
17136-522: The reservations of her co-conspirators." Ava Avalos also said in her testimony to the FBI investigators that "Sheela informed them that Bhagwan was not to know what was going on, and that if Bhagwan were to ask them about anything that would occur, 'they would have to lie to Bhagwan'." Sheela initiated attempts to murder Rajneesh's caretaker and girlfriend, Ma Yoga Vivek, and his personal physician, Swami Devaraj (George Meredith), because she thought that they were
17289-436: The summer of 1989, along with white robes worn for evening meditation and black robes for group leaders. In November 1987, Rajneesh 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. His doctors and former attorney, Philip Toelkes (Swami Prem Niren), hypothesised radiation and thallium in
17442-502: The tape. It was a little hard to hear what he was saying. ... 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." Rajneesh's personal attorney Philip Niren Toelkes, wrote in 2021 that, "As
17595-411: The therapies, allegations of drug use amongst sannyasin began to mar the ashram's image. Some Western sannyasins were alleged to be financing extended stays in India through prostitution and drug-running. A few people later alleged that while Rajneesh was not directly involved, they discussed such plans and activities with him in darshan and he gave his blessing. By the latter 1970s, the Pune ashram
17748-406: The therapists in the Poona 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,
17901-521: The threat of invasion by an 'alien cult ' ". The Oregon legislature passed several bills that sought to slow or stop the development and the City of Rajneeshpuram—including HB 3080, which stopped distribution of revenue sharing funds for any city whose legal status had been challenged. Rajneeshpuram was the only city impacted. The Governor of Oregon , Vic Atiyeh , stated in 1982 that since their neighbors did not like them, they should leave Oregon. In May 1982, United States Senator Mark Hatfield called
18054-637: The time of his death and 2005. Rajneesh (a childhood nickname from the Sanskrit रजनी , rajanee , "night", and ईश , isha , "lord") was born Chandra Mohan Jain, the eldest of 11 children of a cloth merchant, at his maternal grandparents' house in Kuchwada; a small village in the Raisen District of Madhya Pradesh state in India. His parents, Babulal and Saraswati Jain, who were Taranpanthi Jains , let him live with his maternal grandparents until he
18207-441: 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. Given the public nature of Rajneesh's arrival and stay, and the aggressive scrutiny by the INS, Rajneesh would appear to have had to be willing to leave
18360-774: The top score on a scale of 0 to 8. Only 8 per cent stated that they had been as happy before joining. Internationally, by 2005 (and after almost two decades of controversy and a decade of accommodation), Rajneesh's movement had established itself in the market of new religions. His followers have redefined his contributions, reframing central elements of his teaching so as to make them appear less controversial to outsiders. Societies in North America and Western Europe have met them half-way, becoming more accommodating to spiritual topics such as yoga and meditation. The Osho International Foundation (OIF) in Pune runs stress management seminars for corporate clients such as IBM and BMW , with
18513-514: The true intention, the repeated changes in their stated plans looked to many like conscious deception. In May 1982 the residents of Rancho Rajneesh voted to incorporate it as the city of Rajneeshpuram . The conflict with local residents escalated, with increasingly bitter hostility on both sides, and over the following years, the commune was subject to constant and coordinated pressures from various coalitions of Oregon residents. 1000 Friends of Oregon immediately commenced and then prosecuted over
18666-582: The upper echelons of Indian society, Laxmi Thakarsi Kuruwa, a politically well-connected woman who would function as his personal secretary and organisational chief. She became Rajneesh'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 , retained this role for almost 15 years. University of Jabalpur officials forced Rajneesh to resign in 1966. He developed his role as
18819-508: 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 OFI lost its exclusive rights over the trademark OSHO in January 2009. There are a number of smaller centres of the movement in India and around the world, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and
18972-652: The world . Disciples still adopted the traditional mala , and ochre robe, and change of name. At this time, Rajneesh adopted the title "Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh". By 1972, he had initiated 3,800 sannyasins in India. The total for the rest of the world at that time was 134, including 56 from the United States, 16 each from Britain and Germany, 12 each from Italy and the Philippines, 8 in Canada, 4 in Kenya, 2 in Denmark and 1 each from France,
19125-457: The world and run meditation camps, and study groups would investigate the key texts of Tantra , Taoism , Hinduism and other traditions. In one survey conducted at Rajneeshpuram, over 70 per cent of those surveyed listed their religious affiliation as "none"; however, 60 per cent of sannyasins participated in activities of worship several times a month. In late 1981 Rajneesh, through his secretary Ma Anand Sheela (Sheela Silverman), announced
19278-425: The world but without attachment to it. In expressing a more progressive attitude to sexuality he caused controversy in India during the late 1960s and became known as "the sex guru". Rajneesh experienced a spiritual awakening in 1953 at the age of 21. Following several years in academia, in 1966 Rajneesh resigned his post at the University of Jabalpur and began traveling throughout India, becoming known as
19431-451: The world. In 1974, Rajneesh relocated to Pune , where an ashram was established and a variety of therapies, incorporating methods first developed by the Human Potential Movement , were offered to a growing Western following. By the late 1970s, the tension between the ruling Janata Party government of Morarji Desai and the movement led to a curbing of the ashram's development and a back tax claim estimated at $ 5 million. In 1981,
19584-483: The wrong people automatically disappeared and a totally different quality of people started arriving. It worked well. It sorted out well, only those who are ready to dissolve with me, remained. All others escaped. They created space around me. Otherwise, they were crowding too much, and it was very difficult for the real seekers to come closer to me. The crowd disappeared. The word "Bhagwan" functioned like an atomic explosion. It did well. I am happy that I chose it." Shree
19737-462: Was capitalism , science, modern technology, and birth control . He did not regard capitalism and socialism as opposite systems, but considered it disastrous for any country to talk about socialism without first building a capitalist economy. He criticised orthodox Indian religions as dead, filled with empty rituals, oppressing their followers with fears of damnation and promises of blessings. Such statements made him controversial, but also gained him
19890-591: 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. Refuelling in Gander and in Madrid, Rajneesh returned to Bombay, India, on 30 July 1986. In January 1987, Rajneesh returned to the ashram in Pune where he held evening discourses each day, except when interrupted by intermittent ill health. Publishing and therapy resumed and
20043-512: Was 15, leading to a preoccupation with death that lasted throughout much of his childhood and youth. In his school years, he was a gifted and rebellious student, and gained a reputation as a formidable debater. Rajneesh became critical of traditional religion, took an interest in many methods to expand consciousness, including breath control , yogic exercises, meditation, fasting, the occult , and hypnosis. According to Vasant Joshi, Rajneesh read widely from an early age; although he played sports as
20196-510: Was 21 years old, in a mystical experience while sitting under a tree in the Bhanvartal garden in Jabalpur. Having completed his BA in philosophy at D. N. Jain College in 1955, he joined the University of Sagar , where in 1957, he earned his MA in philosophy (with distinction). He immediately secured a teaching position at Raipur Sanskrit College, but the vice-chancellor soon asked him to seek
20349-455: Was Rajneesh Services International Ltd., a company incorporated in the UK but based in Zürich . There were also smaller organisations, such as Rajneesh Travel Corp, Rajneesh Community Holdings, and the Rajneesh Modern Car Collection Trust, whose sole purpose was to deal with the acquisition and rental of Rolls-Royces. By the early 21st century, members of the movement were running stress management seminars for corporate clients such as BMW , and
20502-412: Was a religious teacher. His disciples burned 5,000 copies the book Rajneeshism: An Introduction to Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and His Religion , a 78-page compilation of his teachings that defined "Rajneeshism" as "a religionless religion". He 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". The salmonella attack
20655-455: Was addicted to nitrous oxide . Rajneesh denied these charges when questioned about them by journalists. At the peak of the Rajneeshpuram era, Rajneesh, assisted by a sophisticated legal and business infrastructure, had created a corporate machine consisting of various front companies and subsidiaries. At this time, the three main identifiable entities within his organisation were: the Ranch Church, or Rajneesh International Foundation (RIF);
20808-821: Was also a Russian phenomenon — Prince Kropotkin , Bakunin , Leo Tolstoy . All three were anarchists: no state, no government in the world." He became briefly associated with socialism and two Indian nationalist organisations: the Indian National Army and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh . However, his membership in the organisations was short-lived as he could not submit to any external discipline, ideology, or system. In 1951, aged 19, Rajneesh began his studies at Hitkarini College in Jabalpur . Asked to leave after conflicts with an instructor, he transferred to D. N. Jain College, also in Jabalpur. Having proved himself to be disruptively argumentative, he
20961-548: Was an Indian godman , philosopher , mystic and founder of the Rajneesh movement . He was viewed as a controversial new religious movement leader during his life. He rejected institutional religions , insisting that spiritual experience could not be organized into any one system of religious dogma . As a guru , he advocated meditation and taught a unique form called dynamic meditation . Rejecting traditional ascetic practices, he advocated that his followers live fully in
21114-425: Was an acharya and they were students; they were learning. Now I am no more a teacher and you are not here as students. I am here to impart being. I am here to make you awaken. I am not here to give knowledge, I am going to give you knowing- and that is a totally different dimension.” Calling myself Bhagwan was simply symbolic – that now I have taken a different dimension to work. And it has been tremendously useful. All
21267-547: Was being used as a convenient scapegoat. Others have pointed to the fact that although Sheela had bugged Rajneesh's living quarters and made her tapes available to the U.S. authorities as part of her own plea bargain, no evidence has ever come to light that Rajneesh had any part in her crimes. It was, however, reported that Charles Turner, David Frohnmayer , and other law enforcement officials, who had surveyed affidavits never released publicly and who listened to hundreds of hours of tape recordings, insinuated to him that Rajneesh
21420-447: Was denied and, more importantly, the government stopped issuing visas to foreign visitors who indicated the ashram as their main destination. Besides, Desai's government cancelled the tax-exempt status of the ashram with retrospective effect, resulting in a claim estimated at $ 5 million. Conflicts with various Indian religious leaders aggravated the situation—by 1980 the ashram had become so controversial that Indira Gandhi , despite
21573-465: Was eight years old. By Rajneesh's own account, this was a major influence on his development because his grandmother gave him the utmost freedom, leaving him carefree without an imposed education or restrictions. When he was seven years old, his grandfather died, and he went to Gadarwara to live with his parents. Rajneesh was profoundly affected by his grandfather's death, and again by the death of his childhood girlfriend Shashi from typhoid when he
21726-421: Was guilty of more crimes than those for which he was eventually prosecuted. Frohnmayer asserted that Rajneesh's philosophy was not "disapproving of poisoning" and that he felt he and Sheela had been "genuinely evil". Nonetheless, U.S. Attorney Turner and Oregon Attorney General Frohnmeyer acknowledged that "they had little evidence of (Rajneesh) being involved in any of the criminal activities that unfolded at
21879-526: Was in grave danger if he remained in India, but would receive appropriate medical treatment in America if he needed surgery. Despite the stated serious nature of the situation, Rajneesh never sought outside medical treatment during his time in the United States, leading the Immigration and Naturalization Service to contend that he had a preconceived intent to remain there. Years later, Rajneesh pleaded guilty to immigration fraud, while maintaining his innocence of
22032-536: 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. Sannyasins visited the island, but it was deemed unsuitable after they realised the area was prone to hurricanes. When non-Indians in his party had their visas revoked, he moved on to Kathmandu , Nepal, and then,
22185-570: Was invited to speak at the Second World Hindu Conference, despite the misgivings of some Hindu leaders, his statements raised controversy again when he said, "Any religion which considers life meaningless and full of misery and teaches the hatred of life, is not a true religion. Religion is an art that shows how to enjoy life." He compared the treatment of lower caste shudras and women with the treatment of animals. He characterised brahmin as being motivated by self-interest, provoking
22338-424: Was later to say, "I have been interested in communism from my very childhood...communist literature — perhaps there is no book that is missing from my library. I have signed and dated each book before 1950. Small details are so vivid before me, because that was my first entry into the intellectual world. First I was deeply interested in communism, but finding that it is a corpse I became interested in anarchism — that
22491-588: Was not required to attend college classes at D. N. Jain College except for examinations and used his free time to work for a few months as an assistant editor at a local newspaper. He began speaking in public at the annual Sarva Dharma Sammelan (Meeting of all faiths) held at Jabalpur, organised by the Taranpanthi Jain community into which he was born, and participated there from 1951 to 1968. He resisted his parents' pressure to marry. Rajneesh later said, he became spiritually enlightened on 21 March 1953, when he
22644-510: 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 64,229-acre (259.93 km ) Big Muddy Ranch near Antelope, Oregon, in July 1981, renaming it Rancho Rajneesh and later Rajneeshpuram. Initially, approximately 2,000 people took up residence in the intentional community , and Rajneesh moved there too. The organisation purchased
22797-471: Was released on $ 500,000 bail, and returned to the commune at Rajneeshpuram. On the advice of his lawyers, he later entered an " Alford plea "—a type of guilty plea through which a suspect does not admit guilt, but does concede there is enough evidence to convict him—to one count of having a concealed intent to remain permanently in the U.S. at the time of his original visa application in 1981 and one count of having conspired to have sannyasins enter into
22950-443: Was renamed "Rancho Rajneesh" and Rajneesh moved there on 29 August. Initial local community reactions ranged from hostility to tolerance, depending on distance from the ranch. The press reported, and another study found, that the development met almost immediately with intense local, state, and federal opposition from the government, press, and citizenry. Within months a series of legal battles ensued, principally over land use. Within
23103-443: Was then called, was deported from the United States in 1985 as part of his Alford plea deal following the convictions of his staff and right hand Ma Anand Sheela , who were found guilty of the attack. After his deportation, 21 countries denied him entry. The movement's headquarters eventually returned to Poona (present-day Pune), India. The Oregon commune was destroyed in September 1985. The movement in India gradually received
23256-477: Was to be a worldwide movement, rooted in the affirmation of life, playful, joyful and based on science rather than belief and dogma. It would not rely on ideology and philosophy, but on practices, techniques and methods aiming to offer every individual the chance to discover and choose their own proper religious path; the intent was to lead people to an essential, universal religiousness. The movement would be open to people of all religions or of none, experimenting with
23409-534: Was too small to contain the rapid growth and Rajneesh asked that somewhere larger be found. Sannyasins from around India started looking for properties: those found included one in the province of Kutch in Gujarat and two more in India's mountainous north. The plans were never implemented as mounting tensions between the ashram and the Janata Party government of Morarji Desai resulted in an impasse. Land-use approval
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