Read Osho Life and Death. How Osho died. Basic commandments of Osho

14.04.2024

We welcome you, our dear visitors and subscribers to our website updates. Would you be interested to know how a man born in a small Indian village became famous throughout the world, became famous for his unconventional views on religion and the universe, achieved the highest degree of freedom and spiritual enlightenment, organized an entire commune, acquired a fleet of Rolls Royces and other interesting facts?

If yes, then read on, we will tell you about the great Indian leader, the mystical inspirer who comprehended the highest secrets of life, the founder of a qualitatively new religious and cultural movement, Osho. The biography of this person deserves special attention. Although the great sage himself said that he had no biography, and over the past thirty-two years he was an absolute nothing. In the article you will read the most outstanding, interesting and surprising facts from the life of the great mentor.

Biography of Osho: Osho's golden childhood and youth

In the small Indian village of Kuchvade, in the state of Madhya Predesh, on December 11, 1931, a boy was born, who was named Chandra Mohan Jain. This is the official name of the future spiritual leader. His father was a textile trader. And over the next few years, ten more children were born into their family in succession. Chadra Mohan Jain was the eldest.

In his book “Glimpses of a Golden Childhood” Osho describes his village as a place where there was no post office or railway. He writes that there was a beautiful lake and small hills, the houses were covered with thatch. And the only brick house in the entire village was the one where Rajneesh himself was born, but this house was also small. There was not even a school in the village, for this reason Osho did not study until he was nine years old. And these years were the most valuable. Fifty years later, this village has not changed, there is no hospital or police, but no one gets sick there. Some people from these places have never seen a train or even a car in their lives, but they live quietly, blissfully and happily.

Your first seven years of life Osho lived with his dearly beloved maternal grandfather and grandmother. He was so attached to them that he called his grandmother mom. And he called his real mother “babi”, this term means “older brother’s wife.” His family belonged to the Jain religious community. The Jainism religion preaches non-violence, non-harm to all living things in the world, the main thing is the self-improvement of the soul to achieve omniscience and eternal bliss. It was the relatives who came up with the nickname Rajneesh or Raja for the boy, which means king.

When the boy was seven years old, death took away a very close and beloved person - his grandfather. It was a hard blow. Osho lay motionless on the sofa for three days, hoping to die. When this did not happen, he concluded for himself that death was impossible. The boy began to follow funeral processions in order to understand the essence of death, but this brought him nothing.

And at the age of fifteen he lost his girlfriend (cousin Shashi), she died of abdominal type. These deaths successively had a very strong impact on Rajneesh's mental state. He suffered from depression, headaches, melancholy, and tortured himself by running twenty kilometers a day and long meditations.

Osho studied well at school, but often clashed with teachers, skipped classes, disobeyed and provoked his classmates in every possible way.

Later in his literary works, Osho openly writes that he hates teachers, at least in the old sense. He even beat his teachers. In his youth, he was distinguished by arrogance and selfishness, daring views, and denial of all social norms and rules.

Education and work.

Osho went to school at the age of 9.
At the age of 19, Rajneesh began his studies in philosophy at Hitkarine College, but as a result of a conflict with one of the teachers, he left this educational institution, continuing his studies at Jain College.
At the age of 24, Osho graduated from college, and a couple of years later, having received a diploma with honors, he emerged from the gates of Sagar University with a Master of Philosophy.
Until 1966, Rajneesh taught philosophy to students, at the same time traveling around the world and giving speeches, preaching his views. There were conflicts with the leadership because of its too free atheistic views, denying any conventions, traditions and requirements of social norms.
After 1966, Osho began to actively present the art of meditation to the world, preaching the full joy of physical life and enlightenment through meditation.

Meditation and absolute enlightenment.

From early childhood, Chandra conducted experiments on his own body, studying its endurance and other capabilities. He dived into the whirlpool funnel, reached its source and swam to the surface. I walked along a thin path over the abyss. He claimed that during such experiences his mind stops, and then complete clarity and awakening sets in.

In addition, he practiced various types. And so, as a result of these researches, at the age of 21, the young man first experienced “satori” (a state of absolute enlightenment, happiness). This is an experience that cannot be described in words. Buddha called this state “nirvana.” Osho himself believed that he died that night, and then was reborn again, and now he is a completely different person than he lived before.

Rajneesh experienced the effects of all possible meditations and created a new technique, “dynamic meditation,” which involves the use of loud music and random movements.

Osho first organized such a meditation in 1970 near Bombay. It was an incredible, shocking sight. People ran, jumped, shouted, screamed, and tore off their clothes. The point of this technique was relaxation, that is, in order to completely relax and free your mind, you first had to get a lot of tension, so that in the second part of the meditation, complete relaxation would be an intoxicating contrast.

The connection between sex and superconsciousness.

In 1968, Osho moved to Bombay and was invited to hold a conference on the theme of love. There, the sage proclaims his views on sexuality, explaining that sexual energy, when transformed, develops into meditation and love. And sexual satisfaction contributes to the release of kundalini energy. This is energy “coiled into a snake” that “lives” at the base of the spine in the area of the coccyx.

Osho denies the need to suppress sexual desires because, in his opinion, love and meditation are not possible during forced abstinence. And accordingly, it is not possible to achieve superconsciousness and personal inner freedom.

He had a negative attitude towards marriage and having children, but preached free love and loneliness. He was loyal to drugs and alcohol.
With such views, he provokes anger and indignation of the public, and conversations on the topic of “love” have to be held in a narrower circle in the central park of Mumbai. Subsequently, based on these conversations, Osho’s most popular book, “From Sex to Superconsciousness,” was published. They even began to secretly call him “Sex Guru.”

In 1970, the guru held his meditation camps and initiated the first group of selected people into “neo-sansyan”. They must completely renounce the world, all their property and personal life, and take a vow of celibacy. They wear red clothes, beads and medallions with the image of the mentor himself.

Moving to Pune

In 1974, the great sage moved to live in the city of Pune. There he organizes an ashram (a refuge for his followers). Hundreds of people from all over the world come there to listen to Osho's talks. He touches on the themes of human consciousness, spiritual development, enlightenment, and explains the essence and meaning of the religions of the world. Based on his conversations, more than a thousand books have been published by authors from different countries.

Osho followed the path of forming a new man, Zorba the Buddha. This is the one who, accepting and enjoying all the gifts of life (Zorba), cultivated in himself a higher spiritual consciousness (Buddha). Every day the master held very beautiful conversations with his students and followers.

American commune.

For several years, Osho suffered from asthma and diabetes, his condition worsened significantly in 1981. Then he was taken to the USA for treatment. The great sage fell into silence. Rajneesh's followers organized the Rancho Rajneeshpuram commune on the territory they purchased. Osho lived there for four years with his students.

Gradually, Rajneeshpuram grew to a whole city of about five thousand people. And the desert area has turned into a real green oasis. Every summer, admirers of Osho’s philosophy from all over the world came there. It was a daring, unprecedented attempt to create a transnational communist society. During the five years of its existence, not a single child was born in the commune.

Researchers of the biography of Osho Rajneesh note that by the end of 1982, his fortune reached two hundred million dollars (due to various seminars, meditation practices, conferences and lectures), which were not subject to taxes (Osho hated taxes. There was a case when he was still working professor, he was offered a salary increase, but the sage refused, citing the fact that he did not want to pay taxes). In addition, his fleet consisted of about one hundred Rolls Royces; his followers wanted to increase their number to three hundred and sixty-five, one for each day of the year. The mentor owned four more airplanes and one helicopter.

During the period of silence of the great teacher, the assistant to his personal secretary, Ma Ananda Shila, took over the management of the commune. Osho himself lived as a guest, practically never leaving home and not participating in the management of the commune. In addition, he begins to have more and more health problems.

During Sheela's reign, disagreements and contradictions arise in the commune, causing some students to leave Rajneeshpuram. And the top management, led by Sheela, use illegal methods: drugs, poison, weapons, bioterrorism.

In 1984, Osho suddenly ended his vow of silence and began to talk.

According to one version, Osho himself claims Shila as other followers who disappeared from Rajnipuram. The FBI begins an investigation, finds a cache of weapons, drugs and even a secret passage at the ranch in case of need to escape. According to the testimony of the residents of the commune, all this was arranged by Sheela and her assistants. They were detained in 1985 and later convicted.

Opponents of Rajneesh's teachings adhered to the version that the teacher himself was the organizer of all the chaos that was happening in the commune, and Sheela was his accomplice.

Rajneesh himself is facing 34 charges, of which he admits only two - illegal emigration (he entered America on a tourist visa). Moreover, they are detaining him without a warrant and without an indictment.

In his conversations, the educator was sincerely perplexed at how the US authorities could bring 34 charges against a man who spent four years in captivity, in complete silence. The mentor is sentenced to 10 years of suspended imprisonment, a fine and is required to leave the United States as soon as possible. During the 12 days Osho spent in American prisons, in his opinion, he significantly undermined his health and they even tried to poison him with thallium (a highly toxic heavy metal).

Osho's reputation was ruined, especially in the west. As a result, twenty-one states refused entry to the educator. Rajneesh's organization was classified as a destructive sect. In the USSR, his movement was strictly prohibited.

Trip around the world.

In 1986, the mystic goes on a journey around the world. Having visited the countries of Greece, Switzerland, England, Ireland, Canada, Holland, Uruguay, from most of which he was expelled (except Uruguay), he returns to Bombay. There his followers again began to gather around him in large numbers, and the master returned to Pune, where he organized the International Osho Commune. Conversations, celebrations, and the creation of new meditation practices began again.

Death of Osho

Rajneesh loved the Himalayas, he believed that this was the best place to die. It's wonderful to live there, but it's the best place on earth to die. He sincerely believed that death for him would not be a complete stop, death would be a holiday, a new birth.

Osho left his bodily shell in 1990 in Pune.

According to eyewitnesses, on January 19 he became ill, he refused medical help, his intuition told him that the Universe itself knew when and who should leave. He knew that he was about to die, quietly closed his eyes and left this world.

There are several versions of his death. Some believe that he died of a heart attack, others say that from AIDS, oncology or drugs.
But this is not the main thing, the main thing is that after the death of Rajneesh, the attitude towards his philosophy changed in India and throughout the world. He has come to be considered a very important spiritual teacher, and his teachings are revered and studied in many countries.

The Osho Times International magazine is published twice a month; it is published in nine languages (Russian is not among them). Osho meditation centers and ashrams continue to operate in many countries around the world. In Moscow there are several Osho meditation centers (for example, the “Winds” center), founded by his followers.

Names during life.

During his life, the great mentor changed his names several times.

Basic commandments of Osho.

During his lifetime, Osho was against any rules or postulates. Once, when asked by a journalist about the Ten Commandments, the sage formulated the following for fun:

Never follow any commandments unless they come from yourself.
Life is the only god, and there are no other gods.
The truth is within you, there is no need to look for it in the outside world.
Love is nothing more than prayer.
The path to realizing the truth is to become nothing. Nothingness is the goal of enlightenment.
You need to live here and now.
Wake up. Live consciously.
There is no need to swim - you need to float.
Try to die in every moment, so that in every moment you can be new.
There is no need to look for anything. You need to stop and see. It is what it is.

The main ideas of his movement are the third, seventh, ninth and tenth commandments. It’s worth thinking about; they really have a deep meaning.

This is just a brief description of the main stages of the life and spiritual activity of the great Osho. He died, but his works and the works of his followers around the world continue to exist and attract more and more people with their magical texts.

We wish you pleasant reading, and we, in turn, will delight you with new interesting articles. Subscribe to updates on our site, share with friends.

May peace and goodness be with you!

"Dear friends! Dear companions along the way!

January 16, 1990 Osho was sitting with us, as usual, in ten minutes of daily meditation, when the drum sounded, signaling the end of the meditation, opening my eyes, I saw that Osho’s head, as never before, had bowed to His left shoulder. The thought instantly flashed: “I hope He didn’t leave the body!?” After a few seconds, He opened His eyes and slowly rose from His chair. Then, more slowly than usual, He did a namaste. Suddenly I had the feeling that He was saying goodbye to us for the last time ... when He looked into my eyes, the words flashed independently of me: “Good by Osho, thank You.” After He left, I was in some inexplicable state, I didn’t know if I would see him again.. .
That same evening, Osho dictated the words and asked them to be written on His samadhi:
Never born
Never died
just visited this planet earth
between December 11, 1931 and January 19, 1990

The next evening, January 17th, when we gathered as usual in Buddha Hall , they announced to us that Osho was not able to sit with us in meditation and would only come out to greet us, and asked that we all greet Him with open eyes (usually, many sit or dance with their eyes closed).
Again, very slowly, He walked across the podium, greeting His sannyasins, but this time, as if nothing had happened.
January 18th He didn't come out at all. Amrito, Osho's personal physician, said that Osho would meditate with us sitting in his room.
Gradually, gradually He prepared us for His departure...

January 19th, at 7 pm, Amrito, announced to everyone gathered in Buddha Hall that Osho had left his body at 5 pm, and that according to His wishes, the body would be taken to Buddha Hall for ten minutes and then taken to the cremation ground. “In His death, He was just as you would imagine - magnificent!” said Amrito; “And when I began to cry, He looked at me and said - No, no, this is not the way - Let's see our loved one off Master in a way that corresponds to the life of a man who lived his life as richly as anyone has ever lived."
At 8 o'clock, Osho's body was taken to the Buddha Hall... Then, to the music and singing, thousands of His snow-white sannyasins carried the body of their Master to the cremation site.
Saying goodbye to us and this planet for the last time, His body burst into flames.
There was dead silence... thousands of hearts beat as one heart...
The music started playing and gradually everyone began to sing along... tears and laughter merged into one inexplicable whole... we will no longer see Him, His eyes, His smile, His graceful body that greeted us day after day...
But, sitting next to the flaming body, completely devastated and at the same time filled with some inexplicable joy that He had finally gotten rid of his poisoned and sick body, I suddenly looked into the sky full of stars - sparks rushing to the stars and disappearing in the open space - where do they all disappear? Where has our Master gone? And suddenly a feeling, a very strong feeling - He has not gone anywhere, He is here now, He has poured into all of us, exactly as He promised, He is everywhere...

“Remember, when I leave, you will lose nothing. You might even get something you never thought possible. When I leave, where can I go? I'll be here in the wind, in the ocean. And if you love me, if you have trust, you will find a thousand and one ways to feel me. In moments of silence, you will suddenly feel my presence. Since I am free from the body, my consciousness will be in the entire universe. Then you don't have to look for me. Wherever you are, with your thirst, your love, you will find me in your heart, in its beating." Osho

The next day, as usual, we gathered in Buddha Hall and sat in meditation with Him. His presence in the hall was unusually strong... and it's not just words...
Since then, every day, we continue our ten-minute meditation with the Master, after which a video of His previous lectures is shown.
Hundreds of people come to the ashram every day from all over the world, many who have never seen Osho in the body continue to take sannyas, our meditativeness has deepened much, our consciousness has increased.
I personally experience His presence as a tremendous energy of love that spreads not only in Buddha Hall, but throughout the planet and the entire universe.
He said many times that “Love is my message to humanity” and only now, I began to understand what He means...
And the feeling that Osho’s death is the beginning of something new and inexplicably beautiful! Not only for His sannyasins, not only for all those who are deeply connected with Him, but for all humanity.
The commune that He left is a priceless gift for all those who are connected by their love for the Master, who work on themselves and on the growth of their consciousness, where the path is full of love, songs and dances.

Osho's last words: “I leave you my dream.”

Now, everything is in our hands, and if we have correctly understood His message, then we cannot remain ungrateful...
He dedicated his life to us, as He himself said:
“My work with myself has long ended, I linger here on this shore only for you...”
“Before you leave this planet, make it a more beautiful place to live...”
“Don't be afraid, don't worry about what will happen to my words when I leave. I will not leave until I sow the seeds of these words in you. The day I leave, your responsibility to live will become greater - to live me, to become me. My leaving my body will be a response in you that, having left one body, I can be in all your bodies. And I am absolutely sure, incredibly happy that I have chosen the right people who will be my books, my temples and synagogues. It all depends on you, because who will spread me throughout the world? Osho

Our Master's Samadhi is now in a beautiful room recently built for him. This room used to be Chuang Tzu's auditorium, where Osho gave evening darshans and lectures for many years. When Amrito asked His kula to place His ashes, Osho replied: “Just place it under my bed.”
Now, in His samadhi, 3 daily meditations take place, each lasting an hour. Nothing has changed in the Ashram, only another magnificent place for meditation has been added.

“I am an incurable dreamer. Not a single miracle has ever happened until you make it a reality. I want this ashram to be the first synthesis between religiosity and a scientific approach to life. This will fulfill my dream that a person is internally and externally undivided. When I say that this will happen, it is not “I” who is saying it, I am simply a means in the hands of existence. I know for sure that when it comes from my absolute emptiness, it is a message from Being itself. This will happen. Nobody can stop this. And this is the only hope for a new person and a new humanity.”

All Western European countries refused to accept Osho - now there are no barriers to him - He is now in all countries of the world, in our bodies, in our hearts, no country in the world can now refuse Him! And all that He offers the world through us is meditation, love, laughter and joy.
With eternal love and gratitude to your beloved Master,

Ma Jivan Mada - Jivan Mada, Osho Commune International, 17 Koregaon Park, Poona 411-001, India

Who is Osho? Bhagavan Shree Rajneesh is perhaps the most prominent spiritual figure in India, he managed to create an entire army of followers, achieve worldwide success and the same worldwide censure, and also publish more than 600 books in 30 languages over 25 years of spiritual practice.

The success and recognition of this Indian mystic can be compared with another Indian religious figure - Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who was the spiritual mentor of the Beatles.

Whatever may be said about Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and whatever epithets may be bestowed upon him, he is truly a man who has written his name in bold italics in the modern history of mankind.

Throughout his life, Osho was a rebel; he saw politics in religion, a clear utopia in the structure of modern society, and a trap for the individual in family life.

When writing this article, I took most of the information about Osho’s life from Wikipedia, many thanks to this open library for free information.

Osho, biography and life path

In this part of the post, I will briefly talk about the biography and life path of Osho, from his birth to death. Below you can find out about each period of his life in more detail.

Biography and life path

date	Event
December 11, 1931	(Rajneesh Chandra Mohan is his real name).
March 21, 1953	On this day, he was 21 years old.
1957 - 1966
1968
April 1970
1974
1981	and organizes a commune there
November 14, 1985
1986
January 19, 1990

Childhood and first experiences in meditation

Osho was born on December 11, 1931 into a Jain family, in the remote village of Kuchwada in the province of Madhya Pradesh, in Central India. The real name that his parents gave him is Rajneesh Chandra Mohan. Rajneesh spent his entire childhood with his grandparents; his parents took him in only after their death.

From early childhood, Rajneesh experimented with his body and consciousness, not knowing that this would lead him to the invention of a new path in meditation and a whole army of fans, but all this was yet to come.

Rajneesh experienced his first moments of unconscious meditation in childhood, when he jumped from a high bridge into a river. He had many chances to smash his skull into pieces, but with amazing consistency all the experiments went smoothly. Similar experiences, experienced repeatedly, aroused interest in meditation and prompted the young man to look for more accessible and less safe ways to go to nirvana.

Osho himself recalled his childhood experiences as follows:

There were several moments when the mind stopped, at the same time there was an unusually clear perception of everything around, one’s presence in it and complete clarity and separateness of consciousness.

Enlightenment Osho

On March 21, 1953, Osho realized that he woke up as a completely different person, the person who was on March 20, 1953 was no longer there.

Osho himself recalls the following:

That night I died and I was reborn. But the person who is reborn has nothing in common with the one who died. This is not a continuous thing... The person who died died completely, there was nothing left of him... not even a shadow. The ego died totally, completely... On that day, March 21, a person who had lived many, many lives, millennia, simply died. Another being, completely new, completely unrelated to the old, began to exist... I became free from the past, I was torn out of my history, I lost my autobiography.

Osho's university years, studies and teaching activities

The amazing enlightenment that happened to Osho on March 21, 1953 did not affect his everyday life in any way. Rajneesh, as before, continued his studies in the philosophy department. Enlightenment did not in any way affect his diploma with honors, which he received in 1957 after graduating from Saugar University.

A few years later, he himself taught philosophy at the University of Jabalpur; they say that students loved him for his sincerity and humor. During his short teaching career, Osho constantly traveled around India, trying to better understand the spiritual needs of its people.

Nine years later (in 1966), Rajneesh left the university department and devoted himself to spreading the art of meditation and promoting his own religion. His religion lies in a certain vision of a new man - the man of Zorba the Buddha.

Zorba the Buddha is a man who combines the best features of the East and the West, he is able to enjoy physical life and is able to sit silently in meditation.

First dynamic meditations in Bombay

Since 1968, Bhagawan Shree Rajneesh has been living in Bombay, Western seekers of Eastern truths began to gradually come to him, many were greatly impressed by their meetings with the new guru. Most of the guests in the first wave were specialists in the field of therapy and representatives of other movements who wanted to take the next step in their energetic and spiritual growth.

In Bombay, Osho began to practice so-called “dynamic meditations,” which are based on the use of music and body movements with different activities. The guru combined elements of yoga, Sufism and Tibetan traditions; this practice made it possible to use the principle of energy transformation through the awakening of activity and subsequent calm observation.

In April 1970, at a meditation camp near Bombay, the guru officially introduced the practice of dynamic meditation to journalists. After the demonstration, the journalists were gripped by horror and Bhagawan Shree Rajneesh hastened to explain everything they had seen, but many were not convinced by his words.

Some journalists described what was happening in Osho ashrams like this:

Meditation in Rajneesh ashrams includes specific dances when participants are blindfolded, undressed and put themselves into an ecstatic trance. Hundreds of thousands of residents of Madras, Bombay and Calcutta gathered for his lectures, which ended with mass shaking and tearing of clothes. Many times such “dances” in Rajneesh groups, for example in the USA, ended in group sex.

The guru himself very simply explained all the bacchanalia that happens during his meditations:

For many years I have worked continuously with the methods of Lao Tzu, for many years I have continuously studied direct relaxation. It was very simple for me and I decided that it would be just as simple for anyone. But practice has shown that this is not so. At first I said “relax.” My students understood the meaning of this word, but true relaxation did not occur. Then it's time to come up with new methods of meditation that first create tension - maximum tension. The tension should be so strong that you become simply crazy. And then I say “relax.”

Establishment of Osho Ashram in Pune

In 1974, the Osho movement was gaining momentum and new areas were required for meditation and outreach to the population. By that time, hundreds of thousands of truth seekers from all over the world come to the already famous guru. And in the same year, Osho's headquarters appeared in Pune, at OSHO Commune International, 17 Koregaoh Park, Poona 411011 MS India.

It is in Pune that famous seekers of truths and movie stars (Diana Ross, Ruth Carter Stapleton, Jimmy Carter's sister and others) come to preach. In his conversations, the mystic touches on many aspects of human existence and consciousness; many speeches concerning existing religions become truly rebellious. Osho mixes everything together, Buddha and Buddhist teachings, Sufi masters, Jewish mystics, Indian classical philosophy, Christianity, yoga, tantra, Zen, and immediately denies the need for any of these religions and beliefs, offering his own new religion in return.

The turning point year for the first ashram in Pune was 1981; at the beginning of the year, an enhanced screening regime for visitors was introduced in the ashram, due to constant threats towards the guru. In 1981, a store is set on fire and explosions are heard near the ashram. Local residents show dissatisfaction with the ashram and its visitors, and the government of Indira Gandhi deprives the Osho Ashram of the right to be considered a religious organization.

Strange things are going on around the ashram and the Pune police are investigating multiple violations, finding more and more evidence of the involvement of the ashram administration in them (unpaid taxes, misappropriation of donations for charitable purposes, numerous thefts and criminal cases committed by members of the ashram).

Without waiting for the trial to be completed, Osho received a US visa (June 1, 1981 at the US Consulate in Bombay) and, with 17 of his most devoted students, flew to New York. In the application form for an American visa, the guru indicated that he needed to receive medical treatment in the USA. In the future, this fact will be one of the grounds for his expulsion from the States.

Moving to the USA, founding the Osho commune in America

Already on July 10, 1981, the American subsidiary of Osho, Chidvilas Rajneesh Meditation Center, registered in Montclair (New Jersey), acquired the Big Magdy Ranch from an investment company from Amarillo (Texas) for $6,000,000, part of the amount (1.5 million) the transaction was paid for in cash.

The territory of the new city that Osho is building occupies more than 100 square miles of property, and part of the land (14,889 acres) was leased from the American Bureau of Land Management. Despite the strictness of American legislation, the city-settlement of Rajneeshpuram appears - the city of dreams. The city’s status is quite legal and admirers of the guru from all over the world are heading to the new home.

Most of the buildings in the city of Rajneeshpuram were built with the hands and money of the teacher’s followers, of whom more than 5,000 people lived in the commune. Very quickly the city had the most necessary things, an airfield, a comfortable hotel with a casino, shopping streets, restaurants, etc.

Over the several years of existence of the Rajneeshpuram commune, it became the most revolutionary experiment in creating a transnational spiritual commune and partial renunciation from the outside world. More than 15,000 people from all over the world came to regular festivals in Rajneeshpuram, and Osho’s own country became prosperous with a population of more than five thousand people.

Over time, the discontent of the local population (whom no one cared about) and the government only grew. Many questions accumulated for the spiritual leader, which he was in no hurry to answer. The main claims that the authorities made against the guru were simple and within the framework of US laws. For example, the clause of the Constitution on the separation of state and church was violated, and many buildings in the city were not properly approved. Additional factors that aggravated the fate of the city of Rajneeshpuram and Osho himself were strange deaths in the vicinity of the city, but there were no obvious traces that would indicate the guru’s involvement in these deaths.

The guru didn’t come up with anything smarter than taking a vow of silence and kept it for four whole years. During his silence, he entrusted all matters of running the community to his faithful follower Sheila Silverman. Sheila turned out to be a very economical woman and, having managed the settlement for a while, disappeared in an unknown direction, taking with her more than $55,000,000.

Before her disappearance, Sheila managed to be very rude to local farmers with promises of physical violence against unwanted people and other delights; the farmers probably got scared and soon a whole landing party of FBI men appeared in the dream city. FBI employees discovered several weapons warehouses and drug production, which served as a compelling reason for the arrest of the religious leader.

The arrest and further trial, which took place in Portland (Oregon), ended on November 14, 1985, not in Osho’s favor. The religious leader was found guilty on two counts in a federal indictment. The decision was made to deport Bhagawan Shree Rajneesh from the country, which is probably why the religious leader received a purely symbolic punishment: ten years of suspended imprisonment and a $300,000 fine. The government ordered Osho to leave the United States within five days. Under the careful supervision of FBI agents, the guru leaves the United States.

Return of Osho to Pune

Returning back to India, the guru wished to travel around the world and possibly find a new home. Most countries did not want to see a religious figure on their soil and spoke directly about it, others very quickly deported him. Having completed this amazing quest, Osho returns to India, where he is still loved and expected.

In mid-1986, the guru revived the fading community in Pune and breathed new life into it. This is how the “Multiversity” appeared in Pune, which is the name the religious leader chose as the general name for his teachings and practices.

Osho Multiversity offers hundreds of seminars, groups and courses presented in its nine faculties:

School of Centering;
School of Creative Arts;
International Academy of Health;
Academy of Meditation;
School of Mysticism;
Institute of Tibetan Pulsations;
Transformation Center;
Zen Martial Arts School;
Academy of Games and Zen Training.

At the time the teacher returned to Pune, there were already about 300 similar centers in the world; they were located in 22 countries, including the USA, India, England, France, Canada, Japan, Russia, etc. However, such high competition did not become an obstacle and the new ashram in Pune began to fill with fresh followers.

Death of Osho in an ashram in Pune

Shortly before his death (at the end of December 1988), Osho announced that he no longer wished to be called "Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh", and in February 1989 he took the name "Osho Rajneesh", which was shortened to "Osho". He also demanded that all brands previously branded "RAJNEESH" be rebranded internationally as "OSHO".

At the end of the 80s, the religious leader’s health deteriorated significantly and he could no longer cope without a personal doctor, but despite his progressive illness he tried to go to his students for “meditations of music and silence.” The guru's rare conversations are held less and less often, during which he tells his followers about his mental transformation and the fact that Gautama Buddha settled in his body, that the Americans are to blame for the causes of his illness, that one or more people at the evening meetings subjected him to some form of evil magic.

Osho died on January 19, 1990 at the age of 58; the true cause of the guru’s death was never determined; immediately after his death, the body was displayed for farewell and then cremated.

Osho's teachings, basic commandments on how to be outside all teachings

Osho’s teachings are as incomprehensible as the person himself; his teachings contain a little bit of everything. Osho's teachings are a chaotic mix made up of elements of Buddhism, yoga, Taoism, Sikhism, Greek philosophy, Sufism, European psychology, Tibetan traditions, Christianity, Hasidism, Zen, Tantrism and God knows what else.

Osho formed four paths of development for followers of his teachings:

Independent analysis of events, resistance to the influence of any ideology and independent resolution of one’s own psychological problems;
Acquiring one’s own experience of “living life to the fullest”, abandoning life “by books”, searching for “the causes of suffering, joy, dissatisfaction”;
The need to bring out one’s internal and psychologically destructive “hidden desires” in the process of self-realization;
“Enjoy simple things... - a cup of tea, silence, conversation with each other, the beauty of the starry sky.”

The teachings do not impose any postulates on anyone, it only helps to be outside of all teachings.

Here is what Osho himself said about this:

I am the founder of the only religion, other religions are lies. Jesus, Mohammed and Buddha simply seduced people... My teaching is based on knowledge, on experience. People don't need to believe me. I explain my experience to them. If they find it right, they accept it. If not, then they have no reason to believe in him.

"Ten Commandments" Osho

The guru was against any commandments, but in a humorous conversation with journalists he highlighted several points:

Never fulfill anyone’s commandment until it also comes from you;
There is no other god but life itself;
The truth is in you, don't look for it anywhere else;
Love is prayer;
Becoming nothing is the door to truth. Nothing in itself is a way, a goal and an achievement;
Life here and now;
Live awakened;
Don't swim - float;
Die in every moment, so that you can be new in every moment;
Don't look. What is, is. Stop and see.

Sex guru Osho, or how journalists came up with everything themselves

The stigma of “Osho’s sex guru” appeared largely thanks to journalists, because they were the ones who could look into meditation lessons and tell the whole world what was going on there. The teacher himself did not give sex such a significant role in a person’s spiritual life, nor did he hush up this fact. The Guru did not divide the manifestations of life into positive and negative, like many Hindu cults; in his teaching the very concept of good and evil is blurred.

Most of the sexual liberties in his teachings came from tantra, and from there he took much of his tantric teaching on the “integration of sexuality and spirituality.” Tantra existed in India long before Osho appeared and no one paid such close attention to it.

Osho said the following about sex and sexual orgies:

Develop your sexuality, don't suppress yourself! Love is the beginning of everything. If you missed the beginning, you won't have the end... I don't encourage orgies, but I don't forbid them either. Everyone decides for themselves.

Osho's financial status

Osho said the following about money and his success:

I am the guru of the rich. There are enough religions that deal with the poor, leave it to me to deal with the rich.

By the mid-1980s, Osho's net worth was approximately $200,000,000, tax-free. In addition to the usual things typical of all wealthy people, the spiritual leader had four airplanes, one helicopter and 91 luxury cars.

The guru had a special view of cars of the world famous Rolls-Royce brand and said the following:

In India, one Mercedes caused a stir, but in America it took almost a hundred Rolls-Royces to achieve the same effect.

Admirers of their guru fully supported Osho’s aspirations for luxury cars and spoke flatteringly about Osho’s love for Rolls-Royces:

We wish he had a 365 Rolls Royce. A new car for every new day of the year.

200,000,000 dollars, several airplanes and a whole Rolls-Royce car dealership were of no particular interest to Osho and did not evoke emotions, like everything material in this world, but for the daily tour of his flock he chose a Rolls-Royce.

Living in the USA, at exactly 14:30 Osho got behind the wheel and slowly, solemnly drove along a living wall of his fans lined up along the edges of the “road of nirvana” he named. Fans of the guru considered it a pleasure to see their spiritual leader, and humbly threw pink petals under the wheels of his car.

What Osho left after his death

During his lifetime, his teachings, his practice and his person were very revolutionary for their time, and Osho was shunned by society. This is how they treated the guru in many progressive countries of the world; he looked at it as usual things. But after his death, society’s attitude towards him changed, in some countries the changes were dramatic.

Teaching

After the death of the guru, the attitude towards his person and teachings in his homeland changed significantly. The teachings of the spiritual figure have become part of popular culture in India and Nepal. In 1991, one of the Indian newspapers chose Osho as a person who changed the fate of the country, putting him on a par with Buddha and Mahatma Gandhi.

Arrangements were made to preserve records of all his discourses. A complete collection of his works is housed in the Library of the Parliament of India in New Delhi.

There are more than 300 meditation and information centers founded by his followers around the world. Dynamic meditation and kundalini meditation have spread beyond meditation centers and are used in many groups not led by sannyasins, and are sometimes practiced in schools and universities.

The Osho International Foundation regularly conducts stress management seminars for large corporate clients (IBM, BMW, etc.). Osho therapy has gained recognition and is being used as a new approach to psychotherapy.

Books

The Guru wrote more than 300 books during his life, but only after his death Osho’s books became in demand and gained great popularity. More than 49 international publishing houses began to print the works of the spiritual leader in incredible editions. More than 3,000,000 copies are produced and sold annually.

In his works, Osho touched on a variety of topics, the most popular of which are: spiritual practices, creativity, love and relationships between people. Each book by Osho is full of parting words, secrets and meanings; you just have to read them carefully and listen to the author.

Here are the most popular books:

Meditation. The first and last freedom;
Creation;
Tantra - Book of Secrets;
Book of Wisdom;
Love. Freedom. Loneliness;
Bravery;
Awareness;
Intuition. Knowledge beyond logic;
Medicine for the soul. Collection of practices;
Master: about the transformation of an intellectual into an enlightened one.

International Meditation Resort in Pune

One of the attractions of India can be called the Osho Ashram in Pune; the ashram is a visited International Meditation Resort. The meditation center teaches various spiritual methods and practices, so the ashram bills itself as a spiritual oasis and “sacred space.”

The ashram in Pune is often visited by famous politicians, media workers and modern IT gurus; the Dalai Lama and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg have visited the meditation center.

Famous Quotes

Proof that Osho has had a significant impact on modern society are the quotes you can often see on social networks. People actively publish on their pages quotes from the books of a religious figure, from his speeches, often initially without knowing who their author is.

In this part of the post I will give the most striking quotes about life and love. If you have your favorite sayings of this philosopher and mystic, share them in the comments to the post.

Osho quotes about life

What difference does it make who is stronger, who is smarter, who is more beautiful, who is richer? After all, in the end, all that matters is whether you are a happy person or not?

The reasons are within ourselves, outside there are only excuses...

How mercantile you are, my friend. Remember: everything that money can buy is already cheap!

The only person on earth we can change is ourselves.

To rise you must fall, to gain you must lose.

Osho Quotes about Love

Love knows nothing of duty.

Love has nothing to do with relationships, love is a state.

To love is to share; to be greedy is to accumulate.

Greed only wants and never gives, but love only knows how to give and does not ask for anything in return, it shares without conditions.

Love is the only real thing that is worth experiencing.

While writing this post, information about the life path of Osho (Bhagawan Shree Rajneesh) was obtained from Wikipedia.

A place of death:

Chandra Mohan Rajneesh ( चन्द्र मोहन रजनीश , sometimes erroneously "Rajanesh", - ) - famous religious figure, founder of the mystical, since the early seventies, better known as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh ( भगवान श्री रजनीश ) and later as Osho(ओशो) or Ravshan(गोहनीश्र). In many countries, Osho's followers are classified as.

Biography

Was born Chandra Mohan Jain ( चन्द्र मोहन जैन ) years in the small village of Kushwade (state, central) in the family of a textile merchant. For the first seven years, he was raised in the family of his mother’s parents.

“It was like an explosion. That night I became empty and then filled. I stopped being and became being itself. That night I died and was born again. But the one who was born had nothing in common with the one who died. There was no connection. I had not changed in appearance, but there was nothing in common between the old me and the new me. The one who perishes perishes to the end, nothing remains of him.”

In the 60s, under the name Acharya Rajneesh ( आचार्य acharya- teacher, Rajneesh- a nickname given to him by his family), traveled around India, criticizing and. In 1962, he began leading 3-10 day meditation camps. In the year, he left teaching.

Stay in the USA 1981-1985

Osho's followers bought a ranch for $5.75 million Big Muddy area of 64 thousand acres in Central Oregon, on the territory of which the settlement of Rajneeshpuram (now Antelope) was founded. In August, Osho moved to Rajneeshpuram, where he lived as a guest of the commune.

During the four years that Osho lived there, Rajneeshpuram's popularity grew. So, about 3,000 people came to the festival held there in 1983, and about 7,000 people from Europe, Asia, South America and Australia in 1987. The city now has a school, post office, fire and police departments and a transport system of 85 buses.

At the same time, contradictions with local authorities regarding construction permits intensified, as well as in connection with calls for violence from residents of the commune. . They intensified in connection with statements by Osho's secretary and press secretary, Ma Anand Shell. Osho himself continued to remain silent and was practically isolated from the life of the commune. Shella took over the management of the commune.

Internal contradictions also intensified within the commune. Many of Osho's followers, who did not agree with the regime established by Shella, left her. Faced with difficulties, the board of the commune, led by Schella, also used criminal methods. So, in 1984, the food of several restaurants in a neighboring town The Dallas were added to test whether the results of upcoming elections could be influenced by reducing the number of people eligible to vote. On Schell's orders, Osho's personal physician and two Oregon government officials were also poisoned. The doctor and one of the employees became seriously ill, but eventually recovered.

After Shella and her team hastily left the commune in September 1985, Osho called a press conference at which he provided information about their crimes and asked the prosecutor's office to initiate an investigation. As a result of the investigation, Shella and many of her employees were detained and later convicted. Even though Osho himself was not involved in criminal activities, his reputation (especially in the West) suffered significant damage.

On October 23, 1985, a federal jury in closed session considered an indictment against Osho in connection with violations of immigration laws. On October 28, 1985, after a flight to Osho, he was detained without an arrest warrant (at this time charges had not yet been officially filed), citing Osho’s attempt to leave the United States. For the same reason, Osho was denied bail. On the advice of his lawyers, Osho signed Alford plea- a document according to which the accused does not plead guilty, but agrees that there is evidence sufficient to convict him. As a result, Osho was given a suspended sentence and deported from the United States.

In November 1987, Osho stated that during the 12 days he spent in US prisons, he was subjected to poisoning, on which he slept and was poisoned.

Osho's teachings

In presenting Osho's views on the true nature of man and methods of addressing it, one should be very vigilant and aware; Rajneesh did not write books, but conveyed his teachings in the form of conversations, each time addressed to a specific audience or even a specific person. It is not surprising that with such a contextual presentation, some of the material was framed in a new way each time, and in some conversations one can find a significant difference from what was said before - for example, Osho could say to one person: “The world is static,” and to another, “The world is constantly is changing!” In this way, he tried to bring a person to a “balance point” so that he would not be one-sided, but would always be in search. Many people are puzzled by the contradictions in Osho's conversations. This is what he says about this: “My friends are surprised: “Yesterday you said one thing, and today you said something else. Why should we obey?" I can understand their bewilderment. They grabbed only words. Conversations have no value for me, only the emptiness between the words I utter is what is valuable. Yesterday I opened the doors to my emptiness with the help of words alone, today I open them, resorting to other words. The emptiness that appears between the words is what is important to me. The doors can be wooden, gold, silver; maybe they are decorated with patterns of leaves and flowers. They will be simple or ornamented. none of this matters. Only the open door, the empty space, has meaning. For me, words are just a tool to help open the emptiness."

Osho on Joy

Singing and dancing are undoubtedly the language of joy, but you can learn a language without knowing joy. This is what all of humanity does: people learn only gestures, empty gestures.

"What is the reason for your joy. Teacher?" Osho explains this quote as follows: Joy has no reason, joy cannot have a reason. If joy has a reason, it is not joy at all; joy can only be causeless, unconditional. There is a reason for illness, but for health?.. Health is natural. Ask the doctor: "Why am I healthy?" - he won’t answer. He can answer the question: "Why am I sick?" - for illness has a cause. He can diagnose the cause, determine why you are sick, but no one can find the reason why a person is healthy. Health is natural, health is the way it should be. Illness is something that shouldn't be. Illness means something is wrong. When everything is in order, a person is healthy. When everything is in tune, a person is healthy, there is no reason. "

Osho movement

Rajneesh completely disapproved of any associations, including religious ones, and repeatedly warned his followers against creating “follower” type organizations; he recommended, in the event of his death, to immediately go in search of a “living Master.”

However, this order was not fulfilled, and after the departure of the Master, the “new sannyas” organized many Osho centers around the world; the most famous of these is the "meditation resort" in Pune, India. The centers offer group meditations - developed by both Rajneesh and his students.

Followers of Osho in Russia

With the beginning of perestroika, many of Osho’s books were translated and published in Russian.

Sources

Links

Enlightenment Osho
Osho (Russian)
Russian Osho portal All information about Osho in Russian.
All Osho's books in one file Library Koob.ru
All Osho's books are in Russian in the Library of the Hindustan website. RU
Lotus Library (ru) More than 50 books are available in electronic form.
116 books + 4 unique ones, 42 films (9 DVDs), 221 large photos of Osho.
Osho Library (ru) More than 90 books in electronic format.
Osho books for pocket computers. (ru) About 40 books.
Osho RebelliousSpirit.com (en) Osho meditations in different parts of the world. Sannyas magazine. Directory of Osho sites.
Osho Zen Tarot (online fortune telling) is a comprehensive Zen game. Bhagavan Shri Rajneesh (OSHO). Biographies, books, photographs. (Russian)
Osho - photographs, books, everything about Osho. (Russian)
Osho forum (forum about Osho, meditation and inner search) (Russian)

Criticism

Chapter 11 from the book by A.L. Dworkin's "Sect Studies", dedicated in particular to the cult of Osho Rajneesh
The cult of Rajneesh (Osho) in the directory of the Novosibirsk Center for Sectarianism in the name of St. Alexander Nevsky

Author	Book	Description	Year	Price	Book type
Osho Rajneesh	Life after? Transurfing practice. The Art of Living and Dying (number of volumes: 3)	Life after? Scientific evidence of the immortality of the soul. If we did not experience such fear at the thought of death, if we were confident that our “I” would continue its path after death... - All, (format: 84x108/32, 288 pp.) -	2017	806	paper book
Osho Rajneesh	Zen is the lightness of being. Death of ego is life in love	Osho, also known as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, is the enlightened master of our time. "Osho" means "like the ocean", "blessed". Here is a collection of philosophical conversations from Osho on the master’s docks... - IPL, (format: 60x90/16, 304 pp.)	2016	199	paper book
Osho	Blue Book of Meditations. A practical guide to Osho meditations	The Blue Book of Meditations is the magic wand that will save you on days of fatigue, depression and apathy. In the book you will find more than 40 techniques and meditations that open the doors to the source... - WHOLE, (format: 60x90/16, 304 pages) The path of the mystic	2016	367	paper book
Osho	Clay Lamps: 60 Parables and Stories That Will Light Your Heart. Osho therapy. Book of Mirdad (number of volumes: 3)	"Clay Lamps: 60 Parables and Stories That Will Set Your Heart on Fire". This book is one of a kind. Osho wrote it himself. He not only gave spiritual lectures, but also composed short stories and... - All, (format: 84x108/32, 288 pp.) -	2017	853	paper book
Osho	The art of living and dying	Abstract Only those who have gotten rid of the fear of death have mastered the art of living. This is Osho’s position, and, you see, there is a grain of truth here: after all, you cannot enjoy life in its entirety if... - WHOLE, (format: 84x108/32, 288 pp.) Library of Church Fathers and Teachers	2014	236	paper book
Osho	An unknown journey	This book contains a series of conversations by Osho about the journey that a person embarks on with the arrival of death. “Sometimes it can look crazy - that a person should throw away all attachments, even attachment... - Astrel-SPb, AST, (format: 84x108/32, 288 pp.)	2009	127	paper book
Osho	An unknown journey. Beyond the last taboo	This book contains a series of conversations by Osho about the journey that a person embarks on with the arrival of death. `Sometimes it can look crazy - that a person should throw away all attachments, even attachment... - IG "All", (format: 84x108/32, 288 pp.)	2005	350	paper book
Osho Rajneesh	Game of life. The art of living and dying. The main misconception of humanity (number of volumes: 3)	Game of life. Tarot in the spirit of Zen. The Zen sages say that the future develops from present events, ideas and attitudes, and cannot be predicted. Agree, there is a sound grain to this: it is impossible to compose... - All, (format: 84x108/32, 288 pp.) -	2014	708	paper book
Osho	Become yourself. The path to self-knowledge	This book is Osho's message to modern people on how to become an individual. “Be yourself - good or bad, acceptable or not acceptable, prestigious or not prestigious,” says Osho. This book... - IG All, (format: 76x108/32, 160 pages) Life lessons

Part One: Death - The Only Thing Guaranteed in Life

"Stop the Wheel!"

One day, my grandfather, my mother’s father, suddenly fell ill. It was too early for grandfather to die. He was not old at all, he was even younger than I am today. Grandma had just turned fifty years old and was at the peak of her youth and beauty.