Swami Satya Vedant reflects on his time with the Inner Circle, etc.
(This article first appeared in Viha Connection)
In 1989, I returned to Pune to be with Osho. Almost immediately, Anando informed me that Osho had invited me to be in the Inner Circle, which was meant to look after the Osho Commune in Pune, and into the Presidium, which consisted of five members to look after Osho’s international work. Jayesh was the Chairperson of the Inner Circle, and hence I never doubted that the messages were from Osho given through Jayesh. IC members were to work with consensus, however Jayesh could use his veto when needed.
I felt blessed and elated, and my overriding concern was how I might follow these responsibilities as best as I could. Ma Laxmi and later Sheela also gave work-related messages, which I obviously assumed were messages from Osho or that they were with Osho’s knowledge.
For me, Osho, the Work, the Commune were the paramount factors, and only a total, unequivocal, and complete surrender or devotion could allow me to participate and feel part of the entire process.
The three Gachchhamis fundamentally covered and conveyed this reality for me – surrendering to the Buddha, the Sangha, and the Truth as given by the Buddha (read Osho). On my part, my trust in the messenger was total – any message, whether the message was delivered by Jayesh, Laxmi, or Sheela.
I was never consciously a part of or a participant in any power structure. When the Work-related message was delivered to me, I followed it to the best of my ability, with totality and commitment. There was no reason, no room, no scope, or any thought of disagreeing with the message or questioning it. It all fell within the realm of my gratitude and a certain joy for being found capable of following the message.
I was part of a team and hence was required to carry a collective responsibility. Yes, I could express my viewpoint, but all in all, as the instructions were, the decisions needed to be unanimous. And the process was that on any given issue anyone having a different view would surrender to the majority view, realizing maybe the majority was closer to the truth. However, eventually, it might turn out that the minority view was closer to the truth; then the majority would happily surrender and accept the differing view.
The point was that a collective and harmonious perception would make work happen quickly and without wasting much energy. It never occurred to me that I was part of any power structure or any power game. I just could not see the Work in that light. I had no desire, no understanding, and no clue of what it meant to have power, show power, use power. The overriding feeling in me was how I might best use my time and energy in carrying on the Work and contributing to taking care of the Ashram/Commune. I realise, to an extent I was vulnerable and could not say no.
I functioned as a good team player, which essentially was all part of my devotion and gratitude to my beloved Master. I never, however, consciously or deliberately used power, let alone “abused” power.
As I reflect upon it, the “power” was a mix of several factors. Besides love for Osho and a sense of taking responsibility, there was perhaps some sense of unconscious ego fulfillment, some joy of being seen as special, and a normal human weakness to show authority. Regardless, “power” was never a reality I ever desired – along with responsibility, it simply came as a flow in the nature of things.
I have been asked about my part in banning fellow seekers from the Pune Resort/Ashram. . . I was involved in those decisions. In fact, I carried the task of personally conveying the banning message to a few fellow sannyasins. I have no knowledge of who and how many others were banned. I have humbly apologised for this act. My apology was gracefully accepted by those who were affected by it – with love and open hearts, and I have been closely working with them ever since, with a sense of gratitude. My apology was in recognition of the fact that I ended up hurting someone and now that I was free to follow my individual consciousness. It was in the fitness of things that I extend my apology for having been the cause of someone’s hurt, and so I did.
I later left Pune for two reasons. First, it became apparent that for whatever reason, I was not as welcome as I had been for so many years. I recall, when I finally returned from the US in 1989 to be with Osho, I was invited to have darshan with Osho. Among other things, He said, “Now this is your home, this is your family; now no need to go anywhere. Get totally involved in my work.”
I felt immensely blessed, and Pune remained my home from then on until the time I felt unwelcome. Secondly, existentially, I was invited to be a professor at a university in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. I willingly accepted the offer, since I had no funds of my own to stay in Pune outside the Commune.
Well, it has all been a flow. I feel it pointless finding faults, mistakes, or justifications. That’s the way it has been, and that’s the way it is. So be it. My understanding is that surrendering and a non-insisting and loving acceptance of one another are the key factors to making consensus work. If one takes it all as part of a play, the process can become enjoyable and purposeful. As I understand it, the consensus phenomenon was to bring collective wisdom so as to make whatever decision rich and effective.
Obviously, we fell short and ended up hurting fellow sannyasins. Nevertheless, in hindsight it all has turned out as a device for growing inwardly and learning to recognise the is-ness of what it means to be a seeker, a worker, or a fellow traveler.
My overriding feeling is that of a deep gratitude, a deep and profound feeling of reverence for Osho, for His continuing compassionate care and blessings. I equally recall fondly being and enjoying with fellow
sannyasins all along these 40 years – and the same is true today: celebrating Osho.
The language and style and thinking behind his responses are as archaic as parts of the Bible or Koran.
Words like ‘blessed’, ‘surrender’ and ‘flow’, ‘devotion to the master’, ‘device’ fall off his tongue like some 1980s nightmare.
I have no idea who this chap is, but he seems as stuck as a piece of Velcro.
Velcro? Nothing wrong with velcro in the right circumstance. Reminds me of a joke Osho told:
One afternoon down in Podunk, Alabama, at the Abe Lincoln Elementary School, Miss Velcro, the black teacher, is giving an English lesson.
“Now, class,” says Miss Velcro, “today we are going to write some poetry. And for our theme, we are going to go back to our black roots in Africa. I want you to write a poem using that famous African town, Timbuktu.”
For the next ten minutes, everybody writes. And at the end of the class, Miss Velcro says, “Okay, children, before we go home, would anyone like to read out their poem to the class?”
Two boys, Little Black George and Little Black Washington, raise their hands enthusiastically.
“Good,” says Miss Velcro. “George, you read yours first.”
George stands up and says proudly:
“Far away in a distant land,
Out across the burning sand,
Black men on camels march two by two,
On their way to Timbuktu!”
The classroom cheers loudly, and then Miss Velcro says, “That was very good, George. Now let us hear your poem, Washington.”
Little Washington jumps up, clears his throat, and says:
“Me and my older brother Tim,
A-hunting we did go.
We came upon three pretty girls,
A-sleeping in a row.
Since they was three and we was two,
I bucked one — and Timbuktu!”
This might be so for you but I can asure you that words like ‘devotion’, ‘surrender’, ‘device’ are highly relevant realities for millions of spiritual people around the globe (not only Osho sannyasins).
But that seems to be a common trait in all your posts: the conviction that you and you alone are on the right track and everybody having another view is ‘wrong’, ‘outdated’ etc.
By the way, Satya Vedant has written several books about Osho and meditation. Amongst them, ‘Osho – The Luminous Rebel’.
“But that seems to be a common trait in all your posts: the conviction that you and you alone is on the right track and everybody having another view is ‘wrong’, ‘outdated’ etc.”
But that could well apply to you as well, Heeren!
Anyway, no one’s likely to change their views, however many criticisms or insults they receive (Shantam being a prime example). Although my impression is that Simond is actually more open to genuine debate than most.
SD says:
“But that could well apply to you as well, Heeren!”
Yes, but don`t expect the fellow to grasp such a difficult concept as that!
Poor old Bodhi Herrenvolk – you won`t get much ense out of him on the debate front.
His usual tack is using what`s left of his addled mind to berate others for coming from the mind.
And with his admiration for `devotion` and `surrender`, he sounds like he`d be a lot more at home in a mindless stampede in the precincts of the Kabba!
Finally, someone from the elite circle hand=picked by Master Himself has broken his Code of Omertà, though in a very meek voice.
Perhaps Shantam, and this is well meant, do a personal thought experiment.
Returning to 1988/9 when I think you were in Pune, and you are suddenly invited to be a member of the Inner Circle, and that Osho himself seemed to have nominated you…
would you have hesitated?
Consider these words of Jesus:
“Judge not, that ye be not judged.
For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? “
Parmartha, i am basically waiting for other bloggers to take the center stage before my out pouring.
To understand the organisational structure is as complex or easy as to understand the anatomy of the body.
I don´t know their faces but there are three four bloggers on this site who have spend considerable time in Pune during and after Osho.
The first commentator simond has no idea who this chap is, therefore will judge only through the written piece.
Let me inform him and others, Satya Vedant (Dr. Vasant Joshi) is one of the prominent Osho disciple still put forward before Media by the dissident group.
For example sake, In Osho organisational Anatomy, he was the public intellectual face who got acid poured on his face by the head strong chairman.
Because in the world where we live, titles serve quite well, so one can say, Dr. Joshi is one such Indian disciple who has worked as professor in American universities and may be one of four five disciples in total who have Ph.d in their kitty.
Every master who wants to built a strong organisation need such diversified people who have made their name in the real world of competition and success.
( Few Advaita kind may piss off with the idea why Osho wanted to build `Fortune 500 company`. Let us not forget, Osho is no Ramana Maharishi and not Punja ji and not “Very Berry Long”)
I am not sure about but from the stories i know, Vedant ji were married to the sister of Sheela. In such case, it must be the fire test during burning phase of Rajneeshpuram.
Satya Vedant has chosen to stick with Osho in thick and thin. I salute .
Thanks Shantam.
(Vedant is now a big wig as I understand it in the dissident Delhi organisation?)
Osho was a poor manager, and said on one occasion he couldn’t manage a thing. That occasion was not without significance, it was the night in Kulu Manali in 1970, before he started initiating disciples. By his own account he was restless the whole night thinking whether it was the right thing to do, particularly because he knew he was not interested in management, and also very poor at it.
Sadly so it proved.
Yes I know that celebrities did get treated differently by Laxmi and others, for example – Terence Stamp.
And the idea was that somehow they were needed – those who had been successful in the world, to help front the organisation. Another mistake. they all needed their egos blasted, instead they got them reinforced as soon as they passed the ashram gates and had been “recognised”.
Parmartha
I believe your comment to Shantam should also refer to my own, at least in part.
In 1989 I would have taken the job, if offered, and would have acted as foolishly and ignorantly as this chap and many others did.
Hindsight, as you suggest, is a luxury.
My disdain and current judgments about him and his thinking is a reflection on how little his understanding appears to have altered. Still on bended knees and reverently believing in Osho’s compassion and blessings, he doesn’t seem to have learned very much at all.
That’s life!
Perhaps his specialist area of study in University was this commune-linked human behaviour….
https://uk.celebrity.yahoo.com/post/130608584429/nobody-could-quite-handle-this-university
‘….I was not as welcome as I had been for so many years.’
I wonder why? One can only surmise that the powers holding sway did not enjoy the presence of an individual spirit, who did not, it would seem, feel comfortable carrying out their dirty work, and therefore represented a crew member who was possibly committing thought crimes against their totalitarian regime?
In addition, let us not forget, that Satya Vedant, had been personally invited to join the Inner Circle, by none other than the great man himself! Perhaps, some in the Inner Circle, were not all that impressed with some of Osho’s choices? Understandable this one actually, if you take into account Osho’s rather patchy record in choosing suitable personnel e.g. Sheela.
Osho may have been his own worst enemy at times?
Three kinds of people in the world:
Those who blame everybody else, everything else, because life is not perfect.
Those who blame themselves because life is not perfect.
The invisible, get on with it, take life as it comes, take life in its stride, don’t think in terms of perfect, type.
You`re probably right there, Arpana.
Singing the praises of Vedant (in between verses of the Koran) or panning him for his involvement in giving Osho`s vision lethal injections of botox probably mean little in the grand scheme of things.
Having said that, whilst “getting on with it”, as you say, if I happened to meet a fellow who has been a top player in a religious org who says:
“I was never consciously a part of or a participant in any power structure” – I would consider it pretty unintelligent not to take it with a large pinch of salt.
Frank.
Seems to me this was always going to happen. Doesn’t matter who’s in charge, and was always going on, but we were distracted by the attention we were getting from outside, as it were.
I’ve had managerial experience, and I say from my own experience, and from observing other people in similar positions, it really is not possible to please all the people all the time.
If they please Shantam, someone else who isn’t pissed off with them now will be pissed off with them.
Nobody has the obligation to please Shantam or Arpana, people need to stay clean with their mandate.
If wise eyes disciples cannot see a spit of the water floating on the soup then to be unaware is not a bad option.
Arpana, the problem with you is that you can not see holes in Osho Umbrella. Maybe this denial is your only hope to sustain yourself in the world.
Shantam, the problem with you is that you can not see holes in your own Umbrella. Maybe this denial is your only hope to sustain yourself in the world.
If one needs to test the theory of how accessible and rewarding Pune or Delhi is to your visiting non-glam, uninfluential person, then surely we’d need a few comparative Spiritual Trip Advisor-type, independent review scores across a whole spectrum of validating experiences. I don’t know of a blog that provides this service, but I’m guessing it might be an instant success with DIY enthusiasts.
I have a title already…
TheBottomLine.org
Here is biographical note about Satya Vedant. It is copied from the net.
Before one starts “character assassination”, which many of us, including me, are good at, one must understand the components of the character too.
Vasant Joshi Author profile:
After completing his Ph.D. from the M.S. University of Baroda in 1966, Dr.Vasant Joshi left for USA having been admitted for the graduate program in English Literature at University of Wisconsin, Madison. While he was a student at University of Wisconsin, Dr. Joshi got an invitation to teach a course on *The Cultural and Literary Traditions of India* at University of California, Berkeley.
Although the course was to be offered for only one year, Dr. Joshi ended up teaching it for four years (1967-1971). Those were the days when the United States was deeply caught up in the Vietnam War and the Berkeley campus was then the bastion of the free speech movement protesting against the War. On the other hand, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the Beatles, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, Pandit Ravi Shankar, the Hare Krishna movement contributed significantly in attracting young people toward learning about the Indian culture.
While teaching and researching at Berkeley, Dr. Joshi went through a change in interest and enrolled himself in 1971 for the doctoral programme in
Education at University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. In 1973 he attained his
Ph.D. in Education from Michigan. In America, Dr. Joshi has served on the faculty of University of California, Berkeley, and at University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He also worked as Director of Institutional Research at City Colleges of Chicago. He was Academic Dean, Professor and Chairman of Comparative Studies at the California Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco.
Thus, Dr. Joshi has been in the academic field for over thirty years in India and in the United States of America. He has travelled worldwide, giving lectures, presenting papers, participating in seminars and conferences and conducting workshops.
While in America, Dr. Joshi came across the revolutionary works of Osho(then known as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh). He felt so touched by Osho’s insights and his vision that in 1975 he arrived in Pune for participating in a ten-day meditation camp. It was at the first auspicious day of this meditation camp that Dr. Vasant Joshi was initiated into sannyas by Osho and was named Swami Satya Vedant. Since that new birth a new dawn arrived in his life and known as Satya Vedant he has dedicated himself towards contributing to Osho’s worldwide work. Osho appointed him as Chancellor of Osho International Meditation University.
Dr. Joshi has also served as Visiting Professor/India Scholar teaching
Eastern Religion and Hinduism at Cleveland State University, Cleveland,
Ohio in USA.
His recent publications include:
1: ‘Osho: The Luminous Rebel – Life Story of a Maverick Mystic’
2: ‘If It Could Happen to Buddha, Why Not You?’
Both published by Wisdom Tree, New Delhi.
3: ‘The Fabric of Life: Translation of Osho’s Hindi Discourses on Songs of Kabir’, published by Osho Media International, Pune, India.
(His earlier Osho’s biography was translated into German, Chinese and
Japanese languages). He has translated Osho’s books from Hindi to English,
and a wide range of his articles are published in journals, magazines, and
newspapers in India, USA, and Australia. He has held meditation workshops
around the world, including at the United Nations, The World Bank, the
Pentagon, as well as at Dr. Deepak Chopra’s program in San Diego. In 1993,
Dr. Joshi presented at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro a unique ecology
project: ‘From Garbage to Zen Garden’. developed by the Osho International
Foundation, Pune.
In July 2010, he travelled to Moscow, Russia, and presented Osho’s vision at
the All Russia International Adwaita Congress.
He has also appeared on radio and television shows.
I also salute Satya Vedant and respect his journey.
Osho initiated sannyasins into freedom. That means the option not to go along with harmful (and/or criminal) behaviour is always a possibility.
I did not resonate with Sheela’s vibe/actions at the Ranch and made a small protest by dropping the outer trappings of Sannyas. I returned my mala to Sheela, left the Ranch, and watched the drama play out from a distance… until Sheela finally left the Ranch. The energy of Osho’s new secretary, Hasya, was respectful and welcoming, the mala returned, and I returned to work in Pune 2.
At no time during all that drama and dentistry did I feel alienated from Osho, whose love and presence has been…and continues to be…constant. In my experience, neo-Sannyas is an inner dance with Osho, Sangha, and Dharma…of an energy which flows freely…whether with or without a mala, whether inside or outside the Commune, whether living with other sannyasins or living alone.
I remember seeing Swami Vedant as a very subdued energy in the Pune Commune, have heard him doing announcements during Guru Purnima & other Ashram festivals in the 1990s, made specially to instruct new Indian sannyasins/visitors not to cough in Buddha Hall during discourse, etc!
Inner circles, outer circles – running in circles, for sure. I actually managed to read the whole article, somewhat surprising because it is based on subject matter that does not interest me in the slightest.
Vedant says, “Regardless, “power” was never a reality I ever desired – along with responsibility, it simply came as a flow in the nature of things.”
I believe him, along with believing the man must be completely naive…a prerequisite on the path to enlightenment in certain schools, I daresay. “It simply came as a flow in the nature of things.” Ah well, sounds more contemporary than “I was simply obeying orders.”
Shantam finds himself in his element, coming away with the likes of, “Osho wanted to build `Fortune 500 company.’ ” Well, if that were indeed the case, Osho did not make it into the Fortune 100,000 company. I suspect the ashram’s coffers are filling better now spendthrift Osho is out of the way, real estate in Koregoan park was a good investment. Still, there are companies manufacturing lavatory pots in Germany making more money than they are. Who cares?
Swami Vedant declares, “The three Gachchhamis fundamentally covered and conveyed this reality for me – surrendering to the Buddha, the Sangha, and the Truth as given by the Buddha (read Osho). On my part, my trust in the messenger was total – any message, whether the message was delivered by Jayesh, Laxmi, or Sheela.”
Spot the deliberate mistakes and you could win a free trip to the Resort.
If I was in the position of Satya Vedant, hand-picked by the master who happens to get birth once in 2500 years (not my impressions, I also don´t think Buddha is the greatest peak), I will resort to Life-unto=Death protest ‘celebration’ against the high-handedness of Jayesh and Co.
Surely Neelam and Jyoti, the lifelong disciples and devotees would also be asked to join the Detox strike. Media loves such stories and result is instant.
Three foreigners with collaboration with five or six Indians rule against the written and spoken words of their holier than God and Vedant-like simply remain silent is not worthy an act worth appreciation.
The tone of his article suggests, “Yes, I was brutalised, yes, I was sexually abused but believe me. it was not a gang bang. I am so thankful, so, so thankful. There is no need to find faults in others, maybe my skirt was too short.”
On the BottomLine.com it is known by everybody that – if we dive deep enough every now and then, that there is nothing more powerful than the Power of Love. It´s a Life-issue.
Nothing to do with politics, possessiveness, submission, administrator issues, topdogs as underdogs issues or business means.
Very extraordinary-ordinary stuff.
The commune around a Living Mystic has that invisible flavour. It´s always invisible; you either feel it or not. And there is no way to catch hold of that power, that´s its grandeur, its magnificence.
There has been no question of needing a messenger ever; this, for me, has been the Beauty of His Invitation, to come to that BottomLine, so to say. The journey though is to look through and experience the seemingly endless range of distorted visions (hallucinations) of reaching ‘somewhere#, or being screwed up with others.
The real powerful individuals I happened to meet in my lifetime, inside as outside the Sannyas communes, were quite very ordinary people; their power has not been borrowed by any status whatsoever, they have been shining luminous beings (for the time being), as that kind of power is more a flux, a fragrance.
From the rare moments I myself felt empowered like this, the best I can say is that I felt HOME (from out the ´BottomLine’), or I felt whole. That´s the only ´power´ I know of, worth to feel and to Be in. A power neither borrowed nor I could ever say, ´mine´.
The power that is discussed here deals from my insight with the numerous ways of failures to reach to that state of being whole, not fragmented.
In our failures we are so unique, aren´t we?
Just a look in the kaleidoscope tonight.
The rain has ceased
No winds
Fragrances of an autumn night.
The little alarm clock I bought yesterday is very noisy
and every second reminding:
…rhythm is it….
Madhu
1.23 AM
Your post is a good night poem.
Time to sleep.
Before that I will open the window and appreciate the German Night. It is not like in India, yet equally mystifying.
If Life allows, during the daytime I will be back like many others for bitching around Osho work.
This too is a work!
Beautiful, Madhu!
Madhu,
The BottomLine.org will also have a page for auto enthusiasts; as with cars, so with autonomists. Be aware that some parts of human personality have a tendency to autism which is actually automania.
On that page you will find information on the relativity of the ‘differential gear’.
“…in automotive mechanics, gear arrangement that permits power from the engine to be transmitted to a pair of driving wheels, dividing the force equally between them but permitting them to follow paths of different lengths, as when turning a corner or traversing an uneven road. On a straight road the wheels rotate at the same speed; when turning a corner the outside wheel has farther to go and will turn faster than the inner wheel if unrestrained.”
There will also be a page on the joys of a loving, unifying nature when in a meditative state, written by our resident editor, Basil Brush (who said, when Osho was asked why are his cousins reputedly over-indulgent when hungry, that Osho replied, understandingly, “Well, foxes can’t count”).
People not only count but keep scores.
Using a differential helps to keep you on track.
Regards,
B. Brush (seen here enjoying the moment)
“and there is no way to catch hold of that power, that’s its grandeur, its magnificence.” How beautiful is that?
Love your post! XXX
Madhu, beautiful post, thank you for catching me unawares with another kind of power: Power of Love.
Life is always more complex than it seems but the mind wants simplicities, left and right, good and bad. In fact, the mind panics in the face of uncertainty.
Vedant’s life and ‘career’ in Sannyas in many cases is not so much different from our own, except he was a high-flyer, and our characters would have responded in similar ways to him had we also been high-flyers. And frankly, no-one knows how one will react if suddenly found in a ‘following orders’ situation.
There are a few individuals – like Osho – who seem beyond such things, and as Osho said of himself, he would never have touched the ashram with a bargepole and therefore such situations would not arise for someone like him. However, let’s have a bit of realism here, most of us are not that advanced.
The beauty now arises in some of us, reaching the serenity of old age, that one can see it, and also see how difficult and complex such situations may be, and to refrain from judgement.
Madhu,
When we say ‘everyone knows’, we introduce a collective assumptive in language which challenges the reader to either include or exclude themselves from the consequences of the proposal. Nice move on your part re The Bottomline.
To continue on the theme you raise…
The dissolution of the synthetic I, whereupon solitude itself is reaffirmed into the natural state, in the natural world by dispersal, is fundamentally a political move not a personal one. Both anti-social and unifying at a deeper level, into the knowing, collectively.
I have been very moved by photos of the continuing refugee agony on European shores this morning. The Island of Lesvos, where I lived near the Osho centre there, is now on the very frontline of this crisis. Many volunteers are helping the refugees there. Love is.
The photos are from the CNT website, the link is for the freelance photographer’s facebook webpage, Fernando Del Berro. The CNT works through its active social centres and political movement to promote the status of refugees and to oppose the inflammation of fanaticism by distorted power and vested interests through fear.
https://www.facebook.com/fernando.delberro
http://www.cnt.es/en/node/10720
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/when-you-see-this-suffering-you-cant-just-watch-the-british-family-helping-thousands-of-refugees-on-10508067.html
Language and ideology is extremely significant in any discussions over how we are being manipulated into polarising Love with Power. In truth they are consensual and one and the same.
“I have been very moved…Love is.”
Moved enough to go out there and help, Martyn, ie ‘walk the talk’?
PM, the love Madhu talks about is another kind of love that you talk about, your love is included in her love, but not otherwise. Makes sense to you?
I’m supporting a project here donating my time and some money to educational charities.
Madhu has written:
“The commune around a Living Mystic has that invisible flavour. It´s always invisible; you either feel it or not. And there is no way to catch hold of that power, that´s its grandeur, its magnificence.”
I don´t know how many living mystics exist and have the commune around.
But it seems the mystic of Pune commune forgot the bottom line mentioned by Madhu.
Maybe that mystic was very sick and was sedated by his English doctor´s prescriptions, therefore could not get the courage to close the firm.
After all, the same mystic did not hesitate for a day to dismantle the religion He founded – sorry, His secretary founded before she became a bitch!
Sannyasins being banned from the ashram is nothing new. It was one of the constants in Poona 1. As the years passed, social tolerance narrowed.
Any social organization will sooner or later run into someone who needs to be banned. Maybe even the Hell’s Angels have to deal with that once in a while. Back in Poona 1 the basic reason for banning someone was that, for one reason or another, the person was making a nuisance of himself. There are, for instance, always a few lunatics on the fringe of most guru scenes. Osho was quite a magnet for a certain type of loony. It took him seven years to get rid of me.
There are always casualties in high energy zones. Some people simply go bonkers. I can recall a famous ventrilaquist who took sannyas in the late seventies. At first he was an ashram star. Then he went bonkers and Sant and his bully boys eventually gave him a severe hiding and tossed the guy into the street. A bit heavy-handed.
Today, I can imagine the Resort might well ban someone they see as being a nuisance. It is not a big deal.
PM speaks about ‘refraining from judgement.’ Poor old judgement, he has been getting the thick end of the stick since JC commanded “Judge thee not”. Thing is, our ability to pass a judgement could also be viewed as a God-given thing. Where would we be without it? We do not need to run around judging people all the time…strictly for the dummies.
Then again, once in a while we have to make a judgement about someone. I would say try and make the right judgement when you have to. Saying being judgemental is wrong is ironic, for without passing a judgement one could not arrive at such a conclusion. So yes, ban Swami Satya Vedant from SN. I smell mothballs.
In fact, I would say that every organisation has to define itself in terms of the people it throws out and bans.
Has anyone here come across a grouping of people to whom this does not apply? I would be interested to hear of it.
`Spiritual` people like to think they are exempt from things, that their org should be different. Judgment and the mind must be refrained from, too. Yet they can never help doing the stuff they condemn.
These ‘barkless dogs’ are chasing their tails and on a good day, display the intelligence of turkeys who vote for Xmas or lemmings who practise yogic flying!
Sorry to go all psychobabble, but the phrase ‘boundary setting’ comes to mind.
Being unaware of Power? Question mark doubts the intention of Satya Vedant. I have spoken with his other Indian counterparts and they all were not aware about the intentions of Chairman.
The complete shift in the hands of few people happened almost out of blue. Do not naivete and trust go hand in hand on the path of love?
To understand the power politics in palaces and Churches one needs to see behind the personas. It is quite a thrilling experience.
Shri Shantam enquires, “Do not naivete and trust go hand in hand on the path of love?”
If they do they are probably engaged in a non-stop argument.
He concludes, “One needs to see behind the personas. It is quite a thrilling experience.” Dirty devil.
For the ones that I knew of, I always understood the “bannings” in Poona one.
They were basically poor people who were disturbed, and who had been caught up in the high sea of energy for which they were not ready.
There also wern’t very many.
]Some of the bannings in Pune 3 or 4 sound off to me. For example, the Editor of Viha Connection, Swami Dhanyam. A man who devoted his life to Osho, and still does.
We have a few times temporarily ‘banned’ people from SN. But only a few, and I think universally given them a second chance after a break from our blogs.
I am ever grateful to Osho’s Sangha for its existence & support
Osho’s Sangha, its existence & support -
Seems like in a dry riverbed there are still few patches of water.
For example, Sannyasnews!
Sangha to me is not merely an organised physical entity now, yes, the basis has been the physical Commune but that in a way has dissolved over the years and I’d rather not waste my time lamenting about it.
Somehow, even though I have no desire or intention to visit 17, Koregaon Park anymore I still feel a certain bonding with its residents/ persons, which includes you too, Shantam, who I have shared some quality time with during my time there.
Being here on SN is surely chioceless for me!
“Sangha to me is not merely an organised physical entity now, yes, the basis has been the physical Commune but that in a way has dissolved over the years and I’d rather not waste my time lamenting about it.
Somehow, even though I have no desire or intention to visit 17, Koregaon Park anymore I still feel a certain bonding with its residents/ persons.”
Nicely put, Kavita. I’m with you.
After watching and observing last 25 years post-Osho and under the looming presence of smaller than shadow of his chairman, Osho´s own quotation seems to be the most essential truth in master-disciple bonding. Other day seen this quotation in a Hindi banner. In the master-disciple spiritual relating, this quotation seems to be the landmark hidden under the pile of dirt. My rough translation can be:
“Without living Sadguru*
No technique ever works,
Howsoever good it may be.
In reality, the real thing is the Sadguru.
His living presence is the palpable thing.”
* Sadguru – true master
This Osho quote, Shantam, is very true but that aliveness is a very relative term for us ‘purane chaawal’ (old rice grain)?
You & your provoking techniques should be used for newcomers & maybe you can really fulfil your desire only by starting your own commune.
Who was Osho’s Sadguru?
Osho had two. And both helped him reach enlightenment on March 21st 1953 in Bhanwar Tal Garden in Jabalpur.
People say that “Osho had two”, yet Osho himself always said that he had no master.
I think you have a point, Swami Shanti. There were two small early influences in his village, one who used to only have a cup for company as I recall. I don’t think they amounted to ‘teachers’ at all. But historians now look to suggest they were. Also, I think Osho himself talks about them but I don’t know the references.
Parmartha, I don’t think the historians are inventing anything after the fact. Factors like amount of time with someone, number of techniques, or even words, are not necessarily that important. Silent transmission can happen in an instant like a flame jumping from one wick to another.
Nevertheless, from what Osho himself has said, “small early influence” in not an accurate assessment of the importance in Osho’s life.
“I visited him almost every night without fail, under his neem tree, where he used to sleep and live. Even when I was sick and my grandmother would not allow me to go out, even then, during the night when she was asleep, I would escape. But I had to go; Magga Baba had to be visited at least once each day. He was a kind of spiritual nourishment. He helped me tremendously although he never gave any directions except by his very being. Just by his very presence he triggered unknown forces in me, unknown to me.
I am most grateful to this man Magga Baba, and the greatest blessing of all was that I, a small child, was the only one to whom he used to speak. Those moments of privacy, knowing that he spoke to no one else in the whole world, were tremendously strengthening, vitalizing. If sometimes I would go to him and somebody else was present, he would do something so terrible that the other person would escape. For example he would throw things, or jump, or dance like a madman, in the middle of the night. Anybody was bound to become afraid – after all, you have a wife, children, and a job, and this man seems to be just mad; he could do anything.
Then, when the person had gone we would both laugh together. I have never laughed like that with anybody else, and I don’t think it is going to happen again in this lifetime…and I don’t have any other life. The wheel has stopped. Yes, it is running a little bit, but that is only past momentum; no new energy is being fed into it.
Magga Baba was so beautiful that I have not seen any other man who can be put by his side. He was just like a Roman sculpture, just perfect. Even more perfect than any sculpture can be, because he was alive – so full of life, I mean. I don’t know whether it is possible to meet a man like Magga Baba again, and I don’t want to either because one Magga Baba is enough, more than enough. He was so satisfying and who cares for repetition? And I know perfectly, one cannot be higher than that. I myself have come to the point where you cannot go any higher.”
Osho, ‘Glimpses of a Golden Childhood’, chapter 15
Thanks, Samarpan, for the reference. I myself take all three nitrous books, one of which is the ‘Glimpses’, with a pinch of salt. Certainly not a factual account of his early life.
Have you ever taken a hallucinogenic?
Pinch of salt? Wow.
Nitrous oxide has been safely used for over 150 years. Hallucinations are particularly rare with nitrous.
I don`t think that Osho was that “out of it” during the ‘Glimpses’ sessions, in the ‘Notes of a Madman’ sessions, however, he does sound tripped out.
I feel that whilst Osho enjoyed visiting this crazy guy, this “Magga Baba”, he never really felt he had any enlightened ‘support’ when he really felt he needed it – during the time that his ego unravelled in the year before his enlightenment.
Still, he attained, without any need of one.
“Buddha says, “Fortunate is the man who has found a Master.”
I myself was not as fortunate as you are; I was working without a Master. I searched and I could not find one. It was not that I had not searched, I had searched long enough, but I could not find one. It is very rare to find a Master, rare to find a being who has become a non-being, rare to find a presence who is almost an absence, rare to find a man who Is simply a door to the divine, an open door to the divine which will not hinder you, through which you can pass. It is very difficult.”
‘Tao, The Pathless Path’, vol 2
Lokesh, you were seven years in Pune and present in hundreds of discourses, you were also in one-to-one talk; why you did not ask, “Who is your Sadguru, Bhagwan?”
Shantam, it never occurred to me to ask Osho such a question. The reason I bring it up now is in relation to something you posted:
“Without living Sadguru
No technique ever works,
Howsoever good it may be.
In reality, the real thing is the Sadguru.
His living presence is the palpable thing.”
Osho pretty much made out that enlightenment happened to him and I never heard him say, “Without living Sadguru. No technique ever works.” What I did hear lay in direct contradiction to this. Osho was hot on self-enquiry before enlightenment…self-enquiry is a technique. By all accounts this technique worked, but where was the Sadguru’s palpable living presence when all this was going on?
I reckon Osho made things up to suit the occasion. I also reckon that he did this understanding that ultimately none of this stuff really matters. What matters is one’s earnest intention.
Thing is, someone might read Osho’s above statement and come away feeling hopeless because they cannot find sadguru…kind of sad, I know. Meanwhile, if they looked for another quote they can probably find one along the lines that says no master is needed, you have everything you need right now, thinking you need a sadguru is a sad mind-trip.
Living presence I can relate to. All this holy Hindu wisdom does not appear to be doing the trick for those quoting it. That is obvious.
I reckon Shantam fits the CV requirement of being a sadisciple perfectly.
Followed by being a
sadnyasnewser
with
seasonallyaffectivedevoteedisorder (sadd)
although he’s:
saditbeforebuthe’llsayitagain
because he:
doesn’t get sad, he gets even
and
having avoided the conversation by saying:
“sorry, but i didn’t hear what you sad”
he repeats himself
because he can’t get no
Sadisfaction.
Ascetics like him are even mentioned in the Bible, notably Simon the Sadducee from Syria, whom his renunciate mates thought of as a bit of a sid gat, but religion can do that to otherwise fine people.
Enough sad.
Shantam, well in that case I have been wondering if Osho is still alive & secretly living with you. I always knew you had some secret!
Eureka! Eureka!
Kavita Bhabi,
(The love of her life is one of my best friends, so in an Indian way of relating, Kavita is my sister-in-law. Lols).
Osho´s vibes are still alive in me and they are whispering all the time, “Shantam, you will be the one to revive spiritual movement on the verge of extinction.”
I know, there are many sceptics who will say, “How come this Sikh who has not even western passport can be chosen by Osho´s vibes?”
Answer is simple:
Master always learned from the mistakes. He must have realised till now, “Smartasses are no good. Low-profile disciple from modest background won´t mix foreign ingredients in Desi soup.”
Bhabhi mat kaho! (don’t call me s-i-l!).
“Master always learned from the mistakes. He must have realised till now, “Smartasses are no good. Low-profile disciple from modest background won´t mix foreign ingredients in Desi soup.” ”
Darling, you are missing the main point: it’s an international soup & in any case, even though he learned from mistakes it seems he was never allergic to making mistakes; he did say don’t make same mistake twice, so he tried a fresh one!
“foreign ingredients in Desi soup.”
From it I do not mean at all no foreigner disciples. How I can forget these people are the blood and soul of Osho´s movement? These people, specially the Germans, have brought glamour and money.
Foreign ingredient in Desi soup means the photo shopping surgery performed by chairman and his deputy. Sometimes I wonder how long they will Keep Osho´s photos with beard!
In the process of removing the foreign elements away from Desi soup will be to revert back to the original name. Osho Meditation Resort is born out of sheer cunning mind. Desi Name is Osho Commune International.Now and till the Osho brand remains in circulation.
Yes, but soup itself is intrinsically/basically food & so has no nationality. I do not think we can ever meet on this point however much we discuss; guess we are two parallel lines!
“Low-profile disciple from modest background won´t mix foreign ingredients in Desi soup.”
Come off it, Shantam.
Once you got hold of some white meat and stuck your wiener into the soup, how was it still `desi`?
You’re joking, right?
Very beautiful, reflective and mature article which should interest every sannyasin. And which – I have no doubt – has brought up lots of negative comments from the usual ‘pundits
“Very beautiful, reflective and mature article” this is, for sure.
And then?
It has surely provoked the interest.
And then?
Bodhi Heeren, can you elaborate what one should do with this article written by the person who still introduces himself as Chancellor of Osho Multiversity, appointed by Osho?
Dont expect a reply, Shjantam. I know from long experience that Bodhi Heeren cannot tolerate reading anyone who does not share his fundamentalist views!
Shantam,
You seem to wonder in this string about the ‘future’ etc. of the ashram/resort. Well, it depends on the longevity of Jayesh and Amrito, and one figures they are in the body for the long haul!
When they are in Heaven, yes, I can see the ashram being overrun by loads of ant-like Indians erecting statues and pictures of Osho, banning any groups that might lead to genuine self-exploration, and endless Pune 1-type days filled with formal meditations and taped discourses.
The discourses would, of course, be from Pune 1. As I understand it, people like Arun consider that all lectures after that time Osho was somehow ‘forced’ to make…though for the life of me I can’t understand his reasons!
Parmartha, this question from you is very genuine. I will really reply it point by point to make it as much clear as possible, with the feeling how a genuine answer should be written for the genuine fellow-travellers.
If other bloggers want to share their opinion, it will be also good.
Now I am wondering what is common between Swami Arun & Shantam & the answer I get is: them being biological parents. Now it rings a bell why Osho propagated against progeny in his commune, probably a very strenuous effort/hurdle for a seeker to live in the now! (Of course, I could be wrong here).
“All lectures after that time Osho was somehow ‘forced’ to make”
What happened then was Osho actually threatened by his inner circle that “if you don’t start dropping the ‘god’ word from your discourses, Bhagwan, we’re not going to keep supplying you with bubble bath for your hot jacuzzi every night.”
In response to 1st Paragraph of Parmartha´s query:
Jayesh is 67 years of age. Amrito may be two or three years older.
Keeping in mind the life expectancy of Anglo-Saxons, one can imagine in a natural way 15-20 years more they can hold the driving seat of 90% empty Osho bus.
In case of contigency, Jayesh´s younger brother, Yogendra (alias Raj) is anyway ready to continue the legacy of his brother. Osho Pune has become almost like Fidel Castro´s Cuba.
Parmartha, your second paragraph is full with white men´s mind. The mind which immediately sees weapons of mass destruction hidden under the back seat of a Toyata pick-up.
The breakaway Inner Circle are running two organisations in India, one in Delhi and other in Dharamshala. They have built them from scratch. These places are more active and serving more people than the property built by collective will of the disciples and the master.
These people are the true holders of Osho´s work. Their manipulation is almost minimum. Swami Arun does not come in the picture now or has any chance to be in the future. And moreover, English mind of yours forgets that Arun is not running an international commune. His 97% constituents are Nepalis: Nepalis in Nepal or expats around the world.
It is simply nonsensical to think Indians will turn Pune into holy shrine of some OSHO BABA. Indians are emotionally much intelligent not to disturb master´s flow of river. 1987-1990 is the final model left by Osho. No one has the right to add past or one´s own mind future into it.
In response to Paragraph 3:
I have no Idea what Arun thinks about discourses of Pune 2. I doubt your statement. It is written maybe in a sarcastic way.
As far as days of Pune 1 are concerned, from photos I can see swamis with long beard and more than average bust-sized Mas with their hairy armpits. World has changed much during these years. One will be stupid to think days of bell bottoms can be brought back.
Though John Lennon´s ‘Imagine’ I would prefer played again and again in Music Groups…
This post i wish to end with this song…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLgYAHHkPFs
The fundamental mistake you make, Shantam, is to identify ‘Osho’s work’ with one single set of circumstances at one single place.
The other one, of course, is imagining that you are capable of knowing what’s best and, most laughably, that Osho would happily entrust you with overseeing the ‘collective future’ of his movement or supervising one of his ashrams – extreme delusions of grandeur, old chap. A modicum of self-reflection would surely reveal that to you…
As Lokesh found, I’m sure you’re a ‘good man’ on a personal level, and you’re sincere all right (but so what, sincere fools are everywhere, in fact they’re ‘sincerely’ screwing up this world 24 hrs a day) – but I’m afraid, as far as such matters go, you’re also rather stupid.
Satyadeva, to be true, I don´t see any kind of gravity, any kind of real life experience in your expressions. Sorry to say, therefore, there in no point from my side to comment on your posts. I have no desire even to take the thought process further.
To give importance to pure mind rubbish means elephant takes notice of every bark.
Shantam,
To be true, I don´t see any kind of gravity, any kind of real life experience in your expressions.
To give importance to pure mind rubbish means elephant takes notice of every bark.
Well, you’re wasting your time at SN then, as I suggest NO ONE here gives any credence to your elephantine delusions.
Try bearing that in mind when you feel tempted to post again….
Btw, Irish are not Anglo-Saxons.
But I agree with you, Shantam.
`Imagine` should be sung at Music Groups…
“imagine there`s no ashram
it’s easy if you try
no Resort to ban us
above us only sky
imagine all the people
getting a life…
yoo-hoo…
imagine no religions
I wonder if you can
no need for red or black robes
or White Robe Brotherhood of man
imagine all the religidiots
talking a bit of sense
yoo hoo…oo…ooo…ooo
imagine there`s no lawyers
it isn`t hard to do
not having to pay a bunch of idiots
to tell you what to do
no need to grovel and kiss ass
or shout `yahoo!`
you may say i`m a cynic
but i`m not the only one
i hope some day you`ll join us
and the world can have some fun….”
What a treat for a boring Sunday, Frank boy, superb! I can’t stop laughing. Hope Yogi doesn’t get jealous. XXXX
Thanks, Tan.
On a more serious note, I am afraid that I have some bad news.
Beloved Anand Yogi, chief disciple of Swami Bhorat (not to be confused with the recent interloper here on SN, who appears to have at least half a brain still functioning)
was tragically but predictably involved in the mindless stampede at a religious festival mentioned yesterday.
Apparently, a large horde of chanting, surrendered devotees, headed up by AY and completely drunk on the divine, attempted to simultaneously kiss the same piece of marble. They all banged their heads together and in the ensuing crush AY left his body, or rather was squeezed out of his body.
It seems a fitting end for such a fervent exponent of the wisdom of mighty Bhorat.
Apparently, his last words as he finally transcended the limitations of the physical form were:
“Yahoo!
Hari Om!”
I am shocked by his tragic death! I have tears in my eyes, can’t help, I really loved him. All my dreams are shattered, like surrendering to Yogi and taking care of his body. With so many buggers around deserving to be killed, why him? Life’s mystery!
R.I. P. Yogi
I will only reply about Arun as I have a friend who spent time with him. No, I am not being sarcastic, when he publishes those books of his they are never from your favourite period, Pune 2, or the Ranch, apparently.
The phrase about Osho sort of being forced to talk after 1985 – well, certainly not mine, but apparently Arun does hold this opinion. You would have to ask him why he holds such a strange opinion.
I remember listening to first talks Osho gave when he came out of silence. He slagged off all the bigboys that he had talked about in Poona 1.
He said he just used them all, Buddha, Krishna, Jesus etc. etc. like glove puppets to actually say what he wanted to say himself, he didn`t really agree with them at all.
It was quite shocking at the time because he was essentially removing the validation of ‘being in a long line of masters’.
Arun, like most `seekers`, seeks that kind of authorisation and validation. That’s why he might want to distance himself from post-silence Osho talks.
Or he might just be a few rotis short of a full thali…
Who knows?
To be fair, he does sound like he`s got a throbbing Hindu hangover and a Trishul stuck up his ass.
Jai Zorba Modi the Buddha!
Now I can laugh…
Two people who have not contributed a single sentence worth taking notice are golden showering together on one of the most prolific writers on this site.
Small mind´s jealousy is like a woman scorned.
Ever heard of the phrase ‘Quality, not Quantity’, Shantam?
Thought not….
Now I can laugh…
Shantam, who has not contributed a single sentence worth taking notice of, doing more golden showering on anyone who doesn’t buy into his nonsense.
Small mind´s jealousy is like a woman scorned.
Newsflash Oct 11, 2525…
Hundreds were crushed to death today when surrendered devotees were involved in a mindless stampede at the Osho Samadhi,the holiest shrine of the Osho religion, during a religious festival in Pune,India.
Later, clashes broke out between rival sects the Oshi`ites,who believe that the founder had no master, and the Sunniasins who believe that he had two sadgurus, leaving rather a lot of people completely braindead.
Sam R Pann, a leading Oshoic schola,r said:
“In ‘Memories of a Golden koran’, Chapter 5, page 3, line 8, it clearly said that Osho had two sadgurus. And both helped him reach enlightenment on March 21st, 1953 at 11.37pm in Bhanwar Tal Garden in Jabalpur, by giving him a leg-up into the moulshree tree.”
To complicate matters, Arun al Bhagdaddy, self-styled leader of Indian Sannyas(IS), declared himself the true successor and released videos on which his followers threatened to extend the borders of his khalifate as far as possible.
Scuffles also broke out between dogs claiming to be elephants and other barking dogs and baboons on an obscure website related to the religion, but what that has to do with anything has, so far, left observers completely baffled….
“I have recently, really come to understand the meaning of the expression, ‘Don’t look at my finger, look where I’m pointing.’ ”
Great post. You’ve reiterated the point from another angle.
Frank, I really ejoyed that. Very funny. Thanks.
Always a pleasure.
Delightful stuff, hysterical. And probably very prophetic!
Osho´s work is flourishing everywhere, but not in Pune…
To hear such sentiments, i remember a case scenario: a prominent wife called hurriedly a press conference. Her main contention was “I am being raped by my husband of last 7 years, every other man I know treats me tenderly, delicately.”
The most important question for you, Shantam, the one that you always avoid, or ignore, or are just ignorant of, is whether “Osho’s work” is “flourishing” where YOU are, ie within YOU.
And no, that has nothing whatsoever to do with whoever runs or doesn’t run the Pune ashram. All that sound and fury you enjoy generating is just ‘propaganda’ – essentially worthless and meaningless for you, except as a self-created way of passing the time or perhaps, if you’re lucky, as a means, ultimately, of you realising (probably far too late) that you’ve largely wasted the last few decades of your life, pointlessly spewing out hot air into the ether….
Shantam called hurriedly a press conference. His main contention was, “I am being raped by sannyasins at Sannyas News disagreeing with me last 7 years; every other man I know treats me tenderly, delicately.”
Osho’s demonstration of fascism at Rajneeshpuram seems to have fallen on deaf ears with Swami Satya Vedant.
A cornerstone of Osho’s teaching is to listen to one’s inner voice instead of slavishly following outer authority. Swami Satya Vedant was quite willing to do Jayesh’s dirty work of banning people from the ashram because of “what I obviously assumed were messages from Osho”. He says, “On my part, my trust in the messenger was total – any message, whether delivered by Jayesh, Laxmi, or Sheela”. Really? So this means that if Sheela had told him to murder someone at Rajneeshpuram he would have complied, because “obviously” the message came from Osho?
He goes on to say, “I feel it pointless finding fault, mistakes or justifications.” Yes, Swami, it’s better to just ignore these things. Self-examination is just so uncomfortable. Behold the mediocre fascist mind.
Nice analysis there, A.Yogi, of the evasive use of language.
Self-examination…
Self-exploration…
Self-enquiry…
Sounds very good when told to the masses or when some philosphy professor tells the class.
Where are the results of self-examination?
Well, one might be realising that you’re an even more stupid, self-deluding fool than I am, Shantam….
The result of self-examination is the realisation that the sack of shit you carry on your shoulders is not the family jewels.
That is perfect. .
Go, AY. Go.
Perfectly correct, Shantambhai!
You must walk on like the elephant man and pay no heed to the barking dogs who are simply jealous of the mighty organs which are squashed into your turban and dangling in your chuddies!
I long for the day, along with all the invisible readers of SN and the members of IS (Indian Sannyas) when Bhorat finally comes home and you are finally received thru the gateless gate, riding high with your ample buttocks firmly ensconced on the back of an elephant, dressed only in gold-threaded chuddies, your bingo-wings flapping in the wind as you namaste the enormous throng of faithful who are hurling themselves at your feet and other vital organs!
My heart longs with more fervour that even you have longed for LIDL’s two-for-one meal deals in your unholy exile in the spiritual wasteland, to witness the moment when you finally take your rightful place on the podium and finally reveal Osho`s vision and your coherent plan for making it happen and the unfolding of a yuga of superconsciousness that will last for a thousand yugas!
With your mighty Sihk heritage, you are a blend of Alexander the Great, Guru Nanak, Guru Palak, Zorba and Santa Banta – in short, exactly the right colour for the job!
Lead us,oh wise one, where the alcoholic Anglo-Saxon baboons have so utterly failed!
After the discourse I will personally drive you back to Lao-tzu house where your mum will wipe your bottom and serve you chapattis, in time-honoured fashion, followed by a session with the finest Japanese Zen Porn stars of your choice!
Then in a vision I see Osho appearing in the clouds and his voice proclaiming:
“This man is my successor, the rightful CEO of my company, hang on his every word. I can finally leave and retire to the Himalayas knowing that my work is complete!”
Yahoo!
Hari Om!
Brilliant!
Yes, brilliant!
Yogi, my beloved, you are back! Do you believe, Frank boy was spreading a rumour that you were killed? Or did you pull a Jesus and raised from the dead? Anyway, who cares? You are back better than before. Brilliant! XX
Yogi, seems you have been squeezed back into your body! Thanks to your Shantambhai!
One of my oldest friends on Ibiza is now 87. Once upon a time he was a millionaire, playboy sannyasin. Now he suffers from gradual dementia, shuffles around, chainsmokes and can’t remember what he was talking about a minute before, although he can tell you things in minute detail that happened 70 years ago.
He has this obsession of being reunited with his true love. The true love in question probably would not recognize my old friend if she met him on the street. Past ten years it has been a downward spiral for my friend in terms of mental and physical health. Almost physically unrecognizable from a decade before. Yet he periodically insists he will be flying to the Far East to be reunited with his beloved. It is absurd. Catching a taxi into town would be a major journey for him, let alone catching an intercontinental flight.
One day, I told my old pal that he might be better off dropping this reunion trip that obviously will never happen. Later, at home, my wife gave me into trouble for doing this. Her point was that we all, in some form or another, harbour our personal dreams and these dreams can be very important in keeping us going in life.
I think she is right. So, now I leave my old friend alone with his dream. In fact, if he starts talking about it, I encourage him. I say things like, you must be happy at the thought of seeing your old lover again, etc. He chuckles and says in return, yes it is so exciting, etc. He actually shows a picture of himself and a woman and does not realize that this is a different woman than the one who he thinks he wants to be reunited with. Pure crazy!
When I read Shantam’s comments about Resort management etc., I shake my head in disbelief, much in the way I do when listening to my old friend go on about the reunion. None of what Shantam says about the Resort and the people who run it has anything much to do with consensual reality. Shantam has delusions about himself being someone much better equipped to do the management job etc. He actually believes what he says in regards Osho’s vision etc., even though he never actually met Osho one-on-one. There is something a little sad about the whole scenario, for were Shantam leading a fulfilled and creative life he would not be so obsessed about the Resort etc.
I suspect that we all have our dreams that get us through the night. I know I do. Were we to expose them publicly we would look ridiculous. So, Shantam is a bit of a special case, because he is doing just that. If you tell him he is only dreaming he simply won’t believe you. There’s the rub, if you tell people the truth about themselves without them asking for it they usually go in two distinct directions…they either do not believe you or they resent you for it.
John Lennon, once again…you might say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one…
Osho…I leave you my dream.
Lokesh,
re your friend with dementia:
Your wife is right to advise you not to confront him. It is understood by dementia carers that the dementia sufferer is trying to move in a thought pattern that gives them some security, thoughts that give a feeling of control, even if it is a fantasy. Losing your mind is very scary-so to play along with them is not “going against truth”, it is more like holding a scared person’s hand…quite caring and compassionate, actually.
If you try to confront or ‘encounter’ or ‘get them to face reality’, not only is it a losing battle due to the nature of the illness brought on by the decline of the state of the brain, it is also dangerous in that it can and will provoke far worse behaviour in them – aggression and so on.
As you say, people who don`t have dementia or Alzheimer’s seem to behave in ways that are similar. Lost dogs think they are elephants and unemployed guys want to rule the world!
What to do?
I guess a bit of the old ‘non-seriousness’ could come in handy from time to time.
But there could even be a limit to that!
Yeah, Frank, it is a kind of an about-turn on the encounter routine. Being, what you believe to be, honest with someone is not always the best path. We are complicated beings and at times extremely fragile. Being a clumsy Scot I need to remind myself of such things.
Yes, it`s quite a challenge.
I had that close-up with my father-in-law.
‘Playing along’ was difficult (despite being darkly humorous at times) because it undermined my own sense of self.
No clear-cut solution.
Lokesh, my so-called obsession with Resort management is not with the two, three people but the stupid arrogance and false vanity showed by the people who think they were the close to Osho.
The politicians are the by-products of their society, and deep down I have a sense of contentment to see Sannyas going down the drain.
It deserves this.
This deep resentment wouldn’t be, at bottom, about your being stuck in an unsatisfactory situation, with no obvious solution, by any chance, would it, Shantam?
And/or somewhere realising your personal sannyas hasn’t really got you anywhere?
P.S:
Warning:
Ideally, a degree or two of “self-examination…self-exploration…self-enquiry” is needed to answer this question.
If I may be so bold, it rather sounds like the ‘pot calling the kettle black’, again, SD!
Ashok, you lost a lot of – if not all – credibility here some time ago, and aren’t exactly retrieving the situation with your recent posts. You come across as a wind-up artist, with nothing much to say – and a not particularly skilled one at that. One wonders exactly what your ulterior agenda might be….
Now, now Satyadeva, calm down please! There is really no need for you to start upsetting yourself on my account.
The implication of what I wrote was that you possibly share some of the circumstances you described re. Shantam’s situation, given the rather precise and knowledgeable detail you employed.
Now, Satyadeva, if that is not the case, then your conscience can rest easy, and there is no need for you to cause yourself further dismay.
Best wishes,
Ashok
Missed again, Ashok.
?
And again!
I wonder if Shantam really got that John Lennon song he would utter such rubbish (obviously not rubbish to him ) about obsession with his nationality, which is the root cause of his current state. Once, I remember mentioning to him that Sikhs are a product of Greek & Indian blood; this information was shared with me by a mutual friend whom we lovingly call ‘Guru’, so in that sense Shantam has Greek blood, but seems Shantam is too sure of his Indian-ness!
Is it not wonderful, Shantam follows the spirit of the string and all other ladies and gentlemen follow him?
Such is the sense of individuality in the masses of sannyasnews, most of them think on the similar lines!
More delusions of grandeur.
It is not delusion of grandeur but rootedness of a disciple in thick and thin. If I go for a single day to any other spiritual service provider, I will say Goodbye to Sannyas and sannyasnews for ever.
Get some soul, Satyadeva!
Shantam, that post (11.11am) is nothing but self-important delusion.
As is your response, implying that you’re ‘higher than the common herd’, some sort of ‘quintessential’ sannyasin, and as such, an example to all!
Unfortunately, however, Shantam, you’re clearly a mediocrity with certain unsavoury racist tendencies. And, like so many mediocrities, you merely mistake your personal concerns and enthusiastically held views and opinions for truth, for ‘reality’.
Wise words indeed, Shantam! I couldn’t agree with you more. But don’t expect the flock to understand what you are talking about. They are only happy when they go “Baaaa, baaaa, baaaa”, following each other, and dropping their little smelly green pellets all over the place!
Try to forgive them, Shantam, for they know not what they do!
Shantam, say what you may, I can ignore your stupidity but I can’t ignore you for long!
I think Viha Connection is published from USA.
After Satya Vedant’s article I will be glad if they can find some insights about the mass exodus of Hollywood gang from Inner Circle. This will be a scoop.
During the final phase of Pune 2, Avirbhava, Hasya, Kavisha and friends got the maximum juice from Osho. Five seats out of twenty went to them. Within months these sincere-looking disciples with glamour and money simply left Pune for not returning back, even for a day.
Their mystery school in Sedona also could not pick up. Two out of five are already gone to their heavenly abode.
Viha Connection can try to get some words of insight from remaining three.
There are many talks of Swami Satya Vedant on youtube. My fellow bloggers can spare few minutes to make this string bit more focused.
I will be happy to pay for the cup of Masala Chai in German Bakery, Pune to anyone who can watch one complete video.
I have tried. My problem is, while watching meditation videos more than a minute, my mind says, “Why don’t you watch world news?”
Some years ago, having attempted like Lokesh, to talk some sense into somebody who was suffering from a mental disease, I was subsequently ticked off by a mental health professional (with a heavy dose of sarcasm) that I was wasting my time, as the sane and insane are obviously incompatible!
Therefore, I concluded (when the penny finally dropped as to what the medic was saying!), that trying to reason with the insane may in fact constitute an act of insanity, itself!
(Ponder deeply, all you merry gentlemen, habitual fecal crackheads, whomsoever you are! Ooooohh no, wait a minute, I think I must be going insane…I am trying to reason with the insane again!)
Satya Vedant’s protestations at being unaware of power might place him in the realms of the naive, immature or stupid, I suppose. However, it seems more likely given his various career developments outlined in this thread, that he is in fact a man of some political persuasion, and therefore quite possibly, extremely cynical and very definitely, insane!
He probably thinks that all sannyasins are insane idiots too, and therefore prepared to swallow his twoddle!
Pull the other one, Satya Vedant – it’s got bells on!
Thought I had better check out Swami Vedant, so found something on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96gozRmK4T8
I stuck it out for approx. 2 minutes. Man, this guy is simply boring and who on earth mixed in the piano wallpaper musick…the combo is like swallowing a handful of Valium…hey, didn’t Osho do that as some sort of device for our awakening?
This is synchronicity!
During the day, this was exactly the video i have chosen as a specimen out of hundred others.
When I clicked the link and it opened at 8th minute I felt like giving suggestion to all those who want to talk about Meditation, “Please do this in such a juicy way as many others talk about Masturbation…Self-pleasure without depending upon the other is the key…It should be visible in the tone!”