Comments on: A Trademark for Osho?

By: alokjohn

alokjohn — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 16:09:32 +0000

Dharmen,
With the information I have to hand I support Pune re trademarks.
I just want to say that the whole question of what is Osho’s work is very delicate. If you believe there is such a thing as raising awareness, then you have to make a judgement as to whether a particular sannyasins’s work is about raising awareness. I think it is possible to create a bodymind technique that reduces love and awareness. And some of the best people to decide this are those with lots of experience in Pune.

By: dharmen

dharmen — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 13:32:34 +0000

Alok, I’m not too sure where we going with this, as part of what Ramateertha is saying, is that Poona was exerting control over the centres. I don’t think many would disagree with that. I don’t know what his take is on how that would make money. I don’t think anyone was paying a license fees to use the trademark.
Its well known that the European centres contributed vast sums of money during the Ranch Period. Medina was regularly milked dry, but on the other hand most of us believed in the vision for Rajneshpuram and the communes were willing contributors. But this is really a different time period to this trademark issue.
As for the rules, I’d almost forgotten all that Aids stuff. Yes, some of that was way over the top but in the early days, when those edicts where first issued, little was known about how Aids could spread and the original instructions did come from the man himself. How much was added later I don’t know.
Even so, I never really felt constrained by any set of rules.
I’m not too sure what your trying to say, as on one hand, you seem to be against the controlling influence of Pune and on the other you are for them enforcing a trademark on Osho.

By: alokjohn

alokjohn — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 11:57:13 +0000

Hi Dharmen,

First paragraph….
Ramateertha says twice that in his opinion since 1990, Pune wants to control the centres to make money. I would have thought a newcomer reading this would infer that Uta was sending its profits to Pune, something I doubt. For one thing the sort of money made by UTA is going to be “chicken feed” in comparison to the costs of running Pune. Okay the bit about Mr Jayesh was a bit rhetorical, stating what some people seem to believe.
I think it is more likely that Pune loses income from restricting the use of the mark “Osho.” In the 90s there was Osho Tibetan Pulsing which was popular in Pune; and Sarita’s tantra groups. My understanding is Pune stopped these partially because the techniques were not created by Osho. So they lost this income.

Second paragraph….. I worked at Osho Purnima, Kentish Town, from about 87 to 91. There was a big file of rules for an Osho Meditation centre. The rules about AIDS tests were onerous. We could show someone round the centre without a HIV negative certificate. But if someone wanted to do a single kundalini they had to show a HIV negative certificate. We obeyed this rule. Ask Prabuddho. Okay, we did not take the file of rules too seriously but it was there in the background. I remember at least one phone call from Pune to check that we were more or less compliant. As far as I recall, we were allowed to do the standard Osho meditations and White Robe and sell books and tapes etc, and not much else. It was really quite restrictive.

Third paragraph
Okay, as to the third paragraph, I take your point.
But…
There is a man in India who calls himself Osho Rajneesh. He has written his own book. A newcomer could easily confuse him with the real Osho. Okay, I do not know his motivation. Maybe it is not to make a quick buck. But I think it is highly suspicious he uses this name. If this man was in Europe where the trademark stands, use of the mark “Osho” could be stopped.

For a while at least, the Dehli centre used an early version of dynamic– “old is good” Indian conditioning. If Osho had wanted this early version of dynamic to be used, that is what would have been offered daily at Pune 2 from 87 to 90 when he was still in the body.

And who knows what will happen down the line as the years pass?

By: dharmen

dharmen — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 06:52:41 +0000

Alok, I have read what you say and I find I take exception to all 3 paragraphs.

Where in this piece does it say that Uta Cologne was sending money to Pune. And as this is something that you do not seem to believe is true anyway, why throw in this bit about it being to support Jayesh’s life style.

I lived in an Osho commune for 4 years – I was not aware of having to comply with a massive book of rules. There were ‘rules’, most just framed up a particular way of living. but massive book, no!

Its been over two years since the trademark ruling in America and as far as I know, no ones done what you say. Do you know of any instances were its happened?

By: alokjohn

alokjohn — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 22:59:55 +0000

So Osho Uta Koln, was sending money to Pune? Really? Uta’s hard earned profits from daily dynamic and kundalini were being sent to support the rich lifestyle of Mr Jayesh in Pune. Really?

When I worked in Osho centres in the 80s and 90s there was a massive book of rules, albeit we did not sign anything.

If there is no control over the mark “Osho”, then anyone can create any bodymind technique and call it an Osho technique. Then a newcomer who wished to do an Osho meditation, would not know if was doing a meditation carefully devised by Osho or something else created by someone to make a quick buck.