From INSANITY To SANITY
Interview with Swami Swaram
by Sw Anand Arhat at Osho Tapoban
(Swaram is a philosopher, a teacher by profession and a sannyasin at heart. He is a thirty year old man from Italy who's been living in Osho Tapoban for the last five months. Here is his experience.)
How did you come to know about Osho?
When I was 18 I had gone to an underground rock concert. In the concert I saw a man with long hair and an unusually long beard that reached his waist. He was holding a small book stall where all the books for sale had OSHO written on them. There, I bought a very small book by Osho known as the "Philosphy of Non-Violence", it was the cheapest one. But when I read the book I was entralled and amazed by Osho's intellegence. This was my first encounter with Osho.
You took sannyas and have become a disciple of Osho, when and why did you decide to choose Osho as your spiritual master?
In 1998 I went to Pune. Even though I really felt close to Osho and did all the meditations I didnt take sannyas. Later in Jan 2000, when I returned to Pune, my resistances collapsed. It was not a planned decision and I took sannyas. During the sannyas celebration, the energy was so strong that I cried for an hour and I had no reason. I chose Osho as my spiritual master because he understood me and gave me the freedom to be myself. He had the answers to all my questions which I couldn't find anywhere else
What inspired you or motivated you to come here? (to Tapoban)
In London my friend informed me that Swami Arun was going to conduct a meditation camp there. I did not want to miss this camp which took place just outside London in Epping Forest, a beautiful place. After participating in the camp my life was totally transformed. I got a real glimpse of meditation and experienced something which I had never experienced before. I had psychological problems since I was 17. When I went to Pune, I participated in many groups and visited the therapists there in the commune. After attending the therapies or groups in Pune, I would feel better for sometime but then it would return again. But when I took Swami Arun's camp, things started changing for me. Through Swami Arun I understood OSHO. I understood what it means to be a sanyassin and to be on a spiritual path. Then I really wanted to taste silence and when I watched Tapoban's introductory documentary I immediately decided to come to Tapoban.
You took Sannyaas in Pune and only recently you started wearing the mala again, why do you wear it now?
In Pune and everywhere else nobody gives importance to the mala. Though I was wearing it in the beginning I saw how insignificant it was for other sanyasins in Pune and other places so I stopped wearing it. But when I participate in Swami Arun's camp I felt his profound love and respect for mala and listening from him about the importance of Mala especially for us, the people from the West who do not consider it to be significant and take it as a commodity. I really felt the difference with the Mala which I received in sannyas as a token of love from the Master.
What was your first impression when you came to the Tapoban commune?
When I first came here I had tons of problems, I was very low, depressed and suicidal. Outside it was very easy for me to distract myself but in Tapoban there was no escape. So here I had a total encounter with myself. All my problems intensified. Many times I wanted to fly back to Italy but within I felt that it was not the solution. Gradually I started feeling better and a trust for myself arose within me. After participating in the next camp conducted by Swami Arun I started going deeper in meditation. For the first time after many years I was relaxed in my body and mind.
I have seen that you are very regular in meditations and you attend all the five sessions in Rajneesh Dhyan Mandir. Which is your favorite meditation & Why?
I like Dynamic the most and here I can feel it going deep. It is the most powerful meditation and I can feel that it can transform life and the whole chemistry of the human body. It’s the perfect cure to everything and I thank Osho for creating it. If done with commitment and patience it can work wonders.
How have Osho Meditations changed your life?
The meditations completely transformed my life. When I started doing it regularly many habits dropped and it completely changed the chemistry of my body. As I started meditating my body started cleansing and many of my physcial problems got cured. The fear that I was carrying within started fading away and I have become more ready to be still and relaxed.
What would you advise or say to those people in the West who have similar problems?
I advise them to do the meditations regularly with commitment and patience. Talking to therapists and the psychologists doesn’t help much. I feel that it is not a problem that can be solved through mind. It needs a totally new approach and that is meditation. Meditation is a cure that is a much deeper experience and a radical solution. Moreover, as we do it ourselves, it also helps to build our self-confidence.
When you first came here, you had planned to stay for 20 days but it has already been five months and yet it seems that you don’t want to leave, what has happened?
The problems that we have are so deeply entrenched in our beings that it takes time to recover completely. If I go back, all these efforts will be easily lost. I don’t want to leave until I have a strong spiritual foundation, this place helps you make it. Moreover, the energy here is very strong. Every time a new wave sweeps in and the silence that tails with it, just so addictive…
What do you think makes Osho Tapoban different to other Osho places you have been to around the world?
Well, here it's really the focus on meditation and love for the Master which I never found anywhere else. There is no superficial thing such as therapies and groups. The Buddhafield here is very strong. I am amazed because the people here are always laughing and relaxed. This creates a therapeautic energy of its own and just being here cures all the problems. When I first came here I was very low and depressed but the sannyasins accepted me just as I was and treated me normally and I felt welcome.
(This article appeared first on the Osho Tapoban site)
