Bibliography Oregon 1984-1985

Bibliography
Oregon 1984 – 1985

Discourses
Press Interviews
Compilations & Special Editions
Autobiographies

“Vivek was just asking me, “Why are your discourses called ‘The Rajneesh Bible’?
They are called “The Bible” just to make it clear to the whole world that “bible” simply means the book, it does not mean the holy book. That’s why you say “bibliography.” Is there anything holy in a bibliography? A bibliography simply means a list of books. It is really just “the book,” and I want it to be clear to the whole world that a bible has nothing to do with holiness.” From Darkness to Light (1988). Chapter 13, p. 171.

This Bibliography covers all published first editions of Osho’s discourses and press interviews during his years in Oregon 1981 – 1985. That is, after he in late October 1984 ended his period of 1.315 days of silence which began in Poona One. The annotated bibliographic entries are listed according to the chronological sequence of the discourse series and therefore not always following the year of publishing.

Included are information and endorsements from flaps and covers, as well as quotes from Osho’s discourses at the opening of each series. Quite often excerpts from the published books’ Introduction may provide useful insight into the context and events during this phase of Osho’s work.

Only in some cases later editions are mentioned. For more information on later editions, translations, photos of covers and much more, see also www.sannyas.wiki

In most books editors and other crew members are listed in the colophon with the many credentials bestowed upon them by Rajneesh Academy and Rajneesh International Meditation University (RIMU). These credentials and honorifics have all been omitted in the bibliographic registration of the books.

Osho’s discourse series are all in the Question/Answer format, and it may be noted, that during his stay in Oregon, Osho never talked about sutras and religious scriptures which he was usually propounding throughout other phases of his work.

Talks in Lao Tzu Grove

* The Rajneesh Bible. Volume 1 of 4. Editors: Sw Devaraj. Sw Devageet. Ma Prem Maneesha. Introduction: Sw Krishna Prem. Design: Ma Anand Nirado. Direction: Ma Yoga Pratima. Publisher: Ma Anand Sheela. Rajneesh Foundation International, Rajneeshpuram, March 1985. Printed in the U.S.A. First Edition. 788 pages. Paperback. Size: 18×10,5 cm. Weight: 550 g. ISBN: 0-88050-200-2. LC Card Number: 85-42539. 10,000 copies. Price: $6.95. Period: 30.10pm – 28.11.1984. 30 discourses. Subject: Questions and Answers. Place: Lao Tzu Grove, Rajneeshpuram. Oregon.

In Appendix: Books by Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh Published by Rajneesh Foundation International. Books From Other Publishers. English Editions. Foreign Language Editions. Books on Bhagwan. (Rajneeshism. An Introduction to Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and His Religion. Revised Second Edition. 78 pages. Published in German, Italian and Japanese. The Book. An Introduction to the Teachings of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. Series I-III. ‘From absolute to zero and everything in-between. More than 1000 specially selected excerpts from the complete works of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh in English. His genius and insight in a vast range of subjects presented in a simply organized and easy to read form’). Rajneesh Meditation Centers, Ashrams and Communes. Advertisements.
Alternate title: ‘From Unconsciousness to Consciousness’ (1998).
“Special talks for a group called THE CHOSEN FEW who are going to be the messengers of Rajneeshism for the world at large. These discourses were given at Lao Tzu Grove, Rajneeshpuram Oregon, U.S.A. October 30 – November 28, 1984.”
This series contain twelve volumes of which only the first four were published with the title ‘Rajneesh Bible’.
From back cover: “This is the new psychology, this is the new religion. This is the new man and woman come of age.” Carl Silver. Director of Services. Brookhaven Institute of Psychotherapy.
“I consider (Bhagwan) one of the lights of this generation.” Rabbi Joseph H. Gelberman. New York City; Washington, DC. Founder and President of the New Seminary.
“I want these discourses to be existential… Before it is too late I have to convey all that I have been waiting years to convey.” Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. The Rajneesh Bible, Vol 3. Ch..4.
These 30 evening discourses are all answers to questions and most discourses are based on one question only.

Introduction by Sw Krishna Prem. Excerpts:
“THE RAJNEESH BIBLE is pure, direct communication. It is no gospel-according-to, no fragmentary recollection handed down and paraphrased long after the source itself has ceased to be.
THE RAJNEESH BIBLE is pure, direct communion. It is the living enlightened Master Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh speaking on His religion, on the vital, unfolding religion of Rajneeshism.
In one respect, the news that Bhagwan was to speak again after 1,315 days of silence, came as a surprise. And yet, in another respect, His decision to speak again wasn’t such a surprise after all – our Master’s unpredictability has always been our delight. And, as He told us that first evening, the silent period served His purpose well.
“These days of silence,” He said, “have helped those who were just intellectually curious, rationally interested in me, to turn their back. And secondly, it has helped me to find my real authentic people, who are not in need of words to be with me… But today,” He continued, “I have suddenly decided to speak again, again after 1,315 days, for a simple reason: the picture that I have been painting for all my life needs a few touches here and there to complete it…
This is for the first time I am speaking to my own people – not to Hindus, not to Mohammedans, not to Christians, not to Jews. It makes a lot of difference, and only because of that difference I can give the finishing touch to the picture that I have been painting.”
The talks in this first volume of THE RAJNEESH BIBLE are just that: the Master speaking to His own people. And they are of a delicious intimacy…
And this is the amazing beauty and import of THE RAJNEESH BIBLE. It is a happening unprecedented in human history: there were no microphones to follow Buddha through Bihar. Here is the first-hand experience of a man who has attained to the ultimate flowering. And there are no more jumping boards. Here is Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh in utter brilliance. He is no longer playing on Krishna’s flute. Now He is simply singing His very own song…
And in these talks, Bhagwan has made Himself available. Here are words without mystique or mumbo-jumbo. Here are words like beacons, guiding us home…
THE RAJNEESH BIBLE is not a holy book. Nor is it a scripture. It is an open and loving invitation. It is an invitation to come and drink from a river that runs broad and true and free.” (No page number)

Opening discourse by Osho, ‘Silence, the pull of the innermost zero’, in the first evening 30.10.1984. Excerpt:
“BHAGWAN, Why do You call Your religion the first and the last religion?
It is a little difficult for me to speak again. It has been difficult always, because I have been trying to speak the unspeakable. Now it is even more so.
After one thousand three hundred and fifteen days of silence, it feels as if I am coming to you from a totally different world. In fact it is so.
The world of words, language, concepts, and the world of silence are so diametrically opposite to each other, they don’t meet anywhere. They can’t meet by their very nature. Silence means a state of wordlessness, and to speak now, it is as if to learn language again from ABC. But this is not a new experience for me; it has happened before too.
For thirty years I have been speaking continually. It was such a tension because my whole being was pulled towards silence, and I was pulling myself towards words, language, concepts, philosophies.
There was no other way to convey, and I had a tremendously important message to convey. There was no way to shirk the responsibility. I had tried it.
The day I realized my own being, it was such a fulfilment that I became silent. There was nothing left to be asked…
Now I have found my people, and I have to arrange a silent communion, which will help in two ways: those who cannot understand silence will drop out. That will be good. That will be a good weeding. Otherwise they will go on clinging around me because of the words, because their intellect feels satisfied. And I am not here to satisfy their intellect. My purpose is far, far deeper, of a different dimension.
So these days of silence have helped those who were just intellectually curious, rationally interested in me, to turn their back. And secondly, it helped me to find my real authentic people who are not in need of words to be with me. They can be with me without words. That’s the difference between communication and communion.
Communication is through words, and communion is through silence.
So these days of silence have been immensely fruitful. So now only those are left for whom my presence is enough, my people is enough, for whom just my gesture of the hand is enough, for whom my eyes are enough; for whom language is no more a need.
But today I have suddenly decided to speak again – again after one thousand three hundred and fifteen days – for the simple reason: that the picture that I have been painting all my life needs a few touches here and there to complete it. Because suddenly, that one day when I became silent, everything was left incomplete. Before I depart from you as far as my physical body is concerned, I would like to complete it…
Sheela has asked why I call my religion the first and perhaps the last religion.
Yes I call it the first religion because religion is the highest flowering of consciousness. Up to now man was not capable of conceiving it.
Even now, only one percent of humanity is barely able to conceive it. The masses are still living in the past, burdened with the past, conditioned with the past. Barely one percent of mankind is in a state now to conceive religion. All the old religions are based in fear. Now, a real religion destroys fear. It is not based in fear…
All these religions in the past are anti-life. Nobody is for life. Nobody is for living. Nobody is for laughter. No religion has accepted a sense of humor as a quality of religiousness.
Hence, I say my religion is the first religion which takes man in his totality, in his naturalness, accepts man’s whole, as he is. And that’s what holy means to me – not something sacred, but something accepted in its wholeness.” (pp. 2-13)

* The Rajneesh Bible. Volume 2 of 4. Editors: Sw Devaraj. Sw Devageet. Ma Prem Maneesha. Introduction: Ma Alima. Design: Sw Anand Subhadra. Direction: Ma Yoga Pratima. Publisher: Ma Anand Sheela. Rajneesh Foundation International, Rajneeshpuram, June 1985. Printed in the U.S.A. First Edition. 868 pages. Paperback. Size: 18×10,5 cm. Weight: 545 g. ISBN: 0-88050-201-0. LC Card Number: 85-42539. 10,000 copies. Price: $6.95. Period: 29.11pm – 29.12.1984, except 12.12. 30 discourses. Subject: Questions and Answers. Place: Lao Tzu Grove, Rajneeshpuram. Oregon.

In Appendix: Books by Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh Published by Rajneesh Foundation International. Books From Other Publishers. English Editions. Foreign Language Editions. Books on Bhagwan. U.S. Distributors: Baker and Taylor Co., Bookpeople, DeVorss and Co., Inland Book Company, Narada Distributing, New Leaf Distributing, Vital Body Marketing. Overseas Distributors. Rajneesh Meditation Centers, Ashrams and Communes. Advertisements.
Later renamed ‘From Ignorance to Innocence’ but never published as a book under that title. That title was used for audio tapes and on ‘Osho. Books on CD-ROM’ (1994) though.
“Special talks for a group called THE CHOSEN FEW who are going to be the messengers of Rajneeshism for the world at large. These discourses were given at Lao-Tzu Grove, Rajneeshpuram, Oregon, U.S.A. November 29 – December 11, 1984 and December 13 – December 29, 1984.”
The sannyas.wiki writes on the discourse 19.12.1984 pm. “CD-ROM on this chapter: “The tapes of this discourse were erased the day after it was given, this transcription appeared a week later.”
The original tapes were erased by Sheela the following day, because it attacked the powerbrokers in Rajneeshpuram.
Chapter 20 of ‘From Ignorance to Innocence’ is a reproduction of the censored transcript, which was published a week later in the Rajneesh Timers.
Sw Anand Parmartha says on www.sannyasnews.org, 20 Apr 2011:
“Those few who were not part of Sheela’s circle who heard the discourse recall that 0sho called for autonomous centres and communes again, and not ones merged with the Ranch organisation – as had increasingly happened since 1983. He also said that no-one could henceforth claim they were speaking on his behalf. (A common trick by Sheela and her group). Finally he underlined that he was not intending sannyasins to be left under any kind of ‘Fascist Regime’.””
From back cover: “What you can read in many of Bhagwan’s books is coming into reality now, that men who are in harmony with themselves and with each other, who are more and more aware and conscious, are able to cooperate in a new and human way. His vision of the new man and the new society is the only alternative to the self destruction of mankind.” Dipl. Ing. Reinhard Küchenmüller, Institute für Bauplanung, Stuttgart.
These 30 evening discourses are all answers to questions and most discourses are based on one question only.

Introduction by Ma Alima. Excerpts:
“In the beginning we had The Holy Bible, the word of God we were told. Now we have a new beginning, THE RAJNEESH BIBLE, the words of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. An update – and what an update!…
These discourses shake the roots of our “religious” background, of our conditioning. They are what the church used to call “heresy.” They go to the heart of the matter. Most of us have quoted the Bible, been quoted at from the Bible, sworn on the Bible, doubted the Bible, but how many of us have really questioned the basic premise of the Bible: that God exists… Who is He? Where did He come from? Any why only one son? And who is this Holy Ghost? And how come women get such a bad deal? And who am I in all this?…
“Remember it: what you experience only is yours. What you know, only that you know.”…
These discourses are the challenge and the surgery. They have the effect of burning the fabric of our imagined identity. Out of this, like a phoenix rising from the ashes, He creates the opportunity for the New Man, the harmonious man, to be born.
There is no dogma in His words. They spring from His experience of life, His truth, which He relates as to a friend sitting by the fireside; full of warmth and humor and love. The richness and wholeness of a man whose inner journey is complete, who is simply “at home.”” (No page number)

Opening discourse by Osho, ‘Pseudo-religion: the stick-on soul’, in the evening 29.11.1984. Excerpt:
“BHAGWAN, Why is humanity today becoming more and more miserable?
The cause is very simple, perhaps too simple. It is very close, very obvious, and this is the reason why most of the people go on missing seeing it. When something is very obvious you start taking it for granted. When something is too close to your eyes you cannot see it. For seeing, some distance is needed.
So the first thing I would like you to remember is that it is not only today that humanity is miserable. It has always been miserable.
Misery has almost become your second nature. We have lived in it for thousands of years. That closeness does not allow us to see it; otherwise it is so obvious. But to see the obvious you need a child’s vision.
And we are all carrying thousands of years in our eyes. Our eyes are old; they cannot see afresh. They have already accepted things, and forgotten that those things are the very cause of misery.
The religious prophets, the political leaders, the moral lawgivers – you have respected them, not even suspecting that they are the cause of your misery. How can you suspect them? Those people have served humanity, sacrificed themselves for humanity. You worship them; you cannot relate them to your misery.
The causes of misery are camouflaged behind beautiful words, holy scriptures, spiritual sermons.” (p. 2)

* The Rajneesh Bible. Volume 3 of 4. Editors: Sw Devaraj. Sw Devageet. Ma Prem Maneesha. Introduction: Sw Prem Siddhena. Design: Ma Prem Pujan. Direction: Ma Yoga Pratima. Publisher: Ma Anand Sheela. Rajneesh Foundation International, Rajneeshpuram, September 1985. Printed in the U.S.A. First Edition. 1062 pages. Paperback. Size: 18×10,5 cm. Weight: 645 g. ISBN: 0-88050-202-9. LC Card Number: 85-42539. 10,000 copies. Price: $6.95. Period: 30.12.1984 – 28.01.1985. 30 discourses. Subject: Questions and Answers. Place: Lao Tzu Grove, Rajneeshpuram. Oregon.

Introduction by Sw Prem Siddhena. Excerpts:
“Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh is a master story-teller, with a twinkle in His eye and grace of hand, whose tales will weave you into His very life and take you on a journey peopled with such characters as a pompous professor, a skeleton standing in for the Holy Ghost, and an All-India champion wrestler. He paints pictures of His life which are one extraordinary adventure after another.
These stories, however much we laugh, are more than entertainment. They express the very nature of His being. They are the outcome of a man living in truth, accepting nothing unless He has experienced it. They reveal an Authentic Man.
These discourses tell another story too. They reveal a great conspiracy which has been going on for thousands of years. It is a conspiracy that has bound us in comparison and conditions. They disclose the jailers – priests and politicians – who have tied us up in beliefs and promises…
Here is the Existential Man, the pure and natural man. These words are His celebration. This book is an invitation to once more express our ecstasy, our forgotten truth. BEWARE – this is not a bible for your library, this is a rare flame which can set you ablaze. It is a fire which can set the whole world dancing.” (No page number)

Opening discourse by Osho, ‘Man is born with a question mark in his heart’, in the evening, 30.12.1984. Excerpt:
“BHAGWAN, What place has mysticism in Your religion?
My religion is pure mysticism. There is nothing else in it.
The other religions have no place for mysticism in them. They cannot have, for the simple reason that they have answers for every question – bogus answers, without any evidence, with no argument. but for the gullible humanity they are consoling. They demystify existence.
All knowledge demystifies existence.
I don’t teach you knowledgeability.
On the other hand all the religions do just that: they make you knowledgeable. They have a God as the creator. They have messengers of God bringing all the answers from the original source, indubitable, infallible.
These religions could exploit humanity for a simple reason: man feels a kind of inner unease when there are questions and there is no way to find the answer. Questions are there – man is born with questions, with a big question mark in his heart – and it is good.
It is good that man is born with a question mark, otherwise he would be just another species of animal. Buffaloes have no questions – they accept whatever is, unquestioningly – they are really faithful, religious. Trees have no questions, birds have no questions; it is only man and man’s prerogative, his privilege. In the whole of existence he alone is capable of asking a question.
The old religions have been trying to destroy your privilege. They have been forcing you down to the level of the animals. That’s what they call faith: “undoubting faith.” They want you to be buffaloes, donkeys, but not men – because man’s only special quality that defines him as separate from animalhood is the question mark. Yes, it is a turmoil. Certainly to live without any questions is peaceful, but that peace is a dead peace, it has no life in it. That silence is the silence of a cemetery, of the graveyard.
I would prefer man to be in a turmoil, but alive.” (p. 2)

* The Rajneesh Bible. Volume 4 of 4. Editors: Sw Devaraj. Sw Devageet. Ma Prem Maneesha. Sw Das Anudas. Introduction: Sw Devaraj. Design: Ma Dhyan Amiyo. Production: Sw Dhyan Kholji. Publisher: Rajneesh Foundation Europe, Zürich, January 1987. Printed in Germany. First Edition. 948 pages. Paperback. Size: 18×10,5 cm. Weight: 515 g. ISBN: 3-907757-02-5. LC Card Number: 85-42539. 5,000 copies. Period: 29.01 – 27.02.1985. 30 discourses. Subject: Questions and Answers. Place: Lao Tzu Grove, Rajneeshpuram. Oregon.

In Appendix: Books by Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. English Language Editions. Rajneesh Foundation Europe. Other Publishers. Foreign Language Editions. Rajneesh Meditation Centers, Ashrams and Communes.
Alternate title: ‘From Misery to Enlightenment’ (2014)
Printed on paper of poorer quality than the three previous volumes.
These 30 evening discourses are answers to questions and all based on one question only.
“In loving gratitude to Bhagwan. Rajneesh Flugreisen. Die Rajneesh Times.“ (Sponsor)
From back cover: “Rajneesh is a man of gifted intellect and extraordinary erudition… His published discourses are a source of much wisdom, insight and poetic beauty. And I regard his teachings to be a significant contribution to humanity’s enduring quest for spiritual understanding, growth and fulfilment.” Ronald O. Clarke, Ph.D., Professor of Religious Studies, Oregon State University, U.S.A.
“There are perhaps no other religious leaders in the world with his remarkable qualities… He is obviously one of the world’s most exceptional men.” T.L. Shay, Professor of Political Science, Willamette University, Oregon, U.S.A.
“Powerful people all over the world are tying to silence the Bhagwan. But if they silence him, what will they gain? You can destroy a man more easily than you can destroy an idea. And you can deny the truth, or hide it, or turn your back on it, but you can’t destroy it. And it does seem to keep popping up.” Dell Murphy, Author and Journalist, Oregon, U.S.A. Quote taken from her book: ‘The Rajneesh Story’ (1986).

Introduction by Sw Devaraj. Dated November 12, 1985. Excerpt:
“In October and November of 1985, the world was treated to the bizarre sight of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh being dragged across the United States of America in handcuffs and leg irons. The barbarity of this act compared with the unproven charges against Him will slowly seep into the consciousness of the country and stain it forever. The cancer of governmental violence was exposed for all to see.
It is indeed ironic that the American government claims a moral prerogative to “fight terrorism throughout the world,” when it rests on a bureaucracy for whom terrorism is, as the treatment of Bhagwan has shown, “a policy option.”
But there are greater ironies yet to come. As time goes by, the systematic nature of government actions against Bhagwan and His commune continue to unfold, revealing nothing less than religious persecution. That a country founded by people seeking to escape such persecution should resort to the same strategies itself, is as demeaning an insult to the founding fathers and their constitution as can be imagined.
Moreover, that such charges as immigration fraud should be levelled by a country whose ruling group took possession of the land at the barrel of a gun is an even richer irony. Without doubt, the destruction of their Red Indian predecessors must be the greatest immigration fraud in history.
But when all is said and done we have to admit that the rise of the state has been one of the new religions of the twentieth century.
Jingoistic national anthems have become the creeds of these new religions, where patriotic fervour is the sign of the true believer. East and West, North and South, the story of ever more dominant state power emerges everywhere.
And with that new power has come the dissident.
Almost every nation regards as its divine right the power to take whatever action is required to silence those few brave souls who have the courage to speak against the ruling ideologies – ideologies that condition man everywhere to accept some party line or other under the guise of “public opinion.” Yes, we have come to expect such behaviour. But that begs another question. Why Bhagwan?
Even news commentators were amazed at the sight of Bhagwan being treated, as one put it, “like Al Capone and Bugs Malone combined.”
And there is the center of the issue: Why should a country as large, powerful, and apparently confident as the United States feel fearful enough of this peaceful man to attack him? Was there ever a greater sign of weakness? Was there ever a greater sign that somebody somewhere is desperately afraid that what He is saying may be right?
Much of that material is in this book.
As He says in Discourse 8, “Coming to America has been a tremendous disappointment. There is no democracy anywhere – neither in America, nor in the Soviet Union, nor anywhere else. It is only a word that politicians have been exploiting.”
Bhagwan explains precisely why, in His own unique, brilliant and amazing way.” (No page number)

Discourse by Osho, ‘From pseudo-faith to your original face’, in the evening 03.02.1985. (See also Chapter 1 in ‘The Way of the White Cloud’ (1975)). This quote is from Chapter 6. Excerpt:
“BHAGWAN, Did you drift away on many points yesterday?
I am constantly drifting away every day. It is something in the very nature of things I am talking about. I cannot help it. With each word spoken, I have so many dimensions available; I have to choose one. Which one I choose makes no difference, the others are left. And then there is no way of coming back to them because each new word will be bringing new implications. So you have to go on reminding me – don’t feel shy about it…
I have been drifting my whole life. You have to be alert. And if you can remind me that somewhere I have drifted, I can catch hold of a dimension that has been left behind. But you should not expect that I will stop drifting, because in catching hold of the other dimension, again I will be leaving many more.
On each step there is a problem of choosing, because I am an existential person, I am not a thinker. It is not a logical syllogism that I am propounding to you. It is my experience that I am trying to share with you – and experience is so vast that I can only show you a little part of it. But you are always welcome to remind me. Yes, I remember I had drifted on many points; perhaps a few I can manage to catch back again…
Hundreds of theologians continually creating more and more books… For what? – because the basic questions have not been answered yet. They go on improving upon the books, but whatsoever they do, the fundamental questions remain at the same place, because intellect has no answer for them.” (Ch. 6, pp. 178,182,201)

* From Darkness to Light. Answers to the Seekers of the Path. Editors: Sw Devaraj. Ma Prem Maneesha. Introduction: Sw Prem Oscar. Design: Sw Deva Anugito. Sw Shunyam Max. Typing: Sw Anand Jina. Typesetting: Photon Graphics Pvt. Ltd., Poona, India. Production: Sw Dhyan Kholji. Printing: Mohndruck, Gütersloh, West Germany. Publisher: The Rebel Publishing House GmbH, Cologne, (no year) 1988. First Edition. 396 pages. Hardbound. Size: 21,5×19 cm. Weight: 865 g. ISBN: 3-89338-020-5. Period: 28.02 – 31.03.1985. 30 discourses. Subject: Questions and Answers. Place: Lao Tzu Grove, Rajneeshpuram. Oregon. (A Rebel Book).

In Appendix: Books by Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. English Language Editions. Rajneesh Publishers. Other Publishers. Foreign Language Editions. (Including: In Chinese: I Am the Gate (Woolin)) Books about Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. (Including: This Very Place The Lotus Paradise: Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and His Work 1978-1984. Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh: The Most Dangerous Man Since Jesus Christ / Sue Appleton. Bhagwan: The Buddha For The Future / Juliet Forman. Bhagwan: The Most Godless Yet The Most Godly Man / George Meredith. The Way of the Heart / Judith Thompson and Paul Helas. Rajneeshpuram and the Abuse of Power / Ted Shay. Rajneeshpuram, the Unwelcome Society / Kirk Braun. The Rajneesh Story: The Bhagwan’s Garden / Dell Murphy). Rajneesh Meditation Centers, Ashrams and Communes.
These 30 evening discourses are answers to questions and all are based on one question only. No publishing year mentioned in colophon.
On back cover: “If we want to find a way out of the crisis we are going through, a crisis of general depression, we have to understand what happens around Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. Rather than listening to what Reagan or Gorbachev have to say, we have to look into the new way of life that is arising out of Bhagwan’s teachings.” Guido Tassinari. President of the Institute of Humanistic Psychology. Milan, Italy.
“Rajneesh makes it clear from the very beginning that he is against all codified traditions, against all strict moralities, against all kinds of repression, all forms of asceticism and renunciation – all kinds of moralities imposed from the outside. For him, the most important issue for the individual is freedom from all conditionings and limitations.” Mauro Bergonzi. Researcher in Indian Religion and Philosophy. University of Naples, Italy.
On front and back flaps: Quotations from Osho.

Introduction by Sw Prem Oscar:
“Reading or listening to Bhagwan I am continually amazed, mind-boggled. The philosopher and the intellectual in me stands with mouth agape, whilst the fool turns cartwheels of glee, and the little child dances with delight amongst the flowers. He touches me so much, reaches those deep spaces where a confirmation of my own unspoken truths sends sweet chimes to my heart. Oh! Joy of Joys! Over and over and over again.
Although Bhagwan has been talking for thirty years and over three hundred books of these verbatim talks have been published, His words are forever fresh. Each new talk seems juicier than the one before; there is none of the dryness and predictability one so often encounters with prolific speakers. It’s true that no matter what the question asked, His response is almost about meditation, in one form or another. But His approach, His anecdotes and insights are always in full bloom.
He quotes and refers to all the great masters there have ever been and shows us, amongst other things, that humanity has not been quite so impoverished in this realm as most of us have been brought up to believe and thus expect. And He does this with such a currentness and grasp of today’s world that as someone said, it’s as though he dresses them in blue jeans and sunglasses, and has Jesus play on the guitar!
This book is the fifth of a series of talks Bhagwan gave in America, in the Oregon commune city of Rajneeshpuram. The talks were begun after a period of over three and a half years in silence. They have a quality of raw, unembellished truth not so apparent in His previous talks. He explains that at last He is talking to “His own people” – not to Christians through the words of Christ, or to Hindus through Krishna. Now He is singing His own song, unfolding His vision of how humanity could be, in the form of “the new man.”
And much of the old that has hindered us for ages must be swept before the new can emerge. Here is the master dry-cleaner, the stage manager dramatically spotlighting, the surgeon cutting and cauterizing all of our old baggage to leave the pure, unadulterated man to stand on his own feet and accept the majesty of his being and his birthright.
The very scope of the questions Bhagwan answers in this book has given room for the vast sweep of His brush. He talks on “saving humanity,” bringing up kids, the death penalty, agony and ecstasy, the mechanisms of addiction to pain and misery – and how to drop them. Evolution, East and West, right and wrong… truth, science, church and state, “The Goal of Life,” the fear of death. And much more. Throughout there is the thread – or rather the golden cord – of meditation, awareness, bringing a religious quality to everything in life.
Even those topics which one might expect to be dry and dull are rich and fascinating in His hands. He rarely says what one expects, but there is always that undeniable ring of truth, that touch to the heart that tells one – listen, just listen a moment… there’s something here for you.
When I sit before this beautiful man I often ask myself what I’m doing here. None of my old friends or family can understand it, and neither can I. I can only wonder at it and realize that there is an indefinable something in His presence… alluded to by that part of me which absolutely loves just to be with Him, to soak Him up as much as possible.
My intellect loves His words; the way He can speak of something that I have taken for granted and turn it upside-down and inside-out and then push it through into a whole other, unexpected dimension. I love the atmosphere created by us all together, like a subtle magnetic field that He calls “the Buddhafield.” In it I love to feel myself expanding in trust and harmony. And I love the laughter. None of the old religions have accepted a sense of humour as a quality of religiousness. With Bhagwan, everything from the tenderest nurturing to the toughest ego-bashing is laced with gales of healing laughter.
He paints a picture of the possibilities open to a completely new type of man, a new humanity that will be a blessing to the earth and to existence… a man who is simply standing on his feet, accepting his birthright as God, the creator of His own existence.
You may call me a romantic and it’s true; I do dream of a world at peace, with abundance for all. And, here, I feel, is a man who brings it in the very radiance of His being; and from there He speaks with such depth, insight, perception, and compassion that one can hardly remain untouched.
My advice to you is: If you’re a dedicated chicken, drop this book and run, or you may have to change your life. If you’re a traveler on the inner road, then stop for a while in this cool oasis, drink deep from His clear waters, soak up His silence, and you will dance on refreshed.” (No page number)

Opening discourse by Osho, ‘Who Says Humanity Needs Saving?’, in the evening 28.02.1985. Excerpt:
“Beloved Bhagwan,
How can we save humanity from falling even more?
It is one of the trade secrets of all the religions to propose propagandas that humanity has to be saved. It is a very strange idea, but it is so old that nobody seems to look into the implications. Nobody asks why you are worried about saving humanity. And you have been saving humanity for thousands of years, but nothing seems to be saved.
In the first place, does humanity need any saving?
To answer this question all the religions have created an absolutely fictitious idea of the original fall, because unless there is a fall the question of saving does not arise. And the religious conception of the original fall is just rubbish.
Man has been evolving – not falling – in every possible way. The only way the original fall can be supported is by the idea of evolution proposed by Charles Darwin; but religion cannot use that – they are very much offended. Charles Darwin’s idea certainly can be put in such a way – at least by the monkeys if not by man – that it was an original fall. Certainly if man has evolved out of monkeys he must have fallen from the trees, and the monkeys who did not fall must have laughed at these idiots who had fallen.” (p. 2)
In a later discourse Osho says:
“Vivek was just asking me, “Why are your discourses called ‘The Rajneesh Bible’?
They are called “The Bible” just to make it clear to the whole world that “bible” simply means the book, it does not mean the holy book. That’s why you say “bibliography.” Is there anything holy in a bibliography? A bibliography simply means a list of books. It is really just “the book,” and I want it to be clear to the whole world that a bible has nothing to do with holiness. (Ch. 13, p. 171)

Talks in Lao Tzu Grove and Rajneesh Mandir

* From the False to the Truth. Answers to the Seekers of the Path. Editors: Ma Prem Maneesha. Ma Shivam Suvarna. Introduction: Ma Prem Prartho. Design: Sw Deva Anugito. Cover drawing: Sw Deva Vishvasa. Ma Anand Meera. Typing: Sw Deva Anugito. Production: Sw Prem Visarjan. Ma Prem Amoha. Printing: Mohndruck, Gütersloh, West Germany. Publisher: The Rebel Publishing House GmbH, Cologne, (no year) 1988. First Edition. 387 pages. Hardbound. Size: 21,5×19 cm. Weight: 775 g. ISBN: 3-89338-022-1. Period: 01.04 – 01.08.1985. 34 discourses. Subject: Questions and Answers. Place: Lao Tzu Grove (01.04 – 02.04) and Rajneesh Mandir (30.06 – 01.08.1985), Rajneeshpuram. Oregon. (A Rebel Book).

In Appendix: Worldwide Distribution Centers for the Works of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. Books by Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. English Language Editions. Foreign Language Editions. Rajneesh Meditation Centers, Ashrams and Communes.
“In loving gratitude to Bhagwan. Rajneesh Foundation Australia.” (Sponsor)
Discourses 1 and 2 are from 01.04 and 02.04.1985 in Lao Tzu Grove. Discourse 3 is from 30.06 and discourse 34 from 01.08.1985 in Rajneesh Mandir. Only 33 out of 34 discourses are listed in Table of Contents. Each discourse from July in this series contains answers to several questions.
On front flap text taken from Introduction: “The talks in this book were given between April 1st and August 1st, 1985 in Rajneeshpuram, Oregon, USA. This was a unique season at Rajneeshpuram – a full flowering of seeds which were planted years before, in the summer of 1981, when a handful of heart-strong souls arrived at the central Oregon desert property which was to become affectionately known to the thousands of people who would come to live, work and grow there as “the Ranch.” The rarest flower to open its petals in the desert that summer was the commune of a living, enlightened being. Not the organization, the hierarchical structure which drew out of some the lust for power, jealousy and paranoia which lurked just beneath their skins. Not the organization, riddled with all the pitfalls which have been fallen into throughout the history of organizations. But a master’s commune: a living, breathing, changing, organic whole.”
Continued on back flap: “To read this book is to take the rare opportunity to watch a master use the powerful instrument of a commune’s love to effect the deepest change in individuals; to bring about, individual by individual, a New Man on earth.
In these discourses Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh explains why this rare seed had to be planted, its bush so carefully tended, nourished: “I was working for years individually, but then I thought how many people can I reach? – and I was continuously traveling up to 1970. So I could go on saying things but it was not going to bring a transformation in people.
“I had to create a commune, where what I say is not just lost, but is echoed from everybody else too, from all sides and dimensions… You have to help me in creating the New Man.”
Between the pages of this book you will find the inside story of what happened at the Ranch. To read it with an open mind and heart is to experience the miracle of how a master, while answering a myriad of mind’s questions, can enter an individual heart.”

Introduction by Ma Prem Prartho. Dated Poona, February 1988. Excerpts:
“The fruits of our labors always seemed half-hidden in the continual flurry. But as the dust finally began to settle that summer of 1985, the colors of “something new” came clear. These colors were never more clear than during Bhagwan’s daily drive through Rajneeshpuram’s streets when He would silently greet us one by one, eye to eye.
The anticipation of such an intimate moment overflowed from each individual’s inner river into a sea of music making: guitars, drums, brass horns and silver flutes flashing in the sun, tambourines with rainbows of ribbons riding on the wind. And this ocean wave of gypsies dressed in orange, red, fuchsia and purple would rise and fall joyously against a background of green – a whole spectrum of green that had slowly climbed up from the stream banks, around the rocks and over the hills. Indeed, the desert had bloomed!…
Diving into this book, it is possible to find yourself in the river which flows From the False to the Truth. But Bhagwan tells us no swimming is required at all; all that is needed is to allow ourselves to be cleared of that which has been piled upon us, making us dull, miserable, asleep…
While you are peering into this exotic desert flower, be prepared for His fragrance of truth to dash directly toward you. You may be surprised to find that this divine summer breeze is what you have been waiting for all along.” (No page number)

Discourse by Osho, ‘Sympathy Is a Dirty Word’, in the morning 11.07.1985. There is absolutely no rationale behind this choice of quotation except that the question was asked by Sw Anand Neeten, editor of Osho Source Book. The mentioning of Anam is referring to a disciple who was hit by the master’s stick in a previous talk.
“Whatever the question, Your answer seems to be the same. How long will this go on before we understand?
As long as you wish. As far as I am concerned, this very moment it can happen. It is not a question of time, it is a question of intense understanding.
It is true: whatever the question, my answer is the same, because there are not many questions, they are just phrased in different ways.
But the question also is one: you don’t know who you are. You are absolutely in darkness – unaware of your glory, your divinity, your beauty, your truth. All the questions differ only in phrasing. Naturally, I have to phrase my answers also according to your question.
Somebody has counted through my books and found that I have answered ten thousand questions. My answer is one. I have not answered ten thousand questions, and I have not given you ten thousand answers. Your question is one but you have asked it in ten thousand ways. My answer is one; just not to spoil the game, I have answered you in ten thousand ways, hoping that perhaps, sometime, in a certain moment of silence, in a certain way, you may catch hold of the one answer. How long you are going to miss, that depends on you. You have to receive it. I cannot give it to you, you have to take it.
Gurdjieff’s disciples were very puzzled about his statements. One of his statements which has been puzzling his disciples – there are still a few disciples of Gurdjieff in the world – was, “Unless you are capable of stealing the truth from the master, you will never get it.”
There is nothing puzzling about it. I am saying “You have to take it” just not to puzzle you. In fact, you have to steal it. It is just in front of you. The doors are open, nobody is guarding it, but you are keeping your eyes closed. It all depends on you. Open your eyes and see the light. Turn your back towards darkness, turn your face towards light. But you are standing just in the opposite way: facing a darkness that centuries have made denser and denser, darker and darker.
If you go on looking at this darkness of millions of years, you are bound to think you are blind. And what is the point of opening your eyes, even if you are not blind? It is better to keep your eyes closed and dream of some beautiful things.
What is the point of looking into the abysmal darkness? – and that is what your Christianity is, your Hinduism is, your Mohammedanism is.
All the cultures and all the civilizations have been created to destroy the individual in you, and to create phony personality in you, and make you so much attached to the phony personality that you start thinking, “This is my individuality.”
I have to hammer hard on your personality. It is going to hurt, but there is no other way. If you want not to be hammered, drop the personality yourself. Who is Anam? – just a personality . Who are you? – whatever people have said about you.
Women are known allover the world for continually looking in the mirror. The more idiotic of them carry a mirror in their bag too. What do they go on seeing in a mirror? The mirror cannot reflect your individuality – for that you need a master.
The mirror can only reflect your personality; it cannot reflect your being, your center, but only your circumference.
And women go on looking again and again. Once is enough – but how to be certain? Somewhere deep down you know perfectly well that that which is mirrored is not you, but you want to be convinced that it is you. And you go on decorating your personality – your hairdo, your lipstick. It is very strange.
To have red lips out of health is totally different to just painting them with lipstick. Who are you going to deceive? You cannot deceive even yourself. And this is not only true of children and young people; I see old women, who should have been in their graves by now, still painting their lips, putting on false eyelashes.
Your personality is your creation. The society gives you all the incentives to create it, because phony people can be enslaved. Phony people can be Americans, Indians, Arabians, Chinese. Phony people will go to the church, to the mosque, to the church, to the synagogue.
The real individual finds his synagogue, his mosque, his temple, inside himself. He need not go anywhere. Where ever he wants to have a taste of that indefinable phenomenon, he just goes in. And just to be there is enough religion. More than that is not needed.
There is your silence, there is your peace.
There is your blessing, there is your ecstasy.
There is your love – the whole treasure, the whole kingdom of God.
Hammering on your personality, I am trying to turn your attention from the personality towards the individuality. So please remember, whenever I hit somebody’s head, you are not to sympathize; you are not to put ointment on his head. And the person who gets the hit should feel grateful that he has been chosen, that he has been thought worthy, that he deserved a hit from the master. So whatever you have done with Anam, you have to undo. Anam has to be brought to his real, beautiful being.
And I had to create a commune, because alone, how many people can I hit? And their skulls are so thick that small hits once in a while don’t matter. Here, you are thousands of sannyasins. Whatever I am doing, you all have to take part in it, you all have to help me.
I would like you to be completely free from personality, because that means you are free from religion, your are free from culture, you are free from civilization, you are free from nationality, you are free from other kinds of ideologies. They are all part of your personality. Your individuality is just pure ecstasy.
So this should never happen again. And those who have hugged Anam should say to him, “Give it back – and we are sorry that we did something wrong to you. We love you, but we cannot love your stupidity, we cannot love your insanity.”
Then only will the commune become a real organism, functioning in tune. Then only can there be a strange and new music, an unknown fragrance surrounding you and this is holy land. This land is the same everywhere. It is the people who live on the land, who by their living meditatively, joyously, lovingly, consciously, not only transform themselves, they transform the whole atmosphere.
Jerusalem is not the holy land; perhaps once it was. Mecca and Medina are no longer holy lands; perhaps once they were. Bodh Gaya is no longer a holy land. It was once, but twenty-five centuries have passed since Buddha meditated, lived with his disciples in Bodh Gaya; it was a holy land.
If you remove the barrier of personality, holiness suddenly explodes.” (pp. 131-133)

Press interviews in Jesus Grove and Rajneesh Mandir

* The Last Testament. Interviews with the World Press. Volume 1 of 6. Editors: Sw Svadesh. Sw Anand Bhavo. Sw Krishna Prabhu. Introduction: Sw Das Anudas. Ma Deva Sarito. Design: Ma Deva Sandipa. Publisher: Rajneesh Publications Inc., Boulder, Colorado, June 1986. Printed in the U.S.A. First Edition. 820 pages. Paperback. Size: 18×10,5 cm. Weight: 510 g. ISBN: 0-88050-250-9 (v.1). Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data. Period: 17.07 – 21.10.1985. 31 interviews. Subject: Press Interviews. Place: Jesus Grove and Rajneesh Mandir, Rajneeshpuram. Oregon.

In Appendix: Books by Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. Published by Rajneesh Foundation International. Rajneesh Academy Titles. U.S. Distributors. Books from other Publishers. English Editions. Foreign Language Editions. Overseas Distributors. Rajneesh Meditation Centers, Ashrams and Communes. Advertisements. (Special Offer: Clothbound books at reduced prices! Classic titles by Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh now available at an incredible discount. Savings over 60% on most titles. Our new bestsellers: ‘Glimpses of a Golden Childhood’. Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh describes the unique people, amazing events, and incredible experiences that contributed to ‘His Golden Childhood’. 50 intimate black and white photos, never before published. ‘Books I have Loved’. Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh speaks on 175 of the world’s greatest books. From ‘The Book’ to ‘Thus Spake Zarathustra’, from ‘I Ching’ to ‘Jonathan Livingston Seagull’. The Master reveals His thoughts and feelings on the highest peaks of literary art. ‘Notes of a Madman’. The depth of love and compassion Bhagwan Shree feels for His disciples and for all life will touch your heart as He shares His thoughts, His feelings, His dreams. 20 beautiful photographs. New Releases: ‘The Rajneesh Bible’, Volume III. ‘Krishna. The Man and His Philosophy’.
Volume 1 was the only volume to be published from this series in print format. All volumes (1-6) are accessible at the digital library: www.osho.com/library. Full series: Vol I, 17.07.1985 – Vol VI, 13.08.1986. See also: www.sannyas.wiki.
Abridged second edition ‘The Man of Truth. A Majority of One’ (2008).

“Contents
1. The Blessed One. Ken Kashiwahara. Good Morning America. ABC Network, USA. July 17, 1985.
2. Moment to Moment. Jo McManues. Western Mail, Australia. July 17, 1985. Appendix 1.
3. You are Totally Free. Ma Yoga Pratima. Rajneeshpuram, Oregon. August 24, 1985. Appendix 2.
4. The Intelligent Way. Ma Prem Isabel. Rajneeshpuram, Oregon. August 26, 1985. Appendix 3.
5. I Change with Reality. Erich Widdeman & Rainer Weber. Der Spiegel. Hamburg, West Germany. July 19, 1985.
6. Awareness is My Successor. Ma Yoga Pratima. Rajneeshpuram, Oregon. September 3, 1985. Appendix 1.
7. Whirlwind of Awakening. Ma Yoga Pratima. Rajneeshpuram, Oregon. Appendix 2.
8. The Fruits are Ripe. World Press Conference, Open Forum. Rajneesh Mandir, Rajneeshpuram, Oregon. July 20, 1985.
– Sally Hale. Associated Wire Services, USA.
– Peter Gillins. UPI Wire Services, USA
– Mark Haas. KATU TV, Channel 2, Portland, Oregon.
– Greg Hoy. 7 Network TV, Australia.
– Richard Draper. KOIN TV, Channel 6, Portland, Oregon.
– Jon Tuttle. KGW TV, Channel 8, Portland, Oregon.
– Don Lattin. San Franscisco Examiner, San Francisco, CA.
– Romano Giachetti. Epoca Magazine, Italy.
– Marilyn Deutsch. Public Broadcasting System, USA.
– Peter Coster. Australian Newspaper Service.
– Bruno Glaus. World Press Institute, Switzerland.
– Ma Mary Catherine. The Rajneesh Times, Rajneeshpuram, Oregon.
– Enrico Franceschini. La Republica, Italy.
– Tarcisius Munaku. World Press Institute, Zimbabwe.
– John Ng’anga Thuruo. World Press Institute, Zimbabwe.
– Nevil Aschen. National Public Radio, USA.
– Howard Sattler. 6PR Radio, Australia.
– Tom Senior. KPTV, Portland, Oregon.
– Carlo Silvestro. Grazia Magazine, Italy.
– Burt Rudman. Komo Television, Seattle, Washington.
– Sw Ramateertha. Die Rajneesh Times, Cologne, West Germany.
– Bob Chase. Kex Radio, Bend, Oregon.
– Kathleen Stone. KBND Radio, Bend, Oregon.
– Penny Allen. Esquire Magazine, USA.
9. You Cannot Betray Me. Ma Yoga Pratima. Rajneeshpuram, Oregon. September 7, 1985. Appendix 1.
10. Organism, Not Organization. Ma Prem Isabel. Rajneeshpuram, Oregon. September 9, 1985. Appendix 2.
11. Make it Clear to the World. Ma Prem Isabel. Rajneeshpuram, Oregon. September 11, 1985. Appendix 3.
12. Religion is Just Rubbish. Ma Yoga Vidya. Rajneeshpuram, Oregon. September 13, 1985. Appendix 4.
13. Come Again and Again. Jeff McMullen, 60 Minutes, Australia. July 21, 1985.
14. The End of Heroes. Ma Yoga Pratima. Rajneeshpuram, Oregon. September 22, 1985. Appendix 1.
15. Be Ready. Howard Sattler. 6PR Radio, Australia. July 22, 1985.
16. It is Up to You. Ma Yoga Pratima. Bhagwan Magazine, Rajneeshpuram, Oregon. July 23, 1985.
17. The Time is Short. Sw Anand Maitreya. Bhagwan Magazine, India. July 24, 1985.
18. Commune is the Way. Denise Kovacevic. KATU TV, Channel 2, Portland, Oregon. July 25, 1985.
19. Witnessing. Ma Yoga Pratima. Rajneeshpuram, Oregon. October 6, 1985. Appendix 1.
20. Your Politicians are Responsible. Sw Shanti Prabhu. The Rajneesh Times, Rajneeshpuram, Oregon. July 26, 1985.
21. My Work has Just Begun. Ma Anand Rose. Die Rajneesh Times, Cologne, West Germany. July 27, 1985.
22. No God but Godliness. Bob Fleming. Davis Enterprises, Davis, California. July 28, 1985.
23. A Fellow Traveler. Lynn Hudson. India Abroad, New York. July 29, 1985.
24. America is a Hypocrite. Laura Parker. Seattle Post Intelligencer, Seattle, Washington. July 30, 1985.
25. The Function of a Master. Roberta Green. Santa Ana Register, Orange County, California. July 31, 1985.
26. I Am Not a Prophet. Christopher Reed. The Guardian, London, England. August 1, 1985.
27. The Future is Always Open. Ma Prem Arup. De Rajneesh Times, Amsterdam, Netherlands. August 2, 1985.
28. You are Alive. Willem Sheer. Pers Unie, The Hague, Netherlands. August 3, 1985.
29. It is Possible. Mike Wolfe. KBND Radio, Bend, Oregon. August 4, 1985.
30. Half of Humanity. Carlo Silvestro (Sw Swatantra Sarjano). Panorama, Milan, Italy. August 5, 1985.
31. The Last Before the First. Ma Yoga Pratima. Rajneeshpuram, Oregon. October 21, 1985. Epilogue.

Introduction by Sw Das Anudas and Ma Deva Sarito. Excerpt:
“Let me set the scene for you.
It’s early evening in Rajneeshpuram. Although it is mid-summer, the sun will soon be hidden by one of the hills south west of us; the change in temperature will be surprising, unless you are used to the contrasts of the high desert.
Throughout the ranch, no matter who, no matter where, there is an awareness of the hour. At six, the activity in Jesus Grove becomes noticeably more intense. At around 6:15 if you drive from Magdalena Cafeteria towards the downtown area, you see at each bus stop along the way, friends in what the rest of the world calls their “Sunday best.” They went home early, showered and dressed in anticipation of meeting Bhagwan at one of His nightly press interviews.
By 6:30, except for some forgotten last-minute detail, there’s nothing to do but relax into the waiting. The crew from Dadu have created a carpet of rose petals for Him to walk on from His car to the entranceway. The photographers and video team check their equipment one more time. The musicians are there – perhaps tonight the “Russians” – guitar, violin, maybe a flute or clarinet, warming up.
And with them, those fortunate to line the path that evening warm to the music, swaying, singing, clapping in time. Inside, a large, many-windowed room is arranged with a focus on His chair. About thirty of Bhagwan’s friends sit on the carpeted floor facing the chair. They hear the music outside, they move with it and begin, themselves, to clap rhythmically.
Between them and His chair, the evening’s interviewer, a representative of the world media, sits looking over some notes, the evening’s questions. Tonight it may be a reporter from a large European news weekly or a canny columnist from a city paper in California, aware that this will be no ordinary interview.
If you’re sitting inside, you know when it’s 7:00; you know that Bhagwan’s limousine has entered the grounds; you can’t see outside, but you can hear the change in the music, the clapping, the surge of the singing voices. You can’t see it, but you know how the Rolls stops at the end of the rose petal path and how, when the door is opened, He steps out, raises His hands in namaste, smiles that still unbelievable smile, and begins to move along the path, slowly slowly stopping to dance with friends, urging them with His own dancing energy to be even more total in their dance.
Then you know He’s entered the house, He’s moving down the corridor and – there He is! – greeting all, His gathered friends, the eager interviewer.
It is your privilege to read here the text of those interviews. It was our privilege to sit with Him, it was our joy, on those mid-summer evenings, to dance with Him.” (No page number)

Last interview in the series, ‘The Last Before the First’, with Ma Yoga Pratima is on October 21, 1985. Epilogue. Excerpts:
“QUESTION: Bhagwan, why have You called this series of talks to the world media The Last Testament?
ANSWER: The word testament is immensely significant. It is my testimony. I am speaking on my own authority. It is my experience.
There have been two other testaments. The Old Testament is mostly rubbish, but here and there there are a few sentences which indicate that whoever said them must have known. For example, The Song of Solomon is one of the best songs that has ever been written in any language. It contains tremendous beauty. It is a symbology. But you will be surprised that both Jews and Christians are ashamed of the song. They don’t want to discuss The Song of Solomon. They would have liked it to be edited out, but now it is too late.
And that is the only thing in the whole testament which is still living. Something in it is still vibrant. It is the testimony of Solomon, who has known love and its highest peak, truth and its deepest meaning, and has sung it as a song in a very allegorically way. So only a few, only those who have experienced those heights and those depths, can understand it. Others will think there is nothing in it.
Then there is the New Testament. Jesus was not satisfied with the Old Testament. It was good but not good enough. His testimony is very small, just four gospels. They are four versions of the same story, too – four disciples writing about Jesus, his statements, his works – so it is a very small statement. But it is significant… a quantum leap from the Old Testament.
The Old Testament says that God is very jealous, very angry. Be afraid of God. He never forgives. He never forgets, either. Jesus says God is love. It is great change, a great evolution, and certainly his words should be called the New Testament. But two thousand years have passed. On the words of Jesus much dust has gathered. Moreover, he himself was not an enlightened man. He was a man of great intelligence – uneducated, illiterate, but of sharp intelligence. But that does not make much difference to me.
… This is my testimony, and I am speaking from my being – neither from the heart nor from the head. And because it is my testimony, I would like it to be called The Last Testament.
But remember, the last existed even before the first, because being is first, then comes the heart, then comes the head; without being, they are nothing. So although I am speaking thousands of years after the first testament, what I am saying is existentially far deeper, far greater. It transcends both the New Testament and the Old Testament.
I could have called it the Third Testament, but I am calling it The Last Testament for the simple reason that a fourth is not possible. There is nothing beyond being. So I am saying the last word. And it is time that the last word should be said…
And whatever I am saying, there is no way to improve upon it. I have removed God, now what are you going to improve upon? Jesus improved. He changed jealousy into love. I have removed God himself. Now there is no question of any improvement.
Hence, I call it The Last Testament. I am going to cover slowly everything that is essential for the explosion of religious consciousness. I am going to destroy everything that is non-essential and a hindrance to religious consciousness.
I am taking the greatest risk anyone has ever taken. I am creating as many enemies as anyone has ever created, for the simple reason that I know what I am saying is not a quotation from a scripture. I am saying it on my own authority. It is my own truth, and truth knows no defeat.
The final victory is always going to be of the truth.
Okay?” (pp. 785-786)

Talks in Rajneesh Mandir

* From Death to Deathlessness. Answers to the Seekers of the Path / Osho. Editor: Sw Devaraj. Introduction: Ma Anand Nirved. Design: Sw Dhyan Suryam. Cover drawing: Sw Deva Vishvasa. Ma Anand Meera. Typesetting: Ma Prem Arya. Production: Sw Prem Visarjan. Ma Prem Amoha. Printing: Mohndruck, Gütersloh, West Germany. Publisher: The Rebel Publishing House GmbH, Cologne, (no year) 1989. First Edition. 519 pages. Hardbound. Size: 21,5×19 cm. Weight: 965 g. ISBN: 3-89338-074-4. Period: 02.08 – 14.09.1985. 40 discourses. Subject: Questions and Answers. Place: Rajneesh Mandir, Rajneeshpuram. Oregon. (A Rebel Book).

In Appendix: Books by Osho. English Language Editions. Other Publishers. Foreign Language Editions. Worldwide Distribution Centers for the Works of Osho. Osho Meditation Centers and Communes. For Further Information Contact Osho Commune International, Poona.
Osho now mentioned as the author.
On back flap: “This book is a series of discourses in response to the questions of disciples and seekers. The topics cover the whole spectrum of human concerns – poverty, AIDS, education, politics, creativity, existentialism, psychology, nuclear war, power, relationships, money… Osho answers each one with utter respect and compassion, always diving beyond the surface superficiality of our rational minds, pulling us inwards and sweeping us to the deeper waters, to the very source.” (Quoted from Introduction)
On front flap and back jacket quotations by Osho.
First published edition with his name Osho as the author. “Osho has explained that His name is derived from William James’ word ‘oceanic’ which means dissolving into the ocean. Oceanic describes the experience, He says, but what about the experiencer? For that we use the word ‘Osho’. Later, He came to find out that ‘Osho’ has also been used historically in the Far East, meaning “The Blessed One, on Whom the Sky Showers Flowers.”
“In loving gratitude to Osho. Rajneesh Foundation Australia.” (Sponsor)
In each of the 40 discourses several questions are answered.

Introduction by Ma Anand Nirved. Excerpt:
“For those of us who are beginning to experience the “taste” and “nourishment” of meditation, there is nothing but profound gratitude in our hearts for the man who seduced and teased and tickled and tricked us beyond the confines of the mind.
He describes himself simply as “a finger pointing to the moon.” You are invited to follow that finger into these pages. Be ready to be bathed in moonlight!
“And if, even for a moment, you can taste the wine of existence, that transforms your whole life. You don’t bother about meanings, you don’t bother about gods, you don’t bother about heaven and hell, you don’t bother about messiahs and prophets. You have the whole existence in your hands, and it is tremendously beautiful.”” (No page number)

Excerpts from discourses:
“Beloved Master, The other day You talked about Your beautiful white beard. What I like the best about Your face are those gorgeous wrinkles around Your eyes, I have read that they are called “Buddha wrinkles.” Is that because Buddhas laugh so much, and therefore have wrinkles around their eyes?
(The Master simply laughs and asks for the next question.)” (Ch. 7, p. 89)
“Beloved Master, The way You dance is absolutely unique and outrageous. What is the secret behind the Rajneesh Shake?
I have never thought in my life that there is going to be someday the Rajneesh Shake! I don’t know how to dance, so it is going to be outrageous. And the secret is very simple: it is your love. I don’t think any man in the whole history has been loved so much by so many intelligent people. Your love makes me dance. The secret is with you.
I cannot believe it, because I don’t deserve any love even from a single human being. But one million sannyasins around the earth – it surprises me! And you are showering so much love that what else can I do? I can do a little Rajneesh Shake!” (Ch. 33, p. 424)
“Beloved Master, I wonder why You are not available to people like me who come from as far as Puerto Rico and would like to meet You, even if it is only for five minutes. The main reason is to find out the kind of charisma that You have. Not even the greatest politicians have been able to accomplish what You have.”
“I don’t see people for the simple reason that I don’t have any charisma! I keep you away so you don’t discover it. I keep myself closed in my room. I don’t have any charisma, so you need not take the trouble of coming for five minutes. You will not find anything.
I am just as ordinary as you are. My only charisma is that I accept that I am ordinary and you do not accept it. Deep down you go on believing you are extraordinary, special – the only begotten son of God!” (Ch. 36, p. 469)

* From Bondage to Freedom. Answers to the Seekers of the Path. Editor: Sw Devaraj. Ma Prem Maneesha. Sw Prem Sushil. Introduction: Sw Prem Sushil. Design: Sw Deva Anugito. Cover drawing: Sw Deva Vishvasa. Typesetting: Ma Prem Arya. Production: Ma Punyo. Printing: Mohndruck, Gütersloh, West Germany. Publisher: The Rebel Publishing House GmbH, Cologne, (no year), 1991. First Edition. 504 pages. Hardbound. Size: 21,5×19 cm. Weight: 945 g. ISBN: 3-89338-073-6. Period: 15.09 – 27.10.1985. 43 discourses. Subject: Questions and Answers. Place: Rajneesh Mandir, Rajneeshpuram. Oregon. (A Rebel Book).

In Appendix: Additional Reading (The Rajneesh Bible. Vols 1-4. From Death to Deathlessness. The Last Testament. Bhagwan: Twelve Days that Shook the World, Juliet Forman. Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh: The Most Dangerous Man Since Jesus Christ, Sue Appleton. Light on the Path). Osho Meditation Centers and Communes. For Further Information Contact Osho Commune International, Poona. Worldwide Distribution Centers for the Works of Osho.
Front and end paper paintings with coloured signatures by Osho.
“Special talks given for a group called THE CHOSEN FEW who are going to be the messengers of Osho for the world at large.” (p. viii)
On back jacket: “I am not nor have I ever been a disciple of Osho, but I’ve read enough of his brilliant books to be convinced that he was the greatest spiritual teacher of the 20th century – and I’ve read enough vicious propaganda and slanted reports to suspect he was one of the most maligned figures in history.” Tom Robbins. American novelist.
On back flap: “What has happened was bound to happen. It is a tremendously good experience that it happened so soon, just in four years. Now we have learned a lesson and we will not allow it to happen again… No harm has happened to you. In fact, you have become more mature through the experience. It will make you more responsible, less dependent on authorities, more responsible on your own towards the whole commune. We will turn this fascist nightmare we have passed through, into something beautiful. It is always in our hands to change things. And I have started changing the same nightmare into a beautiful experience that will help you along the way, and you will not fall in the same hole again.”

Introduction by Sw Prem Sushil.
“In the fall of 1985 a drama was unfolding in the hills of central Oregon, USA. No one was, or is today, quite sure how to label it. Perhaps a mystical, romantic tragicomedy.
Let’s set the stage: hills of juniper and sage, rock outcroppings, mountains, streams in silent valleys, a farm and fields, a small but brand new city, sunshine in a blue and unpolluted sky.
And the players: an enlightened master, five thousand of his disciples; the world press; assorted criminals; government investigators; and a supporting cast of millions – bystanders, innocent and guilty.
Someone who was there, in the midst of this amazing play, had this to say: “If Robert Ludlum or John Le Carré were to write this story, their editors would reject them saying: ‘Unbelievable, impossible; it could never happen that way.'”
But I was there, and I remember it all clearly.
On the fourteenth of September, Ma Anand Sheela, personal secretary to Osho, and her co-conspirators, left Rajneeshpuram leaving behind a trail of crimes and misdeeds.
The curtain rises on a sunlit morning. Wearing shades of red, sannyasins are dancing in the streets; on some faces we see relief, on others, shocked disbelief. Throughout that day and in the following weeks, as revelations of wrongdoing by Sheela and her company come to light, the structure of the community begins to fall apart, to unravel. Fascism is replaced by anarchy.
Enter the world press and federal investigators, like vultures descending on a dying beast. The native population are seen singing praise to God, or to their sofas and TV’s. Sannyasins all around the world hold their collective breath waiting, while residents of the commune, not knowing what to do or think, bring their questions to their master hoping for some clarity, but more often than not simply muddying the waters by their misunderstanding.
It was into and through this chaos that Osho was speaking to His disciples. Sometimes with force and seriousness, sometimes jesting joyfully.
In this book are published the questions that we asked of Him over the course of forty-three days, and answers that He gave – beginning with the day after Sheela made her escape. In these pages you can feel the tension and confusion – our world was falling down around us, and worse, our hopes and dreams. Doubt and uncertainty were the dominant feelings.
Herein is documented Osho’s destruction of an attempt to create a religion around Him, the end of our wearing shades of red and malas, and, on some level, the end of our blind innocence, our dependence, our irresponsibility.
‘I am not responsible for you.
You are not responsible for me.
Everybody has to be responsible for himself.
That’s the only way to be an individual,
the only way to have freedom, integrity.
And remember: freedom is not license.
Freedom is responsibility.
And if you cannot take your responsibility
yourself, then somebody is going to take
the responsibility on your behalf.
And then you are enslaved.’
Reading this book, looking back upon those days, the strongest feelings that come to me are wonder at this man’s insight and foresight and gratitude for His compassion, for His very being.
And lastly I can say: most of us would not have missed a minute of it for anything in the world.” (pp. vi-vii)

In the opening discourse, ‘To be ordinary is the most extraordinary thing in the world’, on 15.09.1985, Osho answers the first question from Arup. Excerpts:
“Beloved Master, Please speak on the difference between mediocrity and ordinariness.
… Sheela asked me again and again during these four years, “Beloved Master, help me, so that I never deceive you, never betray you.” I told her, “Sheela, asking it again and again means there is a tendency, of which you are aware, that you can betray, you can deceive. Otherwise, what is the point of asking it?”
And finally she did. And the reason why she did is worth understanding for everybody. When I was silent for three and a half years, she was the spokesman. I knew that this is going to be a difficult task the day I start speaking directly, because then she will see she is no more a celebrity; no interviews on the television, radio, newspapers, magazines.
But I had to speak. Just for one person I cannot hold back from one million sannyasins, and for the sannyasins who will be coming later on, my heartfelt feelings, truths, experiences. And there is too much to say.
As you get prepared only then I can say it. Those three and a half years prepared you, and now you can see the difference between the way I am speaking now and the way I was speaking three and a half years before. As you mature, as you graduate, I can tell you more naked truths, trusting that you will be able to understand them.
So the problem was, I knew that if I start speaking, then Sheela’s swollen head will start shrinking, and that will be difficult. I was perfectly aware the day I started speaking, she started becoming sad; and slowly slowly she started being away from Rajneeshpuram, finding excuses that she is needed in America, she is needed in Europe. She was never needed before.
And this time when she came, she wrote a letter to me, “Beloved Master, I do not feel the same excitement here. I feel happier in Europe, in Australia, anywhere else.” But she did not look why.
I sent a message to her that “See the point. Where has the excitement gone? The excitement was not being with me, with the commune, creating a new way of life, hoping for a new man to arrive. That was not your real excitement. Your real excitement was becoming a celebrity – on the television, on the radio, in the magazines, in the newspapers. You enjoyed your name, your photograph; now this will not be possible. I am speaking myself. I am speaking to the world press. And certainly you cannot represent me.”…
But man is so stupid…She did not even respond to my message. On the contrary, she collected the bunch of people that she has placed in important places. Now the sadness was turning into revengefulness. The idea was that all these people will go with her, and the commune will be in chaos. Now, the commune is always in a chaos! Nobody can disturb it. What more chaos can be there?…
That’s why Arup can ask the question. While Sheela was here, Arup was pushed back in every way. And I was watching, sadly. She is far more intelligent, far stronger. Now all the people who had been thrown out of the commune by Sheela can come back. So inform all your friends who have left that Sheela is gone and gone forever. and not alone – with the whole bunch, the whole gang. So inform the people who have left just because of her, because those people were intelligent, and she could not tolerate any intelligent person…
Vidya is gone with her. She was one of the thickest heads here. And they have all written letters to me, “Beloved Master…” Still they don’t see the point, that now it is better to address them “Mr. Rajneesh.” Why “Beloved Master”? “We love you, and we will always love you, but we are leaving.” No reason why they are leaving. And still no sensibility that words like “Beloved Master” do not suit in the context they are, perhaps unconsciously, using them. And none of them – neither Sheela nor Vidya – has given any reason why, because they know if they give the reason why… They cannot give the real reason, which will be very humiliating. And they cannot give any wrong reason, because I can see what is right and what is wrong. So they decided not to give any reason…
And the commune does not become just a factory where people are only working, no time for them even to love. This was heavy on my heart for all these years. I cannot see my people just working, and tired and going to sleep. You are not for the work. The work is for you…
Because I was silent I had to keep this heavy load on my heart.
You will not believe it, that many nights I had tears in my eyes for the simple reason that I don’t want to reduce my people to living in a slave camp – at least while I am alive. I want my people to rejoice in life. Work is part of it, but not the whole of it. We will make houses, and we will make roads, and we will make everything, but for what? Just for the sake of making them?
So necessarily, I had to start speaking. And you will be surprised that all the people who were in power – Sheela, Vidya, Savita, Krishna Prem, your mayor – they are all leaving with Sheela. Thank God! – who does not exist, but in such moments you can use the name…
They may be thinking that in Europe they will not be in trouble. They are wrong. I just have to send a message to all the communes that these people should not be listened to anymore…
I can tell you from my experience of being just an ordinary human being that it is the ultimate ecstasy. It merges you with existence. There is no barrier. It merges you with the stars, and with the sky, and with the earth. You are no more separate.
Ego separates you.
And the feeling of oneness with this exquisite existence is religion to me.” (pp. 3-8)

Compilations & Special Editions

* Jesus Crucified Again. This Time in Ronald Reagan’s America. Editing and Compiling: Ma Deva Sarito. Introduction: Ma Sangeet Duchane. Design: Sw Deva Anugito. Production: Sw Anand Rupen. Sw Prem Visarjan. Typing: Ma Anand Nritya. Ma Satyam Ektara. Printing: Mohndruck, Gütersloh, West Germany. Publishing: The Rebel Publishing House Gmbh, Cologne, West Germany, 1988. First Edition. 298 pages. Illustrated. Hardbound. Size: 21,5×19 cm. Weight: 625 g. ISBN: 3-89338-039-6. Periods: Oregon, World Tour and Poona Two (06.11.1987 pm). Subject: Quotes from Discourses on Events in America. Places: Rajneesh Mandir, Oregon, World Tour locations and Gautam the Buddha Auditorium, Poona.

In Appendix: Books about Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and His Movement (Sue Appleton (2 titles), Juliet Forman (2 titles), George Meredith, Ted Shay, Kirk Braun, Dell Murphy, Judith Thompson & Paul Neelas). Books by Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. English Language Edition. Foreign Language Edition. Worldwide Distribution Centers for the Works of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. Rajneesh Meditation Centers, Ashrams and Communes. For further information about Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh: Rajneeshdham Neo-Sannyas Commune. 17, Koregaon Park. Poona 411 001, MS. India.
“This book is dedicated to Jesus, whose fanatic disciple Ronald Reagan tried to do to me what the fanatics of his time did to Jesus. With a request to Libya’s Colonel Muammar Gadaffi to change his statement that Ronald Reagan is Adolf Hitler Number Two. He is not – HE IS HITLER NUMBER ONE.” (p. v)

“Part I and II of this compilation consists of excerpts especially chosen from the discourses given by Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh in 1984-1985 in Rajneeshpuram, Oregon. (See The Rajneesh Bible, Volumes 1-4, From Darkness to Light, From the False to the Truth and From Death to Deathlessness, The Rebel Publishing House.) Discourses appearing in Part III were given by Bhagwan during His world tour, and in Poona, India [06.11.1987 pm]. They are referenced by date and location.” (Page vi). All excerpts from The Rajneesh Bible in Part I and II are without date and location.

Illustrated with one b&w photo of Osho. Text: “Remember the Cazal look.” (p. vii)
On flaps: “The story is repeated again. I was crucified – this time in America… and these seven weeks I have been struggling against the poison. And I am happy to declare to you that the crucifixion is over and I am resurrected.
It is symbolic that Jesus is crucified this time in America and is resurrected in India. It is symbolic in many dimensions. It is the victory of love over hate. It is the victory of life over death. It is the victory of East over West. It is the victory of truth over criminals like Ronald Reagan. It is the victory of consciousness over body.
It is certainly of tremendous importance that even after twenty centuries a man like Jesus will be crucified by Christians themselves. It was a conspiracy of the fundamentalist Christians of America and Ronald Reagan. Perhaps civilization is still an idea – it has not happened in reality.
I would like my people to transform themselves and through them I would like to bring authentic civilization and humanity to this beautiful planet.
There is only one religion, and that is the religion of love. There is only one God, and that is the God of celebration, of life, of rejoicing. The whole earth is one and the whole humanity is one. We are parts of each other.”
On back flap: “Bhagwan is a very intelligent man. He is also a very dangerous man because he can alter the minds of other people.” United States Consulate. Montevideo, Uruguay, May 1986.

Foreword by Osho, with editor’s introductory paragraph:
“On May 30, 1988 – shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal challenging the incorporation of the City of Rajneeshpuram in Oregon, thereby validating the legality of the now destroyed city, – Bhagwan spoke the following words to His disciples in Poona, India. He had been unable to give His evening discourses for the previous two weeks – one of many such periods which have occurred since His arrest and incarceration by the American authorities in November, 1985 – due to His fragile health. The strength of His message here, and His unfailing sense of humor, seem a fitting way to begin this book. – Ed.”
Then follows excerpt from: This, This, A Thousand Times This. May 30, 1988. Poona, India. (pp. xi-xiv)

Introduction by Sangeet Duchane, J.D., City Attorney for the City of Rajneeshpuram which was destroyed by the U.S. Government. Dated June, 1988. Excerpts:
“In the final discourse of Part III of this book, Bhagwan reveals that He was poisoned by the United States government during His twelve days in custody, and that He nearly died in November 1987 as a result. That was the government’s plan – to force Bhagwan into India, keep Him out of the press for a few years and then let Him die a slow, quiet death that would be difficult to trace to them. That must have been what Meese meant by “never seen or heard of again.”
Bhagwan did not cooperate with their plan. He did not die, and he is not quiet about that government’s actions. He tells the whole story in detail.
What is it about Bhagwan that drives public officials to attempted murder? What makes the U.S. Attorney General, the U.S. Attorney for Oregon, a federal magistrate, and federal judge and Justice Department officials join in an assassination conspiracy? The answer was perhaps best stated by best-selling author Tom Robbins, when he said,
“… The authorities intuitively sense something dangerous in Bhagwan’s message. Why
else would they have singled him out for the kind of malicious persecution they never
have directed at a Filipino dictator or a Mafia don? If Ronald Reagan had had his way,
this gentle vegetarian would have been crucified on the White House lawn.
The danger they intuit is that in Bhagwan’s words… there is information that, if properly
assimilated, can help to set men and women loose from their control. Nothing frightens
the state, or its partner in crime, organized religion, so much as the prospect of a
population thinking for itself and living free.”

In this book Bhagwan exposes the priests and politicians and their complicity in the imprisonment of mankind. He speaks on the specific issues used by the government of Oregon and the United States to attack Him and His commune. Finally, He reveals the enormous effort by the American government to kill Him and destroy His movement.
After Bhagwan’s sentencing in federal court, one of His lawyers, Robert McCrae, said,
“They have done it again. They have crucified Jesus again.”
… and this time it was the Christians who erected the cross. But Bhagwan is still with us. His truth cannot be so easily silenced.” (pp. xv-xx)

Introductory quotations from each part:
Part I. The Challenge. (pp. 3-87).
“If we succeed, their whole history, all their religions, culture, civilizations, are proved to be wrong. Our success is risky. Our success is dangerous, it is a challenge – and not to a single individual, not to a single society, not to a single religion, but to all that they have been doing…” Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh.
“Can’t you get something on them?” U.S. Senator Mark Hatfield, Oregon.
“We’re trying…” U.S. Attorney Charles Turner, Oregon.

Part II. The Debate. (pp. 89-176)
“Rajneeshpuram: Valley of Death? Events surrounding the controversial cult may be coming to a head. Many in Oregon fear the unstable situation could turn explosive.” Headline story from Oregon Magazine, 1984.
“This commune, which knows only love, life and laughter; this commune, which does not believe in any heaven, in any hell; this commune, which does not believe in following, in believing, in faith; how is a Jonestown possible here?
This is the only place where it is impossible. Anywhere else it can be possible, because everywhere else death is worshipped, glorified, and the world beyond death is emphasized continuously – you have to sacrifice this life for that life which is to come after death.” Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh.

Part III. Crucifixion and Resurrection. (pp. 177-224)
“I didn’t like to look at the guy. He was small and unprepossessing, but he did have a certain magnetism about him. His eyes were luminous, almost with a Satanic glow to them. There was a feeling of evil around that person… I never found a single, solitary redeeming feature in this man. Even in a robber or a dope peddler I could find something.” U.S. Attorney Charles Turner. (On seeing Osho in court)
“You don’t have many suspects who are innocent of a crime. That is contradictory. If a person is innocent of a crime, then he is not a suspect.” U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese.
“There is no need to be angry, there is no need to carry any complaint. Whatever they have done, they will have to reap the crop also. They have exposed themselves. And this is the way all these vested interests have been behaving with people who stand for truth, so it is not new… But one thing that makes me glad is that a single man without any power can frighten the greatest power in the world, can shake it from its very roots… I will manage to expose them. There is no need to be angry with them – just expose them. Bring their true face before the world. That’s enough.” Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh.
Excerpts from discourses in: Kulu Manali, 06.12.1985. Crete, 22.02.1986. Kathmandu, 15.01.1986. Punta del Este, Uruguay, 03.04.1986. Poona, India, 06.11.1987.

Part IV. The Evidence of Conspiracy. (pp. 225-278)
“I think Bhagwan is a great man and his persecution makes a liar and a hypocrite out of anyone who claims there is religious freedom in the United States. He’s obviously a very effective man; otherwise he wouldn’t be such a threat. He’s saying the same things that nobody else has the courage to say… A man who has all those kinds of ideas – they’re not only flammatory, they also have a resonance of truth that scares the pants off the control freaks… If crucifixion were still in vogue of course he would’ve been nailed up. But since we’re civilized – they had to force him into exile instead. I’m sure they would have much preferred to crucify him on the White House lawn.” Tom Robbins, 1986. (Author of ‘Even Cowgirls Get the Blues’, ‘Another Roadside Attraction’, ‘Still Life with Woodpecker’ and ‘Jitterburg Perfume’)

Five chapters with reports on the events in American jails and their aftermath:
Chapter One.
“I felt so ashamed to be an American…” (pp. 227-239). By Philip J. Toelkes, Attorney in the Fight for Bhagwan’s Life Against the U.S. Government.
Chapter Two.
“Lawlessness Within the Law”. (pp. 241-250). By Ma Deva Barkha, Former Police Chief of Rajneeshpuram and Sw Satyam Anando, Reporter, Rajneesh Times International. Report based on articles from the press, especially an ‘infighting’ article from the Oregonian 07.11.1985.
Chapter Three.
“His Health has been shattered…” (pp. 251-263). By Dr. George Meredith, M.D. M.B. B.S. M.R.C.P. On Osho’s declining health, with the report from Dr. Mohan Jog quoted in full on p. 261.
Chapter Four.
“You have to Think of Thallium, Don’t you?” (pp. 265-274). By John Wally, M.D. With four references to papers in medical journals.
Chapter Five.
“A very interesting thing happened after Bhagwan made his accusations against the United States government…” (pp. 275-278). By Sue Appleton. On the planted story that Osho had AIDS in Indian media.

Afterword. By Osho. (pp. 279-281). Dated March 22, 1985, Rajneeshpuram.
At the end some biographical facts and events from Osho’s life. (pp. 285-290).

* The Book. An Introduction to the Teachings of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. Series I-III. Editing: Academy of Rajneeshism. Sw Krishna Prem. Introductions: Sw Dhyan John, Ma Mary Catherine and Ma Deva Sarito. Design: Ma Prem Tushita. Direction: Ma Yoga Pratima. Publisher: Ma Anand Sheela, Rajneesh Foundation International, Rajneeshpuram, March 1984. First Edition. Volume 1: Series I from A to H. Volume 2: Series II from I to Q. Volume 3: Series III from R to Z. 712+568+612, total 1.892 pages. Weight: 437+318+353 g. Paperbacks. 10,000 copies. ISBN 0-88050-702-0; 0-88050-703-9; 0-88050-704-7. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 84-42616. Price for each volume $4.95. Period and Subject: Excerpts from Discourses and Darshans in Poona One. Place: Buddha Hall and Chuang Tzu Auditorium, Poona.

Appendix: Books Published by Rajneesh Foundation International. Books from other Publishers. English Editions. Foreign Language Editions. Books on Bhagwan. Rajneesh Meditation Centers, Ashrams and Communes.
At the back of each volume is an index with all subjects excerpted in the volume.

Volume 1. Series I from A to H.
From back cover: “I have made a rather extensive reading of Rajneesh’s published discourses. In them I encountered an uninterrupted flow of poetic logic, which Keats described as the beauty that draws its power from truth… His assimilation of religious texts, secular education and inner experiences has a fluency that seems to me more an organic profusion than an intellectual construction.” Randall Sullivan, M.F.A. (Columbia). Los Angeles Herald Examiner.

Introduction by Sw Dhyan John:
“The story of man is the story of a search for treasures. Most search for material wealth, the purchasable commodity. But a few, a rare few, search for something far greater, far more vast. For them the greatest treasure is the gift of truth and beauty, the timeless gems that make life worth living.
This three-volume concordance, simply called The Book, is that timeless treasure. One-of-a-kind this sweeping compendium of wisdom, insight, humor, and deep understanding, uttered with the fragrance of poetry by the world’s most beautiful Master, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, is a Master work.
Easily readable and simply organized these three volumes present the genius of the Master, Bhagwan, in a condensed format, retaining the essence of His teachings and His vision.
Distilled in this set of books is the panorama of man’s existence, his reality, and answers to his most perplexing problems. Pick a subject and, in a moment, you can almost be walking in the shoes of the Master.
The first volume comprises approximately seven hundred pages and contains subject headings from “A” to “H”. Each subject area, placed in alphabetical order, contains one or more passages taken directly from the 192 English-language volumes of Bhagwan’s discourses and darshans.
As much at home on your bedstand as in a library, this priceless treasure chest is fascinating and fun.
For the seeker and the scholar, the curious and the convinced it is, above all else, a living testament to man’s longing to understand and give meaning to his life.” (No page number)

Volume 2. Series II from I to Q.
From back cover: “I have known Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh through his followers with whom I have worked professionally and I also know of him through his writings. I consider him to be one of the greatest religious leaders of our age, who has brought a living religion to humanity and has contributed significantly to many people finding the god within themselves.” John Pierrakos, M.D.

Introduction by Ma Mary Catherine, Ph.D.(Yale). Excerpts:
“This concordance is a glimpse into a way of seeing – the way of the new man. At the threshold of the new millennium, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh has given us a head start on a fresh way of understanding life.
In His vision, all is viewed with equanimity, as part of the whole. Yet He has been able to give us snapshots of a process in flux, crystallized observations of a fluid reality…
In one metaphor, Bhagwan explains how difficult it is for a blind man to understand a rainbow. And we are the blind ones for whom he weaves a tapestry of light rays to raise our understanding.
In so doing, He has given new life to the ancient religious concepts, Dhamma or truth, satsang or communion, sannyas or search, have come back to life for us and for the people of the next century and beyond.
Before you assume that you understand reality, browse through this volume and its two companions. See how a new vision has dawned, a new music has begun. Soon you too will feel gratitude to Bhagwan for these graceful, fluid, visionary insights.” (No page number)

Volume 3. Series III from R to Z.
From back cover: “The clarity, beauty and humanity of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh which once caused thousands to come to his ashram in Poona are now, in the form of books and taped discourses, an invaluable source of inspiration and real help at various universities and modern growth institutions all over the world… He is definitely a spiritual leader of world scope.” Gunter Nitschke. Dipl.Ing, Architect, M.R.T.P.L. Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Introduction by Ma Deva Sarito. Excerpt:
“”What’s your philosophy?” To be with Bhagwan is to find oneself dropping philosophies, dropping the neat packages of beliefs about reality that keeps one from experiencing life as fresh and new each moment. It is to find oneself getting drunk on His new wine. Philosophy? Who needs it!
Whether you come to this book out of curiosity or as a confirmed drunkard, you will find that it contains a rich variety of tastes to be savoured – relationship, sex, relaxation, religion, search, sadness, technology, women – each subject illuminated by the clarity of His vision in such a way that it will never look quite the same again. And so inviting, so temptingly bottled that you’ll find yourself drinking again and again. Cheers!” (No page number)

Advertisement
‘From absolute to zero and everything in-between. More than 1000 specially selected excerpts from the complete works of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh in English. His genius and insight in a vast range of subjects presented in a simply organized and easy to read form.’ The Rajneesh Bible. Vol 1, 1985. Advertisement.

* Es Gibt Utopia (There is Utopia) / Christoph Graf Keyserlingk (Swami Dharmabodhi). Translation and Design: Rolf Hannes. Illustrations: Ma Amiya. München, Midheaven Bookshop, 1988. 59 pages. Illustrated with b/w photo. HC in slipcase. (Edition Ekstasia 1988. New York), Limited edition of 342 hand signed copies. Interview with Osho 11.10.1985 in Sanai Grove. Text in German and English. Cat.A. (O) (Keyserlingk 1988)

* Words From a Man of No Words (1989).
“In October 1984, Osho Rajneesh emerged from a period of 1,315 days of public silence to speak to a small group of disciples gathered in His living room at Rajneeshpuram. “It feels as if I’m coming to you from a totally different world,” He said. “The world of words, language, concepts, and the world of silence are so diametrically opposite to each other, they don’t meet anywhere…”
This small, beautifully illustrated book is a collection of crystallized moments from the first sixty days of Our Master’s talks in America. It is a journey through words to the wordless – to be drunk at one sitting, or to be savoured drop by drop. It is a tapestry of sound and silence – here a thunderclap, there the sound of falling rain… here a lazy summer day, and there a bucket of ice-cold water! It is a book to pick up again and again, for another taste… a beautiful gift for yourself or for a friend.” (Rajneesh Times International (India), 1989:7)

* Compilations listed in ‘From Death to Deathlessness’ (1989):
– Beyond the Frontiers of the Mind (1988)
– On Basic Human Rights (1987)
– Death: The Greatest Fiction (1987)
– Gold Nuggets (1988)
– Jesus Crucified Again. This Time in Ronald Reagan’s America.
– The Greatest Challenge: The Golden Future (1988)
– I Teach Religiousness Not Religion (1988)
– Life, Love, Laughter (1987)
– More Gold Nuggets (1989)
– More Words From a Man of No Words (Osho Media, 2015 edition)
– The New Man: The Only Hope for the Future (1987)
– Priests and Politicians: The Mafia of the Soul (1987)
– The Rebel: The Very Salt of the Earth (1990)
– Sex: Quotations from Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (1981)
– Words from a Man of No Words (1989)

Bibliographic details of these and many more compilations can be found in the bibliography at www.sannyas.wiki

Autobiographies

* Glimpses of a Golden Childhood / Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. First Edition. Editors: Sw Devaraj & Sw Devageet. Assistant Editor: Ma Deva Ashu. Introduction: Sw Devageet. Photography: Ma Yoga Vivek. Design: Sw Anand Subhadra. Direction: Ma Yoga Pratima. Publisher: Ma Anand Sheela. Rajneeshpuram, Rajneesh Foundation International, September 1985. 777 pages. Illustrated with b/w photos. Paperback. 10,000 copies. Second Edition: Osho 1990.

* Glimpses of a Golden Childhood. The Rebellious Childhood of a Great Enlightened One / Osho. Second Edition. Revised and Expanded. Editors: Sw Devaraj. Sw Devageet. Ma Deva Ashu. Ma Anand Vani. Sw Krishna Prabhu. Introduction: Sw Deva Abhinandan. Typesetting: Ma Prem Arya. Design: Ma Krishna Gopa. Photography: Ma Prem Nirvano. Sw Premgeet. Sw Omkar Bharti. With special thanks to Sw Niklank Bharti. End paper paintings: Ma Anand Meera (Kasué Hashimoto). Back cover painting: Ma Deva Padma. Production: Ma Punyo. Sw Anand Surendra. Printing: Mondruck, Gütersloh, West Germany. Portland and Cologne, The Rebel Publishing House, 1990. 563 pages. Illustrated with 61 intimate b&w photos. Hardcover. Appendix, pp. 483-550. First Edition: Rajneesh 1985. Translated into French: Une enfane en Or Osho.

Osho on his autobiography
“This is not going to be an orthodox, conventional autobiography. It is not an autobiography at all, just fragments of a life reflected in thousands of mirrors.” (Osho 1990, p. 324)
Osho on autobiographies in general
“I have read many autobiographies, and I have seen how people when they look backwards, look with the eyes that they have now, and with all the experience they have accumulated meanwhile. With all this experience, with these new eyes, the meaning of the incidents starts changing.” The Rajneesh Upanishad (1986). Chapter 26, p. 617.

In his introduction to the first edition of ‘Glimpses of a Golden Childhood’ (1985), Devageet writes on the dental sessions and books that followed:
“The notes these books were compiled from fall naturally into four series.
The first series was Bhagwan simply gossiping on this and that; talking mainly of silence and beauty. The second series went deeply into the source of the ancient Tibetan mantra, Om Mani Padme Hum. But when Bhagwan gossips, He jokes, brings in all sorts of apparently unrelated topics, and each session was light and wonderful. The first two series are in a single volume called ‘Notes of a Madman’.
The third series was a recollection of books Bhagwan had read and treasured in His reading lifetime. He used to read up to twenty books each day! It was on his doctor’s advice that he stopped reading, but he loved books, particularly those which give a glimpse into the unknown, whose words are bathed in light and whose beauty of expression can lead their readers to share their poetry and inspiration. This volume is called ‘Books I Have Loved’, and it is a master’s view of the world of enlightened literature.
The fourth series is called Glimpses of a Golden Childhood. Bhagwan has never spoken of his childhood, not out of secrecy, but simply because anything from before his date of enlightenment was dead to him. In this book he again visited those early years. He gives us fascinating and hilarious tales of himself and of those closest to him. He tells of those enlightened masters who recognized his potential and helped him survive his hazardous first years. He is an amazing man and he was an equally amazing child. These notes were given in early 1981, and were his last words before he went into silence for an indefinite period of time.” (No page number)

Devageet writes on ‘Glimpses of a Golden Childhood’
“The fourth series of notes from the dental chair proved to be the last. It was about Osho’s childhood… Osho told stories of his early years that he had never revealed before. He had us laughing, sometimes crying, but mostly stunned at his sheer audacity as a child. His words took us back fifty years, to a time and context that no longer existed in India. In remembering details of childhood incidents with his teachers, parents, family and friends, told in the strange intimacy of his private dental cabin in an Oregonian desert, Osho didn’t merely recall his early years, he was reliving them…
And then, suddenly, after two months, Osho stopped speaking as suddenly as he had started. The notes from the dental chair ended. Not with any particular event, nor had his childhood been fully travelled. He simply ended with the words: “And Devageet, it is beautiful, but enough. Devaraj, help him. Ashu, do your best. I would love to continue but time has gone. One has to withdraw somewhere. Stop!” (Devageet 2013, pp. 138,139)

* Books I Have Loved / Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. First Edition. Editors: Sw Devaraj. Sw Devageet. Assistant Editor: Ma Deva Ashu. Introduction: Sw Anand Madyapa. Design: Ma Deva Sandipa. Direction: Ma Yoga Pratima. Publisher: Ma Anand Sheela. Rajneeshpuram, Rajneesh Foundation International, July 1985. 281 pages. Paperback. 10,000 copies.

* Books I Have Loved / Osho. Second Edition. Editors: Sw Devaraj. Sw Devageet. Sw Krishna Prabhu. Ma Satyam. Assistant Editor: Ma Deva Ashu. Introduction: Sw Devageet. Design: Sw Bhaven. Typesetting: Ma Bodhi Taruna. Sw Bhaven. Production: Ma Deva Harito. Photography: Osho Photo Services. Printing: Thomson Press (India). Pune, The Rebel Publishing House Pvt. Ltd., 1998. 258 pages. Illustrated with b&w photos. Hardcover. First Edition: Rajneesh 1985a. Later edition: 168 Books to Change Your Life. Essential Literature for the Awakened Life. Selected by a Beloved Spiritual Master. USA, Sounds True Inc., 2008. 352 pages.

‘Books I Have Loved’ (1985) contains 16 sessions recorded in Lao Tzu House where Osho dictates the story of his lifelong book loving affair. In Madyapa’s introduction he writes:
“Having read hundreds of thousands of the world’s greatest books on every conceivable subject, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh shared their fragrance as he spoke on these books during talks given in Poona, India. From the very first book ‘Hsin Hsin Ming’ by Sosan, to the last entry, ‘The Book’ by Alan Watts, Bhagwan takes us on an unparalleled journey of discovery, choosing gifts from authors we have known plus surprises from mystics and poets never heard of before.”

Devageet writes on ‘Books I Have Loved’
“At the beginning of the sixth note-taking session, Osho quietly announced that series one had now been completed, and series two was about to begin…
Six sessions later, he just as suddenly announced the start of the third series of notes. It was to be a journey in which he recalled many of the inspirational books he had enjoyed throughout his lifetime. Osho was a lifelong bibliophile. As a student, he had starved in order to buy books of his choice. Throughout his life he had always possessed a large collection of fine books, and in Pune, his library was vast; in fact, his whole house was one large library. From the dental chair in deepest Oregon, Osho spoke of those rare books whose words echoed the eternal essence of the mystery of life that is hidden in all forms, the formless mystery into which he had dissolved when he became enlightened. I felt he was transmitting that same mystery as I wrote his notes from the dental chair…
At the opening of the series, he had declared that he wanted to talk about the same number of books as the years of his life. He was fifty-one years old at that time. He said he would speak on about ten books per session. His sense of numbers being famously erratic, he asked me to help him stay on track…
The book series ended when Osho dedicated the last volume to the memory of Alan Watts, and American who, according to Osho, could have attained to enlightenment if only he had taken the opportunity to be with an enlightened Master.” (Devageet 2013, pp. 131-137)

Osho comments on ‘The Book’ by Alan Watts:
“I have loved ‘The Book’ and I have saved it for the last. Do you remember Jesus’ saying “Blessed are those who stand at the last”? Yes, this book is blessed. I bless it, and I would like this series of sessions to be in memory of Alan Watts.” Books I Have Loved (1985), p. 247.

The books mentioned by Osho include a number of key religious texts alternating with Western and Eastern authors. Among the titles are:
– Thus Spoke Zarathustra / Friedrich Nietzsche
– The Brothers Karamazow / Fyodor Dostoevsky
– The Book of Mirdad / Mikhail Naimy
– Tao Te Ching / Lao Tzu
– Jonathan Livingstone Seagull / Richard Bach
– The Prophet / Kahil Gibran
– Leaves of Grass / Walt Whitman
– Tertium Organum / P.D.Ouspensky
– Zen and Japanese Culture / D.T.Suzuki
– The Fables of Aesop
– Zorba the Greek / Kazantzakis
– Siddhartha / Herman Hesse
– At the Feet of the Master / J.Krishnamurti
– The Way of Zen/Alan Watts
– Being and Nothingness / Jean Paul Sartre
– Time and Being / Martin Heidegger
– Tractatus Logicus Philosophicus / Ludwig Wittgenstein
– Alice in Wonderland / Lewis Carrol
– Waiting for Godot / Samuel Beckett
– Das Kapital / Karl Marx
– Lust for Life / Irving Stone
– War and Peace / Leo Tolstoy
– Fathers and Sons / Turgenev
– One-dimensional Man / Herbert Marcuse
– My Experiments with Truth / Mahatma Ghandi
– Listen Little Man / Wilhelm Reich
– Poetics / Aristotle
For a full listing of all titles included in the book, see: Volume I / Appendix.

* Notes of a Madman / Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. First Edition. Editors: Sw Devaraj. Sw Devageet. Assistant Editor: Ma Deva Ashu. Introduction: Sw Anand Madyapa. Photography: Sw Krishna Bharti. Design: Ma Prem Pujan. Direction: Ma Yoga Pratima. Publisher: Ma Anand Sheela. Publisher: Rajneeshpuram, Rajneesh Foundation International, September 1985. 129 pages. Illustrated with colour photos from nature. Paperback. 10,000 copies.

* Notes of a Madman / Osho. Second edition. Editors: Sw Devaraj. Sw Devageet. Assistant Editor: Ma Deva Ashu. Ma Prem Lolita. Introduction: Ma Prem Lolita. Design and Typesetting: Sw Bhaven. Ma Prem Shunyo. Cover: Sw Bhaven. Osho Sketches: Sw Deva Vishvasa. Endpages Art: Osho (signatures). Production: Ma Deva Harito. Printing: Thomson Press (India) Ltd. Publisher: Pune, The Rebel Publishing House Pvt. Ltd., 1999. 144 pages. Illustrated with b&w photos, drawings and sketches of Osho. Hardcover.

On back cover
“The very last words of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh before He went into silence for an indefinite period.”

In his introduction to first edition 1985 Anand Madyapa writes:
“Deep within each of us there exists a place that longs to be touched, awakening our being to a dream hardly imagined but definitely real. The dream is of our search for home.
Within the pages of this small book you will meet the enlightened Master, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. He tells us He is just an ordinary human being, like us, but with one exception. His search for home has ended. He has awakened. Bhagwan tells us too that He has devoted His life to helping others experience the joyous gift of awakening.” (No page number)

Ma Prem Lolita writes in her introduction to second edition 1999:
“But of all these books, this precious volume that is in your hands is something unique. As with ‘Books I Have Loved’, it is a transcription of what Osho is saying in the presence of a few individuals in the unlikely setting of His dental sessions. Here, in this intimate atmosphere, Osho speaks in a free, loose, poetic way on anything that comes to Him. He is not responding to any sutras or personal questions brought to Him. He is speaking directly from His own world, on what moves Him, on what He loves, opening us to the panorama of an enlightened consciousness – seemingly a vast calmness that, without outer causes, can have playful ripples moving through it.
This is a rare and intimate glimpse into an enlightened one’s ecstasy.
Osho is here like a mad dancer, dancing to the soundless beat of the Tibetan mantra ‘Om mani padme hum, Om mani padme hum’… whirling and disappearing into the dance. Disappearing and yet articulating, sharing, as if His words are the feet of the dance, connection to the earth, connecting to whoever knows how to listen.
This is what I find utterly astounding about Osho, that He manages the impossible – to bring us words from the source of Existence. He mentions this: “When there are words, nobody expects words and flowers to be together” – but here they are, the impossible is happening in such a small book. So much is given, so many flowers.
Reading this book is an adventure – traveling with Osho to the “source of everything great” where you will be tasting the flight of it, feeling the dance of it, hearing the awesome silence of it and, when you are ready for eternity, even coming home to it.” (pp. vi-vii)

More commentaries on Osho’s autobiographies are in Part Five: Oregon / 5.10 Books on Osho / Autobiographies.

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