Epilogue

 

“I am not leaving my statements for scholars;
I am leaving them for those who seek of
true knowledge and those who are passionate.
Only they would understand them.
There is mystery in them, not logic.”
(Na Sansar Na Mukti, Ashtavakra Mahageeta. In: Dhiman 2012, p. 27)

 

As author and compiler I’ve tried to maintain a work ethic of fairness and honesty and hopefully avoided being tangled up in any sort of historical revisionism. And do believe me, when I say it was only possible for me to carry on with this work because it was necessary. I either had to collect this compilation of sources or be almost reduced to despair considering what might slip away and dissolve if not preserved in due time for the benefit of posterity.

Whenever a religious founder leaves his body generally some crucial questions have to be considered:

1. Will there be a successor? If so, who will it be?
2. What will be the role of the secretary in the transition process?
3. How to preserve the message in its original form and continue spreading the vision of the founder?

In the six months before Osho left his body in January 1990, together with many others in the commune in Poona I had the opportunity to witness at first hand the multiple changes in organization, meditations and rituals Osho introduced to prepare his people for the day where he was no longer among us. Any reader who wishes to ponder upon where to place the actual scene of Osho’s movement in the model of possible directions and developments by Barrett presented below, may find sufficient sources for this exercise in the previous parts of Osho Source Book, most notably in the final sections of Part Seven: Poona Two.

Barrett writes on the changes in movements after the founder’s death
“Wise founders, aware of the inevitability of their death and desiring that their teachings should continue, may plan with their senior followers for how the movement will continue to function after their death. Sometimes this seems to work well; in other cases, it seems to add to the eventual confusion.
The model outlined in this chapter is an attempt to map the main directions a new religion can move in after the death of its founder.” (Barrett 2001)

“* Movements can change, or not (stasis). In either case, the outcome can be either stable or unstable. Stable stasis leads to continuation; unstable stasis to dissolution. Stable change leads to reform, perhaps after revolution; unstable change to schism.
* These four outcomes are not mutually exclusive. For example, schisms (D) may occur under the circumstances of (A), (B) or (C), or combinations of these.
* Category (A) accepts that some changes will be inevitable, such as an end to new teachings from the founder and changes in the hierarchy, and also allows for gradual change through evolution over the years.
* Category (B) may be relatively quick – a few months, or a year or two – or relatively slow – for example, until the death of the last member alive at the founder’s death.
* It is possible for the original movement either to continue the same (A) or to fade and die (B) while a splinter group (D) under a powerful leader (C) thrives.” (Barrett 2010, p. 59. Chapter Six: After the Prophet Dies. How movements change)

Urban quotes Satya Vedant on the future of Osho’s work:
“Other sannyasins, such as Swami Satya Vedant, were even more optimistic about the future of Osho’s work in a new global context. In the absence of the living master, he said, it is now up to a new generation of sannyasins to create a self-generating network that might continue to spread his work without the trappings of a centralized religious institution, bureaucracy, or control:
“Osho always insists that he has no followers, only fellow travelers, because following is so easy and cozy. Then the individual is not responsible; one can put the responsibility on someone else, God, guru, Jesus, Buddha, whatever. But slowly Osho begins withdrawing his support to our projections, like a bird luring its young from the nest. And that became the acid test. Creating something that depended on Osho’s presence was one thing, but, to create something that be self-regenerating, self-growing, without any outer help, relying only on each individual’s inner sources – who could have anticipated it? Who would have thought it possible – that today his Work would go on expanding “beyond our minds” as he forecast?”
Quite apart from the bitter legal battles, Osho’s work continues to be circulated, discussed, practiced, and interpreted by a vast assortment of groups worldwide. Perhaps the most important transformation that has taken place in the wake of Osho’s demise is the shift from the “ashram” or “commune” model, in which individuals lived full-time in a self-sustaining alternative society, toward a new, decentralized model, in which individuals gather semiregularly at centers or even personal homes across the globe.” (Satya Vedant. In: Urban 2015, p. 174)

Osho has on several occasions commented on the question of a successor among his therapists and secretaries:

“Through the years I had worked on these therapists and their therapies, and they started feeling that they had become kind of gurus, masters. And deep down there was great competition amongst them: Somendra left because of his competition with Teertha about who was a better therapist – just fights of egos. Deep down they must be thinking that sooner or later I will have to die. Teertha had taken it for granted, without anybody saying it to him, that he was going to be my successor. Perhaps he was spreading the idea he was going to be my successor.
The day I announced in the commune that nobody is going to be my successor, only two persons were unhappy – and I looked at both the persons: one was Sheela and the other was Teertha. Everybody was happy, rejoicing, but those two people were sad. That was their aim – perhaps not consciously, but unconsciously. That was the beginning of Sheela trying to destroy the commune in different ways.” Beyond Psychology. Talks in Uruguay (1988). Chapter 37, p. 332. Punta del Este, 30.04.1986pm.

“Our Beloved Master, You have often said You will have no successors. But won’t all those who love You be Your successors in that we carry You in our blood and bones and so You are part of us forever?
Maneesha, the concept of the successor is bureaucratic. The very idea of succession is not the right idea in the world of consciousness. That’s why I have said I will not have successors. But you are right in saying that you will carry in your bones and in your blood my love, my insight. But don’t use the word ‘successor’, rather say that you will be me. Why be so far away, a successor, when you can be me? Be so empty that I can make a home in you, that your emptiness can absorb my emptiness, that your heart can have the same dance as my heart. It is not succession; it is transmission.
The very idea of succession is political. Only one person can be a successor, so there is bound to be competition, ambition. There is bound to be a subtle struggle to be closer to the master, to force others away. It may not be on the surface but, underneath, the problem will remain in the disciples: “Who is going to be the successor?”
I destroy the whole conception. Every disciple who has loved has become one with the master. There is no need of any competition, nor one successor. It is for everybody who has offered himself in deep gratitude, who has become one in a certain sense with the master’s presence. There is no need of any competition. Thousands can have the same experience, millions can have the same experience.
To avoid politics in religion, I have said that I will not have successors. I want religion to be absolutely devoid of ambition, competition, being higher than another, putting everybody lower than oneself.
With me you are all equal. And I trust and love you, that you will prove this equality. In equals there is no competition; there is a combined effort. You will all carry my message, but nobody will be higher or lower, nobody will be a successor. All will be my lovers and they will carry me.” Nansen (1990). Chapter 2, p. 30.

So Osho left no individual successor and long before his passing he had on several occasions stated that “I will be dissolved in my people.”

Melton writes on the succession issue
“It is a common assumption among social scientific observers of new religions (popularly termed “cults”) that the period immediately following the death of the founder/leader of a group is critical, a period that generally leads to major disruption and often fatal consequences for the group itself. This widely held assumption is not so much a finding derived from the observation of the phenomenon in specific situations as it is a conclusion drawn from early definitions of the term “cult” and lists of the characteristics of cults. According to the traditional wisdom in the field, among the most important characteristics of a cult (and the one most relevant to understanding the role of the founder) is that its leadership is invested in the person of a “charismatic” individual. That assumption ties cults to Max Weber’s classic discussion of charismatic leaders.” (Melton 1991, p. 1)

Lise McKean also writes on the succession issue
“The guru’s death releases portentous forces among followers. Loyalties as well as challenges to gurus and their organizations can be fierce and costly. An interregnum can be a strategic time to adjust the guru’s teachings and to attune them to changing political, social, and technological contexts. Property of the organization may be held solely in the guru’s name or in a legally established trust society controlled by a hoard of trustees. Consensus regarding the guru’s heir enables an organization to retain intact its property and following. The factional fighting and litigation, the successions and expulsions associated with succession struggles, diminish an organization’s resources and besmirch its reputation. In addition to deploying doctrinal arguments to articulate disputes, followers bitterly fight succession struggles with slander and blackmailing, physical intimidation and violence. The incessant litigation of religious organizations pads the pockets of lawyers.” (McKean 1996, p. 2)

In an interview 2001 Amrito recalls Osho’s work
“’That sound [Osho] will indicate towards me. Osho is not my name. It is a healing sound, a mantra.’
Osho was playing a name game like Ziggy Stardust with changing identities, in addition deconstructing what was earlier on considered to be static [stasis in Fig. 1].
‘The vital bit of my work cannot happen in my presence, because that very presence is a distraction to people. There’s going to be a jump from my presence to my absence.’
Osho is Krishnamurti-like with no master. The whole play takes place in a rapidly changing world where everything is a bit interwoven and a revolutionary methodology for his vision is needed. There’s a critical mass of people. I’m a former research librarian too!” (Amrito. Interview. Poona. 31.07.2001)

Bodhicitta recalls living with Chinmaya in the lower Himalayas
“About 10 years ago I asked Chinmaya, “Swamiji, when you talk to me, how much is you and how much is Osho?” He replied, “It’s all Osho. There is nobody here, Bodhicitta.”
Almost 20 years ago he said to Ma Carolyn and myself, “Osho is available as both an infinite energy and a moment-to-moment guiding intelligence, as much now as when He was in the body. Osho’s work is going fabulously. Ninety percent of it does not have the Osho label on it. Sitting here in the Himalayas we are affecting tens of millions of people.” (Anand Bodhicitta. Viha Connection, 2019:1)

Osho talks on the previous two communes both destroyed because of women’s jealousies and now his third and last commune in Poona Two with Anando as his secretary:

“The first commune was destroyed because of women’s jealousies. They were fighting continuously. The second commune was destroyed because of women’s jealousies. And this is the third commune – and the last, because I am getting tired. Once in a while I think perhaps Buddha was right not to allow any women in his commune for twenty years. I am not in favor of him: I am the first who has allowed men and women the same, equal opportunity for enlightenment. But I have burnt my finger twice, and it has always been the jealousy of the women.
Still, I am a stubborn person. After two communes, immense effort wasted, I have started a third commune, but I have not created any difference – women are still running it. I want women here in this commune not to behave like women. But small jealousies… Now, somebody has to bring my food – the whole commune cannot do that. Somebody has to make my room clean, my bathroom clean – the whole community is not needed there; otherwise the result will be the opposite!
I call Anando every morning while I am eating, every evening while I am eating, just to give her instructions so that nothing goes wrong. Things go wrong so easily… and because Anando has been in all three communes, and is a law graduate, she understands very clearly why these two communes, created with such great effort, with so much money poured into them, got destroyed. She has a very clear conception. And whatever I say, she manages to do it. I have not heard her saying a single time that, “I have forgotten.” She immediately takes notes and reports the next day what the situation is. Otherwise, very easily things can go wrong.” Joshu. The Lion’s Roar (1989). Chapter 2, p. 31.

Satya Vedant writes on how Osho would like to be remembered
“And perhaps most penetrating, he specifically deals with how he would like to be remembered: “I would simply like to be forgiven and forgotten. There is no need to remember me. The need is to remember yourself! People have remembered Gautam Buddha and Jesus Christ and Confucius and Krishna. That does not help. So what I would like: forget me completely, and forgive me too – because it will be difficult to forget me. That’s why I am asking you to forgive me for giving you the trouble.
“Remember yourself.
“And don’t be bothered about historians and all kinds of neurotic people – they will do their thing. It is none of our concern at all.”
And on another occasion when asked whether he would like to be remembered, as a mystic, a spiritual leader, a philosopher? He replies, “Just a nobody. I would like it to be as if I have never been.”” (Joshi 2017, p. 296)

Some disciples have written on their experiences and meetings with other masters. Most notably Sw Madhukar in ‘The Odyssey of Enlightenment. Rare Interviews with Enlightened Teachers of Our Time’ (Thompson 2002), and Sw Arun in ‘Lone Seeker Many Masters’ (Arun 2015).

Osho talks in August 1977 in Poona One on seeing other masters
“A few days ago in the morning discourse, bhagwan told us that when he was gone, when he was no longer in the body, that he would guide those of us who had not been able to attain enlightenment with him to a live master, that this was part of his responsibility to his sannyasins, part of his compassion for us. I remember it well. Sadness and joy, love and gratitude mingled in me as he spoke.” (Krishna Prem. In: The No Book. No Buddha. No Teaching. No Discipline. A Darshan Diary (1981), p. 281)
(Note: In the editing of Darshan Diaries Bhagwan is usually written with a lower case b, as can be seen in Part Nine / Bibliography / Darshan Diaries)

Osho talks later on in the Himalayas on same issue
“A real friend cannot make you a slave. He cannot tell you, ‘You have only to accept my help.’ If he is a real friend, he will say to you, ‘You have to learn to accept advice, wisdom from wherever it comes.’
Help is absolutely necessary. Just remember that I do not want to become in any way a bondage to you. I want to be remembered by you only as a freedom giver, not as somebody who enslaves you. And then from wherever you feel your thirst can be quenched, your heart starts dancing; you feel that you are moving, moving towards a more beautiful space, then go without hesitation.
You can have many friends. You are on your feet; you have to move with your own energy. You have to see with your own eyes. You have to experience with your own being. Even on the right path there are so many pitfalls, so many places you can get stuck. Somebody is needed who has traveled on the path. Somebody who has traveled can be of great help, and one should not be ashamed of taking help from wherever it comes. One should be humble; one should be ready and open. Rather than getting into bondage with one person it is better to be available to all the wise ones in the world – living and dead. They all indicate to the same truth, because there are not so many truths. There is only one.
There are thousands of fingers pointing to the same moon. You should not become attached to the finger, because the finger is not the moon. You should forget the finger and look at the moon, and move towards the moon.” The Sword and the Lotus. Talks in the Himalayas (1989)

* * *

Since his enlightenment, ‘this momentous event,’ Osho has created a repertory of Eastern knowledge in its esoteric form, and to considerable extent followed the elliptical style of an Oriental storyteller. As a modern Zen master his modus operandi is a synthesis of mysticism and science: not to inform the minds of his listeners, but to transform their consciousness into something they might never have anticipated.

Considering the vast space for interpretations and distortions during the collecting of sayings and anecdotes from other founders, Osho’s case is quite a different one. It may be the first time ever that the entire literature and spoken words of a mystic and master have been recorded and preserved for everyone to refer. On paper, audio- and videotapes and in digital format too, as we have seen in previous parts of Osho Source Book.

Maneesha writes on Sheela’s ‘Book of Rajneeshism’ (1983)
“The phenomenon of disciples pouncing on the master’s words and making a teaching of them once he is dead is not new; between them, thirty-two of Buddha’s disciples managed to make as many schools of interpretation of Buddha’s words. It appears Sheela had jumped the gun.” (Forman 1988, p. 516)

Osho’s body of work on a global scale makes him an intellectual and spiritual giant of the 20th century, although this view may at present not be prevalent in the West. This discrepancy may partly be due to the silencing in the media following the religio-political upheaval and his fatal incarceration in the United States in the 1980s. In his own words, Osho in 1989 said that he wanted us to read his books to understand his philosophy. These books were his last words and to read them we will gain a greater understanding of what is happening to us. Keeping the books and reading them again from time to time, we will find new insights every time we read and understand more and more according to his directions, as the books are not novels to be read once and then thrown away. A few months before his passing, he even sent a message to the therapy leaders in the commune to extend the use of his books in their therapy sessions for people to gain a greater understanding of what is happening to them during the therapy. And with his message to the librarian in Osho Lao Tzu library, November 1989 which is mentioned earlier in 7.3 Osho Lao Tzu Library, there is solid evidence that the legacy of his books was of highest concern until his last breath.

A total number of Osho’s 4.600 discourses are published in around 285 books in English running up to 110.000 pages. Not including the 400 or so books printed in Hindi, nor the 350 translations published in 60 languages. Further on we have the compilations, the 48 darshan diaries and the 187 books of his responses to questions. Not to mention the 7.000 discourses on audio tape and 1.700 on video tape. Nearly 3 million copies are said to be sold each year of the around 600 titles to his name, but do forgive me if I’m not completely updated on this rolling snowball.

Osho’s discourses, old as well as later ones, are published in several editions: with name change of author, omission of names of those asking him questions and without indications of time and setting of the talks. And the books are appearing in various degrees of abridgment and editing of the actual text itself. This makes it an essential prerequisite for any in-depth study of Osho’s work to use his first editions only, following general philological rules for editing work, as the chosen edition will determine our subsequent interpretation and understanding. This we’ll have to bear in mind, especially with the many new editions published after Osho’s passing in 1990.

Accordingly, in choosing any edition of Osho’s works the reader may recall that no later edition is a neutral rendering of the original text, but a textual fluidity in a longer series of events involving both historical context of publishing and choices of staff, all of which contributing to the final appearance of the physical book. Therefore any specific edition will incarnate and reconstruct the original discourse text anew, even when in some sense the text remains the same. The fluid transformations of the original text are no less essential when we’re translating into other languages, where also idiomatic expressions and our concept of the entire bibliographical object may be challenged.

Further studies may have to be carried out concerning publishers’ experiments in design of the visual aspects of Osho’s discourse books, including blank pages, all or just some, font and illustrations and not least: the former cover photo of Osho, a matter he did invest a lot of energy when choosing the appropriate photo for a new book. Also, the many experiments and variations in front and back matters may draw the attention of bibliographers and others with interest in these questions.

Annotated first editions of Osho’s discourse books are all listed in Volume III / Bibliography.

* * *

During the 1960s, with Jabalpur as his base, Osho travelled ceaselessly by train across the length and breath of the Indian subcontinent to disseminate his message. Then he settled in Bombay, where now also Westerners started gathering around him listening to his lectures in Woodlands, and apart from meditation camps at Mount Abu his train rides and all his travelling in India had now come to an end.

Onwards to Poona, where for seven years his daily discourses were attended by thousands of disciples coming from all over the world. At the Ranch in Oregon for a few years he mostly confined himself to his room in silence, and he then left the United States to start a World Tour. He went to extremes in his effort to make himself heard, now worldwide on four continents, resuming and expanding his travelling from the 1960s when he was covering all India. Following his return to India in 1986 he once again stayed in Bombay where especially his Indian disciples were happy to be with him after several years of absence.

Osho’s return to Poona the following year was to herald his final phase after having transmitted his message first on national level in India, and then internationally in a flow of outreaching energies in Oregon and during his World Tour (The Wanderer), alternating with periods of withdrawal and silence.

In Part Ten / Sources / Numerology we’ll find more on the various phases of Osho’s work, and here it should suffice to refer to a few events in addition to what has already been mentioned above:

On March 21, 1974, exactly 21 years after his enlightenment in Jabalpur, Osho moved from Bombay to Poona with a few dozen Indian and Western friends. And one last move also from Bombay to Poona happened when in early January 1987 Osho drove by car from Bombay to his final stay in Poona Two.

In Oregon between 1981 and 1984 Osho observed a second period of silence lasting 1.315 days, precisely the number of days in his first period of silence following his enlightenment in Jabalpur.

The Neo-Sannyas movement had started in Kulu Manali on September 26, 1970, and it ended in Oregon on the very same day after fifteen years, 26.09.1985:

“With our coming to the West, now red clothes and the mala are no longer needed, because in the West they have never been symbolic of religion. They have done their work in India… now sannyasins should be absolutely normal beings, so you can live in the society without creating any kind of hostility or embarrassment for yourself, for your family, or difficulties in your job…
So now there is left only the essential quality, the most fundamental quality of religiousness. That is meditation. You have to go inwards…
So now that you no longer have any outer symbols, it is good, if you want to be a sannyasin, for you to remember only one thing: how to go into the discipline of witnessing; otherwise there is a possibility that wearing red clothes and the mala you are completely satisfied that you are a sannyasin. You are not. Clothes don’t make anybody change, neither does the mala make anybody go through a transformation. But you can deceive yourself.
Now I am taking all that away from you, and leaving only one simple thing. You cannot deceive: either you do it or you don’t do it. Without doing it, you are not a sannyasin. So the movement has come to its purest state, the most essential stage; it has to be dropped.
But it is a good coincidence that on the same date, I had started the sannyas movement, and on the same date I have made it absolutely purified of all unnecessary, nonessential things. But it is purely a coincidence, because I am not good about dates, days, years. Forgive me for that. I live in a timeless space. I don’t know what day it is, I don’t know what date it is.” From Bondage to Freedom (1991). Chapter 17, p. 207. 01.10.1985.

Some readers may argue that Osho’s legacy cannot be understood in simplistic and linear terms. Rather it seems to be full of paradoxes and revelations reflecting what can aptly be named a ‘yin-yang structure’ with its interrelated and interdependent components:

Outwardly dissemination of far-reaching lectures and discourse series, while travelling or at fixed locations, alternating with longer periods of silence and withdrawal.
Vibrant and energetic discourses on esoteric and spiritual matters, later on alternating with lengthy and more shallow talks on politics, politicians and other mundane issues.
A highly structured daily schedule with minute timing of discourses, darshans, meals, periods of resting, and reading, while at the same time talking to his disciples on spontaneous living and ‘flowing with the river’.
Spartan life style versus a later affinity for Rolls Royces and diamond studded watches as presented in earlier parts of Osho Source Book.
And: Zorba the Buddha. All properties and qualities. Supplementary.

Any reader who from this point on wishes to move into the interrelationship between Indian Advaita, Chinese Taoism and Japanese Zen may find a wealth of material on this highly interesting subject in Osho’s discourses, indicating also the path he has travelled as well as his focus and choosing of Zen in his last discourse series before he put an end to his public discourses in April 1989.

* * *

It’s tempting to refer from Osho’s passing to that of other founders. The questions of a successor, the role of the secretary – he made it known as his last words that his secretary Anando would from now on be his messenger and medium – and the preservation of the message’s purity are questions dealt with intensively by Osho during the last months before leaving his body as we have seen above and in Part Seven: Poona Two.

Bearing this in mind, I cannot help contemplating on the Buddhist heritage during the reign of Ashoka (268-233). Following Alexander Cunningham’s rediscovery 1851 of the Buddhist stupas in Sanchi (M.P.), we now know that the lion capital of pillar number 10 was later chosen as the symbol of the Indian Union at India’s Independence in 1947. At the same time, the thirty-two-spokes Dharmachakra or ‘Wheel of Law’ that the four lions had originally supported, became the central image on India’s new tricolour. But what might be lesser known, are the seven lines in Brahmi characters found inscribed on the base of the column. This surviving edict by Ashoka enjoined the monks and nuns to avoid creating schisms within the Sangha, its third line declaring that by command of his sacred majesty ‘no one shall cause division in the order.’

Mistlberger writes in general on social dysfunctioning
“Of course, any community of seekers gathered together should never be assumed to be some utopia of harmony and flawless wisdom. Every spiritual or philosophical community has its share of issues and problems that happen when people try to interact together in truth, and especially when any degree of organization or hierarchy is present. (And reasonable arguments have been made that ‘spiritual communities’ are as much, if not more, dysfunctional than any other sort of intentional community.) However, the overriding spirit that should govern our participation in any such community is that of self-discovery. We get involved with gurus or teachers or mentors, and the students around them, purely in the service of our awakening, not to find some surrogate family. Keeping that in mind tends to prepare us for the disappointment that easily follows when we begin to see the typical social dysfunction that occurs in most spiritual communities, even if the inner work going on in their midst is authentic and useful.” (Mistlberger 2011, p. 96)

We’ve seen an Inner Circle of 21 sannyasins formed in the rainy season of 1989 to manage the administration and worldly affairs of the commune, and Osho made it from day one clear they were not to propagate anything concerned with spiritual matters at all, although this distinction has proven not to be quite crystal clear. In the following years they have replaced those who died, those who left and those who were forced to leave, so by now less than ten of the members are from the original appointed Inner Circle.

Particularly some devoted Indian sannyasins did leave this gathering as they saw the management was restructuring Osho’s legacy in a way they could not continue to support. And up came Osho World located in Delhi, an organization with mainly Indian sannyasins which is challenging the Poona administration on a number of issues.

Dissemination of Osho’s vision and copyright issues have been major questions in recent years, and so has a number of editorial changes in the publishing of Osho’s work. Now we no longer find his photo on the front covers, and the general emphasis is now on ‘cap-time’, the latter phases of his work since 1982 where he is wearing a robe and a hat. To many sannyasins the belittlement of Osho’s earlier phases, showing their master at his full strength and vitality in Bombay and Poona One, did indeed cause some dispute.

Carter on his research and ‘historical revisionism’
“Rajneesh representatives are consummate “historical revisionists” and now deny that many of the events recorded here ever happened. Both factual events and interpretations of these are still disputed, even where evidence is overwhelming. Consequently, my narrative is heavily documented with contemporaneous news reports, public records, diaries, other documents, and first-hand observations. Where evidence is inconclusive or interpretations irreconcilable, I have included “variations” provided by some of the observers who disagree.” (Carter 1990, p. 118)

On ‘complete discontinuity with the past’
“Osho requested that his work be presented only under OSHO, and already during his lifetime, the foundation began to make changes in all book publications to reflect this “complete discontinuity with the past.” To further achieve this goal, new opening announcements were recorded for his talks and some of the series names were changed. Also, the quality of recordings were enhanced, and the creation of archive master files (in WAV format) will allow high quality reproduction in new formats in the future, when the formats like MP3 and WMA might become out of date.” (Quote from: Osho Times, 2006:8, pp. 16-22)

Osho talks in Poona Two on criticism
“When I am gone, I hope there may still be courageous people in the world to criticize me, so that I don’t become a hindrance to anybody’s path. And those who will criticize me will not be my enemies; neither am I the enemy of those whom I have criticized. The working of the enlightened masters just has to be understood.
You should remember only one word, and that is compassion – compassion for you, compassion for all those who are still not centered in their being, who are still far away from themselves, who have to be called back home.
Okay, Maneesha?
Yes, Bhagwan.”
Satyam Shivam Sundram (1988). Session 6, p. 68.

Factsheet: Misconceptions. Excerpt from: No Organization

“There is a general belief that the movement around Osho is an organized religion, sect or proselytizing cult. There is no such thing as a church, a membership or a commitment on the part of Osho’s friends to any organization or hierarchy. They are a worldwide community of free spirits who respect each other’s individuality and autonomy. There is no missionary work whatsoever going on. All Osho Meditation Centers or any businesses carrying Osho’s name are independent entities which remain the entire responsibility, financially and otherwise, of those involved. The function of Osho International is to see that Osho’s books, audio/video tapes and meditations are not tampered with in any way, so that His extremely well-documented vision is available in its original form.” (Factsheet. Misconceptions. Undated revised version, late 1989)

In an early lecture by Osho from the late 1960s, compiled in ‘The Great Challenge’ (1982, Ch. 9), he shares the vision that after his death two groups of followers would be seen: One group of organizers – the exoteric group – taking care of mundane matters and preserving his message in media publishing, and a second group – the esoteric group – not really a group but rather individuals more concerned with the inner world and their personal growth. He added, that clashes between these factions were bound to happen and nothing could be done to prevent it. And fairly much like that it turned out to be the case during the 1990s and into the new millennium.

Dayanand Bharati writes
“But what did He do? He got 93 Rolls-Royces and sent Sheela out into the world; and she trashed this superior image so perfectly, making me cringe with her actions and behavior on TV. Why? Because her behavior did not match the standard I had set for us disciples of an enlightened being, chosen to change the world for the better. She destroyed that image, an image I was part of, was identified with.
The old religions all started out the same way as we did, with an enlightened being at the core – Jesus, Buddha, Moses, Muhammad – with truths to transform the individual into a conscious being. But as soon as the awakened one has left the body, the truths get corrupted and turned into rules and commandments by the unconscious mind that has no interest in waking up. In the end, unconsciousness always wins in big movements, because the majority of minds are unconscious; the individual is alone.
I believe our Master did not want us to go down the same road. He destroyed that religious image Himself, He destroyed His own movement to save the essence for those who can understand and can stand alone and be a light unto themselves.
We inherited a contradictory legacy that no one can satisfactorily explain to outsiders; not even we as insiders have made sense of it all yet, what it is all about – and we never will. The image is too stained to ever turn it into a religion, at least for now in our time. Later, who knows what will happen?” (Dayanand Bharati. Viha Connection, 2019:1)

Aveling writes in Brill’s Encyclopedia of Hinduism
“Osho’s death, of course, carried its own implications for a movement shaped by his personal charisma (Palmer, 1988). The inner circle’s charter was to see to “the practical application of Osho’s vision and work” and not to engage in philosophical discussion (Joshi, 2010, 251-262). It has sought, as Osho wished, not to embalm his memory. Osho’s chair was no longer brought to the Buddha Hall (and had subsequently been demolished); many of his photographs have been removed; malas with his picture “once treasured by sannyasins as tangible evidence of their inner connection to him – are no longer given to new initiates but instead can be purchased from the resort boutique” (Fox, 2000, 41-42).
There has been strenuous debate about ownership of the copyright to his books and even his name, and whether his samadhi (the resting place for Osho’s ashes – in his former bedroom!) can be considered a sacred site and therefore open to public and ongoing veneration.
As a reaction, there has been a number of breakaway Indian groups who have been keen to maintain the more “spiritual” aspects of Osho’s work, including Osho World in Delhi, Osho Tapoban in Nepal (where there are some 90 centers; Basnet, 2002), and Oshodhara, also in Delhi, which includes Osho’s brother as one of its three satgurus and awards the title Osho to all those who have passed through a prerequisite series of meditation camps.” (Aveling 2012)

Osho’s Samadhi
“During the monsoon festival in August 2018, Osho Samadhi in Lao Tzu House has been renamed as the Chuang Tzu meditation Hall. All sign boards with the word ‘Samadhi’ have been taken off, and the big photograph of Osho on the marble podium has been removed.
Amrit Sadhana, the official spokesperson for the Osho International Resort, said that this place was never open to the public and is not what is traditionally understood by ‘Samadhi’. According to her, it was a mistake on the part of the commune to call it a samadhi. “We corrected the mistake when we realized so. It is back to Chuang Tzu now.”
Although on January 20, 1990, one day after Osho’s passing, Sw Prem Amrito had given a detailed account in Buddha Hall of Osho’s last conversation with him. Amrito said, that Osho desired a beautiful samadhi to be created on the premises. Accordingly, Osho’s ashes were placed in an urn and buried in the Chuang Tzu auditorium which became the Samadhi.” (Prachi Bari. Hindustan Times, Pune. 19.08.2018; www.hindustantimes.com)

If you can celebrate this moment,
you can become the same as I am.
Osho 

 

Appendix Vol II

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