Rajneesh movement
The Rajneesh movement is a religious movement inspired by the Indian mystic Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (1931–1990), also known as Osho.[1] They used to be known as Rajneeshees or "Orange People" because of the orange they used from 1970 until 1985.[2] Members of the movement are sometimes called Oshoites in the Indian press.[3]
The movement was controversial in the 1970s and 1980s, due to the founder's hostility, first to Hindu morality in India, and later to Christian morality in the United States. In the Soviet Union, the movement was banned as being contrary to "positive aspects of Indian culture and to the aims of the youth protest movement in Western countries". The positive aspects were allegedly being subverted by Rajneesh, whom the Soviet government considered a reactionary ideologue of the monopolistic bourgeoisie of India and a promoter of consumerism in a traditional Hindu guise.[4]
In Oregon, the movement's large intentional community of the early 1980s, called Rajneeshpuram,[5][6] caused immediate tensions in the local community for its attempts to take over the nearby town of Antelope and later the county seat of The Dalles.
At the peak of these tensions, a circle of leading members of the Rajneeshpuram Oregon commune was arrested for crimes including an attempted assassination plot to murder U.S. Attorney Charles H. Turner[7] and the United States's first recorded bio-terror attack calculated to influence the outcome of a local election in their favour; these efforts ultimately failed. In the bioterror attack, Salmonella bacteria were deployed to infect salad products in local restaurants and shops, which poisoned several hundred people.[6] The Bhagwan, as Rajneesh was then called, was deported from the United States in 1985 as part of his Alford plea deal following the convictions of his staff and right hand Ma Anand Sheela, who were found guilty of the attack. After his deportation, 21 countries denied him entry.[8] The movement's headquarters eventually returned to Poona (present-day Pune), India. The Oregon commune was destroyed in September 1985.[9]
The movement in India gradually received a more positive response from the surrounding society, especially after the founder's death in 1990.[10][11] The Osho International Foundation (OIF) (previously Rajneesh International Foundation [RIF]), is managed by an "Inner Circle" set up by Rajneesh before his death. They jointly administer Rajneesh's estate and operate the Osho International Meditation Resort in Pune.[11][12]
In the late 1990s, rival factions challenged OIF's copyright holdings over Rajneesh's works and the validity of its royalty claims on publishing or reprinting of materials.[10][13][14] In the United States, following a 10-year legal battle with Osho Friends International (OFI), the OFI lost its exclusive rights over the trademark OSHO in January 2009.[15]
There are a number of smaller centres of the movement in India and around the world, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands.
Beliefs and practices[edit]
Religion[edit]
A 1972 monograph outlined Rajneesh's concept of sannyas.[32] It was to be a worldwide movement, rooted in the affirmation of life, playful, joyful and based on science rather than belief and dogma. It would not rely on ideology and philosophy, but on practices, techniques and methods aiming to offer every individual the chance to discover and choose their own proper religious path; the intent was to lead people to an essential, universal religiousness. The movement would be open to people of all religions or of none, experimenting with the inner methods of all religions in their pure, original form, not seeking to synthesise them but to provide facilities whereby each might be revived, maintained and defended and their lost and hidden secrets rediscovered. The movement would not seek to create any new religion.
Elections[edit]
During elections the Rajneesh's secretary Sheela would bring thousands of homeless people from New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and other cities to live and vote in Rajneeshpuram and Antelope, Oregon. Representative Wayne H. Fawbush, who represented both areas, wanted a special session of the Oregon Legislature to be called to change Oregon's voter registration laws to prevent the homeless being brought by the Rajneeshis(followers) from voting.[76]
During the selection of Oregon's thirteen alternate delegates to the 1984 Republican National Convention Ma Prem Kavido, a precinct committee member from Rajneeshpuram and member of the Rajneeshpuram city council, and Ma Prem Debal ran, but both were defeated placing 14th and 15th respectively. Four Rajneeshis(followers) from Wasco and Jefferson counties were selected to serve as delegates at the Oregon Republican Party's state convention.[77]
Demographics[edit]
One of the first surveys of sannyasins was conducted in 1980 at the Poona ashram by Swami Krishna Deva (David Berry Knapp), an American clinical psychologist who would later serve as mayor of Rajneeshpuram.[35] In the survey, Krishna Deva polled 300 American sannyasins and discovered that their median age was just over 30. 60 per cent of them had been sannyasins for less than two years, and most continued to live in the United States. Half of them came from California, 97 per cent were white, 25 per cent were Jewish, and 85 per cent belonged to the middle and upper-middle classes.[35][78] Almost two-thirds had university degrees and viewed themselves as "successful in worldly terms". Three-quarters had previously been involved in some therapy and more than half had previously experimented with another spiritual group.[78] In 1984 the average age of members of the Rajneesh movement was 34; 64 per cent of the followers had a four-year college degree.[63]
A survey of 635 Rajneeshpuram residents was conducted in 1983 by Norman D. Sundberg, director of the University of Oregon's Clinical/Community Psychology Program, and three of his colleagues. It revealed a middle-class group of predominantly college-educated whites around the age of 30, the majority of whom were women.[79] Nearly three-quarters of those surveyed attributed their decisions to become Rajneeshees to their love for Rajneesh or his teachings.[79] 91 per cent stated that they had been looking for more meaning in their lives prior to becoming members.[79] When asked to rate how they felt about their lives as Rajneeshees, 93 per cent stated they were "extremely satisfied" or nearly so, most of them choosing the top score on a scale of 0 to 8. Only 8 per cent stated that they had been as happy before joining.[79]
Legacy[edit]
Internationally, by 2005 (and after almost two decades of controversy and a decade of accommodation), Rajneesh's movement had established itself in the market of new religions.[10] His followers have redefined his contributions, reframing central elements of his teaching so as to make them appear less controversial to outsiders.[10] Societies in North America and Western Europe have met them half-way, becoming more accommodating to spiritual topics such as yoga and meditation.[10] The Osho International Foundation (OIF) in Pune runs stress management seminars for corporate clients such as IBM and BMW, with a reported (in 2000) revenue of between $15 and $45 million annually in the US.[75][80]
OSHO International Meditation Resort [45] has described itself as the Esalen of the East, and teaches a variety of spiritual techniques from a broad range of traditions. It promotes itself as a spiritual oasis, a "sacred space" for discovering one's self and uniting the desires of body and mind in a beautiful resort environment.[46] According to press reports, prominent visitors have included politicians and media personalities.[45] In 2011, a national seminar on Rajneesh's teachings was inaugurated at the Department of Philosophy of the Mankunwarbai College for Women in Jabalpur.[81] Funded by the Bhopal office of the University Grants Commission, the seminar focused on Rajneesh's "Zorba the Buddha" teaching, seeking to reconcile spirituality with the materialist and objective approach.[81] As of 2013, the resort required all guests to be tested for HIV/AIDS at its Welcome Center on arrival.[82]
In July 2020, singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens released a song themed after the movement titled "My Rajneesh".[83]
In September 2020, the OSHO International Foundation, which owns the OSHO International Meditation Resort, decided to sell two 1.5 acre plots of land, currently housing a swimming pool and a tennis court. As a charitable trust, the OIF filed an application with the Charity Commissioner in Mumbai requesting permission for the sale. In the application, they cited financial distress due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This has sparked controversy amongst Osho followers, and their representative Yogesh Thakkar was quoted saying “This place is made by Osho devotees for Osho devotees, and it belongs to Osho devotees.” Ten Osho disciples filed an objection to the sale with the Charity Commissioner.[84][85]