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Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and disciples in darshan at Poona in 1977

The Rajneesh movement comprises persons inspired by the Indian mystic Bhagwan Shree
Rajneesh (1931–1990), also known as Osho, particularly initiated disciples who are
referred to as "neo-sannyasins"[1] or simply "sannyasins". They used to be known as
Rajneeshees or "Orange People", because of the orange and later red, maroon and
pink clothes they used from 1970 until 1985.[2] Members of the movement are
sometimes called Oshoites in the Indian press.[3][4][5]

The movement was controversial in the 1970s and 1980s, due to the founder's
hostility to traditional moral values, first in India and later 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 seen as being subverted by Rajneesh, who was
seen as a reactionary ideologist of the monopolistic bourgeoisie of India,
promoting the ideas of the consumer society in a traditional Hindu guise.[6]

In Oregon, the movement's large intentional community of the early 1980s, called
Rajneeshpuram,[7][8] 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 attempted murder as part of the
United States's first recorded bio-terror attack calculated to influence the
outcome of a local election in their favour, which ultimately failed. Salmonella
was deployed to infect salad products in local restaurants and shops, which
poisoned several hundred people.[8] 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. 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 OIF 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, United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands.
Origins
Edit
Main article: Osho (Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh)
File:Osho 1972 Birthday seek-index 268 0.26.ogvPlay media
Rajneesh's birthday celebrations at his Bombay residence on 11 December 1972

Rajneesh began speaking in public in 1958, while still a lecturer (later professor)
in philosophy at Jabalpur University. He lectured throughout India during the
1960s, promoting meditation and the ideals of free love,[16] a social movement
based on a civil libertarian philosophy that rejects state regulation and religious
interference in personal relationships; he also denounced marriage as a form of
social bondage, especially for women.[a][17] He criticised socialism and Gandhi,
but championed capitalism, science, technology and birth control,[18] warning
against overpopulation and criticising religious teachings that promote poverty and
subjection.

He became known as Acharya Rajneesh, Acharya meaning "teacher or professor" and

"Rajneesh" being a childhood nickname (from Sanskrit रजनन rajani, night and ईश isha,
lord).[19] By 1964 a group of wealthy backers had initiated an educational trust to
support Rajneesh and aid in the running of meditation retreats.[20] The association
formed at this time was known as Jivan Jagruti Andolan (Hindi: Life Awakening
Movement).[21] As Goldman expresses it, his rapidly growing clientele suggested
"that he was an unusually talented spiritual therapist". Around this time he
"acquired a business manager" from the upper echelons of Indian society, Laxmi
Thakarsi Kuruwa, a politically well-connected woman who would function as his
personal secretary and organisational chief. She became Rajneesh's first sannyasin,
[22] taking the name Ma Yoga Laxmi.[23][24][25] Laxmi, the daughter of a key
supporter of the Nationalist Congress Party, with close ties to Gandhi, Nehru and
Morarji Desai,[26][27] retained this role for almost 15 years.[28]
Beginnings
Edit
Symbol of the Life Awakening Movement. Circa 1970.

University of Jabalpur officials forced Rajneesh to resign in 1966. He developed

his role as a spiritual teacher, supporting himself through lectures, meditation
camps and individual meetings (Darśana or Darshan—meaning "sight") for his
wealthier followers.[29] In 1971 he initiated six sannyasins, the emergence of the
Neo-Sannyas International Movement.[30] Rajneesh differentiated his sannyas from
the traditional practice, admitting women and viewing renunciation as a process of
renouncing ego rather than the world. Disciples still adopted the traditional mala,
and ochre robe, and change of name. At this time, Rajneesh adopted the title
"Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh".[31]

By 1972, he had initiated 3,800 sannyasins in India. The total for the rest of the
world at that time was 134, including 56 from the United States, 16 each from
Britain and Germany, 12 each from Italy and the Philippines, 8 in Canada, 4 in
Kenya, 2 in Denmark and 1 each from France, the Netherlands, Australia, Greece,
Sweden, Norway and Switzerland.[32] After a house was purchased for Rajneesh in
Poona in 1974, he founded an ashram, and membership of the movement grew.[16] More
seekers began to visit from western nations, including therapists from the Human
Potential Movement. They began to run group therapy at the ashram.[7]

Rajneesh became the first Eastern guru to embrace modern psychotherapy.[33] He

discoursed daily upon religious scriptures, combining elements of Western
philosophy, jokes and personal anecdotes. He commented on Hinduism, Zen and other
religious sources, and Western psychotherapeutic approaches.[7][34]

Swami Prem Amitabh (Robert Birnbaum), one of the therapists in the Poona ashram,
estimates that there were about 100,000 sannyasins by 1979.[35] Bob Mullan, a
sociologist from the University of East Anglia, states that "at any one time there
were about 6,000 Rajneeshees in Poona, some visiting for weeks or months to do
groups or meditations, with about two thousand working and living on a permanent
basis in and around the ashram."[35] Lewis F. Carter, a sociologist from the
Washington State University, estimates that 2,000 sannyasins resided at
Rajneeshpuram at its height.[35]

After Rajneesh's death and burial at this site, the ashram in Poona became the Osho
International Meditation Resort.[36][37] Identifying as the Esalen of the East, the
resort has classes in a variety of spiritual techniques from a broad range of
traditions and markets the facility as a spiritual oasis, a "sacred space" for
discovering one's self, and uniting the desires of body and mind in a beautiful
environment.[38] According to press reports, it attracts some 200,000 people from
all over the world each year;[36][39] prominent visitors have included politicians,
media personalities and the Dalai Lama.[37]
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.
Logo of Neo-Sannyas International. Circa 1970s.

To this end, communities would be founded around the world and groups of sannyasins
would tour the world to aid seekers of spiritual enlightenment and demonstrate
techniques of meditation. Other groups would perform kirtan (call and response
chanting) and conduct experiments in healing. Communities would run their own
businesses, and various publishing companies would be founded. A central
International University of Meditation would have branches all over the world and
run meditation camps, and study groups would investigate the key texts of Tantra,
Taoism, Hinduism and other traditions.[40]

In one survey conducted at Rajneeshpuram, over 70 percent of those surveyed listed

their religious affiliation as "none";[40] however, 60 percent of sannyasins
participated in activities of worship several times a month.[40] In late 1981
Rajneesh, through his secretary Ma Anand Sheela (Sheela Silverman), announced the
inception of the "religion of Rajneeshism", the basis of which would be fragments
taken from various discourses and interviews that Rajneesh had given over the
years.[41] In July 1983 Rajneesh Foundation International published a book entitled
Rajneeshism: An introduction to Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and His Religion,[42] in an
attempt to systematise Rajneesh's religious teachings and institutionalise the
movement. Despite this, the book claimed that Rajneeshism was not a religion, but
rather "a religionless religion ... only a quality of love, silence, meditation and
prayerfulness".[43] Carter comments that the motivation for formalising Rajneesh's
teachings are not easy to determine, but might perhaps have been tied to a visa
application made to the Immigration and Naturalization Service to obtain "religious
worker" status for him.[44] People followed the norms of wearing similar clothes
and participating in the same activities. The people were allowed to come and go as
they pleased as long as they did not hurt anybody.[45]
In the last week of September 1985, after Sheela had fled in disgrace, Rajneesh
declared that the religion of "Rajneeshism" and "Rajneeshees" no longer existed,
and that anything bearing the name would be dismantled. [46] His disciples set fire
to 5,000 copies of the Book of Rajneeshism, a 78-page compilation of his teachings
that had defined Rajneeshism as "a religionless religion".[46][47] Rajneesh said he
ordered the book-burning to rid the sect of the last traces of the influence of
Sheela,[47] whose robes were added to the bonfire.[47]
Society
Edit
Intentional community
Edit

Rajneesh held that families, large cities and nations would ultimately be replaced
by small communities with a communal way of life. By 1972, small communes of
disciples existed in India and Kenya, and a larger one, to be known as Anand Shila,
was planned as a "permanent world headquarters" in India. However, this plan was
repeatedly thwarted. Large communes were planned in the west. The Rajneesh
organisation bought the 64,229-acre (259.93 km2) Big Muddy Ranch near Antelope,
Oregon in July 1981, renaming it Rancho Rajneesh and later Rajneeshpuram.[16][48]
Initially, approximately 2,000 people took up residence in the intentional
community, and Rajneesh moved there too.[49] The organisation purchased a reception
hotel in Portland. In July 1983 it was bombed by the radical Islamic group Jamaat
ul-Fuqra, a group that had connections with militants in Pakistani-held Azad
Kashmir and sought to attack "soft" targets with Indian connections in the United
States.[50]

The Rajneesh movement clashed with Oregon officials and government while at
Rajneeshpuram, resulting in tensions within the commune itself.[51] A siege
mentality set in among the commune's leaders, and intimidation and authoritarianism
ensued. Disillusioned followers began to leave the organisation. Commune members
were instructed to cease communication with anyone who left.[51]
Marriage and the family
Edit

Although the movement was without clearly defined and shared values,[52] it was
well known that Rajneesh discouraged marrying and having children,[53] since he saw
families as inherently prone to dysfunction and destructiveness. Not many children
were born at the communes in Oregon and England,[54] and contraception,
sterilisation, and abortion were accepted.[55] According to Pike, some parents
justified leaving their children when moving to the ashram by reasoning that
spiritual development was more important.[55]
Commerce
Edit

Hugh B. Urban comments that "one of the most astonishing features of the early
Rajneesh movement was its remarkable success as a business enterprise".[56] It
"developed an extremely effective and profitable corporate structure", and "by the
1980s, the movement had evolved into a complex, interlocking network of
corporations, with an astonishing number of both spiritual and secular businesses
worldwide, offering everything from yoga and psychological counselling to cleaning
services."[57] It has been estimated that at least 120 million dollars were
generated during the movement's time in Oregon, a period when the acquisition of
capital, the collection of donations, and legal work were a primary concern.[58]
The popular press reported widely on the large collection of Rolls Royce cars
Rajneesh had amassed,[16] reported to be 93 at the final count.[59] James S. Gordon
reported that some sannyasins saw the cars as an unrivalled tool for obtaining
publicity, others as a good business investment or as a test, others as an
expression of Rajneesh's scorn for middle-class aspirations and yet others as an
indication of the love of his disciples.[60] Gordon opined that what Rajneesh loved
most about the Rolls-Royces, apart from their comfort, was "the anger and envy that
his possession of so many—so absurdly, unnecessarily, outrageously many—of them
aroused".[60] He wrote of a bumper sticker that was popular among sannyasins:
"Jesus Saves. Moses Invests. Bhagwan Spends."

By the mid-1980s, the movement, assisted by a sophisticated legal and business

infrastructure, had created a corporate machine consisting of various front
companies and subsidiaries.[56] At this time, the three main identifiable
organisations within the Rajneesh movement were: the Ranch Church, or Rajneesh
International Foundation (RIF); the Rajneesh Investment Corporation (RIC), through
which the RFI was managed; and the Rajneesh Neo-Sannyasin International Commune
(RNSIC). The umbrella organisation that oversaw all investment activities was
Rajneesh Services International Ltd., a company incorporated in the UK but based in
Zurich. There were also smaller organisations, such as Rajneesh Travel Corp,
Rajneesh Community Holdings, and the Rajneesh Modern Car Collection Trust, whose
sole purpose was to deal with the acquisition and rental of Rolls Royces.[58][61]
By the early 21st century, members of the movement were running stress management
seminars for corporate clients such as BMW, and the movement was reported in 2000
to be making $15–45 million annually in the U.S.[62]
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
percent 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 percent were
white, 25 percent were Jewish and 85 percent belonged to the middle and upper-
middle classes.[35][63] 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.[63] In 1984 the average age of members of the Rajneesh
movement was 34; 64 percent of the followers had a four-year college degree.[49]

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.[64] Nearly three quarters of those surveyed attributed their decisions
to become Rajneeshees to their love for Rajneesh or his teachings.[64] 91 percent
stated that they had been looking for more meaning in their lives prior to becoming
members.[64] When asked to rate how they felt about their lives as Rajneeshees, 93
percent stated they were "extremely satisfied" or nearly so, most of them choosing
the top score on a scale of 0 to 8. Only 8 percent stated that they had been as
happy before joining.[64]
1984 Bioterror Attack
Edit
Main article: 1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack

Several incidents leading to the decline of the movement occurred in the county
seat and largest city of Wasco County, Oregon, The Dalles.

In 1984, Rajneeshee teams engaged in a bio-terror attack, poisoning salad products

with salmonella at local restaurants and shops, poisoning 751 people. The
motivation behind the attack was to rig the local election allowing the Rajneeshees
to gain political power in the city and county.

The Rajneesh were also discovered to have been running what was called "the longest
wiretapping operation ever uncovered."[65]

These revelations brought criminal charges against several Rajneesh leaders,

including Ma Anand Sheela, personal secretary to Rajneesh, who pleaded guilty to
charges of attempted murder and assault.[66] The convictions would eventually lead
to the deportation of the leader of the movement, Rajneesh, along with a 10-year
suspended sentence and $400,000 fine, in 1985.[67][68][69]
Decline
Edit

In addition to the 1984 bio-terror attack, the Rajneesh's battle with the non-
profit organisation, 1000 Friends of Oregon, also contributed to their decline.
This started with many legal attacks, with each organisation trying to get rid of
the other. 1000 Friends wanted to prevent the city from being constructed. The
fight went on for years. These legal battles did not just stay within the realms of
the courts, they also took place in the media.[70][citation needed]
Current status
People associated with the movement
Footnotes
See also
Citations
Bibliography
Further reading
External links
Last edited 2 days ago by Nathanielmhld
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