The mysterious journey of Osho to this planet

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Osho, the final name of Bhagwan Rajneesh lived a life full of mysteries. Even when he departed this world, his “grave” bears an epitaph stating: “Never born, never died, only visited this planet earth between”.

Historically in the Far East, ‘Osho’ means “The Blessed One, on Whom the Sky Showers Flowers”.

Osho’s autobiography described him as spiritually incorrect mystic. It says: “Osho is one of the most provocative spiritual teachers of our time. In the 1970’s he captured the attention of young people from the West who wanted to experience meditation and transformation. A decade after his death, the influence of his teachings continues to expand, reaching seekers around the world”.

In India and the world, Bhagwan Rajneesh or Osho also drew criticism, where he was branded as ‘sex guru’ by a section of his critics. According to them, Osho’s life was full of controversy, The internet has been all hyped up about Netflix’s Wild Wild Country, a documentary series explaining the rise and fall of spiritual guru Rajneesh or Osho and his ideology known as “Rajneeshism”. This has revived interest in the man who inspired thousands of believers from across the world to leave their homes and follow him into the unknown.

But his disciples say, Osho defied categorization. His thousands of talks covered everything from the individual quest for meaning to the most urgent social and political issues facing society today. Osho’s books are not written but are transcribed from audio and video recordings of his extemporaneous talks to international audiences. As he puts it, “So remember: whatever I am saying is not just for you… I am talking also for the future generations”.

Osho has been described by prestigious British newspaper, The Sunday Times as one of the “1000 Makers of the 20th Century” and by American author Tom Robbins as “the most dangerous man since Jesus Christ”.

Indian newspaper Sunday Mid-Day has selected Osho as one of ten people – along with Gandhi, Nehru and Buddha – who have changed the destiny of India.

About his own work Osho said that he was helping to create the conditions for the birth of a new kind of human being. He often characterized this new human being as “Zorba the Buddha” – capable both of enjoying the earthy pleasures of a Zorba the Greek and the silent serenity of a Gautama the Buddha. Running like a thread through all aspects of Osho’s talks and meditations is a vision that encompasses both the timeless wisdom of all ages past and the highest potential of today’s and tomorrow’s science and technology.

Osho is known for his revolutionary contribution to the science of inner transformation, what he called “the psychology of the Buddhas”. His approach to meditation addressed the accelerated pace of contemporary life. His unique OSHO Active Meditations are designed to first release the accumulated stresses of body and mind that make meditation so difficult for modern busy people. He then used his speaking as a way of letting go of our self-limiting belief systems, at the same time offering the opportunity to experience silence through the art of listening. Combined with the vast number of shorter techniques, Osho provided a way for every type of mind to be transcended, allowing us to enjoy the stillness and thought-free relaxation into our daily lives.

While India is certainly no stranger to the concept of the so-called godmen, people has been asking – who was Osho and what his cult has been following. Being a firm believer and preacher of ‘free love’, Osho’s teachings stood out from both his contemporaries and his predecessors in the sense that he believed in a “materialistic spirituality”.

Born in a small village as Chandra Mohan Jain, Osho’s transformation from a young man drawn to hypnosis led him to believe in a transcendental life. With his leadership qualities and ability of exerting influence on others and enjoy a god-like devotion from billionaire heirs, celebrities, lawyers and even farmers, Osho certainly can be termed as a dangerous provocateur who succeed in establishing his grave influence of each of his devotees.

According to author Lewis F Carter, Osho began to grow more disillusioned with existing philosophies propelled by Hinduism and even socialism, calling out their “hypocrisy”. He began to cultivate his own philosophy — one that would later become enshrined in the pages of the Rajneeshee manifesto and would be followed for decades after his death in 1990.

A simplified way to sum up Osho’s philosophy would be to refer to one of his most famous quotes:

To be creative means to be in love with life. You can be creative only if you love life enough that you want to enhance its beauty, you want to bring a little more music to it, a little more poetry to it, a little more dance to it.

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