Rajneesh

"Osho" redirects here. For other uses, see Rajneesh (disambiguation) and Osho (disambiguation).

Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh
Rajneesh c. 1977
Born
Chandra Mohan Jain

(1931-12-11)11 December 1931
Kuchwada, Bhopal State, British India
Died19 January 1990(1990-01-19) (aged 58)
Pune, Maharashtra, India
NationalityIndian
EducationDr. Hari Singh Gour University (MA)
Known forSpirituality, mysticism, anti-religion[1]
MovementNeo-sannyasins[1]
Memorial(s)Osho International Meditation Resort, Pune
Websiteosho.com

Rajneesh (born Chandra Mohan Jain; 11 December 1931 – 19 January 1990), also known as Acharya Rajneesh,[2] Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh,[1] and later as Osho (Hindi pronunciation: [ˈo:ʃo:]), was an Indian godman,[3] philosopher, mystic[4] and founder of the Rajneesh movement.[1] He was viewed as a controversial new religious movement leader during his life. He rejected institutional religions,[5][1][6] insisting that spiritual experience could not be organized into any one system of religious dogma.[7] As a guru, he advocated meditation and taught a unique form called dynamic meditation. Rejecting traditional ascetic practices, he advocated that his followers live fully in the world but without attachment to it.[7] In expressing a more progressive attitude to sexuality[8] he caused controversy in India during the late 1960s and became known as "the sex guru".[1][9][10]

Rajneesh experienced a spiritual awakening in 1953 at the age of 21.[7] Following several years in academia, in 1966 Rajneesh resigned his post at the University of Jabalpur and began traveling throughout India, becoming known as a vocal critic of the orthodoxy of mainstream religions,[1][11][12][8] as well as of mainstream political ideologies and of Mahatma Gandhi.[13][14][15] In 1970, Rajneesh spent time in Mumbai initiating followers known as "neo-sannyasins".[1] During this period, he expanded his spiritual teachings and commented extensively in discourses on the writings of religious traditions, mystics, bhakti poets, and philosophers from around the world. In 1974, Rajneesh relocated to Pune, where an ashram was established and a variety of therapies, incorporating methods first developed by the Human Potential Movement, were offered to a growing Western following.[16][17] By the late 1970s, the tension between the ruling Janata Party government of Morarji Desai and the movement led to a curbing of the ashram's development and a back tax claim estimated at $5 million.[18]

In 1981, the Rajneesh movement's efforts refocused on activities in the United States and Rajneesh relocated to a facility known as Rajneeshpuram in Wasco County, Oregon. The movement ran into conflict with county residents and the state government, and a succession of legal battles concerning the ashram's construction and continued development curtailed its success. In 1985, Rajneesh publicly asked local authorities to investigate his personal secretary Ma Anand Sheela and her close supporters for a number of crimes, including a 1984 mass food-poisoning attack intended to influence county elections, an aborted assassination plot on U.S. attorney Charles H. Turner, the attempted murder of Rajneesh's personal physician, and the bugging of his own living quarters; authorities later convicted several members of the ashram, including Sheela.[19] That year, Rajneesh was deported from the United States on separate immigration-related charges in accordance with an Alford plea.[20][21][22] After his deportation, 21 countries denied him entry.[23]

Rajneesh ultimately returned to Mumbai, India, in 1986. After staying in the house of a disciple where he resumed his discourses for six months, he returned to Pune in January 1987 and revived his ashram, where he died in 1990.[24][25] Rajneesh's ashram, now known as OSHO International Meditation Resort,[26] and all associated intellectual property, is managed by the registered Osho International Foundation (formerly Rajneesh International Foundation).[27][28] Rajneesh's teachings have had an impact on Western New Age thought,[29][30] and their popularity reportedly increased between the time of his death and 2005.[31][32]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Chryssides 1999, pp. 206–214
  2. ^ Gordon 1987, pp. 26–27
  3. ^ Mehta 1993, pp. 83–154.
  4. ^ "Rajneesh movement | History, Beliefs, & Facts | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
  5. ^ Osho. "14. The Only Hope: The Enlightenment of Humanity". From Personality to Individuality – via Osho.com.
  6. ^ Nene, Chhaya (30 April 2014). "Commentary: Chanting 'Osho' and letting go". The Washington Post. Religion News Service.
  7. ^ a b c Melton, J. Gordon. "Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh". Britannica. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  8. ^ a b Joshi 1982, pp. 1–4
  9. ^ Urban 1996, p. 82
  10. ^ Carter 1990, p. 45
  11. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 March 2019. Retrieved 25 March 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  12. ^ Mehta 1993, p. 150
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference FF1-77 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference LFC44 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference JSG26-27 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ Joshi 1982, p. 123
  17. ^ Mullan 1983, pp. 26
  18. ^ Carter 1990, pp. 63–64
  19. ^ Cite error: The named reference FF2-108 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  20. ^ Cite error: The named reference Latkin342 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  21. ^ "Wasco County History". Oregon Historical County Records Guide. Oregon State Archives. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 22 November 2007.
  22. ^ "Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh". Newsmakers 1990. Gale Research. 1990. pp. Issue 2.
  23. ^ Aveling 1999, p. xxii
  24. ^ Joshi, Vasant (2010). Osho, the luminous rebel : life story of a maverick mystic. New Delhi: Wisdom Tree. p. 210. ISBN 978-81-8328-154-6. OCLC 496597032.
  25. ^ Appleton, Sue (1988). Was Bhagwan Poisoned by Ronald Reagan's America?. Germany: Rebel Publishing House. p. 60. ISBN 3-89338-041-8.
  26. ^ "I Charged My Sexual Energies at the OSHO Meditation Resort in India". Vice. 19 April 2015. Archived from the original on 12 September 2017. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
  27. ^ Trademarks of Osho International Foundation Archived 19 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  28. ^ OSHO International Foundation Archived 20 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine "is a registered foundation of Switzerland, founded in 1984 and is the owner of all the intellectual property of the contemporary mystic Osho (1931–1990) and the sole and registered owner of all of the copyrights ..."
  29. ^ Heelas 1996, pp. 22, 40, 68, 72, 77, 95–96
  30. ^ Forsthoefel & Humes 2005, p. 177
  31. ^ Cite error: The named reference HBU-TSSP was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  32. ^ Forsthoefel & Humes 2005, pp. 182–183