Osho

OSHO

Presented By

Sonakshi Saxena

Who is OSHO?

• Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, later known as "Osho.”

•Osho was one of the most renowned as well as most controversial spiritual leaders of his times.

•Also known in India by artist, poets, pundits and politicians.

•He was a professor of Philosophy and traveled extensively to various parts of India, giving lectures on Secularism and Gandhi.

•He institutionalized religion and advocated an open attitude towards sexuality, which landed him in a number of controversies.

Early Life

•Osho was born December 11, 1931 in Kuchwada, India a small village in the state of Madhya Pradesh.

•During the period between 1970s and 1980s, he was known as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. Later on, he changed his name to Osho.

•Even though he was born to parents of Jain religion, he never adhered to any particular religious faith in his lifetime.

•One of the major influences in his life were his grandfather and grandmother, with whom he spent the first seven years of his life.

Enlightenment 

•As per Osho, he received enlightenment in the year 1953, at the age of 21.

•Thereafter, he finished his graduation and post graduation in Philosophy. For a few years, spent several years teaching philosophy at the University of Jabalpur.

•During that time, he travelled throughout the country, giving lectures on socialism and Gandhi.

UNIVERSITY STUDENT

(1951-1956)•Osho majors in philosophy and wins numerous awards in debating competitions. •He graduates with honours from D.N. Jain College and invited by Professor S. S. Roy to do his postgraduate study at Sagar University.

PROFESSOR AND PUBLIC SPEAKER

(1957-1970)he begins to spend more and more time away from his teaching duties and begins travelling to public speaking engagements throughout India when he

was a Professor

THE FIRST MEDITATION CENTERS

(1962)•During his travels and speaking engagements, Osho often conducts guided meditations at end of his talks. •The first meditation centres to emerge around his teaching are known as Jivan Jagruti Kendras (Life Awakening Centres), and his movement is called Jivan Jagruti Andolan (Life Awakening Movement).

MEDITATION CAMPS

(1962-1964 )•In addition to his speaking engagements, Osho begins to hold 3 to 10 days “meditation camps” in the countryside, where he gives daily talks and personally guides the participants in meditation.

RANAKPUR MEDITATION CAMP(JUNE 1964)

•Ranakpur Meditation Camp became a landmark in Osho’s work because for the first time his discourses and meditations were recorded and published in a book, “Path to Self-Realization”, which was widely acclaimed in India.

•Osho later said that this book contains his whole teaching, which has never altered.

•The first maxim is: live in the present.The second maxim is: live naturally.The third maxim is: live alone.

Establishment of Osho Foundation

•The followers and disciples of Osho established a foundation in his name, in the year 1969.

•The headquarters of the foundation was set up on the ground floor of a building in Mumbai.

•Later, due to space constraints and the bad weather of Mumbai, the headquarters were shifted to the Koregaon Park, Pune.

•The ashram is today known as Osho International Meditation Resort.

•Osho dham, today, has about 2 lakh members. More…

Multiversity Plaza

Teerth Park

OSHO Multimedia Gallery

Uniqueness

•He was the one of first to use modern music to help transcendental meditation.

•He was the first to sell meditation in packages.

•He was the first to activate his commune in Oregon and also in Pune.

•Also he was the first spiritual guru to bring humour in his discourses and even sex jokes.

Films about Rajneesh

•1978: The first documentary on Rajneesh, Bhagwan, The Movie, was made in 1978 by American filmmaker Robert Hillman.

•1981: The BBC broadcast a documentary, The God that Fled, by British American journalist Christopher Hitchens.

•1987: Fear is the Master ,a documentary from Jeremiah Films with rare footage shot in Rajneeshpuram.

•1989: Rajneesh: Spiritual Terrorist, another documentary by Australian filmmaker Cynthia Connop for ABC TV's Learning Channel.

•2010: Guru – Bhagwan, His Secretary & His Bodyguard, a Swiss documentary.

OSHO The Controversial Guru

•Osho started to be known a as sex Guru.•He advocated a more open attitude towards sexuality, a stance which earned him the sobriquet of "sex guru" in the Indian and (later) international press.

ARREST

•In 1985, police arrested Rajneesh while he was trying to flee the United States to escape charges of immigration fraud. Several of his commune's leaders had already fled after committing a number of crimes—including drug smuggling and prostitution—over an extended period of time.•Rajneesh himself had also committed numerous crimes, including fixing a local election, poisoning politicians and commanding his own private militia to force the takeover of a town. •During his trial for immigration fraud, Rajneesh pleaded guilty, realizing that a plea bargain was the only way he'd be allowed to return to India.

LATER LIFE

•After pleading guilty, Rajneesh renamed himself Osho and returned to India, where his number of followers had significantly decreased.

•Osho spent the remainder of his life in India, Greece and Uruguay, among several other countries.

•On January 19, 1990, Osho died of heart failure at one of his few remaining communes in Pune, India.

•Following his death, the commune was renamed the Osho Institute. Osho's followers continue to spread his beliefs by opening Osho Mediation Centres in major cities across the globe.