Wednesday, January 19, 2011

dissolved in my people...

CLAP! now CLAP!!! (a very outrageous discourse of Osho)

During the month that followed Sheela’s exit flight Osho talked three times a day (about seven to eight hours) to disciple and journalists. For such a self-acclaimed lazy man He was doing a tremendous amount of “work,” and was obviously getting tired.

When asked by a journalist how was it possible that He did not know everything that was going on if He was enlightened, Osho replied:

“To be enlightened means I know myself, it does not mean that I know my room is bugged.”

September 26th, 1985. It takes a diamond to cut a diamond, and I recognized that what was coming was going to hurt when in discourse Osho said:

“And today I would like to declare something immensely important – because I feel perhaps this helped Sheela and her people to exploit you, I don’t know whether tomorrow I will be here or not, so it is better to do it while I am here, and make you free from any other possibility of such a fascist regime.”

“That is, from today, you are free to use any color of clothes. If you feel like using red clothes, that is up to you. And this message has to be sent all over the world to all the communes. It will be more beautiful to have all the colors. I had always dreamed of seeing you in all the colors of the rainbow.

Today we claim the rainbow to be our colors.

The second thing: you return your malas – unless you wish otherwise. That is your choice, but it is not a necessity anymore. You return your malas to President Hasya. But if you want to keep it, it is up to you.

The third thing: from now onwasrds, anybody who wants initiation into sannyas will not be given a mala and will not be told to change to red clothes.

So, we can take over the world more easily!” (From Bondage to Freedom)

These words from Osho had an ominous feel to them, but it was the clapping and cheering that frightened me. It was like a stupid mob; like the clapping that had accompanied Sheela’s meetings. Many people left Rajneesh Mandir very happy and went to buy new color clothes in the boutique. I saw Vivek, we were both wary of the change, and she said to me, “He may disband the commune next.”

Ocotober 8th, 1985, Osho said in discourse:

“…You have been clapping because I have dropped red clothes, malas. And when you clap, you don’t know how it hurts me. That means you have been a hypocrite!”

“Why have you been wearing red clothes if dropping them brings you so much joy? Why have you been wearing the mala? The moment I say, ‘Drop,’ you rejoice. And people rushed to the boutique to change their clothes, they have dropped their malas.

“But you don’t know how much you have wounded me by your clapping and by your changing.”

“Now, I have to say one thing more, and I would like to see whether you have guts to clap or not; that is, now there is no Buddhafield. So if you want enlightenment, you have to work for it individually, the Buddhafield exists no more. You cannot depend on the energy of the Buddhafield to become enlightened.

Now clap as loudly as you can. CLAP!…”

“Now you are completely free: even for enlightenment only you are responsible. And I am completely free from you.”

“You have been behaving like idiots!…”

“And this has given a good chance to see how many people are really intimate with me. If you can drop your malas so easily… Even in my own house there is one sannyasin who immediately changed to blue clothes, with great joy. What does it show? It shows that those red clothes were a burden. She was somehow managing to be in red clothes against her will.

But I don’t want you to do anything against your will.

Now I don’t want even to help you towards your enlightenment against your will. You are absolutely free and responsible for yourself.” (From Bondage to Freedom)

When He shouted “Clap!” it was as though a bomb had exploded and we were all sitting in its fallout, frozen.

- My Diamond Days with Osho, ma prem shunyo

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Saturday, January 8, 2011

The Commune in the Paradise City

Almost a year ago, I had written an article here on Sannyas News about Osho Tapoban’s official announcement

of the upcoming four new communes in Nepal. Recently I made a trip to one of these communes, Osho Upaban

in Pokhara, and what I saw there has impressed me over expectations. In just a few months after its constructions started, the commune has already taken shape and is ready to welcome Osho lovers.

Perched high on the rim of the deep Seti gorge, Upaban is practically an island bordered by two huge mountain

rivers, the Seti and the Phusre. Osho Sannyasins have now changed the name of Phusre as Mandakini. Mandakini

is the tributary of Ganges, which starts from Kedarnath in North India and has the same color and water quality as Phusre.

Situated at a 10 minutes drive from the Pokhara airport, the commune is connected with a metal road and is only 4 kilometers away from the main city of Pokhara. In Sanskrit, ‘Upaban’ means garden and this commune really looks like an exquisite garden located right at the base grounds of the Annapurna Mountain range from where one can enjoy an

uninterrupted dramatic view of the whole Annapurna range and the intriguing Macchapucchre.

Apart from the rivers and mountains, the commune is also bordered by a lush green forest hill on one edge while the high rising gorges on the other side of the Seti River form dramatic scenery of almost surreal landscape. In addition to this, the commune is also connected to a turquoise colored natural swimming pool sourced by the fresh waters of the Phusre (now called Mandakini) that the visitors at the commune can enjoy at any time.

Arriving outside the commune, a driveway walled by towering cliffs overgrown with moss and long grasses leads to the main entrance of the commune. Beside the entrance is the beautiful bungalow of the semi-circular reception block that houses the spacious welcome center with its future modern audio-visual lounge. This complex is also a guesthouse with huge deluxe rooms that open to a balcony overlooking the beautiful scenery around.

Very close to the welcome centre is the three storied residential cum meditation complex with three halls on each floor, two of which are dormitories and one a multipurpose meditation and therapy room. Situated right on the brink of a cliff

overlooking the Seti River, I was impressed to see that even the bathrooms of this complex bear a five star view of

the deep gorges and the river around.This complex also houses the common bathrooms, a small kitchen for the

future Zorba Restaurant and guest rooms with attached and non attached bathroom facility. Until the construction of the main Buddha Hall is complete, all the meditation sessions are being facilitated in this building.

The other part of the commune is the adjoined long strip of flat hill where the 40 individual residential bungalows and the Buddha hall are being constructed. The construction of seven two-storied bungalows with three bedrooms, a living room and a kitchen have already started and are estimated to be completed by the end of this year. A beautiful walk through garden has also been built by the residential sannyassins living in the commune that extends a long way from the

front of the welcome centre, through the residential buildings and right up to the edge of the

strip where a silent meditation pagoda cum view tower has already been constructed.

Moving towards the northern side of the commune is a vast stretch of wildly vegetated land behind the reception block, which extends from a wide flat land at the base to the highest spot in the whole commune. Right at the edge of the flat land is the first hut of the commune. This orange house can be seen from the road and looks spectacular amongst its wild background. A silent meditation temple is to be constructed at the top of the hillock here.

When asked about the amazing pace with which the work is being done in Pokhara, Swami Yogananda the President of Upaban replied, “I don’t think it is coming too fast, we could have done faster but due to our limitations, we are still lagging behind. It is all because of the continuous efforts of Swami Anand Arun that this commune has taken shape. It is all because of Osho’s grace and His blessings.”

Regarding the meditation programs at Upaban he said, “I would like to invite everyone to come and have a taste of our commune. Next meditation camp of Sw. Anand Arun has been scheduled from 19-24 Nov. For this camp, we have accommodation available only for 75 people and as we expect more bookings, we will be confirming them at a first come, first serve basis. We have also been doing weekend meditation camps when we also have sannyas celebrations. Apart from that we have 3 regular Osho meditations – Dynamic, Kundalini and Whiterobe meditations everyday so people can come for the daily sessions also.”

After meeting the sannyassins here and living in Upaban for three days meditating, taking long walks or just sitting silently looking at the river or the mountains around Upaban I had a great time and it was one of the most beautiful experiences for me. Seeing the way things are coming up in this commune, it does really seem to me that mere human efforts are not the only inspiration behind it, but also the undying love and devotion for the master that can be felt everywhere in Upaban. Well whatever it is, Upaban is one of the almost impossible masterpieces that I have come across, both naturally as well as human wise and I recommend it for everyone.

By- Swami Aatmo Neerav

thank you beloved master

As I look at you with truly open eyes,
emptiness fills me
and I remember that I am an eternal absence.
Listening to your words,
I dissolve, merge, disappear and drown in your voice
and before I know,
I know that everything has remained but me
in a million lives I haven’t experienced a sweeter death
thank you beloved master