My First Meditation Camp with Osho, Swami Anand Arun

On the evening of 29th March, 1969, Acharya (Osho) returned to Jabalpur (from Patna) by the Toofan Mail Express where I had first met him, and heard him lecture. I started writing letters to him. My life was filled with questions and was full of problems; and I started writing about my personal situation to Acharya. He used to reply back at that time with beautiful handwritten letters. They used to be short, but filled with guidance and messages for me. In one of his letters, he wrote “Meditation is the only solution to your problem. From meditation, you will get spiritual energy and when this energy overflows, it will clear all the obstacles and solve your problems. There will be a meditation camp at Dwarika in October, if you can manage it then come so that you can meditate and we can talk in detail."

Traveling long distances alone at that time was a difficult thing. So I requested some of my friends to go with me, but nobody was ready for that. So I half-heartedly returned back home to Kathmandu. Still there was a strong force that was pulling me towards Osho. I could not enjoy the festivals at home, rather I seemed to become more anxious. Finally I decided to travel to Dwarika alone. As soon as I decided this, I felt a strong energy arising within me. As usual at festival times, it is very difficult get a reservation on the trains, but for some reason I easily got a reservation! I was surprised to find many people on the journey who were very helpful and friendly towards me. After a long journey, I reached Dwarika. It was the month of October 1969.

The Ocean is both my delight and weakness. Even today whenever I go near it, I feel a certain mysterious aloneness and inner bliss. My futile ego surrenders in front of the widespread-endless ocean and I feel inner silence, peace and elevatation. Many thousands of years ago, Dwarika was ruled by Krishna and it was his favourite place for his pastimes. The background of the Arabian Sea, and above all the mystical presence of Osho took my consciousness to newer realms. The meditations on the sandy beaches of the sea, triggered a deep transformation within me, and turned the whole course of my life. Osho’s presence, his discourses and meditations on the art of dying took us within to a deep inner awareness of undying. Later the discourses given in that camp were published as a book called “Mein Mrityu Sikhata Hu (In Hindi)”.

Most of the participants in the camp were from Gujarat and Maharastra. I was the only one who was from outside India. For the first time I found myself in the company of open, friendly and happy meditators, free from all hypocrisies.

On the very first day Osho said “All the Hindus say that the Soul is immortal, but nobody has experienced it, it is only a concept, an idea borrowed from the Scriptures. One self-realized person is enough to enlighten a whole village. As the presence of a beautiful woman changes the vibe of the environment, as a blooming flower can change the surrounding by its fragrance, similarly a self-realized soul can change the spirit of the surrounding. There are more than 10 million traditional sannyasins and ascetics (in India) and most of them claim themselves to have realized the divine. All of them have their own ways to attract people by going through various self torturing practices and austerities. This is not meditation, but rather a religious circus. The country would not have been in such mess if there were 10 million enlightened beings. These are not sadhakas but they are all hypocrites. In fact, it’s all because of them, we are poor and loosing our morality. Ordinairy people are not to be blamed because they have been the same all the time. If there is anything wrong then it is because of so-called saints and ascetics. They go on saying that they will change everyone’s character and make people more moral, but they don't know that this is next to impossible. Common people will remain the same. If we are to change the world then a few people are enough. And they have to go through an intense transformation that can be the spotlight for society, and can guide millions of souls. That's why I only need one hundred such people. If these people can reach the heights of consciousness then the rest of the humanity will not remain the same. Gurdijeff and Vivekananda used to say, "If I get one hundred true, dedicated meditators, I will change the course of time." But they could not get hundred such people and had to die in frustration. I also need one hundred such people, but I am not going to die like them. I will travel to each and every place, I will look into the eyes of each and every one, and if I find anybody that can be a potential, I will pull him out of all the troubles of his life, and I have done the preparation to put all my effort and capacity to transform them. If you have courage and strength then come to me I will reveal to you that secret beyond life and death."

I was completely moved by the fiery words of Acharya. I could not sleep that night and was shivering due to the overflow of energy within me. The very next day, I wrote a small note to him “Acharya, now look for only 99 people, one has arrived”