NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Osho

Rajneesh Chandra Mohan Jain (रजनीश चन्द्र मोहन जैन) (December 11, 1931 – January 19, 1990), better known during the 1960s as Acharya Rajneesh, then during the 1970s and 1980s as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and later taking the name Osho, was an Indian spiritual teacher. He lived in India and in other countries including, for a period, the United States, and inspired the Osho movement, a controversial spiritual and philosophical movement that still has many followers. is the 345th day of the year (346th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1931 (MCMXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1931 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 19th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1990 (MCMXC) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar). ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969. ... The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, also called The Seventies. ... The 1980s refers to the years from 1980 to 1989. ... Rajneesh Chandra Mohan Jain (1931 - 1990) The Osho movement is a new religious movement founded and inspired by the Indian guru and philosopher Osho (aka Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh) (1931 - 1990) that has survived the gurus death. ...

Biography

Early life

Osho was born Chandra Mohan Jain (चन्द्र मोहन जैन) in Kuchwada, a small village in the Narsinghpur District of Madhya Pradesh state in India, as the eldest of eleven children of a cloth merchant. At the time, an astrologer predicted that he might die before he was seven years old according to the birth chart.^[2] His parents, who were Taranpanthi Jains, sent him to live with his maternal grandparents until he was seven years old. ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (560x786, 214 KB) Licensing This image is copyrighted. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (560x786, 214 KB) Licensing This image is copyrighted. ... Narsingpur District is a district of Madhya Pradesh state in central India. ... , Madhya Pradesh (abbreviated as MP) (HindÄ«: à¤®à¤§à¥à¤¯ à¤ªà¥à¤°à¤¦à¥‡à¤¶, English: , IPA: ), often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. ... The Taran Panth sect of Digambar Jainism was founded by Taran Swami in Bundelkhand in 1506[1]. Taran Swami is also referred to as Taran Taran, the one who can help the swimmers to the other side, i. ... Jain and Jaina redirect here. ...

Osho said this was a major influence on his growth because his grandmother gave him the utmost freedom and respect, leaving him carefree; without an imposed education or restrictions.

At seven years old, he went back to his parents. He explained that he received a similar kind of respect from his paternal grandfather who was staying with them. He was able to be very open with his grandfather. His grandfather used to tell him, "I know you are doing the right thing. Everyone may tell you that you are wrong. But nobody knows which situation you are in. Only you can decide in your situation. Do whatsoever you feel is right. I will support you. I love you and respect you as well."^[3] He resisted his parents' pressure to get married.^[4]

He was a rebellious, but gifted student, winning the title of All-India Debating Champion.^[5]

He started his public speaking at the annual Sarva Dharma Sammelan held at Jabalpur since 1939, organised by the Taranpanthi Jain community into which he was born. He participated there from 1951 to 1968.^[6] Eventually the Jain community stopped inviting him because of his radical ideas. Sarva Dharma Sammelan (Meeting of all faiths) is an assembly organized in several places in India. ...

Osho said he became spiritually enlightened on 21 March 1953, when he was 21 years old. He said he dropped all effort and hope. After an intense seven-day process he went out at night to a garden in jabalpur named as bawartal garden, where he sat under a mango tree: is the 80th day of the year (81st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... January 7 - President Harry S. Truman announces the United States has developed a hydrogen bomb. ...

He finished his studies at D. N. Jain College and the University of Sagar,^[8] receiving a B.A. (1955) and an M.A. (1957, with distinction) in philosophy. He then taught philosophy, first at Raipur Sanskrit College, and then, until 1966, as a Professor at Jabalpur University. At the same time, he travelled throughout India, giving lectures critical of socialism and Gandhi, under the name Acharya Rajneesh (Acharya means "teacher"; Rajneesh was a nickname^[9] he had been given by his family^[10]). In 1962, he began to lead 3- to 10-day meditation camps, and the first meditation centres (Jivan Jagruti Kendras) started to emerge around his teaching, then known as the Life Awakening Movement (Jivan Jagruti Andolan).^[11] He resigned from his teaching post in 1966.^[11] The University of Sagar (Saugar), Hindi: à¤¸à¤¾à¤—à¤° à¤µà¤¿à¤¶à¥à¤µà¤µà¤¿à¤¦à¥à¤¯à¤¾à¤²à¤¯ also known as Dr. Hari Singh Gour University, is a public university in Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, India. ... For other uses, see Philosophy (disambiguation). ... , Raipur (Hindi: à¤°à¤¾à¤¯à¤ªà¥à¤°) is the capital city of the state of Chhattisgarh, India. ... , Jabalpur (Hindi: à¤œà¤¬à¤²à¤ªà¥à¤°) is a city in the state of Madhya Pradesh in India. ... Socialism is a broad array of ideologies and political movements with the goal of a socio-economic system in which property and the distribution of wealth are subject to control by the community for the purposes of increasing social and economic equality and cooperation. ... Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (October 2, 1869 – January 30, 1948) (Devanagari: मोहनदास करमचन्द गांधी, Gujarati મોહનદાસ કરમચંદ ગાંધી), called... For the pen name of D. Murdock, see Acharya S. An acharya is an important religious teacher. ...

In 1968, he scandalised Hindu leaders by calling for freer acceptance of sex; at the Second World Hindu Conference in 1969, he enraged Hindus by criticising all organised religion and the very institution of priesthood.^[12] Bhavna says there are 300 million gods in Hinduism. ...

In 1969 a group of Osho's friends established a foundation to support his work. They settled in an apartment in Mumbai where he gave daily discourses and received visitors. The number and frequency of visitors soon became too much for the place, overflowing the apartment and bothering the neighbours. A much larger apartment was found on the ground floor (so the visitors would not need to use the elevator, a matter of conflict with the former neighbours). , Bombay redirects here. ...

On September 26, 1970 he initiated his first disciple or sannyasin at an outdoor meditation camp, one of the large gatherings where he lectured and guided group meditations. His concept of neo-sannyas entailed wearing the traditional orange dress of ascetic Hindu holy men. However, his sannyasins were not expected to follow an ascetic lifestyle.^[12] is the 269th day of the year (270th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Sanyasa symbolizes the conception of the mystic life in Hinduism where a person is now integrated into the spiritual world after wholly giving up material life. ... A new type of sannyas introduced by the Indian spiritual teacher Osho (then known as Acharya Rajneesh, later also known as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh) in 1970. ...

1971–1980

From 1971, he was known as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. Shree means Sir or Mister; the Sanskrit word Bhagwan means "blessed one".^[13] It is commonly used in India as a respectful form of address for spiritual teachers.^[14] Sanskrit ( , for short ) is a classical language of India, a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism, and one of the 23 official languages of India. ... Bhagwan is a Sanskrit word meaning Blessed one. ...

The new apartment also proved insufficient, and the climate of Mumbai was deemed very bad for his delicate health. So, in 1974, on the 21st anniversary of his enlightenment, he and his group moved from the Mumbai apartment to a newly purchased property in Koregaon Park, in the city of Pune, a four-hour trip from Mumbai. Pune had been the secondary residence of many wealthy families from Mumbai because of the cooler climate (Mumbai lies in a coastal wetland, hot and damp, Pune is inland and much higher, so it is drier and cooler). , Pune (IPA: , Marathi: à¤ªà¥à¤£à¥‡) is a city located in the western Indian state of Maharashtra. ... , Bombay redirects here. ...

The two adjoining houses and six acres of land became the nucleus of an Ashram, and those two buildings are still at the heart of the present-day Osho International Meditation Resort. This space allowed for the regular audio and video recording of his discourses and, later, printing for worldwide distribution, which enabled him to reach far larger audiences internationally. The number of Western visitors increased sharply, leading to constant expansion.^[15] The Ashram now began to offer a growing number of therapy groups, as well as meditations.^[16] An Ashram (Pronounced aashram) in ancient India was a Hindu hermitage where sages (See Rishi) lived in peace and tranquility amidst nature. ...

During one of his discourses in 1980, an attempt on his life was made by a Hindu fundamentalist.^[17] Fundamentalism is a movement to maintain strict adherence to founding principles. ...

Osho taught at the Pune Ashram from 1974 to 1981. , Pune (IPA: , Marathi: à¤ªà¥à¤£à¥‡) is a city located in the western Indian state of Maharashtra. ...

1981–1990

On 10 April 1981, having discoursed daily for nearly 15 years, Osho entered a three-and-a-half-year period of self-imposed public silence,^[18] and satsangs (silent sitting, with some readings from his works and music) took the place of his discourses. is the 100th day of the year (101st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 Gregorian calendar). ... The company of the highest knowledge and Truth; the company of a Guru; contact with a person or an assembly of persons who listen to, talk about, and assimilate the Truth. ...

In mid-1981, Osho went to the United States in search of better medical care (he suffered from asthma, diabetes and severe back problems). After a brief spell in Montclair, New Jersey,^[19] his followers bought (for US$6 million) a 64,000-acre (260 km²) ranch in Wasco County, Oregon, previously known as "The Big Muddy Ranch", where they settled for the next four years and legally incorporated a city named Rajneeshpuram. This article is about the disease that features high blood sugar. ... Look up Back in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Map of Montclair Township in Essex County Montclair is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. ... USD redirects here. ... Wasco County is a county located in the state of Oregon. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

Osho stayed in Rajneeshpuram as the commune's guest, living in a modest home with an indoor swimming pool. Over the coming years, he acquired fame for the large number of Rolls-Royces^[20] his followers bought for his use. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Rolls-Royce car may refer to vehicles produced by: Rolls-Royce Limited (1906-1973) Rolls-Royce Motors (1973-2003), which was owned by Vickers between 1980 and 1998, and after that by Volkswagen. ...

Osho ended his period of silence in October 1984. In July 1985, he resumed his daily public discourses in the commune's purpose-built, two-acre meditation hall. According to statements he made to the press, he did so against the wishes of Ma Anand Sheela, his secretary and the commune’s top manager.^[21] Osho Rajneesh Chandra Mohan Jain (December 11, 1931 - January 19, 1990), better known during the 1970s and 1980s as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and later taking the name Osho, was an Indian spiritual teacher. ...

Increasing conflicts with neighbours and the state of Oregon,^[22] as well as serious and criminal misconduct by the commune's management (including conspiracy to murder public officials, wiretapping within the commune, the attempted murder of Osho's personal physician, and a bioterrorism attack on the citizens of The Dalles, Oregon, using salmonella),^[23] made the position of the Oregon commune untenable. When the commune's management team who were guilty of these crimes left the U.S. in September 1985, fleeing for Europe, Osho convened a press conference and called on the authorities to undertake an investigation.^[22] This eventually led to the conviction of Sheela and several of her lieutenants.^[24] Although Osho himself was not implicated in these crimes,^[24] his reputation suffered tremendously, especially in the West.^[25] For the use of biological agents in warfare, see Biological warfare. ... The 1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack refers to the salmonella food poisoning of over seven hundred and fifty individuals in Oregon through the contamination of salad bars at ten local restaurants. ... Location in Oregon Coordinates: County Wasco County Incorporated 1857 Government - Mayor Robb Van Cleave Area - City 14. ... Species S. enterica This article is about the bacteria. ...

In late October 1985, Osho was arrested in North Carolina as he was allegedly fleeing the U.S. Accused of minor immigration violations, Osho, on advice of his lawyers, entered an "Alford plea" – through which a suspect does not admit guilt, but does concede there is enough evidence to convict him – and was given a suspended sentence and deported from the United States.^[26]^[24] Official language(s) English Capital Raleigh Largest city Charlotte Largest metro area Charlotte metro area Area Ranked 28th - Total 53,865 sq mi (139,509 kmÂ²) - Width 150 miles (240 km) - Length 560[1] miles (900 km) - % water 9. ... In the law of the United States, an Alford plea is a plea in criminal court. ... Deportation is the expelling of someone from a country. ...

Osho then began a world tour, speaking in Nepal, Greece and Uruguay, among others. Being refused entry visas by more than twenty different countries, he returned to India in July 1986, and in January 1987, to his old Ashram in Pune, India. He resumed discoursing there. , Pune (IPA: , Marathi: à¤ªà¥à¤£à¥‡) is a city located in the western Indian state of Maharashtra. ...

In late December 1988, he said he no longer wished to be referred to as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, and shortly afterwards took the name Osho.

On January 19, 1990, four years after his arrest, Osho died, aged 58, with heart failure being the publicly reported cause. Prior to his death, Osho had expressed his belief that his rapid health decline was caused by some form of poison administered to him by the U.S. authorities during the twelve days he was held without bail in various U.S. prisons. In a public discourse on 6 November 1987, he said that a number of doctors that were consulted had variously suspected thallium, radioactive exposure, and other poisons to account for his failing health: is the 19th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1990 (MCMXC) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar). ... is the 310th day of the year (311th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar). ... General Name, Symbol, Number thallium, Tl, 81 Chemical series poor metals Group, Period, Block 13, 6, p Appearance silvery white Standard atomic weight 204. ...

His ashes were placed in his newly built bedroom in one of the main buildings (LaoTsu House) at his last place of residence, his Ashram in Pune, India. The epitaph reads, "OSHO. Never Born, Never Died. Only Visited this Planet Earth between Dec 11 1931 – Jan 19 1990." Laozi (Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Lao Tzu; also Lao Tse, Laotze, Lao Zi, and in other ways) was an ancient Chinese philosopher. ... , Pune (IPA: , Marathi: à¤ªà¥à¤£à¥‡) is a city located in the western Indian state of Maharashtra. ... An epitaph ( literally: on the gravestone in ancient Greek) is text honoring the deceased, most commonly inscribed on a tombstone or plaque. ...

Legacy

Today, Osho's books are more popular than ever before, with translations published in 55 different languages.^[28]^[25] At the end of the eighties, the majority of people in South Asia wanted nothing to do with Osho's commune;^[29] but since Osho's death, there has been a sea change in public opinion.^[30] In 1991, an influential Indian newspaper counted Osho, among figures such as Gautama Buddha and Mahatma Gandhi, among the ten people who had most changed India's destiny; in Osho's case, by "liberating the minds of future generations from the shackles of religiosity and conformism".^[31] Since then, his teachings have progressively become part of the cultural mainstream of India^[30] and Nepal.^[32] Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... Siddhartha and Gautama redirect here. ... â€œGandhiâ€ redirects here. ...

Osho is one of only two authors whose entire works have been placed in the Library of India's National Parliament in New Delhi (the other is Mahatma Gandhi).^[30] Excerpts and quotes from his works appear regularly in the Times of India and many other Indian newspapers. Prominent admirers include the Indian Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh^[33] and the noted Indian novelist and journalist Khushwant Singh.^[33] The Osho disciple Vinod Khanna, who worked as Osho's gardener in Rajneeshpuram,^[34] served as India's Minister of State for External Affairs from 2003 to 2004.^[35] Sansad Bhavan, The Parliament of India The Parliament of India (or Sansad) is bicameral. ... , This article is about the urban region that is the capital of India. ... The Common Man featured on a commemorative stamp released by the Indian Postal Service on the 150th Anniversary of the Times of India - 1988. ... The Prime Minister of India is, in practice, the most powerful person in the government of India. ... This article is about the Prime Minister of India. ... Khushwant Singh , born on 2 February 1915 in Punjab (Hadali, now a part of Pakistan) is one of the most prominent novelists and journalists of India. ... Vinod Khanna (born 6 October 1946) is an Indian actor, film producer and politician. ... The External Affairs Minister or the Indian Foreign Minister is a position of office at cabinet level within the Government of India. ...

In the West, figures such as the American poet and Rumi translator Coleman Barks,^[36] the American novelist Tom Robbins^[37] and the German philosopher, author and TV host Peter Sloterdijk^[38] have championed Osho. Rumi (born November 29, 1982) is a Persian-Canadian Singer-songwriter and a Photographer who is currently based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. ... Coleman Barks is an American poet and renowned translator of Rumi poetry and other mystic poets of Persia. ... Tom Robbins at a reading of Wild Ducks Flying Backward in San Francisco on September 24, 2005 Thomas Eugene Robbins (born July 22, 1936 in Blowing Rock, North Carolina) is an American author. ... Peter Sloterdijk Peter Sloterdijk (born June 26, 1947 in Karlsruhe, Germany) is a philosopher. ...

Osho's Ashram in Pune has become the Osho International Meditation Resort,^[39] one of India's main tourist attractions.^[29]^[40] According to press reports, it attracts some 200,000 visitors from all over the world each year;^[33]^[41] politicians, media personalities and the Dalai Lama have visited the Meditation Resort.^[29] , Pune (IPA: , Marathi: à¤ªà¥à¤£à¥‡) is a city located in the western Indian state of Maharashtra. ... This article is about the Dalai Lama lineage. ...

Osho's philosophy

Osho taught that the greatest values in life are (in no specific order) awareness, love, meditation, celebration, creativity and laughter. He said that enlightenment is everyone's natural state,^[42] but that one is distracted from realising it – particularly by the human activity of thought, as well as by emotional ties to societal expectations, and consequent fears and inhibitions. For other senses of this word, see Meditation (disambiguation). ... Enlightenment (or brightening) broadly means the acquisition of new wisdom or understanding enabling clarity of perception. ...

He was a prolific speaker (in both Hindi and English) on various spiritual traditions including those of Buddha, Krishna, Guru Nanak, Jesus, Socrates, Zen masters, Gurdjieff, Sufism, Hassidism, Tantra and many others. He attempted to ensure that no "system of thought" would define him, since he believed that no philosophy can fully express the truth. Hindi (DevanÄgarÄ«: or , IAST: , IPA: ), an Indo-European language spoken all over India in varying degrees and extensively in northern and central India, is one of the 22 official languages of India and is also used for central government administrative purposes , along with English. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... This article is about the Hindu deity. ... Guru Nanak (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਨਾਨਕ, Devanagari: गुरु नानक) (20 October 1469 - 7 May 1539), the founder of Sikhism and the first of the ten Gurus of the Sikhs, was born in the village of Talwandi, now called Nankana... This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ... This page is about the Classical Greek philosopher. ... For other uses, see Zen (disambiguation). ... George Ivanovich Gurdjieff George Ivanovich Gurdjieff (January 13 / January 14, 1866? - October 29, 1949), the Greek-Armenian mystic and teacher of dancing born in Alexandropol, Armenia (then of the Russian Empire, now Gumri, Armenia), traveled to many parts of the world (i. ... Sufism is a mystic tradition within Islam that encompasses a diverse range of beliefs and practices dedicated to divine love and the cultivation of the heart. ... Hasidic Judaism (also Chassidic, etc. ... This article is an overview of Tantra and an in-depth look at the Tantra of Hinduism. ...

An experienced orator, he said that words could not convey his message^[43], but that his basic reason for speaking was to give people a taste of meditation:^[44] For other senses of this word, see Meditation (disambiguation). ...

He was often called the "sex guru" after some speeches in the late 1960s on sexuality. These were later compiled under the title From Sex to Superconsciousness. According to him, "For Tantra everything is holy, nothing is unholy",^[46] and all repressive sexual morality was self-defeating, since one could not transcend sex without experiencing it thoroughly and consciously. In 1985, he told the Bombay Illustrated Weekly, Year 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Osho said he loved to disturb people – only by disturbing them could he make them think.^[48] Accordingly, his discourses were peppered with offensive jokes^[49] and outrageous statements lampooning key figures of established religions such as Hinduism, Jainism or Christianity. Concerning the virgin birth, for example, he said that Jesus was clearly a bastard, since he was not Joseph's biological son.^[4] An attempt on his life^[50] was made by a Hindu fundamentalist in 1980. Osho, however, said that the only thing he was serious about in his discourses were the jokes – they were the main thing, and everything else was spiritual gossip.^[51] Hinduism (known as in modern Indian languages)[1] is a religious tradition[2] that originated in the Indian subcontinent. ... Jain and Jaina redirect here. ... Topics in Christianity Movements Â· Denominations Â· Other religions Ecumenism Â· Preaching Â· Prayer Music Â· Liturgy Â· Calendar Symbols Â· Art Â· Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul Â· Church Fathers Constantine Â· Athanasius Â· Augustine Anselm Â· Aquinas Â· Palamas Â· Luther Calvin Â· Wesley Arius Â· Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury Â· Catholic Pope Coptic Pope Â· Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box: Christianity is... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ... For other uses, see Saint Joseph (disambiguation). ... Bhavna says there are 300 million gods in Hinduism. ... Fundamentalism is a movement to maintain strict adherence to founding principles. ...

Osho on meditation

According to Osho, meditation is not concentration: it is relaxation, let-go.^[52] It is a state of watchfulness that has no ego fulfilment in it, something that happens when one is in a state of not-doing. There is no "how" to this, because "how" means doing – one has to understand that no doing is going to help. In that very understanding, non-doing happens.^[53]

Osho said it was very difficult for modern man to just sit and be in meditation, so he devised so-called Active Meditation techniques to prepare the ground. Some of these preparatory exercises can also be found in western psychological therapies (i.e. gestalt therapy), such as altered breathing, gibberish, laughing or crying. His most significant meditation techniques are today known as "OSHO Dynamic Meditation", "OSHO Kundalini Meditation", "OSHO Nadabrahma Meditation" and "OSHO Nataraj Meditation". For each meditation, special music was composed to guide the meditator through the different phases of the meditations. Osho said that Dynamic Meditation was absolutely necessary for modern man. If people were innocent, he said, there would be no need for Dynamic Meditation, but given that people were repressed, were carrying a large psychological burden, they would first need a catharsis. So Dynamic Meditation was to help them clean themselves out; then they would be able to use any meditation method without difficulty.^[54] Osho created some Active Meditation techniques. ... Gestalt Therapy is an existential and experiential psychotherapy that focuses on the individuals experience in the present moment, the therapist-client relationship, the environmental and social contexts in which these things take place, and the self-regulating adjustments people make as a result of the overall situation. ... For the language game, see Gibberish (language game). ... Dynamic Meditation is an Active Meditation technique developed by Osho. ...

In the late eighties he developed a new group of "meditative therapies", known as OSHO Meditative Therapies – "OSHO Mystic Rose", "OSHO Born Again" and "OSHO No-Mind." Apart from his own methods, he also reintroduced minimal parts of several traditional meditation techniques, stripped of what he saw as ritual and tradition, and retaining what he considered to be the most therapeutic parts. He believed that, given sufficient practice, the meditative state can be maintained while performing everyday tasks and that enlightenment is nothing but being continuously in a meditative state.^[45]

Controversy and criticism

Osho courted controversy throughout his life^[55], appearing to challenge many traditional assumptions about enlightened behaviour.^[56]

His liberal views on sex and emotional expression, and the resulting unrestrained behaviour of sannyasins in his Pune Ashram,^[57] at times caused considerable consternation, dismay and panic among people holding different views on these matters, both in India and the U.S.^[19] A number of Western daily papers routinely, and falsely,^[58] claimed that Bhagwan, a traditional title for spiritual teachers in India, meant "Master of the Vagina", although Wikipedia's own article would disagree, and focused their reporting on sexual topics. The vagina, (from Latin, literally sheath or scabbard ) is the tubular tract leading from the uterus to the exterior of the body in female placental mammals and marsupials, or to the cloaca in female birds, monotremes, and some reptiles. ...

Osho said that he was "the rich man's guru",^[59] and that material poverty was not a spiritual value.^[60] He was photographed wearing sumptuous clothing and hand-made watches.^[55] He drove a different Rolls-Royce each day – his followers reportedly wanted to buy him 365 of them, one for each day of the year.^[61] Publicity shots of the Rolls-Royces (more than 90 in the end) appeared in the press.^[10]

In his discourses, Osho consistently attacked organisational principles embraced by societies around the world – the family, nationhood, religion.^[62] He condemned priests and politicians with equal venom,^[63] and was in turn condemned by them.^[64]

Osho dictated three books while undergoing dental treatment under the influence of nitrous oxide (laughing gas): Glimpses of a Golden Childhood, Notes of a Madman, and Books I Have Loved.^[65] This led to allegations that Osho was addicted to nitrous oxide gas. In 1985, on the American CBS television show 60 Minutes, his former secretary, Ma Anand Sheela, claimed that Osho took sixty milligrams of Valium every day. When questioned by journalists about the allegations of daily Valium and nitrous oxide use, Osho categorically denied both, describing the allegations as "absolute lies".^[66] For other uses, see Nitrous oxide (disambiguation). ... This article is about the year. ... This article is about the CBS news magazine. ... Osho Rajneesh Chandra Mohan Jain (December 11, 1931 - January 19, 1990), better known during the 1970s and 1980s as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and later taking the name Osho, was an Indian spiritual teacher. ... Diazepam, brand names: Valium, Seduxen, in Europe Apozepam, is a 1,4-benzodiazepine derivative, which possesses anxiolytic, anticonvulsant, sedative and skeletal muscle relaxant properties. ...

There have also been recurrent allegations that Osho was connected to criminal activity, going back to the early days of the Poona ashram.^[56] Some Western hippie sannyasins were financing their extended stays in India through prostitution and drug dealing, and some of them claimed that, while Osho was not directly involved, he was aware of, and gave his blessing to, this kind of activity.^[56] Other allegations report that before he moved to America, the Indian police were plannning to place him under house arrest, and that he deliberately left debts unpaid at the time of his departure.^[67] At Rajneeshpuram, it has been claimed, Osho must have been at least aware of some of Sheela's illegal activities, such as arranged marriages designed to enable foreign followers to stay in Rajneeshpuram, and must have condoned them.^[67] According to critics, he thus stands condemned of being complicit in a range of criminal and anti-spiritual activities.^[68] Singer of a modern Hippie movement in Russia The hippie subculture was a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread around the world. ...

However, there is no hard evidence to support any of these allegations.^[69] Sheela claimed to have tapes implicating Osho in various crimes; however, no such tapes have ever been released by the US authorities, and without them, many of the charges against Osho cannot be substantiated.^[69] The only charge ever filed against him concerned immigration fraud.^[69]

The author of a recent academic study of the Osho phenomenon has remarked that the "answer to whether Osho was a manipulator, addicted to power, etc., or a radically enlightened spiritual master who continues to offer a a joyful, authentic, and enriching – if at times turbulent – path to those who open their hearts to him, seems to rest with the one asking the question, and with posterity."^[70]

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