Osho was one of the most famed as well as the most controversial spiritual leaders of his time. A professor of philosophy, he travelled throughout India in the 1960s as a public speaker. His outspoken criticism of socialism, Mahatma Gandhi and institutionalised religion made him controversial. There are over 600 books composed by him and several thousand audio and video discourses.
Background
Osho was born on December 11, 1931, in Kuchwada, a small village in Madhya Pradesh, India. He was born into the Taranpanthi Jain community. Originally named Rajneesh Chandra Mohan, he was the eldest of eleven children in a family of Jain cloth merchants. At the age of seven, he was sent to live with his maternal grandparents. At his grandmother’s home, Rajneesh was nurtured with full independence, without the hassle of imposed education or other restrictions. Rajneesh grew up as a very rebellious child. After the death of his grandmother, he returned to stay with his parents. By the time he reached adolescence, Rajneesh had inculcated interest in hypnosis and become an atheist. In 1970, Osho settled for a while in Bombay. He began initiating disciples (known as neo-sannyasins) and took on the role of a spiritual teacher. In 1981, Osho relocated to the United States and his followers established an intentional community, later known as Rajneeshpuram, in the state of Oregon. Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh reluctantly decided to leave for India, after the episode in the United States. Osho returned to India in 1986. In January 1987, Osho moved back to his old ashram in Pune, where he resumed his discoursing.
Education
In his school years he was a rebellious, but gifted student, and acquired a reputation as a formidable debater.[21] Osho became an anti-theist, took an interest in hypnosis and briefly associated with socialism. After completing his studies at a high school in Gadarwara, Rajneesh went to Jabalpur.
After completing his studies at a high school in Gadarwara, Rajneesh went to Jabalpur. In 1951, at the age of nineteen, he joined Hitkarini College in Jabalpur. There, he had a conflict with a lecturer, as a result of which, he was transferred to D.N. Jain College. Rajneesh was spiritually enlightened on March 21, 1953. Following the enlightenment, he went on to finish his studies. He earned his Bachelor’s of Arts Degree from Jabalpur University, in 1955, and received Master’s Degree in Philosophy from Sagar University, in 1957. Meanwhile, he took part in the annual Sarva Dharma Sammelan held at Jabalpur, organized by the Taranpanthi Jain community, where he initiated his first public speaking. He continued to participate in public speaking from 1951 to 1968.
Career
In 1957, Rajneesh became a lecturer at Sanskrit College in Raipur. Acharya Rajneesh moved from Jabalpur to Mumbai in 1970. The same year, he introduced his ‘Dynamic Meditation’ method for the first time, in Mumbai, at a public meditation event. On September 26, 1970, he organized an outdoor meditation camp, which comprises of a large gathering of his followers. He adopted the title ‘Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh’ in 1971. After giving discourses on a daily basis for almost 15 years, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh underwent a three-and-a-half years of self-imposed public silence in 1981. His discourses were then substituted by satsangs and readings from spiritual works. This phase continued until 1984. Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh traveled to the United States on June 1 1981, to get treatment for prolapsed disc. In Wasco County, Oregon he purchased a ranch, then known as the Big Muddy Ranch, and named it ‘Rajneeshpuram’.
Religion
he was a leader of Jivan Jagruti Andolan and Neo-sannyas movements
Views
Quotations:
'WHEN you love a person all fear disappears. And when you are afraid all love disappears.'
'GOD is just a name of the totality of existence.'
'DEATH is a door to God. Those who knows how to die know how to enter into God. Clingers clinging to life never know what God is.'
FAITH is not belief, it is love. Faith is not belief it is not half, it is total. Faith is not belief because there is no doubt in it, so how can you believe?'
' FAITH is not rationalization at all: neither for nor against, neither this nor that. Faith is a trusting, a love.'