2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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
7. 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).
8. 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.
9. 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.
10. 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.
11. •The ashram is today known as Osho International
Meditation Resort.
•Osho dham, today, has about 2 lakh members.
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16. 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.
17. 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.
18. 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.
19. 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.
20. 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.
