Sarjano writes about his visit to the Osho centre near Rimini, Italy
I went to visit this commune for the first time about seven years ago, while I was waiting for an Indian Visa to be issued to me in Rome. Tired of staying in the capital I asked my friends to recommend a nice Osho Commune to visit and spend some time there.
All of my friends suggested I ought to visit a place called ‘Osho Circle School’, because it is a very friendly place and full of nice activities. They told me that I just have to take a train from Rome to Rimini, and the centre people would send a car to pick me up.
I did simply that and upon arrival found the driver already at the station, waiting for me. I got into the car, and after an hour we started driving uphill on a beautiful mountain, and after another hour we arrived at the spot in the middle of nature, 800 metres above sea level.
Everybody came to welcome me, but instead of bringing me to my accommodation, they ushered me straight into the kitchen! It was 11 o’clock in the morning and they all started to beg me to cook some food for the whole commune…
I was tired and surely needed a rest, and I can say no to anybody, but there is no way I can say no to someone who asked me to cook for him! Fortunately, in the kitchen was some very expert guy present who helped me make some home-made pasta, which I wanted to fill with spinach and ricotta in order to make my special ravioli.
Meanwhile somebody cooked the spinach, someone else prepared the ricotta, grating a good quantity of Parmesan Cheese on top, and another one was already flattening the pasta. I showed them how it needs to be cut and then proceeded to put the filling on top and close each single ravioli by pressing the edges with a fork.
In less than an hour my masterpiece was ready, and you should have seen the faces of all the commune guests while they were eating these ravioli cooked with so much love!
I spent a couple of weeks there, cooking every day, both for lunch and dinner, with the result that when I had to leave, everybody in the Commune was almost in tears! That’s what I love about cooking: leaving a beautiful memory behind me…
Seven years had passed and my family wanted to bring me to the ‘Osho Circle School’ to spend the New Year celebrations there, together with all my friends. Too bad that the menu had been decided weeks ago, so there was nothing for me to cook, but as they have great staff, I could relax and let someone cook for me, at least once!
What I didn’t tell you is that all around there was just snow and nothing else, creating a magic panorama such as I haven’t seen for years, just incredible!
Every day starts obviously with the Dynamic Meditation, which I attended just to refresh my memory (because I hadn’t done it for almost twenty years…). The DM is still the greatest shaking to start the day with, and all in all it was a great revitalising. After attending most of the meditations on the program, I proposed my own meditation, the one that I created when listening to Osho speak on the healing power of a simple gesture such as hugging.
I call it the ‘Hugging Meditation’ and it became very popular while I was in Pune, and now I am making it popular in Italy because, as Osho says, “Healing is a function of love. Love is the greatest therapy, and the world needs therapists because the world lacks love. If people were loving, if parents were loving, if teachers and professors were loving, if the society had a loving climate around it, there would be no need.” (1)
I really think that next summer I will spend a couple of months in this beautiful commune, hence if you come to Italy, just come for a visit… I can promise that you won’t regret it!
The commune was co-founded in 2000 by Jivan Arshad, one of the first New Age journalists in Italy, director of several newspapers, music producer and author of The Psychology of the Zorba (available in English in 2015, probably with a different title) in which he brilliantly summarises the essence of a true and new contemporary holistic vision. In late 2013 he published Fukushima Global Warming and Competition, an eBook not yet translated into English.
Sitting on the porch together with the charismatic leader of the commune, watching the snow falling gently, I asked him for some information about this enchanting place. Arshad explained,
“This commune is basically a love affair, nothing else! It was founded just 15 years ago by a group of friends in order to live a different quality of life – in celebration, creativity, supporting each other and living in truth. It is a buddhafield for the active transformation of each individual, in harmony, in beauty, in deep synchronicity with existence and a deep respect for Mother Earth.
“It is a great, comfortable space where you can meet others without any mask, where you can be totally open and find out who you really are, with no judgements at all. We have created a large, restful space over Montefeltro, on top of a hill from where a breathtaking panorama opens up, because it is full of old castles and ancient citadels.
“This School is an Osho Meditation Centre where we offer daily meditations and therapy-groups. It is a school for the inner search, a laboratory for the evolution of the human being. We also enjoy creating events, parties, happenings, art-exhibitions, music-festivals, relaxation and self-care.
“The Osho Circle School was born as a place where to transform our separations: from our self, from others, from nature… It is a rainbow that includes all the colours of a true inner search.”
What else can I say, after Arshad’s enlightening words? Just come to see for yourself! I will also be there, cooking for you…what can I say, what can I say… I LOVE YOU.
Text by Sarjano
(1) Osho, Come Follow to You Vol. 4, Ch 4, Q 3 (excerpt)
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