Laughter, Joy and Silence with Osho on Raahgiriday

Gurgaon is a suburb of New Delhi which has grown rapidly over the last few years. So has the number of motorised vehicles on the roads and more cars add to the mayhem daily; further expansion of the roads has become unsustainable. Pollution, traffic jams and noise having caused a very unhealthy environment, Raahgiriday was introduced to Gurgaon in November 2013. The concept of Raahgiriday (meaning a day for pedestrians) was inspired by ‘Ciclovia’, a weekly event in Bogota, Columbia.

Every Sunday, between 7 am and 12 noon, approx. 4 km of Gurgaon roads are blocked to motorised vehicles and opened up for the public. People come to cycle, skate, run, walk, play games or participate in the multiple activities organised at the venue (yoga, aerobics, zumba, dance performances, band performances, street plays, running events, cycle rallies, sports tournaments, etc.). The events are similar to the European concept of fests in downtown areas and skating zones.Raahgiriday has been very well received by the public who responds in overwhelming numbers; over 10,000 people reclaim the streets of Gurgaon, but also Connought Place, and Dwarka every Sunday. Inspired by the success and impact, cities such as Bangalore and Ludhiana are planning to replicate the idea within their own cities.

On Raahgiriday on May 3^rd, which coincided with World Laughter Day, Anubhuti reached the venue in Dwarka (South West Delhi) already very early in the morning as she wanted to place a large Osho photo on the stage that had already been set up during the night by the organisers. She also had with her a large number of Osho World magazines and Osho books – not for sale but to give to people, and more about that later. Here’s her report:

“Already at about 7 am, I noticed people stopping to look at Osho’s picture. A few asked me what was going to happen while others decided to wait and watch. Everyone was excited. Soon several close sannyasin friends were walking towards the stage. I knew something extraordinary was going to happen and it did!

A few came on the stage while almost 200 people gathered around. We started with many innovative laughter techniques such as milkshake laughter followed by shower, brushing, IceCube, bill pay, sandwich laughter and much more. People were in splits. Next came my favourite bit of listening to Osho speaking on laughter. He, as always, gave us a beautiful message of how starting the day with laughter can change the dynamics of our life completely.

What amazed me was how attentive people were, who possibly were listening to Osho for the first time. And then came an Osho joke that triggered uproarious laughter and changed the energy of the group completely! I felt as if Osho had taken over and our team was no longer there. All of us floated, swam and bathed in Osho’s love.

We danced to many fast numbers but what made a difference was the mindfulness we brought to it. Dancing in pairs and copying each other, dancing alone giving attention to various parts of the body, and so much more.

And every now and then we were silent taking all the energy inside. We also listened to various short quotes from Osho which worked like fire on the fuel. I felt we are all one in his loving hands.

The next big exercise was gibberish. Every single person standing or sitting participated – and by now there were more than three hundred people there. I guess many of us feel the pain of the mind which always moves in the past or future. It was heartening to see how everyone wanted to throw the garbage away and go within.

Gibberish was followed by humming. What touched me most was how the differences dissolved when hundreds of people were holding hands and going deep within with humming.

Ah, I forgot to mention yet another exercise which was thoroughly enjoyed by all. We announced to give the Osho books and magazines to friends who would come on stage and pay us by laughing for 15-20 seconds. And it was amazing to see how joy creates more joy, how laughter creates more laughter, and how bliss is followed by gratitude.

All books and magazines were distributed within minutes. Next time we will bring more!”

At last Sunday’s event at Connaught Circle we saw approximately a thousand people attending Osho World’s stage… and the next one is scheduled for May 24 in Gurgaon, stay tuned!