Ambika reported from the final leg in Atlanta of Milarepa and OneSky Band’s US tour, and put together a video of the event: “…such glimpses of these musical moments are difficult to capture with photos and videos, but I guess you just had to be there.”
Earlier this month, Milarepa and One Sky Band facilitated OSHOfest 2018 in Atlanta, the culmination of a six-weekend-long tour across the USA that included Mexico. The Atlanta finale had an abundance of photos and videos. It made it possible to create a small video I feel shows the essence of all this year’s events: the nectar of OSHOfest 2018! Keep in mind, though, the live OSHOfest experience is so much more than can possibly be covered in a short video clip.
This year marked twenty-three years of such festivals across America, sharing Osho’s vision of meditation and celebration with live music. The 2018 One Sky Band included Milarepa (guitars, vocals), Teerth (drums), Chandira (bass, keyboards, vocals), Prabodh (bass), Rishi (drums, vocals), Lee (saxophone), Anand Prem (keyboards), Prashant (keyboards), Jyoti (drums, tablas), Sagaresh (drums), and other guest musicians. It is sometimes difficult for musicians to take off time from their personal lives to play such events, so it feels like a luxury for us meditators when we have them with us. Especially this year with so many of them in the mix!
We are grateful for the dedication of Milarepa having him conduct such musically, meditative events. Milarepa is not a big fan of live recordings nor live facebook streamings, so the only way to really experience him is in person. I must also share one more aspect of celebrating with him and the band, is that listening to them always feels like ‘coming home’.
Meeting and meditating with many long-time Osho beloveds was an extra bonus this year. Vasumati joined and facilitated in the New York event, Malika and Isa in the Virginia and Atlanta events, ‘Dancing’ Maneesha in Mexico, and Ma Krishna Shobna and Gyan Keerti in Atlanta. What to say but… wow!
Special meditations this year included Heart of the Sufi, Shaman Shake, and Laughing Drums, along with all-time Osho favorites such as Dynamic, Kundalini, and Nataraj to name a few. And of course it was a treat having live music accompaning so many of the sessions. As I said, such glimpses of these musical moments are difficult to capture with photos and videos, but I guess you just had to be there.
Creativity Night was on the schedule at almost every event. It was a unique opportunity for participants to share their talents with the group. The Atlanta evening in particular was a rainbow of colors.
The cross-pollination of meditators coming from out-of-state, and as far away as India in some cases, was also something new this year. This was in part encouraged by announcing a prize for the person attending the most weekends: a round-trip ticket to India and a one-week stay at the Osho Resort in Pune! In Atlanta, Noorie, one of the New York friends, won the raffle. All in all, it was a wonderful experience meeting new friends and lovers from all over the country. And world!
After all is said and done, I would love to finish this sharing with a few lines which sum up OSHOfest 2018 for me:
Meditation can be Fun
Celebration can be Silence
Heart Dance is Sufi
And Friendliness all Around
Music is more Important than Words
Dance is more Expressive than Song
Whirling, you Disappear in Oneness
Together with Friends of Osho
What a Blessing!
OSHO!
Prem Ambika is part of the Osho Dallas community and a regular meditator. She resides in Dallas, Texas with her husband and daughter.
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