A Delhi winter week! Deva Priya joyfully describes the end-of-the-year event at Oshodham which includes a video. It was held from 26 December 2019 to 1 January 2020.
Click on image to start the video
“A great meeting I teach: the meeting of Zorba and Buddha. I teach Zorba The Buddha – a new synthesis. The meeting of the earth and the sky, the meeting of the visible and the invisible, the meeting of all the polarities – of man and woman, of day and night, of summer and winter, of sex and samadhi. Only in that meeting will a new man arrive on the earth.”
Visiting Oshodham is a privilege that I hold dear. When my father suggested that we attend the Zorba the Buddha celebration despite the harsh winter, I was ecstatic! On 25 December 2019, when I stepped foot in Oshodham with my parents and cousin, I hadn’t the slightest inkling that this celebration was going to become one of my most treasured memories of Oshodham.
No matter how many times I’ve been here, the beauty and aura of this place never fail to surprise me. Entering through the gates, soaking in the energy – from the trees, the flowers, the Buddha Hall and all the sannyasins – a deep calm overtakes me.
This camp was all about honouring and celebrating the birth centenary of Sambuddh Swami Om Prakash Saraswati Ji. This thread, that was very delicately and exquisitely woven through the series of meditations and events, made the celebration all the more radiant and resounding! The camp opened with a laughter meditation and ended with joyful dancing – and everything in-between helped us to become more open and present.
Each day of the celebrations had something unique to offer. Dynamic Meditation every morning prepared us to sail through the day with awareness and energy; listening to Osho’s discourse kept the flame of awareness burning bright; sharing anecdotes about our beloved Swamiji followed by Kirtan Dhyan brought us effortlessly into our heart centres; Kundalini meditation helped shed any lethargy that had gathered with the sumptuous meals (overeating at Oshodham cannot be a misdeed, the meals are to-die-for!); and the penultimate White Robe where we danced to reach the stars! Osho’s message of ‘the new man’ was delineated in all the discourses of White Robe, something that Swami Ji’s life has been a personification of to the T.
The energy of this Zorba the Buddha celebration was quite special indeed. The personal experiences with Swami Ji, that were shared by sannyasins, were extraordinary. One could feel their gratitude for Swami Ji surging and filling up the Buddha Hall in a tide of love.
The sharing sessions inspired me to look at life with a fresh pair of eyes. Swami Ji established Oshodham with the guidance of Osho; if we as individuals start believing in ourselves and truly trust Osho, there is no limit to the transformation we’ll experience. One of the lines that I personally liked was, “When will you start living for yourself, instead of always thinking about others?” This pretty much summarizes what each one of us goes through every day.
The live Kirtan led by Swami Anadi with fellow sannyasins was exuberant. The music and composition were so enchanting that the temptation to move my feet with every beat couldn’t be resisted. As the music peaked, calling out to Osho was a feeling that cannot be expressed in words.
As the celebration progressed, sannyasins also got involved in decorating Oshodham. We decorated the lawn opposite the dining hall using flower petals. The design was simple but the mosaic was massive. This was a unique meditative experience.
By the time it was 31st December, Swami Ji’s birthday, every inch of Oshodham was abuzz with celebration. Dancing through the night and welcoming the new year with a blissful silence was the perfect way to enter a new year. I loved participating in the sannyas celebration on the first day of the year.
The world of Osho is just so unconventional and exquisite – it lets me believe in the existence of something bigger than myself. That energy that supports us in the marketplace and keeps us strong – and I think that is what makes this earth a little more beautiful and a better place to live. I absolutely adored being in this camp.
Quote by Osho from Philosophia Perennis, Vol 2, Ch 2, Q 2
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