Bridging the sannyas community

Letters / Opinions

Swaram and Chetna write about their quest to connect with the earlier generations of sannyasins to create a bridge to the younger generations.

Chetna and Swaram

For many years we have asked ourselves this question: “Where are today all the sannyasins who lived with Osho?”

Looking at the videos and pictures of the days when Osho was in the body, you can see thousands of young and ecstatic people. Their eyes, smiles, facial expressions and body language, tell a story of total contentment, high energy, and love for life. Those guys were flying high, as if pulled above the ground by a magnetic force, which defies the law of gravity.

So where are they now? The thing is: today there is no more a centralised place where to find them. They are all scattered around the world and many of them live a private life. Sadly, as inexorably time goes by, a number of sannyasins have passed away. Hence, our urge to find them before it’s too late. Fortunately, through the Love Osho Podcast, we are slowly coming into contact with some of the most beautiful sannyasins we could have ever imagined.

The Love Osho Podcast is a wonderful opportunity to connect with the first generation of sannyasins and capture their stories. It has a historical value, a sort of archive of testimonies from the people who lived with a living Master, arguably the most significant Master in the history of mankind. In addition, it serves as a treasure trove of experience that we want to keep alive and transmit to the next generations.

These people have imbibed Osho’s vision and learnt from him. They were encouraged to experiment with new meditation techniques and cutting-edge therapeutic approaches. Osho brought together under one roof people from all over the world exchanging experiences, expressing their talents, and honing their personal and professional skills, under his guidance in a loving, free and creative milieu.

The commune created by Osho in Pune, India in 1974 was regarded as the most advanced centre for personal development in the world. And the impact till present days is of gigantic proportions; virtually all aspects of the current spiritual and therapeutic world are influenced, explicitly or implicitly, by Osho and his sannyasins.

We aim to honour the work done by these courageous individuals, preserve it and pass it on. Osho was the magnet and the catalyst of a great experiment in consciousness. And the people who gathered around him, were the actors who realised that and created so much beauty in so many different dimensions.

We are blessed to be alive at this time. We do have access to Osho directly in the form of books, videos, audio recordings and images, which are mostly available in their original format. In addition, we can connect with the first generations of disciples. Of course it’s possible to learn directly from the source. However, since the Master left the body, for many new friends it may not be so straightforward to make sense of the vast teaching left by him. So, experiencing Osho’s vision via his people can be an easier way to step into Osho’s world.

We are privileged to have come close and become friends with some of the “oldies”. And through the interviews, we can open small windows into their worlds. To us, they are such an inspiration and a wonderful representation of how to mature into loving and meditative human beings. At the same time we are in contact with new sannyasins and Osho lovers who, like us, are thirsty for Osho and eager to connect with the people who lived physically with him.

And something more. Through the interviews we plugged into the current of love circulating between Master and disciples; we somehow tapped into an invisible energy transmission, which is invaluable and we want to pass it on. Before leaving the body Osho said that once gone, he would dissolve in his people. That’s the unique way of how Osho works, if we, his sannyasins, open up and allow that to happen.

In the words of our friend Rashid: “These stories are critical to the survival of Osho’s teachings that aren’t teachings. They illuminate the man we knew. The master we love. The most clear and intelligent witness of the human condition. Soon Osho will be just a name, a historical figure. The stories you elicit from us oldies keep his energy alive and flowing in the world.”

First published on their blog, loveosho.com

96

Chetna and Swaram

Chetna and Swaram run the platform Love Osho and are presently travelling. loveosho.com

Comments are closed.