Bagiya

…left her body on 30 June 2020.

Anand Bagiya was born in 1965 at the foot of Mt. Aso, Kumamoto Prefecture, in Japan, and grew up in nature, in an area surrounded by farmland for cattle. And where there were also frequent volcanic earthquakes.

At the age of 14, her school teacher who was also a painter recommended Osho’s books to her, in particular, Tao: The Three Treasures. It was her first meeting with Osho.

At the age of 19, she started a life devoted to meditation and the path to higher consciousness, living in Osho’s commune, Samargro, in the countryside of Kumamoto.

She took sannyas at the age of 20 in 1985.

In the same year, she moved to Shanti Yuga, the commune in Tokyo because of the unification of all Osho meditation centers in Japan into one commune. While working there, she coordinated a band and was a guitarist and vocalist. She practiced every day until late at night.

In 1985 she made the trip to Oregon to visit the Osho Commune in America. After the commune was dissolved, she went to Hokkaido with friends and helped in the foundation of the Osho Meditation Center in that location, offering new possibilities for those committed to the spiritual path in that area. She led meditations for the new people and many of them took sannyas.

Bagiya started visiting Pune in April 1987 when Osho returned to India. There she participated in courses offered at that time such as Breath Therapy and Transformation Intensive (Sagapriya, Yuti). Most noteworthy, she was involved in the opening of the Osho Café, as well as working for the Osho Times.

When she was in Japan, she worked as a designer for the Osho Times and was involved in the organization of music groups and celebrations. When Osho left his body, she was part of a team that kept the Japanese community informed of the events happening in Pune and that organized the great celebration that was held there at the EER Meditation Center in Tokyo.

Bagiya had a dream where Osho told her to organize a band for the music groups. This surprised her because she didn’t consider herself to be a particularly good musician. In 1994, she created with her friends their own music band, the Banana Band (‘we are totally Bananas’), starting free, loving and friendly music groups that became a legend in the Japanese sannyas music world.

Bagiya‘s devotion to Osho’s work was always carried out with love and in a spirit of total commitment while traveling between Japan and India. She also worked as a session giver and as a course assistant for Psychic Massage and Breath Therapy in both countries.

In 2003, love brought her to Canada to be with the man she had met in Pune. Some years later, after that relationship ended, Bagiya’s appreciation of the culture in Canada with its particular freedoms made her decide to stay in her adopted country.

She was employed for many years as a massage therapist in the spa of a large hotel where she was very much appreciated by her employer, the staff and the clientele. Being in Quebec she worked in both English and French. She made several trips to Italy to assist in trainings with Sagarpriya. The last trip she made was to Osho Risk in the fall of 2019.

Bagiya’s dedication to the innner path and her devotion to Osho were constants throughout her life.

In all her years in Canada, Bagiya entertained her Japanese and other friends with her social media postings about life in North America and other subjects. Her interests were wide ranging, including environmental issues, politics, the mysteries of the body, science, music, comedy…

She especially loved nature, animals and people. She shared with her friends a wonderful sense of humor, wit, sharp insight, and her innocent tender heart.

The courage and trust with which she faced the cancer affecting her body was remarkable. She felt very much supported by existence with unexpected financial help, great support from friends, and the good government medical care that allowed her to remain at home and enjoy life to the fullest till the end.

Bagiya was fortunate to qualify for a medically assisted death in her own home. She was surrounded by close friends. In the time before the doctor arrived we listened to Osho songs. Bagiya was very weak and sleepy but she sang along some of the time and danced with one arm.

Then all of a sudden her eyes opened wide in amazement and she said: ‘Full of light!!!’

An outdoor celebration for sannyasins and friends will be held at Deva Prem and Anadideva’s home near Montreal where Bagiya was a regular visitor and where she greatly enjoyed connecting with nature. In Japan, there will be an online Celebration for Bagiya on the 4 July at 14:00 (Japan Time).

Text by Deva Prem and Rasata