Suman

Ma Prem Suman took sannyas on 13 January 1976. She was a part of Geetam, the early Osho Center in Southern California, then journeyed with her son Ajita to the Ashram in Pune 1. On the Ranch she was our shopper and helped procure all the growth that was being done.

Her journey with Osho continued to this day and she was a regular and much-loved presence at Osho Leela Meditation Centre in Boulder, CO. She enjoyed going out to tea after Satsang with the new members of the community and was always generous in sharing stories about the early days.

Born 21 January 1941, she started out as a regular “housewife” in Malibu, CA – but with her curiosity and zest for life this container could not sustain her. She made her way to Osho and his commune and never looked back. She loved the commune and the friends and the freedom of life. She was always game for any celebration and she also worked hard but with that Zen ease that made her work her meditation. Even in these last months she continued to work with her beloved heart sister Parmita at White Swan records.

She left her body this morning, 2 October, quietly at 3 am MST. She had been diagnosed with cancer earlier this year and sought treatment to try to extend her time here in this body. When these treatments ran their course she gracefully surrendered to letting go.

For the past few months she awed everyone with her presence, acceptance and grace as her body lost strength and fell away. To the end one never heard her question or complain once about this devastating disease that was overcoming her physical body and causing pain. She was always in the mode of celebration and gratitude for her life and all the loved ones who came to support her. Her son Ajita came and spent the last days with her. He decided that the community welcomed him with such love that he would stay and take over her home.

Yesterday, her last day, friends celebrated her life with music and songs from the early days and even though she was mostly going “in” she still sang some, especially when they sang “its high time to dance” – she smiled and sang that right back.

This morning they again gathered and sang her off with the Osho songs of celebration. Many friends were with her yesterday and today and this is a testament to Suman and how she moved in the world – her love was quiet and steady and this love was reciprocated by so many that were touched by her presence.

Many friends showed up and were there caring for her over the course of the last weeks and to her joy, her beloved son Ajita came from Hawaii and was able to spend these last weeks with her as her main caregiver. Parmita, Nirdosh, Kirtan, Neera and many others were a steady presence both for her and for Ajita as she worked her way through this transition.

If you have ever visited Osho Leela for a Satsang or other celebration you will remember Suman there – the “young” silver- (or rainbow colored) haired woman dressed in bright colors dancing like a child, with innocence and ease.

Tomorrow, October 3 at 10:00 am MST, friends at the Osho Leela Centre, Boulder, will honor Beloved Suman with a Satsang meditation and celebration dedicated to her presence. Link on zoom: us02web.zoom.us

Text from a newsletter by Osho Leela Meditation Centre, Boulder, CO – www.osholeela.org – new edited version by Parmita posted 4.10.2021

Tributes

Suman, dear Suman. My roommate for most of the time on the Ranch.

I’ve always wanted to thank you. You were so patient with my hysterical neurotic ways, my weeping through the night and shagging through the day. You never complained about the special lover I brought to the room. You rarely brought yours.

Was there time for love affairs in all that rushing here and there for the purchasing department, identifying perfect Teri-cotton cloth for the security uniforms, office swivel chairs for the lawyers and scentless hair products for the master… fulfilling your work remit day and night, night and day, while I dug for potatoes and fed chickens out of huge barrels of leftover yoghurt.

And when I wasn’t working or partying, I was sleeping five feet away from you, and you… either on the porch smoking in the ice cold with your smoking partner, Ma Nirdosh… or quietly suffering from a broken heart because the man you’d generously married had headed off with another woman.

We never became friends in the normal sense of the word. But we were roommates. And that’s a category of companion all on its own.

Fly well and high and joyfully, dear one!

Savita

You can leave a message / tribute / anecdote by writing to web@oshonews.com (pls add ‘Suman’ in the subject field).