Mystica

“Mystica, our beloved bohemian world traveler – never born and never died. She chose to keep her name Mystica when she took sannyas. Yes, she was part of the Mystery School, but she is a real ‘Mystica’,” writes Waduda. “Finally the drop becomes the ocean and the ocean becomes the drop.”

 

Mystica (Ma Chaitanya Mystica, aka Mysti) grew up in New Zealand, and recently returned to her roots also to take care of her 100-year-old father. She took sannyas in 1990 and kept the name she had called herself, Mystica. She became part of the Mystery School in Sedona.

Mystica looked after Kaveesha and then Hasya when they became ill. She was a Reiki master and created Mystic oils and Tarot cards, which were also sold in Japan where she had been active for many years and where she was very much loved. She is survived by a son and two grandchildren she adored, and her long-time partner, Manish.

Text thanks to info from Vismaya and Upchara. For photos thanks to Joy and Michael

 

A lover of life

by Vismaya Hagelberg

I met Mystica in Sedona, in 1996, where we had come to be part of Kaveesha’s Mystery School. I had arrived from Germany, Cologne, and Mysti from New York.

We met on a hike, led by a sannyasin. We couldn’t stop laughing, because we were both city girls and not used to being in a desert. Since then we have been close friends and always been in touch, whatever countries we were living in.

I happened to live for awhile across from her in Sedona and I loved to hang out in her bedroom watching movies, laughing and sharing stories. She was always my private spiritual teacher. She taught me so much about the inner world. She was a true meditator. And her trust in existence was incredible!

When Kaveesha became ill she always wanted Mystica to be around. Mystica was with her till she passed. Then Mysti moved to Los Angeles and lived in Hasya’s house and was with her till she passed. She had to face death in so many ways that when she herself was facing it, I believe, she must had befriended it.

I miss her tremendously. The last time I spoke with her she asked me to sing for her and to remember her in my songs. So yes, beloved Mystica, I will sing for you always💗
Vismaya

A magic love story

by Manish (Aldo Andreoli)

All paths are the same, leading nowhere.”
– Carlos Castaneda

The first time I met Mystica it was in Pushkar, a holy town located in the middle of the Rajastani desert. It was 1981. I was coming from Poona, after one year in the Ashram, taking some time to explore India, before returning to the West as Osho’s sannyasin.

The hotel were I was staying was right in front of Pushkar’s sacred lake. The architecture, the views, the smells, the sounds and the colors were magic and overwhelming. In the evening I walked to a small terrace overlooking the lake to watch the sunset, when a woman appeared in front of me.

Her beauty was out of this world.

Her perfect complexion emanated a magic grace. Her smile, lips and eyes were simply magnificent. It felt as if Grace was meeting me in the form of the most beautiful woman I had ever seen.

She told me she was from New Zealand that, by the way, is located exactly at the nadir of my own country of birth, Italy.

As soon as she had introduced herself, she told me that she was there with her boyfriend, Fari, a man from Iran who she had met in Los Angeles, and she invited me to join them in their room for a cup of chai and more.

Fari was a very attractive man, powerful, yet open and unthreatening. He was very welcoming to me, I didn’t feel jealousy of any sort. They were both dressed as if they had just come off a flying carpet: colorful turban, rich loose fabrics, silver bracelets, precious stone rings. Their deep and beautiful eyes were framed by thick layers of khajal: a magic vision of spiritual royalty.

Deep down I was disappointed that she wasn’t free, but their openness, light and warmth were so strong that I immediately opened myself to their friendship. They told me they didn’t have a home, since they were traveling the planet, and that they had no idea of where they were going to land next.

The following day I left. We hugged and said goodbye.

Mystica’s grace stayed with me – an out-of-this-world grace. Too beautiful for me to handle. I was a very insecure young Italian exploring the mysteries of the planet and a woman like her seemed completely out of my reach.

I returned to Italy and from there I went to Ibiza, in search of a new direction for my new life as an Osho sannyasin. Then from Ibiza I landed in Amsterdam, where I was hoping to start a new career as a photographer. I was staying with a Dutch friend I had met in Sri Lanka, and every morning I would go to buy croissants in a little bakery on the canals.

One day, when waiting for my turn, I felt a touch on my shoulder. I turned my head and immediately recognized Fari’s beautiful grey eyes. We exploded in laughter as we hugged each other. Fari told me that they had flown from Asia to Europe and were on their way back to Los Angeles, where Mystica had a young son. Together we went to the small hotel where they were staying and Mystica was ecstatic at the magic of meeting me again. It was during this time in Amsterdam that I introduced them to Osho.

A few days later, Mystica left for Los Angeles and then Maui. I went back to Italy, where Fari came to visit for a few weeks.

Later on I went to the Ranch for a festival, visited Fari and Mystica in Los Angeles and returned to Italy. Our relationship slowly faded away.

In 1990, when Osho left the body, I was in Poona. One day, out of the blue, I saw a beautiful woman walking out of the gateless gate: it was Mystica. This time we were both alone…

That’s how we started a magic love story that was in the air from the very first time we met in Pushkar.

A love story without an end.

The day before she left the body she called me from New Zealand. Her last words to me were: “Everything is fine. This body is becoming a burden. I want to be free. I’m very conscious and I want to die consciously as Osho always said.”

I started to cry and she said, “Don’t be sad, I love you and I always will. You will still feel me in the breeze, in the flowers, in the butterflies.”

Swami Anand Manish

Wherever you feel death, feel it. Don’t escape.
Death is beautiful; death is the greatest mystery, more mysterious than life.
Through life you can gain the world, the futile world – meaningless, worthless.
Through death you can gain the eternal. Death is the door.”

– Osho, The New Alchemy: To Turn You On, Ch 7, Q 1

My go-to person for advice and support

by Kendra

I first met Mystica in late 1997, during a visit to Sedona where my mother, Shreyas, resided. She was a dear friend of my mother’s, and I remember the moment she walked into the house with Manish (Aldo), exuding an air of wild and gorgeous free spirit, and radiating beauty both inside and out. We hit it off immediately.

Despite living in different parts of the world, Mystica and I remained close, and our paths eventually crossed again in California. From that moment on, we stayed connected, frequently catching up and spending time together. Mystica embodied the perfect balance between Zorba and Buddha, embracing life with all its glamour and complexities, while also living in Zen simplicity. I was in awe of her ability to speak passionately about Hollywood and fashion, while delving deep into the teachings of Osho and meditation.

Mystica was a mentor to me, showing me how to fully enjoy life in the marketplace without getting lost in it. She taught me how to love and care for my body, while also letting go of it when the time came. She was my go-to person for advice and support, and always there for me in good times and bad. When I was grieving the loss of my mother, she helped me understand the process of death and guided me towards a new way of connecting with her out of body.

We spent countless hours together when I was living in LA, and even after I moved to Hawaii, we continued to make time for each other whenever I visited. We often talked about living in the same community in the future, surrounded by the love and connection of Osho and meditation. It was a dream we both shared, and I was looking forward to making it a reality.

It came as a shock to hear of Mystica’s passing. She had plans to visit me in Hawaii in the coming months, and I was eagerly anticipating our time together. Her grace, beautiful spirit, and love touched so many people, and she will be truly missed.

I feel incredibly fortunate to have met Mystica, and to have had such a close and meaningful friendship with her. She lived life in all its colors and beauty, and I am forever grateful for the precious time we shared.

Thank you, Mystica, for your guidance, your laughter, your love, and your spirit. You will never be forgotten.

In Love and Gratitude for this Precious Life we are all Living.

Kendra

More Tributes

She was a shining light full of love and laughter, kindness, compassion, and crazy wisdom. I will Love her Forever💝💕
Joy and Michael

After taking sannyas in Pune, in 1990, I was named Dhyan Pratibha. Around 1994 I arrived in Sedona, AZ and became part of the Osho Academy Mystery School. For some years we studied and worked with our amazing teachers there. Amongst the exquisite sangha one of the women
was MYSTICA, and it was “love at first sight.” During the many groups and seminars and meditations we got to see each other’s spirits very intimately. Also, in our private time we shared so much time, insights, laughter, tears, wisdom and mischief.

We both continued then to travel through many adventures and countries, not seeing each other for long years. Our connection and love and communication always remained – and always will. Now I am sitting here in Germany, CELEBRATING this beautiful woman, a great bunch of roses in front of her picture, a golden candle burning – as golden as her heart – and I can still hear her laughter…

Dhyan Pratibha
PS: SHE WAS TRULY A GOLDEN GIRL!!!!

May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest, dearest Mystica.

Mystica’s aura was one of pure and total truth. She emanated beauty, love and compassion to those fortunate enough to have crossed her path.

I knew her briefly in the mid 90’s. She and Aldo were together and living in Tribeca, when we met. They were a vibrant and glamorous pair. I represented lofts that Aldo had designed and during that moment in our lives, I spent a lot of time with them.

And then, her wings expanded, and she was off to Sedona.

We reconnected only two years ago, with a deeper understanding of her life and her mission. Her journey was filled with a mindful goal of creating peace and harmony for those she touched. A very rare soul.

I am grateful to have had her in my life and in retrospect, for the wisdom she bestowed. I will miss her guidance and friendship for the rest of my journey.

What has unfolded in the past week, is that our connection is now intertwined with others, who also studied with Osho. In 2017, I had booked a location for a film starring the Indian actor Irrfan Khan. We immediately connected and spent the weeks of filming discussing life. In an article recently published in Osho News, March 1, 2023, Italian director Lakshen Sucameli says that Irrfan would have been his first choice to play Osho.

Both Mystica and Aldo shared the same adoration for Osho. He was a great gift in their lives. And now the circle continues, and Aldo and I are discussing creating a script for either a film or a documentary about Mystica and her enormous impact in life.

Laura Wagner

 

We are all unique, but some of us are more unique than others, and Mystica was that. We shared many parties and meetings in Osho Academy, Sedona in the ’90s, where her simple presence was a bright light. You could not ignore her! Her laugh and smile were always contagious. The way her mind worked always blew away my male mental structures. She was truly a Mystic, and though we haven’t been in each others’ company for many a year, I mourn her departure. What Kendra said about the dream she shared with Mystica of us all living together again in a Sangha, I mourn that too.

Abhiyana

 

You can leave a message / tribute / anecdote, and send a photo, by writing to web@oshonews.com (pls add ‘Mystica’ in the subject field). Your contribution will be added manually, typically within 24 hours.