Rajneesh Sadhna sangh International (RSSI) holds its first world Sanyasin’s meet to liberate & preserve Osho legacy from control of 33 years

Article in Outlook India, published on October 9, 2023.

On 26th September, 2023; exactly 53 years after Acharya Rajneesh (Osho) started the Neo Sanyas movement, RSSI held its first world congress at the Tapoban International commune in Kathmandu, Nepal. Sanyasins from over 18 countries attended the 3-day congress of discussions, meditations & celebrations. Among the attendees welcomed by Swami Anand Arun, the founder of the sangh & commune, were Bollywood screen writer Kamlesh Pandey (Swami Anand Kamlesh) & Swami Anand Samadhi; three of the oldest living & direct [sic] disciples of Osho, who inaugurated the congress by lighting diyas & a prayer.

Narayan Kazi, home minister & deputy prime minister of Nepal, addressing the congress in presence, said, ‘Osho was the greatest rebel in the world without caring if people would support him or be against him. He always stood by his own truth. He didn’t care about anyone’s opinions. This is the most important teaching of Osho. He asked the Sanyasins, “Will you be a rebel or will you be scared? Will you dare to be alone?”‘ He said, ‘Osho gave a new dimension to spirituality for humanity. The key is the emphasis on meditation as given by Osho’. He added that the third most important teaching of Osho is Zorba the Buddha. ‘Without being in the material world, a spiritual being can also not experience his own transformation. Zorba the Buddha is the most important gift given by Osho,’ he said, adding ‘Osho taught not to believe in Osho. Just to understand his teaching and continue liberating yourself and thereby the society & the whole world.’

In 1970, Osho, rebirthed traditional sanyas as Neo Sanyas (or Nav sanyas), without any pre-requisite for initiation into sanyas. This meant that anyone would be eligible for sanyas. Swamiji Anand Arun mentioned that the Neo sanyas movement was started to prevent the third world war by way of diverting people to peace via love, meditation & celebration. Osho explained that meditation leads to a joy in celebration of life, within a world constantly fighting for more place, power & supremacy. The movement was controversial to many, as it allowed mass initiations & many around the world were dropping their religions to become Neo Sanyasins. This enraged the heads of organized religions in the world, who Osho often referred to as the exploiters of mankind.

Osho left his body under questionable circumstances on the 19th of January 1990, about 5 years after his lavish commune in USA, Rajneeshpuram, was overtaken by the US government & Osho along with his Sanyasins was deported from USA. Osho is on record to state that he was poisoned with doses of thallium when he was in custody of the US government for 12 days before his deportation. Less than a year before he left his body, he was given the name Osho by his close disciples. His presence & legacy has been on decline & in dispute ever since.

In a recent order, the Maharashtra high court has ordered that the samadhi of Osho in the Pune commune must be preserved & access to the commune cannot be denied to anyone. ‘We are close but we need to be patient’, said Swami Moksha at the RSSI congress. Swami Moksha has been actively involved in the legal matter on behalf of the Sanyasins since its onset.

RSSI is a liquid foundation for all Osho disciples, not only to spread the message of Osho but also to preserve his teachings first. RSSI aims to provide a natural & open space, even with differing opinions between the disciples. Swami Anand Arun stated, ‘The differences can remain but we are unanimous in our love for Osho.’ RSSI’s vision is ‘one world, one thought, one love.’ ‘First all Sanyasins even with difference of opinion should be able to sit on the same table. That is the starting point,’ said swami Anand Arun.

The five point guidelines of the Neo Sanyas movement for all members were discussed at the congress & state co-ordinators for India were appointed. Emphasis was placed on meditation & self transformation before a fight for Justice. The emphasis was put on preservation for liberation of the legacy. ‘We are the legacy of Osho. Let us be the message not the messenger,’ said Kamlesh Pandey in agreement with Swami Anand Arun, adding that ‘Tapoban is alive with Osho’s presence as it was in the Poona 1 days in India.’ The co-ordinators of 18 countries expressed the challenges faced by them to continue meditation communes & centres. In their respective countries, the slow & strategic decline of the presence of Osho was the foremost challenge for all, except Nepal; where Osho’s legacy & presence has been preserved and thriving since the decline of the movement in 1990 elsewhere. Osho’s ashes are preserved in all the samadhis of Nepal & the first samadhi now in the San Diego commune in USA is also in process.

In the recent days, where leading spiritual gurus like Bageshwar Baba & Murari Bapu are speaking on the need to preserve the legacy of Osho for the evolution of human consciousness; in the wake of this historic congress event in the Osho movement; is it time to revive Osho’s presence in India too for its own conscious evolution, as the country of the movement’s birth?