(30 July 1954 – 28 September 2024)
Prem Bodhi (Iorio Pietro) was born in Milan and left his body in Rapallo, near Genova, Italy. He became a disciple of Osho on 25 June 1978 in the Pune ashram and received from Osho the name Prem Bodh.
“Prem means love. Bodh originally meant blooming of a flower, but slowly slowly it started meaning blooming of consciousness. They are similar. When you see a lotus opening up, it is just like seeing a consciousness opening up. Consciousness is your inner lotus. So the opening of a bud became the meaning of enlightenment. Hence Gautam Siddhartha was called Buddha – because of the word bodh, he bloomed.”
Swami Prem Bodh, remembered hearing Osho say to him: “I am available here; you can bloom like a love flower.”
And he responded: “I place myself in your hands.”
Osho: “It has already been done.”
Like all the pioneers of our Master, he also had a task. He returned to Italy and, together with friends, helped create meditation centres: Villabella, Vivek, Miasto and his beloved centre, Arihant. Prem Bodh was a tireless worker and was very creative.
Shanti, his life companion and wife, writes:
Ever since we met, Bodh and I have always been together, like two soul mates. Our beloved son, Siddhartha, was born out of our love.
Our love story was the reunion of two ancient souls; we touched spaces of infinite beauty and also went through hard moments which life had given us, but we always, slowly slowly, overcame everything.
My love, our love story was a laboratory of alchemical growth, and our souls were cleansed through gratitude. Our love goes beyond the infinite sky, towards all the stars…
Have a good journey, beloved Prem Bodh.
Yours forever,
Shanti
Siddhartha, Prem Bodh’s son writes:
Please grant that we, together with those who have already died in your faith and fear, may participate hand in hand in a joyful resurrection.
By your infinite mercies, we ask you to take us, together with those who have died in you, to rejoice together before you.
May you always have the wind in your back, may the sun shine in your face, and may the wind of destiny carry you aloft to dance with the stars.
Your beloved son Siddhartha
Thanks to Muni for the photos and connecting

Sannyas darshan with Osho
Prem means love. Bodh originally meant blooming of a flower, but slowly slowly it started meaning blooming of consciousness. They are similar. When you see a lotus opening up, it is just like seeing a consciousness opening up. Consciousness is your inner lotus. So the opening of a bud became the meaning of enlightenment. Hence Gautam Siddhartha was called Buddha – because of the word bodh, he bloomed. And unless a man blooms, he remains discontented. Unless one becomes full of light, one remains in misery.
The misery is that one has not yet even been able to be oneself. The misery is that one is carrying a potential but it is not becoming actualised… the misery of a seed who has not found its soil yet, the misery of a bud who is waiting for the morning and the sun to rise, the misery of a woman who longs for a lover. This misery continues if we don’t help our inner flowering. And the misery is very vague, because how can the seed know for what the hankering is? How can the bud know what it is going to be like when it blooms?
So it is an unconscious groping in the dark; much stumbling happens, naturally. People search in all sorts of ways, in all sorts of directions. They have to. But don’t miss this door! I am available here – you can bloom as a flower of love.
Osho, The Madman’s Guide to Enlightenment, Ch 25
More Tributes
“…our souls were cleansed through gratitude.” What a significant affirmation, what a way to place one’s life in day-to-day existence. Thank you for this reminder.
I take refuge in gratitude. Surely a door into inner peace, into ultimate freedom.
Love,
Ma Prem Divo
Dear Bodh,
We met many years ago in Poona One.
I wish you a beautiful journey on the way home. Soon I’ll come, too.
Krishna Prasad
I did not know Prem Bodh, nor his partner. I do know them now. I am deeply touched by your Love, deeply grateful for this tribute. I will carry it in my heart every day because everything about you has reached me, and it is a message of Pure Love!
Non conoscevo Prem Bodh e la sua compagna. Li conosco adesso. Sono profondamente toccata dal vostro Amore, profondamente grata per questa testimonianza. La porterò nel cuore ogni giorno perché tutto di voi mi arriva, ed è un messaggio Di Puro Amore!❤️
Kashi
Beloved Bodh,
per te la mia gratitudine per l’aiuto che hai sempre dato a noi, al centro Arihant, e soprattutto a Nirodh che hai sempre considerato come un caro fratello. Spero vi siate incontrati ora, e ovunque siate camminate e correte mano nella mano sorridenti e liberi da ogni dolore.
To you my gratitude for all the help you have given us, to the Arihant centre, and especially to Nirodh, whom you have always regarded as a dear brother. I hope you have met by now, and wherever you are, you will walk and run hand in hand, smiling and free of pain.
Love
Ushma
I met Prem Bodh and we laughed together and played.
He was very loving and caring.
Joy,
Jayanand
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