Mudito

Swami Prem Mudito (Harald Drewes)

by Ma Anand Haritama

“He is brilliant, so leave him alone,” was how Vidya described Mudito to me in Edison at the Ranch.

Needless to say, I did not leave him alone, as we were together for five years which included time at the Ranch and then Los Angeles after the Ranch ended.

At the Ranch, Mudito’s work was to align and fix the cameras that filmed Osho every day, whether in Rajneesh Mandir or the interviews in Jesus Grove in the evenings. Mudito told me he filmed Osho’s arrival at the Ranch and his ultimate departure. He was sincerely devoted to Osho.

Cantankerous at times, I would tease him about his ‘brilliance’ and I think somewhere he enjoyed the challenge as he was often ‘full of himself’, and regarded as somewhat of an ‘unusual character’.

When the Ranch ended, we left together with $200 and a duvet! We ended up living with a lovely family in the Pacific Palisades for whom I had previously worked.

Needing money desperately, we were looking for jobs. Mudito saw a job advertised in Hollywood maintaining machines that converted film to digital. Although he had no previous experience with these machines, he decided to apply anyway.

He needed appropriate clothes to wear for the interview as all we had were red and maroon clothing. So off we went to a charity store and left with a navy blue pinstriped suit!

I said nothing, but thought that he stood absolutely zero chance of getting the job. How wrong I was! I had underestimated his skills in ‘bullshitting’. He got the job out of 25 applicants and came back with the manual of the machines and devoured it, absorbing all the necessary information he needed to fulfill his obligations.

When he came home after two weeks of working, he threw all the dollar bills in the air as he hadn’t had, or even seen, that much cash in years!

This is only one example of Mudito’s nerve. He enjoyed shocking people and taking risks, some of which I considered dangerous, and told him so.

Spontaneous and fun-loving (or was it devilry?), he was unpredictable and a bit reckless, but one couldn’t help loving him in spite of his rascally nature.

After 5 years we split up. He went to Italy and quickly learned to speak fluent Italian. He was already bi-lingual, being German and speaking English. Almost forgot to mention that he was also an accomplished classical guitarist. He had a knack for picking up information and remembering it – maybe he was brilliant after all!

In Italy he married a non-sannyasin and eventually changed his name to Mu-Ho. I went to visit him once and there he was dressed in a white robe giving darshan to several of his ‘followers’. He was playing out being the Guru. I knew it was his greatest desire to become enlightened.

I don’t know if he became enlightened. In the last years we had lost contact. I heard from Italian Sampado that Mudito left his body in hospital. And I’m sure that, wherever he is, he’s creating mischief and having fun!

Fly high, old friend.

Ma Anand Haritama

A loving celebration

Sannyas darshan for Prem Mudito

Prem means love, mudito means joy – a loving joyfulness, a loving cheerfulness, a constant feeling of celebration.

Life should not only be lived, it should be celebrated. Those who only live don’t live in reality – only those who celebrate live. And each moment has to become a celebration. Whatsoever you are doing, do it with the spirit of celebration, bubbling with joy, overflowing with joy. Slowly slowly one becomes attuned to the celebration of the universe that is constantly going on. It is only a question of attunement.

You discover a secret key: that if you are in the mood of celebration you disappear and the whole existence explodes in you as celebration. Those are the moments of ecstasy, and slowly slowly they become your very life. Then not only when you are awake, but even when you are asleep you are in a kind of celebration; that continues, day in, day out. And that’s what the ultimate goal of being a sannyasin is; that’s the meaning of your name: a loving celebration, a loving joy, a loving dance.

Osho, The Shadow of the Bamboo, Ch 13, April 13, 1979

More Tributes

Haritama,

this is such a loving and sweet tribute to a truly brilliant and Remarkable Man.

What Mudito’s passing does for me, is to help me feel anew, just how Remarkable Osho’s Ashram and Communes were. Mudito looks ‘vaguely familiar to me’, but I don’t even know if we ever interacted at all! And this is ‘remarkable, and eye opening to me’, because he did so much ‘brilliant and important work’ at the Ranch and I was not even aware of him!

And remember, I was living and working there, the whole time! It shows just how vast and multi-dimensional Osho’s work was – and is!… None of us could have been aware of the whole – there were so many layers and ‘different types’ of humans co-creating Osho’s incredible experiment in Creative Living and expanding Love and Consciousness.

I am extremely grateful to all the ‘unknown lovers and fellow travelers’ who have graced my life, and contributed to my own unfolding and evolution.

Fly High, Beloved Mu-Ho, and thanks for Being in my Life!

Anubuddha

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