Keerti writes from a meditation retreat in Gujarat, facilitated this month at Osho Vatika
I love facilitating meditation retreats at Osho Vatika in Rajkot. Vatika means a garden – yet this place feels like a garden inside a forest, or a forest inside a garden. Thousands of trees surround the meditation hall, creating a lush, green atmosphere reminiscent of Osho Dham near New Delhi. Every time I arrive here, I feel immediately at home – just as I do at Osho Dham, Osho Nisarga in Dharmshala, Om Bodhisattva in Dehradun, Osho Narmada Dham in Maheshwar, Osho Prem Bindu in Amritsar or Osho Mandakini in Varanasi. Everything always happens very smoothly and effortlessly at these meditation centres.
Osho Vatika is also something of a “juicy place”, thanks to its abundance of fruit trees – mango, chikku, guava, dragon fruit, lemon, mosambi and custard apple. During my recent visit, I had the opportunity to facilitate the first Meditation Camp – Osho Amrit Mahotsav – of the year, held from 16 til 19 January 2026. The pleasant winter weather of Gujarat – mild and welcoming, unlike the colder North Indian zone – supported the retreat beautifully.
Rajkot itself holds a special place in Osho’s life. Between 1967 and 1969, Osho visited the city around eighteen times. Several well-known disciples hail from here, including Mukti and Divya, who cooked for Osho full-time, as well as Geeta, Nivedita and Samadhi, who received handwritten letters from Osho prior to their initiation into sannyas. Even today, the daily newspaper Akila regularly publishes Osho-related news, keeping the local sangha closely connected.
Founded in 2006, Osho Vatika celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. Its origins lie in a simple but determined vision. After attending a poorly organised meditation camp elsewhere, Swami Sanjay decided to create a place that truly supported meditation. Using funds from selling a plot of land, he planted trees, built a meditation hall, and gradually developed accommodation. With the ongoing support of his wife Kammo, his son Paras and daughter-in-law Raseeli, the centre has grown into an eco-friendly retreat space that can host over a hundred participants.
Today, Osho Vatika is one of the most active meditation centres in Gujarat. Alongside Swami Sanjay and Kammo Ma, facilitators such as Dharm Jyoti, Ninad, Nirupam, Ravindra and Prem Vartan regularly contribute (as was Ma Yoga Neelam). And in recent years, I have been facilitating here more often myself. I feel deep gratitude for such spaces and the people behind them, whose dedication continues to inspire and welcome seekers from across India.
devanaman.com/osho-vatika-rajkot
Photos credit to Swami Natraj (Niraj Bhai Than)
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