– 13 June 2023
Memorial Meditation via zoom
Saturday, July 15, 2023, 10am Denver Mountain Time
We will begin with photos of Daniel’s rich life. And, you know how much Daniel loved to express his passion and love through music? So in his final months, he selected music for the Memorial as a parting gift for us which we will play, followed by sharing stories about Daniel. We are planning for 3 hours, though it may go a little longer for those who like to have ample time for sharing.
Zoom: us02web.zoom.us
Meeting ID: 849 2620 4888
Passcode: 345276
“It’s kind of about just being yourself!”
by Maneesha
Oh, beloved KB!
I knew Krishna Bharti in upstate New York when I was just a lost 19-year-old. He was dating my best friend who went eventually to meet him in Europe, wandered with him to India and found and brought Osho to me. I remember his fun, ease, humor and friendliness from that early time; he also was so helpful to me when I arrived in Pune.
That was big for me at the time, KB!
Although I haven’t seen him since he sat astride a big front loader or some such thing in Oregon, it was always beautiful to see his pictures and hear about his life.
And now about his death – how he let go of the struggle of treatment and faced the inevitable…
He was a sincere seeker his entire life. I am graced to have met him. Love you KB!
Love,
Maneesha
Farewell to Krishna Bharti (KB) – Sannyasin photographer
by Subhuti
I was surprised to hear that an old friend of mine, Krishna Bharti, better known as “KB”, has died. The news came from his long-time partner, Sara Kaplan, who posted the unexpected news on social media.
Sara told me that KB discovered he was sick with lung cancer in September 2021, even though he wasn’t a smoker, and that when he got diagnosed it was already Stage 4. Sara added, “He went through many treatments, but just recently decided to stop chemo and let the final chapter happen.”
Personally, I worked with KB in Pune One, when we enjoyed creating slideshows about the ashram, including one that Laxmi and I showed to Indira Gandhi during a visit to Delhi. Then we teamed up again in Oregon, and had great fun conjuring up photoshoots for The Rajneesh Times, our weekly newspaper. Memorable shoots included the Ranch’s nudist colony, when we also had to strip while working, and a photo of Ronald Reagan greeting sannyasins by the roadside, during the president’s visit to Oregon.
KB was a very good photographer, and took many photos of Osho, both in public and private. He also had a great sense of humour and could be quite provocative when taking photos!
Later on, after the Ranch, he was with other spiritual teachers: Kalindi and The Lady. He and Sara had been living in Denver for the past 13 years.
Fly high KB! Thanks for the memories.
Subhuti
In Rajneeshpuram – photo cr Prapat, Vinod
FareTheeWell my Love
by Sara Kaplan
Dear Friends,
This is Sara Kaplan, Daniel/Cole KB’s wife, writing to let you know that Daniel passed away this morning. He did it! He just slipped out of his body, so peacefully, at 10:23 am MT at a hospice near our house here in Denver. Being here over just these few days, he finally became more at ease in his body and spent the last days in a deep sleep. Finally, no more suffering.
April and I spoke to The Lady (our spiritual master whom Daniel was very close with) this morning, and so I went back to Daniel and whispered a last message from The Lady into his ear, “You can go now.” I whispered my love to him, and Keri, his niece, quietly talked to him. He then took a few last gasps of breath, and gone he was, so quietly, tenderly.
Then Willow (our pup) came into the room with April and Barbara S and jumps right onto his body smelling and kissing him for a last time. We sang together – FareTheeWell my Love, for All is Well, Depart in the Deep Peace of God. Then, the Hallelujah Chorus, sending him off towards The Light…
Beautiful. Gratitude. Deep. Love. Tears. And, what a joy erupted in us!
Out of the box, as he always was.
With love to all of you,
Sara
PS: For those who haven’t been part of his most recent journey: Daniel / Cole got sick all of a sudden in September 2021 and it took 2 months until he was diagnosed with lung cancer stage 4. He underwent different kinds of cancer treatments, and got us a puppy, Willow. But finally his body was so affected by the cancer and treatments that he decided to stop all cancer medication, go into hospice and let his final chapter happen naturally. He did it beautifully, as he lived his life.
Longing for his freedom
by Ma Deva Kalpana – Rene
My dearest friend KB, Cole Kaplan and lately known as Daniel passed.
I knew of KB from the sannyas times, but I met him for the first time in 1994 in San Diego, California.
He was one of the group leaders in the Miracle of Love Intensive that Kalindi was leading with The Lady for many many years.
He was a sincere man with unending longing for his freedom and the freedom of others. He led by example, and inspired me and many others to search, give up and let go into more freedom every day.
When later he started to lead seminars and meditations, I always felt very moved by his words. His passion resonated with mine, and I can’t tell you how many times we found each other on the floor, crying for the Almighty, or dancing ecstatically in the connection we were finding with God, with Kalindi, with The Lady, and with everyone.
A man of fire, with a tender heart, and incredible sense of humor, always encouraging and uplifting.
He also excelled in photography in this MOL Path, and many of the beautiful pictures in the Miracle of Love, now known as Center of The Golden One are his.
I am fortunate to have had this friendship with him and his most amazing wife, Sara, and their puppy, Willow.
As we continue our spiritual journeys, in this path or any another, love for the Divine, Meditation and Love for one another continues to unite us.
Blessings to everyone and blessings to Daniel for a life well-lived, in full devotion and disciplehood.
Fare The Well, my friend, for All Is Well
Depart in the Deep Peace of God
Rene (Ma Deva Kalpana)
His kindness and sense of humor
When KB visited Bali in 2009, Bhagawati interviewed him for Viha Connection. The article was then published in the January/February 2010 issue
I dare say anybody who was in Pune 1 will recall Swami Krishna Bharti (aka Cole), memorably with his face behind a camera, snapping away at all of us who were seated in darshan before Osho or in the audience.
What I also remember is a kindness and sense of humor shining in his eyes, and the delicate movements he made as to not disturb the interaction during darshan even with a swoosh of his robe. I lost track of his movements over the years but recently we reconnected.
Although he worked with heavy equipment at RBG in Rajneeshpuram, he said “I never stopped photographing Osho and our community – both for the Rajneesh Times as well as for all of the other books and publications.”
Later, he worked for many years as a successful and busy advertising and corporate photographer, both in the USA and in Switzerland.
Cole currently lives in Denver, Colorado when he is not traveling around the globe, and is a facilitator at ‘Miracle of Love’ since sixteen years. His works focuses on directing people to free themselves of their limitations and misconceptions to ultimately find out who they are. He also works as a personal coach with people who have relationship issues, and mediates to help people get out of separation and back into positive connection with each other.
He remarked, “Now I only on rare occasion accept photographic work, as the heart of my existence is dedicated to every man, woman, and child finding the love of God – real and realized within themselves – to come to as much inner freedom of soul as desired, and to bring as much light and love as possible into this world.”
Bhagawati for Viha Connection
sannyas.wiki – facebook.com/cole.kaplan
Thanks for alert to Devakrishna, credit for some photos goes to Vinod
More Tributes
Krishna Bharti took the sannyas darshan photos of SO MANY of us!
With such an eye for the exact moment of (our) presence…or complete absence ! THANK YOU!
I cannot say for 101% he did take this one, I’m pretty sure, June 6th 1979.
Ma Prem Divo
You can leave a message / tribute / anecdote, and send a photo, by writing to web@oshonews.com (pls add ‘KB’ in the subject field). Your contribution will be added manually, typically within 24 hours.
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