In this letter Pankaja acknowledges the lack of care many of the children in our communes have suffered, without denying the positive experiences that also happened
‘The times were different’… ‘come on, this was the 70’s!’… ‘it was the same everywhere’… ‘this all happened 40, 50 years ago’… ‘how old are these girls now? get over it!’…
Those accused were/are our friends, lovers, husbands… guru… Not easy to take in, let alone accept.
My generation, e.g. anyone who came to Osho communes as an adult, of whatever gender, found the freedom to explore our own sexuality, struggling out of the restrictions imposed by our parents and teachers. We came from the era of convent schools and single sex boarding schools where caning was part of the curriculum, for boys at least, and sex was a dirty word.
It’s true that the children in the ashram had a lot of freedom, which to my generation sounded like heaven. It was the exact opposite of our own experience. But that freedom also meant that there were no boundaries, no proper care and no protection from abuse.
My own children had chosen to return to London to live with their dad, and I was absolutely appalled when I learned about the abuse that had happened to Sargam when she was only 7 years old, in Pune 1. But I did not see or understand that many of the other children who were living in the ashram or the other communes were also being abused.
I didn’t see the film Children of the Cult when it was first shown in the cinema with Sargam and the other girls, because I was out of the country. But when I did see it on TV a couple of months later it was a horrifying shock. I could hardly believe the extent of the sexual exploitation of many teenagers on the ranch. It totally shook my perception about my own life and experience and made me re-evaluate my relationship with my children, Osho, my friends… pretty much everything. And I have been trying to understand it ever since.
I had a long conversation with Sargam the other day, and a few days later saw the recent documentary Ask E. Jean (by E. Jean Carroll). This is about a woman in her 80’s, pretty much my generation, who was raped by Donald Trump 30 years ago when she was a very famous TV Agony Aunt. Her main message was to empower women, and help them to stop identifying themselves as victims. A pretty cool, famous, secure woman.
And she did not come out about this rape for 30 years, until the Me Too movement gave her courage – and permission. She was awarded $5 million by a jury for the rape – and an additional $83 million for the fact that the then in between presidencies Mr Trump accused her of lying.
Talking to Sargam and then seeing this movie stimulated me to write this article. To talk to my friends. I salute the tremendous courage it has taken for her, Sarito and others to speak publicly about the abuse they suffered as children in the communes. No small thing given how protective many of ‘us oldies’ are of Osho and the community. It is extraordinarily difficult to accept that what was precious and transformative for us could also have been traumatic and dangerous for many of the children.
True, the seventies were a very different time, ideas about morality and sexuality were being explored around the world. But this is no excuse for the lack of care that many of the children suffered, and I really hope that as a community we can acknowledge their trauma without having to deny the positive and beautiful experiences that also happened.
Is the community which grew up around Osho big enough to absorb these contradictions?
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