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born
Dec. 11, 1931, central India
died Jan. 19, 1990, Pune, India
also called Osho and Acharya Rajneesh, original name
Chandra Mohan Jain
Indian
spiritual leader who preached an eclectic doctrine of
Eastern mysticism, individual devotion, and sexual freedom
while amassing vast personal wealth.
Rajneesh
was born Rajneesh Chandra Mohan in Kuchwada, Madhya
Pradesh, India in 1931 in a Jain family. According to
Shunyo (1992, p.217) an intimate female disciple, Bhagwan
was a strong-willed boy, an independent spirit wanting
to experience things himself. From the relatively innocent
actions of an unruly boy challenging parents, neighbours,
teachers at school, Rajneesh was labeled later on a
menace to society, consequently an entire political
apparatus in many countries was involved in the affair.
Rajneesh himself has said:
--"As far back as I can remember, I loved only
one game - to argue. So very few grown-up people could
stand me"
Rajneesh
spent ten years teaching philosophy at the University
of Jabalpur in India, also traveling throughout India
giving public lectures and challenging the religious
leaders of all kinds.
--"I found it was foolish
wasting time in the university teaching twenty students
when I can teach 50,000 people in one single meeting.
From the university, I moved to the universe" says
Rajneesh about himself leaving the univer sity
job "
--"
I want to leave you
alone, absolutely alone, so that you cannot take anybody's
help, so you cannot cling to any prophet, so that you
cannot think that Gautam Buddha is going to save you.
Left alone ? utterly alone ? you are bound to find your
innermost center."
--"People
ask me why the society is against me. The society is
not against me - I am anti-social.
But I can't help it - I have to do my thing. I have
to share what has happened to me, and in that very sharing
I go against the society."
--"I
don't think about the future at all, it is irrelevant.
My whole effort is how to beautify this present moment,
how to make people more celebrating, how to make people
more joyous, how to give them a little glimpse of blissfulness,
how to bring laughter to their life."
 --"I
am
trying in every possible way to drop all those things,
which in the past have been barriers for the revolution
to continue and grow. I don't want anybody to stand
between the individual and existence. No prayer, no
priest -- you alone are enough to face the sunrise.
You don't need somebody to interpret for you what a
beautiful sunrise it is."
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