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Culture and Life Style Magazine
N° 723
Chile, 11 June 2004
Highlights from a recent article about Osho and
his books by Chile’s largest Life Style magazine.
Trends
THE OSHO PHENOMENON
Incredible. His books are all over the shops, his maxims are recited by actresses,
models and TV animators. The man once known as the "Sex Guru" or "Guru of the
Rich", is today read by hundreds of people who don't know who he was or the
history of the movement that he led in the '80s. Fashion? Self-Help? Massive
Enlightenment? Oshomania?
“Hey Egghead! Kenita Larrain (Chilean model)
reads Osho!” With an air of surprise and without
judgments, that is the conversation that takes
place between one sannyasin and another in the
Tavelli Ice Cream Store. And it is true -- the way
Kenita found to get through her crisis after
breaking up with "Bam Bam" Zamorano (Chilean
soccer world star) was not talking with her girl
friends. Neither was it going to a spiritual retreat, or
lying on the couch of some fashionable
psychologist. The magic formula she used to find
her inner peace was to read Osho.
The same recipe was used by Ingrid Cruz (Chilean
TV actress) to get out of the depression brought
upon her by family members. Beyond Los Andes,
Natalia Oreiro credits her happiness to this guru,
as do Nacha Guevara and Ludovica Squirru (an
Argentinean writer of a yearly Chinese Horoscope)
who confessed: "Osho has blown my mind":
In between the manicures, pedicures, Pilates classes,
and hair-do sessions, the national show biz elite read
Osho. They recite his teachings on TV programs and
slip his words into newspapers and magazines that
nowadays have seen themselves flooded with phrases
like "the mind is the enemy of man," "intuition is a
leap," or "the essence of wisdom is being in harmony
with the natural rhythm of the universe." His books are
selling like hotcakes not only in bookstores but also in
shopping malls and superstores (Multitiendas) between
the aisles of clothes and domestic electrical
appliances. What is this phenomenon all about?
That Osho has been a Master with thousands of
followers worldwide is nothing new.
What is
astonishing is to hear his name--and his teachings-uttered by many who until recently knew nothing of
the existence of this long-bearded guru with the
profound eyes, who died in India in 1990. Now,
among his well known followers are Angela Contreras
(Chilean movie actress) and her husband, Roy Burns;
Francisca Merino (Chilean TV actress), Mario Azocar
(Actor), Katyna Huberman (TV star of many
successful programs) and Alejandro Tonda.
But Osho’s message has expanded in the last two
years. Many of his discourses have been compiled
under titles such as Creatividad, Intuicion, Intimidad,
with covers in pastel tones and designs that shout out
loud that they are spiritual self-help texts. They say
that this expansion and mainstream appeal was
something Osho foresaw on his death bed. "Before
leaving his body, one of the messages that Osho sent
to the sannyasins (his disciples) was that we would
be surprised by the number of people that would
come,” says Baula, daughter and sister of
sannyasins, who has followed his teaching since she
was 21 years old. "And the old man was not wrong".
OSHO Inc.
In Chile, the movement of Osho has deep roots. His
following dates back to the beginning of the 80's,
when he was not yet called Osho, but Bhagwan
Shree Rajneesh. The first echoes of his message
arrived from India, where the Master had founded an
ashram of six acres in Poona. Now the "Commune"
has changed to "Osho Meditation Resort".
Fascinated with the teachings of this Master which
proposed a path of syncretism between Hinduism,
Zen
Buddhism,
Christianity,
Classic
Greek
Philosophy, many other traditional philosophies,
psychology and new forms of therapies and
meditation, many members of the so called "elite” of
Santiago became sannyasins, which at the time
involved dressing in red from head to toe, Their
choice had a cost for many, including being
disinherited by their families. "My mother discovered
Osho when she was 40 and my dad 45,” says
Ananta, Baula’s sister. They had everything in the
world, but they couldn't find a way to live their
spirituality. For them it was suicide or becoming a
sannyasin.
"It's the same thing that is going on now: The world is
so crazy -- people realize that what’s available
doesn't work and they are looking for other ways to
be happy. They know that just being a consumer has
no meaning. Osho used to say that people who had
money knew they would not be happy because of it,
but the poor still had hopes. That's why they called
him "The Guru of the Rich," says Baula.
The truth is that Osho always surrounded himself
with luxury. At his 65-thousand acre ranch in
Oregon, USA --where he lived between 1981 and
1987- his 27 white Rolls Royces were famous.
"Osho always proclaimed that luxuries and the inner
life had to be enjoyed, he saw no contradiction
between the two." says a sannyasin.
"Osho's message was for humanity. He settled
down in USA and bought the Rolls Royces to attract
attention and make himself known. Today, it's a fact;
he is by far the most famous guru in the world,"
says Ananta. And he is absolutely right: the 750
Osho Meditation Centers that are spread in 80
counties across the world testify to the fact, as does
the publication in six languages of the Osho Times
International, which is distributed all over planet
Earth. And celebrities over the entire world pay
homage to his memory.
The fact that in Chile many are just beginning to
know him is surprising, but it has a reason.
Today, 14 years after his death, Osho's legacy is
handled by the "Inner Circle" which has transformed
the former "Commune" into a resort with hotel
included, where tourists from all over the world can
participate through "package tours" including
meditation. This, along with the fact that many major
publishers now have Osho book programs, are
some of the measures that have worked. The
number of visitors has gone up 50 per cent , and 88
per cent of the increase are people who are not
sannyasins. Osho books in Spanish have sold more
than 500 thousand copies in two years.. "If today's
handling of his legacy his very commercial, that is
very Osho-like: he told us that there is no
contradiction between the spirit and the world. It
can be Osho Inc. and still be very spiritual", reveals
a disciple who lived with him in Poona.
SAMMASATI
Uptown Providencia (a well known sector in
Santiago) in the Dehesa Mall, where purses made
by Louis Vuitton are sold along with backpacks, it is
possible to find the guru's books. "The increase of
public interest in Osho is due to his unprejudiced
and courageous vision that presents solutions,
guidance and counsel for the modern man,” affirms
Luis Martin Santos, agent for Osho in Spain. This is
a view confirmed by Jimena Pizarro, owner of the
bookshop "LILA" where the old books of Osho can
still be found, with their panoramic covers.
Many of the people who have recently
discovered the teachings of the guru are women that
feel an emptiness in their inner life. "In Osho I found
the peace I was looking for. He has shown me that I
must not search outside for what I have inside of
me, that I must put aside the wrapping and
concentrate on the content", says a young
professional woman who, after reading Osho has
began to meditate.
"Osho is totally open, and that is why he reaches
everyone.
People of different races, social
classes,
nationalities,
beliefs,
types
of
personalities, show business people, or very
mystical people who spend their time meditating 24
hours a day....." says Baula.
Whether it is just a fashion or not, that’s not a
concern for the sannyasins: “The last thing I could
have imagined is that Osho would become a
fashion,” says Vikrant. “He was one of the most
iconoclastic masters that have ever existed.”
Since Osho’s words are not the same as that of
Jesus, those of Socrates or those of Mohammad,
since his philosophy took something of all currents,
his message is well received in all parts of society.
"Now Osho seems to be in fashion and probably
many people read him because of that. But it
doesn’t matter – if somebody gets something good
out of it, so much the better,” says Katyna
Huberman.
Today, even the most devoted followers of Osho
are choosing their individual way.
Which is
something their own guru taught them. His last
words were "Sammasati…, Be a light unto
yourself," says a sannyasin. "That's what many of
us are doing.
"What I feel now is that each Osho disciple carries
his message. He said it when he left his body:
"Now, when I die, I will dissolve in my people and
as you can taste the ocean anywhere it is salty,
you will be able to taste any of my sannyasins and
you feel the same taste. Exactly that.”
Alejandra Parada Escribano