- Also called:
- Osho or Acharya Rajneesh
- Original name:
- Chandra Mohan Jain
- Born:
- December 11, 1931, Kuchwada [now in Madhya Pradesh], India
- Died:
- January 19, 1990, Pune (aged 58)
- Subjects Of Study:
- human sexual activity
Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh
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Who was Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh?
Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (1931-1990), also known as Osho in his later years, was an Indian spiritual leader who founded the Rajneesh movement.
Rajneesh, a philosophy scholar, believed individual spiritual experience was most important. In the early 1970s, he became a guru, initiating followers (neo-sannyasins) and teaching detachment rather than traditional asceticism. His teachings drew Westerners, and he established a headquarters in Pune in 1974, teaching dynamic meditation and New Age healing.
In 1981, Rajneesh moved to the U.S., founding Rajneeshpuram in Oregon. The community amassed wealth but faced controversies, including a bioterror attack and immigration fraud. Rajneesh was deported in 1985 and eventually returned to Pune, where his ashram grew. After his death, his movement continued, with centers in over 60 countries.
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Where was Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh born and where did he grow up?
Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, also known as Osho, was born Chandra Mohan Jain on December 11, 1931, in Kuchwada, a village in what is now Madhya Pradesh, India. As a young man, he traveled throughout India, engaging with teachers from various religious traditions to gain insights. He studied philosophy at the University of Jabalpur, earning a B.A. in 1955, and later began teaching there in 1957 after obtaining an M.A. from the University of Saugar.
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What were some of the main teachings of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh?
Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, also known as Osho, was an Indian spiritual leader who preached a doctrine of Eastern mysticism, individual devotion, and sexual freedom. Rajneesh believed individual religious experience is central to spiritual life and cannot be organized into a single belief system.
Rajneesh reinterpreted the idea of sannyasi, teaching his disciples to live fully in the world without attachment. He aimed to create a "new man" who attains inner freedom by accepting and surpassing desires. Rajneesh supported contraception and abortion to prevent the birth of children in his communes and encouraged followers to forgo marriage and live together under the principle of free love. He praised capitalism and consumption, believing poverty existed because religions praised it.
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What was the Rajneesh movement and how did it start?
The Rajneesh movement was a religious sect founded by the Indian mystic Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, also known as Osho, who preached Eastern mysticism, individual devotion, and sexual freedom. In the early 1970s, Rajneesh initiated people into his order of neo-sannyasins and established the movement's headquarters in Pune, India, in 1974.
Rajneesh's philosophy diverged from traditional sannyasis, who practiced asceticism. Instead, he taught his disciples to live fully without being attached to the world. He also encouraged neo-sannyasins to forgo marriage and live together under the principle of free love, supporting contraception and abortion to prevent births in his communes. In 1981, Rajneesh moved the movement to the United States, creating a community known as Rajneeshpuram in Antelope, Oregon.
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Why did Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh move to the United States, and what happened to his community there?
Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, also known as Osho, moved to the United States in 1981 to establish Rajneeshpuram, a spiritual community in Oregon, with a focus on spiritual enlightenment and sexual liberation. The community amassed wealth through various enterprises but faced controversy due to its unorthodox practices and conflicts with local residents.
Tensions escalated, leading to a bioterror attack in 1984, where Rajneeshees contaminated salad bars with salmonella to influence a local election. The incident led to investigations, convictions of senior members, and Rajneesh's arrest and deportation in 1985. Rajneeshpuram became a ghost town, and Rajneesh returned to India to revive his ashram.
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How has Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh influenced spiritual practices and popular culture today?
Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, also known as Osho, was an Indian spiritual leader whose teachings have influenced spiritual practices and popular culture by emphasizing individual religious experience and detachment from the world. Rajneesh's approach to spirituality included dynamic meditation and a progressive attitude toward sexuality, which attracted Westerners.
After his death, his movement has been governed by the Osho International Foundation, which continues to run yoga and meditation programs. Rajneesh adapted ancient Tantric techniques for a Western audience and urged his followers to overcome their inhibitions through "dynamic meditation," which included shouting, screaming, and dancing. His teachings have left a lasting impact on spirituality and continue to attract visitors to the Osho International Meditation Resort in Pune, India.
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Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (born December 11, 1931, Kuchwada [now in Madhya Pradesh], India—died January 19, 1990, Pune) was an Indian spiritual leader who preached an eclectic doctrine of Eastern mysticism, individual devotion, and sexual freedom.
As a young intellectual, Rajneesh visited with and absorbed insights from teachers of the various religious traditions active in India. He studied philosophy at the University of Jabalpur, earning a B.A. in 1955; he began teaching there in 1957, after earning an M.A. from the University of Saugar. At the age of 21 he had an intense spiritual awakening, which inspired in him the belief that individual religious experience is the central fact of spiritual life and that such experiences cannot be organized into any single belief system.
In 1966 Rajneesh resigned from his university post and became a guru (spiritual guide) and a teacher of meditation. In the early 1970s he initiated people into the order of sannyasis, who traditionally renounced the world and practiced asceticism. Reinterpreting the idea of being a sannyasi in terms of detachment rather than asceticism, Rajneesh taught his disciples to live fully in the world without being attached to it.
The first Westerners came to Rajneesh in the early 1970s, and in 1974 the new headquarters of his movement was established in Pune. The basic practice taught at the centre was called dynamic meditation, a process designed to allow people to experience the divine. The centre also developed a diversified program of New Age healing adopted from the West. Rajneesh became well-known for his progressive approach to sexuality, which contrasted with the renunciation of sex advocated by many other Indian teachers.
Rajneesh moved to the United States in 1981 and, the following year, incorporated Rajneeshpuram, a new city he planned to build on an abandoned ranch near Antelope, Oregon. During the next few years many of his most-trusted aides abandoned the movement, which came under investigation for multiple felonies, including arson, attempted murder, drug smuggling, and vote fraud in Antelope. In 1985 Rajneesh pleaded guilty to immigration fraud and was deported from the United States. He was refused entry to 21 countries before returning to Pune, where his ashram soon grew to 15,000 members.
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In 1989 Rajneesh adopted the Buddhist name Osho. After his death his disciples, convinced that he had been the victim of government intrigue, voiced their belief in his innocence and vowed to continue the movement he started. In the early 21st century it had some 750 centres located in more than 60 countries.