Sheela and Who?
When the Rajneesh Ranch in Oregon collapsed, police tracked people down all over the world, and the charges (and convictions) reached to the level of attempted murder. Osho and his people were crucified from the inside. If you firmly believe that such circumstances could not be repeated, and you would not like your ignorant beliefs to be strongly challenged, then I recommend that you read no further.
Surely nothing like what happened at The Ranch could happen at the Osho International Meditation Centre, Pune, India. Surely nothing like what happened at The Ranch is and has been happening at the Osho International Meditation Centre. Having just re-read this article that I have just written, in my opinion, there is the distinct possibility of serious and criminal misconduct at the Osho International Meditation Resort. It is my opinion that Osho, and his people, have been betrayed not once, but twice.
H. H.Dalai Lama has praised Osho as an enlightened master. The Dalai Lama has also visited his Pune centre (ashram). Yet Osho has been branded by some as being of all things a terrorist - this being not the only false allegation. Where does this come from? There is a key difference between Osho and the Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama stands within an accepted cultural framework; Osho (clearly) does not. There is also one subtle difference between the two: Osho see’s a little further.
With the above in mind, it is clearly not my intention to discredit Osho, his name, his vision, or any of his people. I spent a year working in his Samadhi, and another two years in his Lao Tzu garden. I even took sannyas on his birthday (all be it unintentionally). However it is the opinion of the author that there are ignorant and ill-meaning people that cloak themselves in maroon, and whose actions are reprehensible; and that these people have also failed to learn and grow from their mistakes. Existence provides opportunities to learn from mistakes, and the more people fail to take opportunities to learn and grow, in time, the more will be their demise.
The body of this article is a summary of a 2006 report into “Health & Safety, and Management” at the Osho International Meditation Centre, Pune, India. A brief, non-exhaustive summary of the investigation follows. Please note that the summary is written as if from the time of writing the report in 2006. However this summary adds some post-report information.
Upon visiting Pune and the centre, I fell very ill with gastro-enteritis. A stool test from Hemotech Diagnostic Centre revealed that I had Entamoeba Histolytica (amoebic dysentery). Mucous, puss cells, and red blood cells, were also present. An abdominal ultrasonography from Jehangir Hospital found ‘no significant abnormality’. It took three different treatments of broad-spectrum anti-biotics and anti-virals before the gastro-enteritis abated.
Just prior to becoming ill I had started drinking the ‘purified drinking water’ provided by the centre - rather than drinking bottled water. There was a sense that the drinking water was the cause of my gastro-enteritis. I also recalled that in the second most recent monsoon there was a major contamination problem with drinking water. (Note: the contamination problem was significantly worse in the most recent monsoon).
At the time of this contamination I was helping (Work-as-Meditation) in hygiene at the Kitchen Department. Issues to do with water were the responsibility of Facility Management. However the consulting micro-biologist employed by the centre tested food and water, and so I was privy to the water testing results.
At times drinking water gets contaminated by ‘back-contamination’: contamination of the water taps - by spitting or brushing your teeth at the water dispenser for example. It was towards the end of the monsoon when I noticed what appeared to be an excessive level of (unfortunate) back-contamination. I contacted the Facility Management about the matter, and the drinking water stations were consequently shut-down.
An investigation into the contamination revealed that the contamination source was indeed not back-contamination; both central water treatment systems at the centre were not effectively treating the water: they were pumping out contaminated water to the ‘drinking water’ stations. Significantly, the investigation also revealed that, in my opinion, the overall water treatment system was in a seriously neglected state.
At the centre, monsoonal rains have the effect - as rain water filters down into the (underground water) aquifer - of increasing the level of aquifer contamination: bacteria, viruses, and other contaminants as well. It is a little like watching a clear pool or pond get disturbed by torrential rain (in a city). This being the case, the monsoon puts significant pressure on the water treatment system.
It might be argued that in the monsoon, ‘we simply do our best under difficult conditions’. However a ‘what to do’ response has no relevance in this situation. The situation is of, in my opinion, a seriously neglected water treatment system. The ‘what to do’ is to fix the derelict system.
Admittedly if best practice is being employed (or at least standard practice), perhaps a legal and ethical response might be ‘what to do’. However if the water treatment system is not up to a reasonable standard (let alone an optimised system), how can the water treatment system stand a chance in sub-optimal (monsoonal for example) conditions. Even if adequate or optimised systems are incapable of dealing with heavy monsoonal conditions, they will at least provide more purified water than a rundown system. Up until the time of getting very ill, I assumed (or perhaps hoped) that the matter had been at least adequately dealt with.
People drank, and may perhaps still be drinking, contaminated ‘drinking water’ from a seriously rundown water treatment system.
As well as monsoonal rains, the water aquifer at the centre may be further contaminated by the following local events:
· leaking (and overflowing) taps and garden hoses;
· leaking ponds;
· emptying out of ponds;
· construction in and around the centre:
· industrial pollutants;
· deep footings disturbing the ground (thus making it more easy for contaminants to flow down into the aquifer);
· leaking roofs (the Pyramid buildings for example);
· leaking water pipes (Pyramid buildings for example);
· leaking sewerage pipes (anecdotally Osho House for example); and
· leaching down of chemical elements from ‘leaking’ buildings - an example being dieldrin from termite treated timber.
Note: This list is not necessarily exhaustive.
While the water treatment system ostensibly removes bacteria and viruses, I am not sure how it is designed to respond to an influx of sewerage. However as I understand it, the system is not designed to remove bacterially produced toxins, industrial chemicals, building residues such as dieldrin, pesticides, heavy metals, and the like.
With a little summary of water, I turn to food. The Hydrogen Peroxide (HP) solution used at the centre to treat fruit and vegies - which I understand to be in accordance with the consultant microbiology companies HP concentration guidelines - is significantly higher than stipulated by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It is also significantly higher than the ‘Indian text’ level, as shown to me by a senior microbiologist. In too high concentrations, HP is hazardous and corrosive. If a dose of highly concentrated HP is ingested it can for example cause internal bleeding. There are also other concerns about the use of HP in excessive concentrations - by Sodexo kitchen staff.
There are similar concerns with Sodium Hypochlorite (NaHCl). NaHCl is used to sterilise typically large items (pots, pans, trays etc) not processed by the central dishwashing station. Also, chlorine (hypochlorite) is known to be carcinogenic when mixed with organic matter (food). So the mixing of food with chlorine residue - from excess NaHCl concentrations - on pots, pans, trays etc. is of concern.
I have been cautioned about drinking fruit health drinks - I only surmise that the reason being the possibility of ‘rotten’ fruit (and vegies) making their way into the production line. I question the healthiness of the soya health drinks: India is a country with significant pesticide/herbicide use; growing soya beans normally requires a high use of herbicides. Lettuce has historically been next to impossible to keep (hygienically) clean, and continues to make its way onto the counter - papaya is another example. There have been repeated problems with Himalayan bottled drinking water - according to testing guidelines from the consultant microbiology company. There have been other ongoing hygiene problems: with coffee machines and plastic food containers for example.
There are a number of ‘finance’ issues. For example, there was (previously) an ongoing delay in obtaining the DDT test results for the ostensibly ‘organic’ brown rice the centre purchases: the reason as I understand it was that Finance had not paid the bill. I also recall - though with not absolute surety - a letter from the consulting microbiology company that appeared to me to outline a reduced level of services provided, due to financial reasons. The hygiene laboratory also has aging, outdated, and at times improperly functioning, equipment and facilities.
Rats and mice are a historic, endemic problem at the centre. On just one occasion I went for a brisk, early morning walk at the centre. The Meera Garden dishwashing station had the appearance of being unattended by Sodexo (contract labour) from the night before. Its main door(s) was left wide open; the floor of the dishwashing station was in a filthy state; there was rubbish piled up behind the station; and there was a cat inside the dishwashing station. At Zorba Restaurant the window to the ‘serving’ kitchen was open; the door to the service counter was slightly open. Used dishes and food scraps were left at the Dishwashing Station drop-off point. At the time, the Zorba Restaurant area also gave the appearance of being unattended.
In my opinion Sodexo cannot be educated about hygiene, and will not comply with clearly stipulated hygiene guidelines. For example the Sodexo chief engineer didn’t even know where the specific kitchen water taps were that he was supposed to have been decontaminating - a request made regularly by the consultant microbiologist. I have also regularly watched Sodexo staff employ the use of surgical gloves enthusiastically in outdoor manual labour, and incorrectly to sterilized kitchen equipment.
The central dishwasher has not functioned properly for at least a year, and produces visible and microbial contamination. At one stage processed items continually tested positive to E. coli (microbe) for weeks, with in my opinion, nothing fundamentally done to fix the dishwasher. Even the critical temperature gauges have been broken for at least fourteen months. Further concern (especially in monsoon) is that the machine uses municipal water; and dishes and scraps in Meera Garden are regularly raided by teams of scavenging birds. Just a little further note here: the deadly H5N1 strain of bird-flu has been found in a neighbouring state, and wetlands outside Pune are host to migratory birds.
I have also watched contract labourers spend weeks ‘dry-cutting’ stone tiles, sending plumes of dust all over the Pyramids area. In Australia the use of a ‘wet-saw’ to cut stone tiles is mandatory by law. The centre appears to have a ‘dry-saw’ policy. Incidentally, at this dusty time, the exterior building walls were being cleaned without cleaning the rooves, and done so just prior to bats arriving and painting the walls with faeces in their annual migration.
When the Rajneesh Ranch in Oregon collapsed, police tracked people down all over the world, and the charges (and convictions) reached to the level of attempted murder. Osho and his people were crucified from the inside. If you firmly believe that such circumstances could not be repeated, and you would not like your ignorant beliefs to be strongly challenged, then I recommend that you read no further.
Surely nothing like what happened at The Ranch could happen at the Osho International Meditation Centre, Pune, India. Surely nothing like what happened at The Ranch is and has been happening at the Osho International Meditation Centre. Having just re-read this article that I have just written, in my opinion, there is the distinct possibility of serious and criminal misconduct at the Osho International Meditation Resort. It is my opinion that Osho, and his people, have been betrayed not once, but twice.
H. H.Dalai Lama has praised Osho as an enlightened master. The Dalai Lama has also visited his Pune centre (ashram). Yet Osho has been branded by some as being of all things a terrorist - this being not the only false allegation. Where does this come from? There is a key difference between Osho and the Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama stands within an accepted cultural framework; Osho (clearly) does not. There is also one subtle difference between the two: Osho see’s a little further.
With the above in mind, it is clearly not my intention to discredit Osho, his name, his vision, or any of his people. I spent a year working in his Samadhi, and another two years in his Lao Tzu garden. I even took sannyas on his birthday (all be it unintentionally). However it is the opinion of the author that there are ignorant and ill-meaning people that cloak themselves in maroon, and whose actions are reprehensible; and that these people have also failed to learn and grow from their mistakes. Existence provides opportunities to learn from mistakes, and the more people fail to take opportunities to learn and grow, in time, the more will be their demise.
The body of this article is a summary of a 2006 report into “Health & Safety, and Management” at the Osho International Meditation Centre, Pune, India. A brief, non-exhaustive summary of the investigation follows. Please note that the summary is written as if from the time of writing the report in 2006. However this summary adds some post-report information.
Upon visiting Pune and the centre, I fell very ill with gastro-enteritis. A stool test from Hemotech Diagnostic Centre revealed that I had Entamoeba Histolytica (amoebic dysentery). Mucous, puss cells, and red blood cells, were also present. An abdominal ultrasonography from Jehangir Hospital found ‘no significant abnormality’. It took three different treatments of broad-spectrum anti-biotics and anti-virals before the gastro-enteritis abated.
Just prior to becoming ill I had started drinking the ‘purified drinking water’ provided by the centre - rather than drinking bottled water. There was a sense that the drinking water was the cause of my gastro-enteritis. I also recalled that in the second most recent monsoon there was a major contamination problem with drinking water. (Note: the contamination problem was significantly worse in the most recent monsoon).
At the time of this contamination I was helping (Work-as-Meditation) in hygiene at the Kitchen Department. Issues to do with water were the responsibility of Facility Management. However the consulting micro-biologist employed by the centre tested food and water, and so I was privy to the water testing results.
At times drinking water gets contaminated by ‘back-contamination’: contamination of the water taps - by spitting or brushing your teeth at the water dispenser for example. It was towards the end of the monsoon when I noticed what appeared to be an excessive level of (unfortunate) back-contamination. I contacted the Facility Management about the matter, and the drinking water stations were consequently shut-down.
An investigation into the contamination revealed that the contamination source was indeed not back-contamination; both central water treatment systems at the centre were not effectively treating the water: they were pumping out contaminated water to the ‘drinking water’ stations. Significantly, the investigation also revealed that, in my opinion, the overall water treatment system was in a seriously neglected state.
At the centre, monsoonal rains have the effect - as rain water filters down into the (underground water) aquifer - of increasing the level of aquifer contamination: bacteria, viruses, and other contaminants as well. It is a little like watching a clear pool or pond get disturbed by torrential rain (in a city). This being the case, the monsoon puts significant pressure on the water treatment system.
It might be argued that in the monsoon, ‘we simply do our best under difficult conditions’. However a ‘what to do’ response has no relevance in this situation. The situation is of, in my opinion, a seriously neglected water treatment system. The ‘what to do’ is to fix the derelict system.
Admittedly if best practice is being employed (or at least standard practice), perhaps a legal and ethical response might be ‘what to do’. However if the water treatment system is not up to a reasonable standard (let alone an optimised system), how can the water treatment system stand a chance in sub-optimal (monsoonal for example) conditions. Even if adequate or optimised systems are incapable of dealing with heavy monsoonal conditions, they will at least provide more purified water than a rundown system. Up until the time of getting very ill, I assumed (or perhaps hoped) that the matter had been at least adequately dealt with.
People drank, and may perhaps still be drinking, contaminated ‘drinking water’ from a seriously rundown water treatment system.
As well as monsoonal rains, the water aquifer at the centre may be further contaminated by the following local events:
· leaking (and overflowing) taps and garden hoses;
· leaking ponds;
· emptying out of ponds;
· construction in and around the centre:
· industrial pollutants;
· deep footings disturbing the ground (thus making it more easy for contaminants to flow down into the aquifer);
· leaking roofs (the Pyramid buildings for example);
· leaking water pipes (Pyramid buildings for example);
· leaking sewerage pipes (anecdotally Osho House for example); and
· leaching down of chemical elements from ‘leaking’ buildings - an example being dieldrin from termite treated timber.
Note: This list is not necessarily exhaustive.
While the water treatment system ostensibly removes bacteria and viruses, I am not sure how it is designed to respond to an influx of sewerage. However as I understand it, the system is not designed to remove bacterially produced toxins, industrial chemicals, building residues such as dieldrin, pesticides, heavy metals, and the like.
With a little summary of water, I turn to food. The Hydrogen Peroxide (HP) solution used at the centre to treat fruit and vegies - which I understand to be in accordance with the consultant microbiology companies HP concentration guidelines - is significantly higher than stipulated by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It is also significantly higher than the ‘Indian text’ level, as shown to me by a senior microbiologist. In too high concentrations, HP is hazardous and corrosive. If a dose of highly concentrated HP is ingested it can for example cause internal bleeding. There are also other concerns about the use of HP in excessive concentrations - by Sodexo kitchen staff.
There are similar concerns with Sodium Hypochlorite (NaHCl). NaHCl is used to sterilise typically large items (pots, pans, trays etc) not processed by the central dishwashing station. Also, chlorine (hypochlorite) is known to be carcinogenic when mixed with organic matter (food). So the mixing of food with chlorine residue - from excess NaHCl concentrations - on pots, pans, trays etc. is of concern.
I have been cautioned about drinking fruit health drinks - I only surmise that the reason being the possibility of ‘rotten’ fruit (and vegies) making their way into the production line. I question the healthiness of the soya health drinks: India is a country with significant pesticide/herbicide use; growing soya beans normally requires a high use of herbicides. Lettuce has historically been next to impossible to keep (hygienically) clean, and continues to make its way onto the counter - papaya is another example. There have been repeated problems with Himalayan bottled drinking water - according to testing guidelines from the consultant microbiology company. There have been other ongoing hygiene problems: with coffee machines and plastic food containers for example.
There are a number of ‘finance’ issues. For example, there was (previously) an ongoing delay in obtaining the DDT test results for the ostensibly ‘organic’ brown rice the centre purchases: the reason as I understand it was that Finance had not paid the bill. I also recall - though with not absolute surety - a letter from the consulting microbiology company that appeared to me to outline a reduced level of services provided, due to financial reasons. The hygiene laboratory also has aging, outdated, and at times improperly functioning, equipment and facilities.
Rats and mice are a historic, endemic problem at the centre. On just one occasion I went for a brisk, early morning walk at the centre. The Meera Garden dishwashing station had the appearance of being unattended by Sodexo (contract labour) from the night before. Its main door(s) was left wide open; the floor of the dishwashing station was in a filthy state; there was rubbish piled up behind the station; and there was a cat inside the dishwashing station. At Zorba Restaurant the window to the ‘serving’ kitchen was open; the door to the service counter was slightly open. Used dishes and food scraps were left at the Dishwashing Station drop-off point. At the time, the Zorba Restaurant area also gave the appearance of being unattended.
In my opinion Sodexo cannot be educated about hygiene, and will not comply with clearly stipulated hygiene guidelines. For example the Sodexo chief engineer didn’t even know where the specific kitchen water taps were that he was supposed to have been decontaminating - a request made regularly by the consultant microbiologist. I have also regularly watched Sodexo staff employ the use of surgical gloves enthusiastically in outdoor manual labour, and incorrectly to sterilized kitchen equipment.
The central dishwasher has not functioned properly for at least a year, and produces visible and microbial contamination. At one stage processed items continually tested positive to E. coli (microbe) for weeks, with in my opinion, nothing fundamentally done to fix the dishwasher. Even the critical temperature gauges have been broken for at least fourteen months. Further concern (especially in monsoon) is that the machine uses municipal water; and dishes and scraps in Meera Garden are regularly raided by teams of scavenging birds. Just a little further note here: the deadly H5N1 strain of bird-flu has been found in a neighbouring state, and wetlands outside Pune are host to migratory birds.
I have also watched contract labourers spend weeks ‘dry-cutting’ stone tiles, sending plumes of dust all over the Pyramids area. In Australia the use of a ‘wet-saw’ to cut stone tiles is mandatory by law. The centre appears to have a ‘dry-saw’ policy. Incidentally, at this dusty time, the exterior building walls were being cleaned without cleaning the rooves, and done so just prior to bats arriving and painting the walls with faeces in their annual migration.
At the centre there are also other design and construction issues - some of which pertain to rodents. Meera Garden and Zorba Restaurant dishwashing stations are by design open to the elements. An attempt has been made to seal off the new Plaza Café drop-off station with a roll-a-door. However the roll-a-door does not close properly.
The dishwashing station at Zorba restaurant is excessively small - this small room functions as a dish and scrap drop-off point, a food scrap storage area, an automatic and manual dishwashing station, and as a drying station. However there are two considerably larger service counters, one of which, to my knowledge, is never used unless the other is closed. Washed items from this dishwashing station have been continually contaminated with more serious microbes (E. coli for example) for at least a year.
Relating to construction, on one occasion as I attended the Meera Garden men’s showers, a large marble slab at a cubicle entrance broke away (not completely). It appeared to me that the reason for the marble slab dislodging was that the cement had been ‘mixed down’. ‘Mixing down’ is a term used when there is insufficient cement in the ‘cement-sand’ concrete mixture.
Also, shortly after the Osho Auditorium opened, a large slab of railing broke away from the main entrance. It makes me wonder about ‘mixing down’. For example were there responsible supervisors and adequate supervision of workers in this project’s construction; and hence is the auditorium really a pyramid like Egypt? It makes for something worthy of meditating on when you are in the ostensibly ‘pollution-filtered’ meditation auditorium - good luck on the silent sitting!
Another issue that has some relevance to design is that of unsafe passage through poorly lit areas at night - areas that are encouraged to be used at night. An example of this is a lady who injured her ankle (a broken bone or torn ligament) near the Internet Café. This area is extremely poorly lit, and the terrain very uneven. There are numerous other night hazards, and perhaps there are numerous other casualties?
Relating to casualties, there was a night-time scooter (motorbike) accident involving two Westerners - during the last monsoon. (I do not know in what way, if at all, the people involved were connected to the centre). The rider died at the accident scene, and the pillion passenger was thrown into a neighbouring field. At some stage later a passer-by heard her screams, and the short of her story is that she had been seriously injured, and was emergency air-lifted back to her home country.
Another anecdote is of a Mystic Rose meditative therapy participant who forgot to retract the stand of his motor-scooter. Travelling to (or from) the centre, the un-retracted stand hit the road surface, and the person was thrown from the scooter. The scooter went into another vehicle, and fortunately the rider was thrown in the other direction. However he nonetheless sustained what I consider significant injuries.
The issue here is a question about ‘duty of care’ towards participants of ‘strong’ emotionally charged therapy groups, where the participant has off-campus accommodation.
There are three issues relating to trees. I recount here an anecdote about a very large Neem tree that borders Sanai (used by the centre) and Number 21 (a private residential block). The tree was encroaching on buildings in Sanai. The centre cut down the half of the tree on Sanai’s side - hence alleviating the encroachment problem. The tree subsequently (or perhaps consequently) fell over onto residential buildings on Number 21’s side. The buildings were not completely destroyed, and were re-built. Fortunately, when the tree fell, no people were present in the accommodation buildings - the rooms are normally rented out to people attending the centre, as it is in close proximity.
I recall hearing that the centres response to complaints by the owner of Number 21 was that perhaps leaking hoses or an over-enthusiastic gardener caused the roots of the tree to rot. However in Osho Teerth (Zen Garden) there are towering Neem trees that also enjoy the fruits of irrigation in addition to the monsoon rains. These trees look to be doing very well, and I haven’t noticed any of them falling over.
In my understanding, the likely (and blatantly obvious) scenario is that in cutting one side of the tree down, the tree was precariously over-balanced, and fell over (the other side).
The second concern is that there are many dead trees and limbs at the centre. I was particularly concerned about one tree outside Lao Tzu carport (entrance to Osho’s Samadhi). I spoke to the person whom I thought responsible for such affairs. He told me that he was worried about trees all over the centre, and mentioned in particular a tree outside the bookshop that had been dead for five years!
The third issue is that there are many ‘cabled’ trees - in particular around Buddha Grove. The trees have grown up at a precarious angle and notoriously therefore fall over. The historic response is that a tree leaning one way be cabled to a tree leaning the other way.
Is this a good idea? The cables have little stretch in them, and are fixed to a certain point on the tree. So when one tree grows up one way, and the other tree grows up the other way, the distance between the two trees at the point of contact with the cable should in theory increase. However the cable is not going to give in to this request to increase in length, and so the effect is that the trees will both be pulled up a little straighter. As the trees grow, they tension themselves - and the cable - up. (To some extent the tree may grow into its straightening position). To give a practical analogy, it is like making a gigantic sling-shot - except the sling is a cable, and doesn’t stretch. I have not read any textbooks on the matter; nor have I done any testing or measurements; it is a theory about the situation. However it is a theory that is to me concerning.
The above is a partial summary of the contents of a Health & Safety and Management report that as I understand it, was given to the Osho International Meditation Centre early in 2006. The following issue is partially mentioned in the report, however deserves more attention.
In relation to safety of women, on an unrelated visit to a local chemist I was once offered prescription aphrodisiacs. Also, Western women (and no doubt women in general) are seen by some locals as being objects worthy of sexual assault. Osho Teerth (Zen Garden) is for example the scene of daily privacy invasions. My sense is that part of this is a deeply misguided notion about Osho’s views on relationships.
At the centre, on one occasion a man of local appearance, dressed only in non-maroon coloured underwear, was parading himself at the crowded Zorba swimming pool - I also add that he was displaying what he may well have considered to be a rather large erection. From my observations, the person (women) on duty at the poolside tried unsuccessfully to deal with the situation. I approached this person, took him to the sign saying ‘maroon coloured swimwear only’, and in no uncertain terms explained to this gentleman about the ‘colour’ problem. The centre carries a ‘sex-guru’ legacy, and there are many people (both local and from overseas) that are drawn to this, and display psychotic symptoms and undertake psychotic actions. The safety of women, especially outside the centre at night, warrants serious ongoing attention.
Perhaps some of the issues raised in the report - and here in summary - can be attributed to financial constraint. However the recent construction of a Guesthouse-Kitchen-Auditorium complex, the Zorba Restaurant, the Plaza Café, and a veritable army of Sodexo (and other) contract employees at the centre, make such a proposal utterly absurd.
Admittedly (perhaps) the Buddha Hall ‘tent’ structure needed retiring, and perhaps a new kitchen was overdue? However Buddha Hall has become a highly used open-air meditation space (Buddha Grove); also, the type of design of the pyramid shaped Auditorium complex must have required way above average financial investment for seating capacity. It would be incomprehensible to spend money unnecessarily or in exorbitant ways if the water treatment system wasn’t (in the least) up to scratch! I would for example prefer to sit in Buddha Grove under the stars, than to sit in the Auditorium with a churning stomach. Surely clean food and water takes absolute priority. If it cannot be provided then the centre should not be in operation.
Perhaps it would be not so nice to sit in your nice white robe under the sky in a torrential monsoon downpour? Personally I would enjoy it much more than consuming unclean food and drinking contaminated water; and, I have never attended a White-Robe sleep-over! It is to me negligent to invest in non-essential infrastructure over basic infrastructure and services.
The meditation centre is, in my opinion, a prima facie successful business Notwithstanding what appears to me to be (in the least) very bad investment decisions, it begs the question as to why the centre, in my opinion, struggles to meet the most basic duty of care principles.
Osho was a very powerful being. Some people are attracted to power, and some people are (or become) blind to this power. The centre in Pune has a legacy. There is a story that there are some people who, when in charge, won’t let anyone else behind the counter (be in charge). There are other people when in charge let everyone who wants to jump behind the counter. Osho happened to fall in the latter category.
Hence the centre’s legacy is one of managerial and administrative chaos. This makes for interesting times. If a subversive person or persons undertake to push their way to the top of the centre’s hierarchy, factors may well have been in place to make this unavoidable - or at least extremely difficult to avoid. An example might be that a subversive person owns some of the land or buildings at the centre - please note here that this is a hypothesis and nothing is being implied; I have no knowledge of the ownership situation.
Osho, his vision, and the authentic seekers that follow this path, are part of a fresh direction into life-positive spirituality. However, it is very easy to get a job at the ‘just-like-heaven’, ‘heaven-on-earth’, ‘spiritual oasis’ in Pune. If you don’t know the ropes in a difficult (or perhaps even treacherous) environment, you may well get hurt; you may well end up looking like you have wronged; you may well falsely think that you have wronged; and you may well end up fighting on the wrong side.
The centre has been a challenge for me. In my last visit - when I investigated and wrote the report, of which this is a summary - I felt increasingly a target of ill-will. It got to the stage where I felt that my personal safety was being threatened - perhaps just my imagination? However at a certain stage an inner-voice in me said that I must leave the centre, leave Pune, and leave India, immediately. Within a few hours of this intuition, I had thrown a few of my belongings into my backpack; with washing left on the line and a room full of belongings, I was in a hastily rented vehicle heading towards Mumbai airport. I caught the next available flight out of India.
The situation of feeling victimised (and perhaps even feeling threatened) was similar to the year before. I had been working (or should I say fighting) in the Kitchen Department helping out with hygiene. One day, as I was walking around Buddha Grove, my co-ordinator approached me. The meeting was curt. I was asked to stop the Residential Work Program, and to also stop the (non-residential) Work-as-Meditation program. I was given no reason for this. I had very little money at the time, and so could not afford to stay in Pune: now faced with additionally paying outside rent and the non-worker entrance fee. (I had previously made my co-ordinator aware of my financial situation. Naturally I soon left Pune).
After this meeting, when I at short notice had insufficient time to find adequate accommodation outside the centre, I asked the Residential Program co-ordinator if I could stay a little longer. The co-ordinator said I could only stay an extra day or so. When I later spoke to my accommodation care-taker, I gave mention of the slightly amended move-out date. The care-taker was surprised that I was given such a short extension, as there was no-one allotted to move into the room for some time.
Prior to the furore, I spent three years ‘working’ in Osho’s Samadhi, Lao Tzu house, and Lao Tzu garden. I have a sense that many people postulated that I was intimate with one (or who knows, perhaps more) of Osho’s closest disciples that resided in Lao Tzu during this time. I also have university qualifications to post-graduate level, and one area of specialisation is in international business management.
I recall one particular incident that occurred when I was standing at the back-gate of the centre. A car roared up to the gate and stopped abruptly; music was blazing loudly; and the young man of Indian appearance gave the appearance of being drunk. The car window was down, and he made some strange obscure comments to me. Suddenly he accelerated of, only to stop approximately 100 metres down the road. The car then spun around, and came back at considerable speed. It then swerved towards me. I reacted quickly, and ended up near the wall of the centre – another person witnessed this event. Other than thinking what a ‘crazy driver’ (a euphemism), I thought nothing further of it; nothing further, that is until right now I type these words.
If subtleties and innuendoes are not your thing, then let me make it clear. I left Pune as a matter of utmost urgency because I had a clear sense that there were people conspiring to murder me: out of jealousy and my incessant efforts to expose and stop absolutely deplorable conduct. I now am reflecting on whether or not there has already been an attempt on my life?
I am at the moment in Thailand, and will arrive in Pune this (soon) coming monsoon; however prior to taking my first sip of the centre’s ‘purified’ drinking water, I might just ask a few questions first. The very first question I will ask is Sheela and who?
From hearsay, from my observations, and from my understanding, I am of the opinion that there are a number of strong cases for civil negligence and criminal misconduct at the centre. I am also of the opinion that some of these actions are of an intentional (voluntary as opposed to involuntary) nature.
The Dalai Lama said Osho was an enlightened master. He also said that Osho was attempting to help humanity through a very difficult phase in its evolution. No doubt this is the case.
This paper uses anecdotes, at times vague recollections, and draws conclusions based only on the understanding of the author. The author claims no experience nor professional qualifications or standing in any area relevant to this paper. The paper is to be considered as a lay-persons opinion. There may be anecdotes that I have mis-spoke; there may be factual errors in the report; there may be incorrectly drawn conclusions or inferences. However many, if not all, of the issues are, if actually the case, serious in nature. I am of the opinion that the matter warrants investigation.
A summary leaves itself open to interpretation and mis-interpretation. The author therefore accepts no responsibility for any views formed, or actions undertaken, as a result of interpretations and misinterpretations. The author accepts no responsibility for the contents of this article, whether expressed directly or implied.
Prem Abhay
The dishwashing station at Zorba restaurant is excessively small - this small room functions as a dish and scrap drop-off point, a food scrap storage area, an automatic and manual dishwashing station, and as a drying station. However there are two considerably larger service counters, one of which, to my knowledge, is never used unless the other is closed. Washed items from this dishwashing station have been continually contaminated with more serious microbes (E. coli for example) for at least a year.
Relating to construction, on one occasion as I attended the Meera Garden men’s showers, a large marble slab at a cubicle entrance broke away (not completely). It appeared to me that the reason for the marble slab dislodging was that the cement had been ‘mixed down’. ‘Mixing down’ is a term used when there is insufficient cement in the ‘cement-sand’ concrete mixture.
Also, shortly after the Osho Auditorium opened, a large slab of railing broke away from the main entrance. It makes me wonder about ‘mixing down’. For example were there responsible supervisors and adequate supervision of workers in this project’s construction; and hence is the auditorium really a pyramid like Egypt? It makes for something worthy of meditating on when you are in the ostensibly ‘pollution-filtered’ meditation auditorium - good luck on the silent sitting!
Another issue that has some relevance to design is that of unsafe passage through poorly lit areas at night - areas that are encouraged to be used at night. An example of this is a lady who injured her ankle (a broken bone or torn ligament) near the Internet Café. This area is extremely poorly lit, and the terrain very uneven. There are numerous other night hazards, and perhaps there are numerous other casualties?
Relating to casualties, there was a night-time scooter (motorbike) accident involving two Westerners - during the last monsoon. (I do not know in what way, if at all, the people involved were connected to the centre). The rider died at the accident scene, and the pillion passenger was thrown into a neighbouring field. At some stage later a passer-by heard her screams, and the short of her story is that she had been seriously injured, and was emergency air-lifted back to her home country.
Another anecdote is of a Mystic Rose meditative therapy participant who forgot to retract the stand of his motor-scooter. Travelling to (or from) the centre, the un-retracted stand hit the road surface, and the person was thrown from the scooter. The scooter went into another vehicle, and fortunately the rider was thrown in the other direction. However he nonetheless sustained what I consider significant injuries.
The issue here is a question about ‘duty of care’ towards participants of ‘strong’ emotionally charged therapy groups, where the participant has off-campus accommodation.
There are three issues relating to trees. I recount here an anecdote about a very large Neem tree that borders Sanai (used by the centre) and Number 21 (a private residential block). The tree was encroaching on buildings in Sanai. The centre cut down the half of the tree on Sanai’s side - hence alleviating the encroachment problem. The tree subsequently (or perhaps consequently) fell over onto residential buildings on Number 21’s side. The buildings were not completely destroyed, and were re-built. Fortunately, when the tree fell, no people were present in the accommodation buildings - the rooms are normally rented out to people attending the centre, as it is in close proximity.
I recall hearing that the centres response to complaints by the owner of Number 21 was that perhaps leaking hoses or an over-enthusiastic gardener caused the roots of the tree to rot. However in Osho Teerth (Zen Garden) there are towering Neem trees that also enjoy the fruits of irrigation in addition to the monsoon rains. These trees look to be doing very well, and I haven’t noticed any of them falling over.
In my understanding, the likely (and blatantly obvious) scenario is that in cutting one side of the tree down, the tree was precariously over-balanced, and fell over (the other side).
The second concern is that there are many dead trees and limbs at the centre. I was particularly concerned about one tree outside Lao Tzu carport (entrance to Osho’s Samadhi). I spoke to the person whom I thought responsible for such affairs. He told me that he was worried about trees all over the centre, and mentioned in particular a tree outside the bookshop that had been dead for five years!
The third issue is that there are many ‘cabled’ trees - in particular around Buddha Grove. The trees have grown up at a precarious angle and notoriously therefore fall over. The historic response is that a tree leaning one way be cabled to a tree leaning the other way.
Is this a good idea? The cables have little stretch in them, and are fixed to a certain point on the tree. So when one tree grows up one way, and the other tree grows up the other way, the distance between the two trees at the point of contact with the cable should in theory increase. However the cable is not going to give in to this request to increase in length, and so the effect is that the trees will both be pulled up a little straighter. As the trees grow, they tension themselves - and the cable - up. (To some extent the tree may grow into its straightening position). To give a practical analogy, it is like making a gigantic sling-shot - except the sling is a cable, and doesn’t stretch. I have not read any textbooks on the matter; nor have I done any testing or measurements; it is a theory about the situation. However it is a theory that is to me concerning.
The above is a partial summary of the contents of a Health & Safety and Management report that as I understand it, was given to the Osho International Meditation Centre early in 2006. The following issue is partially mentioned in the report, however deserves more attention.
In relation to safety of women, on an unrelated visit to a local chemist I was once offered prescription aphrodisiacs. Also, Western women (and no doubt women in general) are seen by some locals as being objects worthy of sexual assault. Osho Teerth (Zen Garden) is for example the scene of daily privacy invasions. My sense is that part of this is a deeply misguided notion about Osho’s views on relationships.
At the centre, on one occasion a man of local appearance, dressed only in non-maroon coloured underwear, was parading himself at the crowded Zorba swimming pool - I also add that he was displaying what he may well have considered to be a rather large erection. From my observations, the person (women) on duty at the poolside tried unsuccessfully to deal with the situation. I approached this person, took him to the sign saying ‘maroon coloured swimwear only’, and in no uncertain terms explained to this gentleman about the ‘colour’ problem. The centre carries a ‘sex-guru’ legacy, and there are many people (both local and from overseas) that are drawn to this, and display psychotic symptoms and undertake psychotic actions. The safety of women, especially outside the centre at night, warrants serious ongoing attention.
Perhaps some of the issues raised in the report - and here in summary - can be attributed to financial constraint. However the recent construction of a Guesthouse-Kitchen-Auditorium complex, the Zorba Restaurant, the Plaza Café, and a veritable army of Sodexo (and other) contract employees at the centre, make such a proposal utterly absurd.
Admittedly (perhaps) the Buddha Hall ‘tent’ structure needed retiring, and perhaps a new kitchen was overdue? However Buddha Hall has become a highly used open-air meditation space (Buddha Grove); also, the type of design of the pyramid shaped Auditorium complex must have required way above average financial investment for seating capacity. It would be incomprehensible to spend money unnecessarily or in exorbitant ways if the water treatment system wasn’t (in the least) up to scratch! I would for example prefer to sit in Buddha Grove under the stars, than to sit in the Auditorium with a churning stomach. Surely clean food and water takes absolute priority. If it cannot be provided then the centre should not be in operation.
Perhaps it would be not so nice to sit in your nice white robe under the sky in a torrential monsoon downpour? Personally I would enjoy it much more than consuming unclean food and drinking contaminated water; and, I have never attended a White-Robe sleep-over! It is to me negligent to invest in non-essential infrastructure over basic infrastructure and services.
The meditation centre is, in my opinion, a prima facie successful business Notwithstanding what appears to me to be (in the least) very bad investment decisions, it begs the question as to why the centre, in my opinion, struggles to meet the most basic duty of care principles.
Osho was a very powerful being. Some people are attracted to power, and some people are (or become) blind to this power. The centre in Pune has a legacy. There is a story that there are some people who, when in charge, won’t let anyone else behind the counter (be in charge). There are other people when in charge let everyone who wants to jump behind the counter. Osho happened to fall in the latter category.
Hence the centre’s legacy is one of managerial and administrative chaos. This makes for interesting times. If a subversive person or persons undertake to push their way to the top of the centre’s hierarchy, factors may well have been in place to make this unavoidable - or at least extremely difficult to avoid. An example might be that a subversive person owns some of the land or buildings at the centre - please note here that this is a hypothesis and nothing is being implied; I have no knowledge of the ownership situation.
Osho, his vision, and the authentic seekers that follow this path, are part of a fresh direction into life-positive spirituality. However, it is very easy to get a job at the ‘just-like-heaven’, ‘heaven-on-earth’, ‘spiritual oasis’ in Pune. If you don’t know the ropes in a difficult (or perhaps even treacherous) environment, you may well get hurt; you may well end up looking like you have wronged; you may well falsely think that you have wronged; and you may well end up fighting on the wrong side.
The centre has been a challenge for me. In my last visit - when I investigated and wrote the report, of which this is a summary - I felt increasingly a target of ill-will. It got to the stage where I felt that my personal safety was being threatened - perhaps just my imagination? However at a certain stage an inner-voice in me said that I must leave the centre, leave Pune, and leave India, immediately. Within a few hours of this intuition, I had thrown a few of my belongings into my backpack; with washing left on the line and a room full of belongings, I was in a hastily rented vehicle heading towards Mumbai airport. I caught the next available flight out of India.
The situation of feeling victimised (and perhaps even feeling threatened) was similar to the year before. I had been working (or should I say fighting) in the Kitchen Department helping out with hygiene. One day, as I was walking around Buddha Grove, my co-ordinator approached me. The meeting was curt. I was asked to stop the Residential Work Program, and to also stop the (non-residential) Work-as-Meditation program. I was given no reason for this. I had very little money at the time, and so could not afford to stay in Pune: now faced with additionally paying outside rent and the non-worker entrance fee. (I had previously made my co-ordinator aware of my financial situation. Naturally I soon left Pune).
After this meeting, when I at short notice had insufficient time to find adequate accommodation outside the centre, I asked the Residential Program co-ordinator if I could stay a little longer. The co-ordinator said I could only stay an extra day or so. When I later spoke to my accommodation care-taker, I gave mention of the slightly amended move-out date. The care-taker was surprised that I was given such a short extension, as there was no-one allotted to move into the room for some time.
Prior to the furore, I spent three years ‘working’ in Osho’s Samadhi, Lao Tzu house, and Lao Tzu garden. I have a sense that many people postulated that I was intimate with one (or who knows, perhaps more) of Osho’s closest disciples that resided in Lao Tzu during this time. I also have university qualifications to post-graduate level, and one area of specialisation is in international business management.
I recall one particular incident that occurred when I was standing at the back-gate of the centre. A car roared up to the gate and stopped abruptly; music was blazing loudly; and the young man of Indian appearance gave the appearance of being drunk. The car window was down, and he made some strange obscure comments to me. Suddenly he accelerated of, only to stop approximately 100 metres down the road. The car then spun around, and came back at considerable speed. It then swerved towards me. I reacted quickly, and ended up near the wall of the centre – another person witnessed this event. Other than thinking what a ‘crazy driver’ (a euphemism), I thought nothing further of it; nothing further, that is until right now I type these words.
If subtleties and innuendoes are not your thing, then let me make it clear. I left Pune as a matter of utmost urgency because I had a clear sense that there were people conspiring to murder me: out of jealousy and my incessant efforts to expose and stop absolutely deplorable conduct. I now am reflecting on whether or not there has already been an attempt on my life?
I am at the moment in Thailand, and will arrive in Pune this (soon) coming monsoon; however prior to taking my first sip of the centre’s ‘purified’ drinking water, I might just ask a few questions first. The very first question I will ask is Sheela and who?
From hearsay, from my observations, and from my understanding, I am of the opinion that there are a number of strong cases for civil negligence and criminal misconduct at the centre. I am also of the opinion that some of these actions are of an intentional (voluntary as opposed to involuntary) nature.
The Dalai Lama said Osho was an enlightened master. He also said that Osho was attempting to help humanity through a very difficult phase in its evolution. No doubt this is the case.
This paper uses anecdotes, at times vague recollections, and draws conclusions based only on the understanding of the author. The author claims no experience nor professional qualifications or standing in any area relevant to this paper. The paper is to be considered as a lay-persons opinion. There may be anecdotes that I have mis-spoke; there may be factual errors in the report; there may be incorrectly drawn conclusions or inferences. However many, if not all, of the issues are, if actually the case, serious in nature. I am of the opinion that the matter warrants investigation.
A summary leaves itself open to interpretation and mis-interpretation. The author therefore accepts no responsibility for any views formed, or actions undertaken, as a result of interpretations and misinterpretations. The author accepts no responsibility for the contents of this article, whether expressed directly or implied.
Prem Abhay
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