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Is Osho Auditorium next Bhopal?

This article discusses the possibility of the feet pounding WHO stage of Dynamic meditation and evidence of poor construction standards at the Pune resort combining to produce a disastrous scenario. It also mentions problems with cabled trees.

Significant stressors to a bridge can come not just from the obvious vehicular traffic and from powerful winds, but also from pedestrians (walking or jogging). A tightly packed bunch of marathon fun-runners pounding their way across a bridge can be a significant stress if the joggers become synchronised in their step, and if the step frequency fits with the natural frequency of the structure.

High profile examples of pedestrian induced bridge vibrations include the 8-lane Auckland Harbour Bridge in New Zealand, the London Millennium Bridge and the Passerelle Solferino in Paris.

Relevant news – you may well be wondering – applies to the (Osho) International Meditation Resort in Pune, India – a resort that claims to have over 100, 000 visitors annually. In particular I refer here to its new almighty, award winning, towering, monolithic, pyramid-like meditation auditorium.

The news is that this building has had cement failure, and a neighbouring building (constructed as part of the same project) has had failings due to mixing down of cement (not using enough cement in the concrete mixture).

The interesting question is what happens to the brickwork, structural steel, cement, welds, and bolts, when the devoted Osho sannyassins pound the floor of the Auditorium during their controversially active morning Dynamic meditation?

The following example shows how construction work at the resort is not necessarily of high standard. A brick-layer came to the resort to do some work-as-meditation. He was put to work supervising labourers doing construction projects. The summary of the scenario – as told by him to me – was that the workers thought that he would obviously not know anything about construction work, and so they could pull the wool over his eyes (so to speak). He was of the opinion that they were trying to steal cement. What they did was overstate the amount of cement needed and used for any particular job. Now a supervisor who has no idea of construction would not have a clue how much cement is needed for a job. However this person happened to be a brick-layer by trade.

I don't recall the exact details: whether they were stock-piling cement on the side or whether at the end of the job it appeared that all the cement was used, yet could not possibly have been: someone who knows about such things would be able to look at the colour of the concrete to see how much cement is used in the concrete mixture. The likely scenario put forward to me was that over-quoting and supposedly using this excessive amount meant that the labourers were free to steal a certain amount of valuable cement.

Now if someone wanted to investigate the quality of cement work on a project they could easily look at the amount of cement used, and draw conclusions accordingly. However in this case the conclusions would be wrong.

So what about the mixing down of cement that I identified on the project that included the grand meditation pyramid? One possibility is that the correct amount of cement was quoted, with lesser cement used, and some of the valuable product strangely disappearing.

While I am on the subject, one last little twig. Trees and branches have historically been neglected, and a high-tension cabling system winds trees up into a dangerous state of tension.

It has been some time since my last un-meditative visit to the resort – where I was assaulted for revealing the truth about negligence at the resort – and I assume that deep meditation in the still-standing auditorium has channelled wisdom and compassion into the supposedly spiritual management group.

Also, although I am not a civil engineer, I am a qualified engineer with practical civil experience.

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Global Web of Deception

A seemingly cohesive argument in support of mass marketing of abridged Osho texts is as follows. Cast the web wide with a marketing plan that has popular appeal. So much of the starving humanity will have a taste of Osho’s precious depth, and will either at least be helped a little, or hopefully come looking for more. It is an argument which seems to make perfect sense.

Cast the net wide with a soft touch and gently bring humanity into the fold of consciousness, hence saving the planet and the universe. Of course by logical deduction we have it that those who have tasted the divine shall in time be drawn to the source. Unfortunately a few fish will taste Osho and go to another well. Jayesh and the gang will no doubt be full of best wishes towards them that got away.

There are two problems with this approach: one technical, the other practical. The technical problem is that every word that a Master utters is not without good reason. Also, the use of a particular word or phrase may be critical to the Master’s message. However to anyone other than the Master there is no way of knowing. It may be that a word or phrase can be removed or added, and the essential message remain the same. Unfortunately there is no way of ever knowing whether this is the case or not.

The second problem with this approach is, as mentioned, a practical one. The source of the Orange people was Sheela, her gang, and The Ranch. Osho was either hidden from the world, or chose to remain silently waiting for the tide to turn. My position, as supported by the arguments and facts I have repeatedly tried to share, pertains to the Maroon movement centred on Osho International Foundation (OIF), the Inner-Circle, and the Osho International Meditation Resort, Pune, INDIA. The view is that this Maroon movement is a cult no different, and perhaps worse, than Sheela and the Orange gang. Hence the argument goes that if you go to the source you are drawn to unconsciousness and criminality not consciousness and freedom.

If you go to the source of Osho what do you think I may find? What do you find at the Osho International Meditation Resort, Pune, INDIA, for example? My logical mind leads me to conclude that I will find all of Osho’s original discourses and transcriptions - in Hindi and otherwise. Surely the sacred book store shall be filled with all the unedited truth, after all I am no longer just interested in a taste. I am looking for the real thing. Also, since reading all his cheap, pleasure filling fictions, I still do not even know what the great Master looks like. At least when I go to the Osho International Meditation Resort, Pune, INDIA, I will be able to see what he looked like. I am myself a professional painter and would therefore like, with special permission, to view all his paintings, signature and otherwise.

What you will really find when you go to the well is water contamination (literally) and criminality (literally). Do you see the absolute stupidity, lack of common sense, and insanity? People go on and on about superficial arguments, have been shown what lies in the depths of the basement, yet still carry on with meaningless crap.

Yes go to the source like me, get banned, received threatening emails, get verbally threatened, physically threatened with a broom, sticks, metal rods, get pushed and punched, get threatened with a knife, be on the receiving end of mysterious threats outside the resort, and get told to leave Pune (as I was told not to come).

I know what lies at the source for I have been there. One year in silence I spent working in Osho’s Samadhi. Two years I spent in silence in his sacred Lao Tzu garden. I perhaps was the last one to have a chance to come close to the source, before the lid finally be closed by Jayesh and his gang.

If you are so stupid as to not see the brazenly obvious then I agree that you are asking for cold water to be splashed upon your face. However what about all the innocent people that do come to Osho International Meditation Resort, Pune, INDIA, after reading a cheap fiction? What about all the Osho sannyasins that have had the integrity to leave, quietly or otherwise?

What about so many other Osho sannyasins that know how ugly things have got, yet they feel there is nowhere else on this planet to go? This is perhaps the most ugly thing of all. There are so many of these people. They no how ugly the resort has become, yet lonely they still come. Isn’t this so sad.

There are so many centres all over the world, yet still so many feel lost. In part this is because most, if not all, of the centres are a close circle of friends. It is therefore difficult to integrate into this cosy situation. (Nothing wrong with this mind you, but the point is there is little else). The irony is that those in need are by definition not in the most open and positive social space. Hence they do not fulfil the requirement of being happy and friendly and therefore able to integrate into the closely knit community. Therefore many of the lost souls of this world who do not fit with any of the mainstream religions either travel the path alone, or come to Pune despite knowing the tragedy of the place.

What do the real seekers need? They need safe and affordable accommodation - nowhere to be seen in Koregaon Park as the locals rip everyone off. They also need cheap and healthy food - nowhere to be seen in Koregaon Park, especially at the resort. They also need an affordable space to meditate - the only one I could find was down at the burning ghats, but it has its limitations. They also need safe means of getting there and a safe environment upon arrival - no chance of that…have you taken a taxi from Mumbai to Pune…or have you walked the back streets of Koregaon Park alone (day or night)?

If an authentic space for seekers were to be, I could go there, have a chai, see a picture of Osho, perhaps talk to a stranger or an old friend, listen to a discourse, or maybe do some dynamic meditation. The crazy thing is these type of basic ingredients do not cost that much. We have lost the way. Not a space exists on this planet for souls like me that love crazy people like Osho. You may say I am wrong, and invite me to your place with welcome arms. You may say come and sit down and have a chat and meet my friends. I may say that I am looking for Osho’s hidden truth and am not in the mood. Do you see how something essential is missing? An authentic friend may start out as a friendly stranger. The resort is an absurd indictment on all the powers that be. Cannot we do a little better?

CIA Interrogations

It has been widely reported in global news media that the US Attorney General has hired a prosecutor to investigate alleged interrogation abuses by the CIA. I can accept that if a prisoner died, then there needs to be an investigation. I can also accept that the use of interrogation techniques such as water-boarding do lie in the grey area between right and wrong. Hence this grey area needs to be clarified. Unfortunately under the former Bush administration this was done in a way that appears suspect, and probably is suspect.

The system under which CIA techniques were formulated and enacted probably was suspect: with a person like Dick Cheney wielding influence behind the scene; with unclear communication channels between the Department of Justice and the Bush administration; and with a clear lack of communication between Congress and the White House. This lack of clarity in direction means that the CIA operatives that actually have to interrogate detainees have no clear framework to work under. They have been asked to operate in a foggy grey area, and that was what they did. By definition they are therefore in general not responsible. There may be, as previously mentioned, specific instances that are outside this foggy grey area. However this does not require a special prosecutor.

It has previously been reported that techniques used included loud heavy metal music, and slamming a persons back against a wall in a manner that sounds worse than it actually is. It is now reported that all sorts of fear tactics have been used: threatening to kill a persons children; threatening to sexually assault a person’s mother; and displaying a gun and a power drill in a session.

In most of the news reports it is implied that these threats a clearly reprehensible. However what is not made so clear is that these are only threats and there is absolutely no intention of carrying out such threats. I know that even reading or writing about these techniques can be itself a harsh experience. However the sort of individual that carries out a terrorist act has a mentality that would not only devise such techniques, but actually carry them out. Certainly if a suspected terrorist is a terrorist, then they would have a sufficiently thick skin that threats like above mentioned would not have the same effect that they would have on a normal person. Of course a detainee may be innocent. Hence the harshness of the interrogation technique needs to balances the seriousness of the possible crime against the possibility of innocence – and the imminence of a potential threat. The use of threats is to me not even in the grey area.

It was also reported that a mock execution was used, but was unsuccessful because it looked like it was staged. I suggest that the interrogators take up some acting lessons.

The opposition to harsh interrogation is strong because torture is so horrendous. Harsh interrogation therefore needs to be devised in such a way that it works subtly on a person’s body and emotions. This is what a lot of the techniques (that have been portrayed as obviously being in the grey area or even clearly torture) have been designed to do.

No-one likes the idea of harsh interrogation, but what is often left out is that innocent victims are also tortured at the hands of terrorists.

Islam and the West

This is in response to an article by the Iranian political scientist Nazanin Amirian published in the online at “Publico.es” on the 4th July 2009.

The author presents a viewpoint that is very similar to arguments presented by the Iranian foreign minister a couple of years ago in the Opinion section of (I think) the International Herald Tribune.

I do not recall the content of the foreign ministers letter. However what I do recall was that it was full of lies and omissions. It is for this reason that I feel obliged to the case recently put forward by Amirian.

The concept put forward is that the West (primarily the United States) is attempting to dominate the world (include Muslim countries) through military force.

I here only respond to the lies that are found in Amirian’s position.

Amirian argues that the concept of the Muslim or Islamic world is a Western concept that “we” do not recognize. Who is the “we” that Amirian is referring too. It is argued that unlike the geographically correct notion of the West, the concept of Islam is an erroneous concept used to further devious military domination. If the concept of ‘the West’ refers to the United States (and presumably also the United Kingdom), then what about South America and Africa?

Also, even though the Pakistani way of life may well more resemble the Hindu’s of India than the Muslims of Morocco, this in no way falsifies the fact that Pakistan and Morocco are both countries where Islam is the state religion. The concept of generalisation, or indeed its opposite, is used to foster understanding. A generalisation may become an over-simplification. However its use by rational human beings is to create understanding out of simplification.

Amirian argues that the so called war on terror does not refer to Islamic terror in Indonesia. In terms of casualties to ‘Westeners’ by ‘Islamic’ extremists, the two Indonesian Bali bombings rank very highly. I find it difficult to therefore accept Amirian’s argument here.

She talks about the millions of people forced to flee the fighting in the Swat valley. It is argued that this fighting is supposedly between the Pakistan army and the Pakistan Taliban; she states however that this is in fact a disguise: actually they are fleeing bombing by the Americans. Amirian needs a lesson in geography. Relatively speaking, the Swat valley is in the north, and the drone bombing attacks by the United States are on or near the Afghan border to the west.

Why is an Iranian political scientist, just like the Iranian foreign minister, using language that is full of errors, inconsistencies, and omissions? With Amirian I am of the view that she actually believes what she is talking about. With the foreign minister I am not no sure. In any case, the view presented is based on a deep running and blind assumption (a belief) that ‘the West’ is evil.

The hypocrisy is that Amirian argues that the essential intellectual problem is in the generalisation and therefore oversimplification of the concept of Islam. However the truth is that she has an erroneous view based on the generalisation and oversimplification of the concept of the West.

Just because a person can put words together to make a sentence does not make them sane. Amirian and the Iranian foreign minister both demonstrated seriously irrational mental thought processes. The more irrational a person becomes the more they approach being insane. Remember this that Hitler could string words together very nicely, and he was in fact either completely cuckoo or nefariously nuts.

High Stakes Poker

North Korea is an increasingly erratic pariah nation that is slowly but surely developing omni-potent weapons technologies. Also of serious concern is that technologies and materials may be fanned out across the globe to state or non-state actors that have ill intent. The difficult and tedious diplomatic efforts are testimony to the difficult road ahead. However it is almost surprising to note that North Korea’s path could easily have been considerable curbed or even terminated at any point over the last decades. Why then has this not happened? The answer is because the power to turn the taps off lies with the Chinese.

With supplies of aid, military trade, and other forms of trade, China has supported many dubious sovereign states. However North Korea’s recent advances in nuclear weapons technology give itself a little too much capability for China to feel comfortable with having such an erratic neighbourhood friend. Hence although it is unlikely that you will see any major policy shift from the Chinese, I would suggest that you will see the breaks being applied gradually over the next years. The same however cannot be said for China’s general policy of supporting brutal and reckless regimes.

Russia has followed suit behind China in propping up pariah states, but to a lesser degree. However I am of the opinion that the motivation is different to the Chinese. With the Chinese Communist Party, it is simply a criminal organisation that supports other criminal organisations. For Russia, I suggest that its poor conduct is more as an added counter-weight to its historical adversary – the United States of America. It is with this in mind that the high stakes poker game is being played out.

Barack Obama, the United States president, recently played a bold move. Just prior to his first official visit to Moskow, he threw his hope for a ‘restart’ in relations with President Medvedev, and openly slammed Premier Putin as an old crony with ‘one foot in the old and the other foot in the new’. Ever since Medvedev came to presidency pundits have incessantly posted the former president and current prime-minister Putin as being the real power. How would you think that this makes President Medvedev feel? Guaranteed Barack Obama does not agree with the pundits. Obama has alienated Putin to make Medvedev his chum. Whether or not this works remains to be seen, however he has at least achieved his initial objective.

There are numerous questions that remain as yet unanswered. Is Medvedev an autonomous presidential power, and if so, is he capable of improving relations with America? It is reasonable to assume that Putin has at least one foot in the old ‘cold-war’ mentality because in his eight years of reign relations have dive-bombed.

If relationships can improve between the two historic super-power enemies, then my prediction is that Russia will back away from its support for countries like North Korea and Iran. In this way China gets left out on its own, and with the increasing internal pressure (such as show in recent days in the major civil unrest with its Muslim minority), China will be in for a rough ride. Not only will it have difficulty maintaining its current ruinous strategy, it will also start to have pressure on its financial clout to back up this intent. Remember that Japan became a post World War II economic giant and everything you used to by was Japanese. Look at Japan now: a lost decade in a financial mire, and now collapsed exports and trade. Now everything you buy is made in China, but this is about to change. Following this logic, the next direction to look is either in Africa or in the countries where the industrial revolution started its first paradigmatic revolution. Such countries (America, Britain and Germany to name three) are now drowning in debt and are at the bottom of a cycle.

Now back to the poker game. In order to move relations forward with Russia, Obama backs Medvedev and gives Putin a good right hook – better remember that Putin is a spy guru with a martial arts forte. Anyway, the main point is that if relations with Russia improve, Russia will most likely withdraw or reduce support for regimes like North Korea and Iran. If this happens, its importance cannot be overstated. This may well shift the balance of power and bring about real change on issues that are getting more and more out of hand – as weapons technologies improve and potentially therefore proliferate.

So good luck to Mr Obama for he has already played his hand and Mr Medvedev is his new chum whilst Mr Putin is not at all a happy camper.