Osho movement

The Osho movement is a new religious movement founded and inspired by the Indian guru and philosopher Osho (formerly known as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, 1931–1990) that has survived the guru's death. Centers, groups and individuals inspired by his teachings can be found all over the world, but the movement is most visible in India and Nepal, where it has entered the mainstream of society."While many Indians originally rejected Osho's eccentric ideas on sex, he is today considered a national treasure, with admirers including India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Sikh writer Khushwant Singh." [http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/08/29/ING9G8DKC31.DTL "San Francisco Chronicle" article dated 29 Aug. 2004] ]

Description

The movement's syncretic teachings combine elements of Western philosophy, Hinduism, Zen and several other religious sources, with an admixture of Western psychotherapeutic approaches [Judith M. Fox: "Osho Rajneesh", (2002: 1–8) ISBN 1-56085-156-2] .

In the 1980s it had an intentional community near Antelope, Oregon, United States, called Rajneeshpuram. The movement was very controversial when Osho was alive, both in India and in Western Europe and the United States. Its notoriety was mainly due to the provocative and iconoclastic speeches of its founder, its very open attitude towards sex, [ [http://movies2.nytimes.com/mem/movies/review.html?res=9D01E2D81038F930A25752C1A967948260 "New York Times" article dated 13 Nov. 1981] ] [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C05E2DE1138F935A2575AC0A967948260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1 "New York Times" article dated 16 Sep. 1981] ] and later the conflicts and scandals surrounding the establishment and collapse of the Rajneeshpuram commune, including the 1984 Rajneeshee bioterrorism attack. [http://www.ashejournal.com/index.php?id=151 Article in "Ashé" magazine] ]

The movement's main center today is the Osho International Meditation Resort in Pune, India.

Participants in the Osho movement are called neo-sannyasins, the prefix "neo" being used to distinguish them from traditional Hindu sannyasins, or renunciants, though that prefix is usually omitted in casual parlance. In the past, neo-sannyasins were also known as Rajneeshees and sometimes as "Orange People" because of the orange (later also red, maroon and pink) clothes they used to wear from 1970 until 1985. [Judith M. Fox: "Osho Rajneesh", (2002: 12) ISBN 1-56085-156-2] The press in India tends to refer to them as "Oshoites". [ [http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/19097457.cms "Times of India" article dated 14 Aug. 2002] ]

ee also

*Neo-sannyas
*Rajneeshee

Further reading

* Judith M. Fox, "Osho Rajneesh. Studies in Contemporary Religion Series, No. 4" (Signature Books) 2002 ISBN 1-56085-156-2 ( [http://www.signaturebooks.com/excerpts/osho.htm Excerpts available here] )
*cite journal | last =Latkin | first =Carl A. | authorlink = | coauthors =Sundberg, Norman D.; Littman, Richard A.; Katsikis, Melissa G.; Hagan, Richard A. | title =Feelings after the fall: former Rajneeshpuram Commune members' perceptions of and affiliation with the Rajneeshee movement | journal =Sociology of Religion | volume =55 | issue =1 | pages = 65–74 | publisher = | location = | date = | url =http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0SOR/is_n1_v55/ai_15383493/pg_1 | doi = | id = | accessdate =

References

External links

* [http://www.osho.com/Main.cfm?Area=MedResort&Language=English Osho International Meditation Resort]
* [http://www.sannyas.org sannyas.org incl. Sannyas Wiki]
* [http://www.neosannyas.org Neosannyas.org]
* [http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/oso/public/content/religion/019515682X/acprof-019515682X-chapter-07.html Considering Controversy and Stagnation in the Osho Rajneesh Movement]
* [http://www.ashejournal.com/index.php?id=151 Article "The Rise and Fall of Rajneeshpuram" in "Ashé Journal"]