n academic study of Osho lovers in Nepal



interesting perspectives on developments there 



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One noteworthy development in Nepal's Rajneesh movement has been the

on-going deification of Rajneesh. During my visits to their homes

and work-places, I observed that sannyasins worshipped the images of

Rajneesh along with the sea of traditional religious gods and

goddesses. This, indeed, is not new among traditional Hindus and

Buddhists in Nepal. ...



In the main meditation Hall of the Tapoban, a big portrait of Swami

Arun has been juxtaposed along with Rajneesh and other "enlightened"

masters. I observed that many sannyasins first put their heads to

the feet of Swami Arun before they did to Rajneesh. He, frequently,

writes about the "importance" of a living Guru in the spiritual

growth of the disciples. A sannyasin expressed his views about Swami

Arun's organizational and spiritual role in this way:



"Everybody here including me accepts that Swami Arun has achieved

spiritual powers through meditation. He is an enlightened Guru.

Sometimes I burst into tears by his mere touch [because of

the "energy" passed on to me by Swami Arun]. He is the center of the

commune. You might have seen a pole even in a pond. Nothing is

possible without a center." ...



Swami Arun's response to one of my questions summarized nicely the

theme and the function of this frame:



"Some people have misunderstood freedom as `Uchhringkhalata' [Nepali

word for thoughtless and shameless acts] but I have not allowed it

in Nepal…Freedom doesn't mean to break the established norms of the

society. This type of freedom can sometimes prove to be fatal. We

have freedom here but it's not like the freedom in Poona [among

Westerners]. I am against them. We don't allow that kind of freedom.

We are more disciplined."



First, this cultural work was explicitly directed towards gaining a

distinct identity vis-à-vis the international Rajneesh movement.

Hence, the Rajneesh headquarters was cast as "reckless," and Nepal's

movement as "thoughtful and disciplined."



Second, this frame was directed toward potential recruits from more

tradition-oriented strata of the society. Associated with this frame

were a number of efforts to bring down Rajneesh's radical ideas to

the local moral and cultural standard. As noted earlier, sex

or "free love" was one of the major controversies and attractions in

the international Rajneesh movement. Sex, particularly female

sexuality, is jealously guarded in Nepali society. Thus, the local

leaders interpreted Rajneesh's ideas on sex as his way of

teaching "Westerners" spiritual lessons. Hence, the ideas were not

suitable to – and meant for - the Nepali society. One sannyasin

leader clamed that the idea of "free sex" was just a "trick" played

by Rajneesh to teach and test the people:



"Rajneesh called his female sannyasins Ma (the mother). This was his

strategy to prevent sexual relations among his disciples. But many

male sannyasins maintain sexual relations with female sannyasins

while addressing them as the mother. This is a great

misunderstanding of Guru's teachings on the part of male sannyasins…

it is a pathetic practice…in the name of meditation" (cited in

Adhikary 1998:31).



In line with the suitable-to-soil frame, efforts were made to

identify and associate Rajneesh with traditional Hindu Gods and

saints. Indeed, evidence points out that the movement succeeded to

lower the tension with self-declared moral guardians of the society.

For example, in 1986, when Rajneesh came to Nepal, a number of

newspapers raised the issue of Rajneesh's "anti-Hindu" instances as

well as his sex and wealth scandals, by the end of the 1990s, a

number of "Hindu" leaders were seen hobnobbing with the Rajneesh

followers. In newspapers articles and interviews, movement leaders

frequently contrasted Rajneesh with Buddha, popular Hindu Gods and

locally well-known saints. Also, as shown by the recruitment of

aging parents of a number of sannyasins as well as dramatic surge of

woman members in the second half of the 1990s, I believe that this

frame paid off well. Movement leaders as well as female sannyasins

told me that due to the cultural work, their "image" had improved

over the years, and particularly, the tendency to look down upon

woman followers as "shameless" and "immoral" had decreased

markedly. ...



It is rather puzzling that a large number of politicians are among

the followers or Osho lovers in Nepal. Rajneesh spent his life

poking fun at politicians, communists or capitalists. Osho lovers

include three former prime ministers in Nepal. ...



Swami Arun in a seminar argued that the failure of Rajneeshpuram in

the United States was due to the conspiracies of "imperialist"

America because Rajneesh created a commune in the U.S. "in a model

envisioned by Marx" (Singh 2000). ...



Swami Ananda features in the print and electronics media

prominently. Currently, three TV stations broadcast Swami Arun's

spiritual speeches once a week. Four FM radio stations have already

broadcast his weekly "lectures." Currently, he writes a weekly

column on "spirituality" in a popular Nepali language Samaya weekly

magazine. Similarly, a number of Nepali language newspapers have

published Rajneesh's teachings as serial columns. Readers, viewers

and listeners' responses often have been positive. One reader, in

2004, for example, urged the editor of the country's largest

circulating English daily newspaper to print more "optimistic" news

items and articles. The reader cited Rajneesh as one of the persons

in his mind.



Second, the Osho Tapoban has, in recent years, increased its

activities in secular affairs. Nepal's example shows, further, that

movement entrepreneurs quite consciously employ the media. For

example, it has started hosting creative writer and artists'

exhibitions and workshops. It hosts an annual prize and honor for

the "best" cartoonist affiliated with the local newspapers. The 2005

best cartoonist award went to a cartoonist of Nepal's mass

circulating Kantipur daily newspaper. The daily newspaper, in

return, gave the space to the news prominently. The Tapoban

frequently invites journalists to its programs. In return,

journalists not only describe the "peaceful' and "pollution free"

Tapoban, but also make references to "energies" felt in

the "Buddhafield." The serenity of the Osho Tapoban is usually

contrasted with the crowded and polluted Kathmandu. ...



The Rajneesh movement, undoubtedly, is the only innovative new

religious movement to reach the Nepali households through the media

in this scale. ...



In sharp contrast to many religious movements in developing

societies, this movement does not hint any trace of overt political

insinuations or "resistance," to use the over-used used term in the

sociology of culture. Its focus on individual transformation might

end up reproducing the existing "social structure" rather than

transforming it in any meaningful way. ...



The creative adaptation and local frames in Nepal became possible

partly because of its organizational decoupling from the movement

headquarters, which could have resisted ideological and cultural

innovations. Second, my study underscores the fact that the physical

proximity of a widely accepted central authority is crucial to the

growth of religious movements. This is what Swami Arun offered in

Nepal. This finding supports the recent reemphasize on the role of

the leadership in the development of social movements (Morris

2000). ...



The leadership is facing problem about the images of Rajneesh: How

to offer Rajneesh to the people, his "radical" image or his

localized and diluted versions? In other words, the question is: how

will the movement meet a fine balance of "medium tension" (Stark

1996 1987) or "optimum strictness" (Iannacone 1994 1997)? This is a

difficult choice, which boils down to the question of how to balance

cultural continuity and innovation. If the leadership chooses

localized or diluted versions, it is possible that the movement as a

whole might succumb to the strong pull of the traditional religions.

The signs were already there. Many sannyasins, especially the older

generations, told me that they considered Rajneesh as a worldly

avatar of the popular Hindu trinity – Brahma, Bishnu and Mahesh. ...



One note of caution should be mentioned in the end. It should not be

interpreted that the Rajneesh followers wholly subscribe to the

movement leaders or entrepreneurs. It will be better to view the

followers as falling on a continuum; some accept the leaders'

positions, while others are suspicious. Fluidity and multiplicity

best describes the actual reception of the movement in Nepal.

Indeed, the leaders and followers are quite aware of this as one

leader conceded to me: although the quantity of the followers

increased dramatically, the "quality" did not do proportionately.

Perhaps, this is the price every movement has to pay as the

movements try to maintain the fine balance between "quality" and

quantity.



Chudamani Basnet

UGA , Department of Sociology

Email: cbasnet@...