If I have the opportunity, I will only vote for a people that allow me to wear whatever colors I feel reflect my current inner-beauty. Maroon happens not to be one of those colors. I like red, yellow, green, blue, and also white. Also, if I were a man I would like to wear a robe every second day and tight pants (to show of my bottom) on the other. However if I were a women, when I go to worship my beloved Master in the evening meditation, I would like to wear a dress that has lots of frilly flower patterns all over it
I am absolutely sick of having to wear maroon. Even worse, I am sick of having to wear dark non-faded maroon, preferably made from a disgusting synthetic fabric that does not allow my body to breath (especially during active meditations). Don't try and find any of those nasty crease forming natural cotton robes in the galleria.
The restrictions on the type of robe are a metaphor for all that is happening at the resort and in the inner-circle. It does not matter if it is unpleasant or unhealthy or vulgar, so long as everything looks beautiful.
Why is this so? You see there is a little mathematics involved. It is much much cheaper to make things look beautiful, than for them to be beautiful. What you then do is make sure that no-one from the outside can see behind the veil and find out that the truth is very very ugly. Then guess what happens? Lots of people are drawn to the beauty, especially because it is so cheap. This is where mathematics comes into it. The sale price is relatively high, but not to high. The cost is relatively low. Multiply the difference by the number of clients, and I have made heaps of money.
The trouble with this logic is that you can only deceive people for so long. Stay for a while or come back a few times and you might start to wonder about the quality of your experience. Also, when you as a client engage with something that appears beautiful but is in fact ugly, you can have a nasty experience. Although this may hurt people physically, mentally, and emotionally, this is not of any significance at all. The key is that unfortunately it reduces the brand image.
Brand images are rather important – it is also a form of hypnosis. If there is a beautiful ashram that has thrived by the efforts of its beloved disciples, then a strong positive brand image is built up. This gives me an idea. If I stop investing money into making the place actually functional and beautiful, and invest that money into making the place look artificially beautiful, then I can ride on the historically strong brand image, harm people and rip them off, and make heaps of money$$$. That seems like such a great idea I think I will do it.
All I have to do is push the positive brand image that the place actually is beautiful, and people will be hypnotised into believing so. It will be easy to push a strong brand image, because when Osho left the body, his beloved sannyasins gave their heart and soul into making the place very functional and absolutely beautiful. Also, from my experience, if I can deceive the crowd sufficiently with my very strong advertising skills, I can keep then deceived even when I have hurt and deceived them deeply. Ah, the flock of sheep to my slaughter…such joy, and indeed such big bucket loads of money.
There is an interesting twist to the metaphor of the plastic maroon robe. Following the argument it might seem that it does not matter that my body stinks from excessive sweating, so long as I don’t have any creases on my non-faded robe. However it does matter if I stink. People cannot see the ugly deception with their eyes, but they have other senses as well. They can get hurt by the dysfunctional and the ugly, and they can get put off by the stench.
Perhaps my nose is a little too sensitive. I know, I will go to the Pune resort and breathe in the air from all the poorly cleaned air-conditioners. Then I will get a nice flu (hopefully the pig or bird variety). This will block my nose so then I no longer have to smell the stench.
I just had another idea. I am going to vote for people that let me wear all kinds of colored clothing, and that also pledge to provide an efficiently functioning and good quality environment. I will also find out how I am going to be assured that this is actually happening, so that I don’t have to find out the truth once I have recovered from the flu.
Of course meanwhile if I have completely trashed the place and its people, and the joke is starting to wear a little thin, what to do? The answer is simple and obvious. I simply sell for a song to an unsuspecting buyer.
None of the above is particularly profound – just good business (sense if you have a criminal mind).
Just good business that’s all.
Of course in the last few years there was a lot of money invested in new infrastructure – a brand new meditation auditorium for example. This was an attempt to rebuild the cash cow that had been milked yet not fed. The smashing of Buddha Hall pagoda no doubt is connected with the building of the auditorium. It does provide an excuse to demolish it. This also provides many advantages. It removes meddling religious interference from worshipping Indians (and some devotional Westerners). It also makes the place easier to sell. However I do not think selling the place was in mind at the time. I think the aim was simple enough. The previous business model of ashram had been milked and the starving cow was almost dead on her feet. The idea was then to build a 5-star resort to attract wealthy clients. The brand new O-Hotel down the road fits nicely into the picture as well. Who would sell such a business? Also, resort management and the inner-circle become the elite in a powerful, religious organisation that has many wealthy adherents.
However the place was so trashed that the efforts to create a new business model have left gaping holes in resort infrastructure. Also, the new investments are in a few short years not so new anymore: built on the cheap, improperly commissioned, treated with neglect, and poorly maintained. Any interference from well meaning working Osho sannyasins (who could possibly create trouble) was addressed by a well-dressed team of Sodexo workers. However Sodexo has been shown to be utterly and resolutely incompetent. Furthermore, like management is there to make money, Sodexo workers are there to do a job. This very quickly has put a further and significant drain on the energy field – the resorts greatest historical asset.
So the old business model of ashram dried up, but thanks very much to all of Osho’s devoted sannyasins that in part gave years of their life to try and help recover from the guilt and injustice that arose out of the explosion of The Ranch experiment. The new business model is for the above mentioned reasons not working. With the current state of archaic resort infrastructure, and the rapidly corroding new infrastructure, the new resort model is aging fast. With the number of people coming to the resort dwindling to a trickle in off-season, and rising to a hillock in the main season, and with additional expenses like an army of staff that actually have to be paid (all be it for doing an incompetent job), there is absolutely no way that the place can get a return on its investment.
The only option left is to sell the place to the highest unsuspecting bidder. Of course this will create an uproar if the highest bidder has no connection with Osho and has no intention of keeping it as an Osho centre. The intractable part of this problem is that the Buddha Hall pagoda and the Samadhi are sacred to many Osho devotees. The pagoda is an easy one as the new auditorium provides the excuse to get rid of the old. Of course it would all have to be cloaked in spiritual terminology. You know how it goes, Osho wanted a 5-star resort and the Buddha Hall pagoda is the antithesis of Osho’s vision. I leave you my dream and all that nice mushy stuff. Ah yes it was his dream, and many tried to make it right this time, but others had there own ambitions and turned the dream into a nightmare.
The Samadhi is a tough call. One idea is to change the name, change a few things here and there, and slowly slowly the Samadhi becomes sufficiently changed (not just in name but also in nature), that it can be argued that it is no longer a Samadhi, no matter what you might like to call it. This is the only approach available as the simple approach of demolition of the pagoda created such an uproar.
You might argue that the demolishing of the pagoda was simply making way for the new auditorium, to enable a successful transition. However if the pagoda remained intact for any length of time after the opening of the auditorium, there was no way that the new auditorium could be used as an excuse. If the pagoda was left standing for several years, then that is how it would have to remain for a long time to come.
The pagoda was very important to many people and was therefore a very emotive, but also a very powerful, object. It being there (with all the devotional people) could always pose a problem. India is famous for its great temple protests. So the pagoda was a counter-weight to the powers of the establishment. In general it could pose ongoing problems with devotees, and in the end could provide the ultimate problem if selling the place became the preferred option.
A strategic thinker is always going to have a back up plan if things don’t go as planned. The new business model of resort was a big investment, targeting new and unknown markets. The risks and consequences of failure need always be considered. Hence it is straight-forward to conclude that if the business model fails the place may need to be sold up. It is also straight-forward to work out that there is absolutely no way you could sell a place that had a Buddha Hall, complete with podium and pagoda, and a Samadhi. Hence I would argue that it is entirely possible that strategic management was capable of reaching the same conclusions that I have here. It is not only entirely possible, it is, from a purely business standpoint, the smart decision to make.
So ashram business was good until the starving cow refused to give any more milk. Resort business sounded great, but isn’t so good. The Buddha Hall religious icon is gone. The Samadhi has changed its name and we have some small changes. Let these changes settle for a while. Make a few more changes. Put the place up for sale. However don’t tell anyone that the ashram was so trashed that it was not possible to build a resort on top of these shaky foundations. Don’t tell anyone that the resort has started crumbling on the old foundations. At least, with the pagoda gone and the Samadhi less and less in the picture, we have a bargaining position. It is tough to sell to a non-Oshoite. However it is now possible. This gives a bargaining position to put pressure on any collective of Osho sannyasins to pay a high price. Indeed Pune real-estate has boomed and just look at the brand new resort. However the reality is that market value needs to take into account the fact that the resort, although looking beautiful, is actually not. The trouble is that Osho sannyasins have not been deceived by the image of a beautiful 5-star style resort (as have many visitors). Hence they will not pay the asking price needed for investors to recover from the failing investment. As time passes, the aging of the resort will become more and more evident. Hence time is of the essence. Osho sannyasins revolted against the destruction of the pagoda, and they didn’t much like the subtle changes to the Samadhi. This is putting a dampener on the exit strategy.
I can not see an easy way out of this one. That is a terrible shame.
I am absolutely sick of having to wear maroon. Even worse, I am sick of having to wear dark non-faded maroon, preferably made from a disgusting synthetic fabric that does not allow my body to breath (especially during active meditations). Don't try and find any of those nasty crease forming natural cotton robes in the galleria.
The restrictions on the type of robe are a metaphor for all that is happening at the resort and in the inner-circle. It does not matter if it is unpleasant or unhealthy or vulgar, so long as everything looks beautiful.
Why is this so? You see there is a little mathematics involved. It is much much cheaper to make things look beautiful, than for them to be beautiful. What you then do is make sure that no-one from the outside can see behind the veil and find out that the truth is very very ugly. Then guess what happens? Lots of people are drawn to the beauty, especially because it is so cheap. This is where mathematics comes into it. The sale price is relatively high, but not to high. The cost is relatively low. Multiply the difference by the number of clients, and I have made heaps of money.
The trouble with this logic is that you can only deceive people for so long. Stay for a while or come back a few times and you might start to wonder about the quality of your experience. Also, when you as a client engage with something that appears beautiful but is in fact ugly, you can have a nasty experience. Although this may hurt people physically, mentally, and emotionally, this is not of any significance at all. The key is that unfortunately it reduces the brand image.
Brand images are rather important – it is also a form of hypnosis. If there is a beautiful ashram that has thrived by the efforts of its beloved disciples, then a strong positive brand image is built up. This gives me an idea. If I stop investing money into making the place actually functional and beautiful, and invest that money into making the place look artificially beautiful, then I can ride on the historically strong brand image, harm people and rip them off, and make heaps of money$$$. That seems like such a great idea I think I will do it.
All I have to do is push the positive brand image that the place actually is beautiful, and people will be hypnotised into believing so. It will be easy to push a strong brand image, because when Osho left the body, his beloved sannyasins gave their heart and soul into making the place very functional and absolutely beautiful. Also, from my experience, if I can deceive the crowd sufficiently with my very strong advertising skills, I can keep then deceived even when I have hurt and deceived them deeply. Ah, the flock of sheep to my slaughter…such joy, and indeed such big bucket loads of money.
There is an interesting twist to the metaphor of the plastic maroon robe. Following the argument it might seem that it does not matter that my body stinks from excessive sweating, so long as I don’t have any creases on my non-faded robe. However it does matter if I stink. People cannot see the ugly deception with their eyes, but they have other senses as well. They can get hurt by the dysfunctional and the ugly, and they can get put off by the stench.
Perhaps my nose is a little too sensitive. I know, I will go to the Pune resort and breathe in the air from all the poorly cleaned air-conditioners. Then I will get a nice flu (hopefully the pig or bird variety). This will block my nose so then I no longer have to smell the stench.
I just had another idea. I am going to vote for people that let me wear all kinds of colored clothing, and that also pledge to provide an efficiently functioning and good quality environment. I will also find out how I am going to be assured that this is actually happening, so that I don’t have to find out the truth once I have recovered from the flu.
Of course meanwhile if I have completely trashed the place and its people, and the joke is starting to wear a little thin, what to do? The answer is simple and obvious. I simply sell for a song to an unsuspecting buyer.
None of the above is particularly profound – just good business (sense if you have a criminal mind).
Just good business that’s all.
Of course in the last few years there was a lot of money invested in new infrastructure – a brand new meditation auditorium for example. This was an attempt to rebuild the cash cow that had been milked yet not fed. The smashing of Buddha Hall pagoda no doubt is connected with the building of the auditorium. It does provide an excuse to demolish it. This also provides many advantages. It removes meddling religious interference from worshipping Indians (and some devotional Westerners). It also makes the place easier to sell. However I do not think selling the place was in mind at the time. I think the aim was simple enough. The previous business model of ashram had been milked and the starving cow was almost dead on her feet. The idea was then to build a 5-star resort to attract wealthy clients. The brand new O-Hotel down the road fits nicely into the picture as well. Who would sell such a business? Also, resort management and the inner-circle become the elite in a powerful, religious organisation that has many wealthy adherents.
However the place was so trashed that the efforts to create a new business model have left gaping holes in resort infrastructure. Also, the new investments are in a few short years not so new anymore: built on the cheap, improperly commissioned, treated with neglect, and poorly maintained. Any interference from well meaning working Osho sannyasins (who could possibly create trouble) was addressed by a well-dressed team of Sodexo workers. However Sodexo has been shown to be utterly and resolutely incompetent. Furthermore, like management is there to make money, Sodexo workers are there to do a job. This very quickly has put a further and significant drain on the energy field – the resorts greatest historical asset.
So the old business model of ashram dried up, but thanks very much to all of Osho’s devoted sannyasins that in part gave years of their life to try and help recover from the guilt and injustice that arose out of the explosion of The Ranch experiment. The new business model is for the above mentioned reasons not working. With the current state of archaic resort infrastructure, and the rapidly corroding new infrastructure, the new resort model is aging fast. With the number of people coming to the resort dwindling to a trickle in off-season, and rising to a hillock in the main season, and with additional expenses like an army of staff that actually have to be paid (all be it for doing an incompetent job), there is absolutely no way that the place can get a return on its investment.
The only option left is to sell the place to the highest unsuspecting bidder. Of course this will create an uproar if the highest bidder has no connection with Osho and has no intention of keeping it as an Osho centre. The intractable part of this problem is that the Buddha Hall pagoda and the Samadhi are sacred to many Osho devotees. The pagoda is an easy one as the new auditorium provides the excuse to get rid of the old. Of course it would all have to be cloaked in spiritual terminology. You know how it goes, Osho wanted a 5-star resort and the Buddha Hall pagoda is the antithesis of Osho’s vision. I leave you my dream and all that nice mushy stuff. Ah yes it was his dream, and many tried to make it right this time, but others had there own ambitions and turned the dream into a nightmare.
The Samadhi is a tough call. One idea is to change the name, change a few things here and there, and slowly slowly the Samadhi becomes sufficiently changed (not just in name but also in nature), that it can be argued that it is no longer a Samadhi, no matter what you might like to call it. This is the only approach available as the simple approach of demolition of the pagoda created such an uproar.
You might argue that the demolishing of the pagoda was simply making way for the new auditorium, to enable a successful transition. However if the pagoda remained intact for any length of time after the opening of the auditorium, there was no way that the new auditorium could be used as an excuse. If the pagoda was left standing for several years, then that is how it would have to remain for a long time to come.
The pagoda was very important to many people and was therefore a very emotive, but also a very powerful, object. It being there (with all the devotional people) could always pose a problem. India is famous for its great temple protests. So the pagoda was a counter-weight to the powers of the establishment. In general it could pose ongoing problems with devotees, and in the end could provide the ultimate problem if selling the place became the preferred option.
A strategic thinker is always going to have a back up plan if things don’t go as planned. The new business model of resort was a big investment, targeting new and unknown markets. The risks and consequences of failure need always be considered. Hence it is straight-forward to conclude that if the business model fails the place may need to be sold up. It is also straight-forward to work out that there is absolutely no way you could sell a place that had a Buddha Hall, complete with podium and pagoda, and a Samadhi. Hence I would argue that it is entirely possible that strategic management was capable of reaching the same conclusions that I have here. It is not only entirely possible, it is, from a purely business standpoint, the smart decision to make.
So ashram business was good until the starving cow refused to give any more milk. Resort business sounded great, but isn’t so good. The Buddha Hall religious icon is gone. The Samadhi has changed its name and we have some small changes. Let these changes settle for a while. Make a few more changes. Put the place up for sale. However don’t tell anyone that the ashram was so trashed that it was not possible to build a resort on top of these shaky foundations. Don’t tell anyone that the resort has started crumbling on the old foundations. At least, with the pagoda gone and the Samadhi less and less in the picture, we have a bargaining position. It is tough to sell to a non-Oshoite. However it is now possible. This gives a bargaining position to put pressure on any collective of Osho sannyasins to pay a high price. Indeed Pune real-estate has boomed and just look at the brand new resort. However the reality is that market value needs to take into account the fact that the resort, although looking beautiful, is actually not. The trouble is that Osho sannyasins have not been deceived by the image of a beautiful 5-star style resort (as have many visitors). Hence they will not pay the asking price needed for investors to recover from the failing investment. As time passes, the aging of the resort will become more and more evident. Hence time is of the essence. Osho sannyasins revolted against the destruction of the pagoda, and they didn’t much like the subtle changes to the Samadhi. This is putting a dampener on the exit strategy.
I can not see an easy way out of this one. That is a terrible shame.
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