More of the Ugly Truth

In comments on the article “Osho Park in Pune Causing Local Unrest” in “Sannyasnews” we have the following responses by Prem Abhay.

Nullah or nala essential means an open sewer. So many times I sat on a seat watching the trees and bamboos sway around Buddha Hall. Unfortunately the crackling of the bamboos did not drown out the annoying introductory video coming from the Visitors Centre. What particularly annoyed me was the reference to the pristine stream that flowed passed the resort. Of course with Osho’s guidance a series of drainage ponds provided a novel and efficient cleaning mechanism. However over the years of transformation into a supposed 5-star resort, the return of the natural flow of the sewer began to unmask the murky truth.

No doubt a lack of care of the sewer has contributed to increased contamination of the resorts wells. This would also have contributed to the problem of excessive clogging of the filters at the wells. However it should be noted that the main reason for permanent removal of these filters was excessive build-up of calcium carbonate. (No need to take calcium supplements if you drink the resorts water!)

Was the well filter problem intractable? Perhaps periodic cleaning would have been sufficient. Maybe the filters needed to be of a higher gauge of mesh (bigger holes to let more rubbish through). Another possibility would have been to consider a different type of filter. But no, the resort took the financially efficient option of permanent removal. Hence all the rubbish that clogged up the primary filter was free to travel on through the system. Of course as it does so, it leaves filters further on in the system to try and deal with the problem. It also means the any purification system will be less effective. For example, it is hard for UV light to kill micro-organisms as the light does not so effectively penetrate the ‘murky’ or turbid water. Also, the chlorine will breakdown as it interacts with particulates (muck), rather than attacking the intended micro-organisms. It was also unfortunate that for some reason the old (and still functioning) water treatment system had a central filtration system that was after the central purification system. Hence, water from the well had no filtration whatsoever prior to being supposedly purified.

Of course in the new water treatment system that lies hidden in the dark unknown recesses below the grand new auditorium/hotel/kitchen complex, the charcoal based large central filter (the size of a small room) was found during the commissioning phase to take out the added chlorine. Residual chlorine is needed so that the purified water remains that way as it travels to the (end-user) drinking stations. The grand new kitchen was opened. Much fanfare surrounded the opening of the new meditation auditorium. Yet unbeknownst to all but a few was the fact that water (without pre-filtration at the wells) passed through a brand new 5-star water purification system with a brand new central filter that was never turned on.

I do wonder about this issue of it taking out all the chlorine. Presumably this means that the central filter was positioned after the central purification system. However I am wondering why this filter was not positioned before the central purification system. This would have meant that the water was filtered prior to purification, and that the added chlorine (for purification) was not removed. Anyhow the end result is that the problem was ignored and two stages of filtration were removed. This only left the filter at the (drinking) water stations to do the entire job, which is entirely inappropriate and ineffective. Funny enough of course, the filters at the drinking water stations were expensive, high quality European types, and despite years of efforts by sannyasin engineers to get them replaced, nothing happened. So if you were to have a drink of water from the new 5-star resort, the filters at the wells are removed, the central filter is turned off, and the filters at the drinking water stations were so old that they needed to be replaced years earlier. Of course no doubt in the time that I have been banned from the resort everything has changed, and you now have at least an on par water treatment system. Sure everything has changed, except of course the visible things like the stench coming from the nala in Osho Park.

You see for a long time only the hidden was left to degrade, and of course visitors would not suspect anything was amiss…even when they got sick from drinking the water or eating the food (Indian curries have lots of water in them!). Unfortunately business is getting a little tougher these days, and even the visible façade is starting to reveal the ugly truth.

Concerning the pristine stream that flows through the park, if you believe the Visitors Centre video or the pictures in glossy magazines or on Osho.com, then I invite you to not only drink the water, but also go for a nice spiritual dip in the adjoining sewer.

I have heard that in recent years the resort has solved the problem with drinking water contamination in the monsoon. With numbers down in the monsoon (and especially so in recent years) this has meant that only a few (perhaps just one) water station need be open. Of course it is reasoned that the open stations are the clean ones. However this shows a deep misunderstanding. The resort has two central filtration systems. If there is a volume of water that passes through either of these systems, and if it remains contaminated, than it is entirely random as to where this contamination may travel. The contaminated body of water does not decide to always turn left or right or whatever at different intersections of the pipe line. It might be argued that a really good filter has been installed at a particular drinking water station. However firstly I would be surprised. Secondly this is entirely ineffective by design (it is designed to be the last resort final filtration and purification mechanism). Thirdly, purification systems at the drinking water stations have historical been shown to be ineffective. Finally, the water from the wells goes to the coffee at the Cappuccino bar, to the miso soup in the fancy Zorba restaurant, to your Indian curry, to your shower, to the pool etc.

I have seen the deliveries of (large) bottled water to Dhyanesh’s room. I have heard that Vatayana had a first-class filter installed at the drinking station in Krishna House. I know a lot of the truth that has happened. There should be an investigation of this, and the current state of play with respect to water (and everything else).

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Abhay

http://oshobuddhism.blogspot.com (click on “osho resort” tag)

Kranti I am amused by your comment that the problems “may” be financial. The problems to do with Osho Park, as with many other serious problems, have been unfolding for many years. During those years a hotel/kitchen/auditorium complex complete with surrounds and dishwashing etc, was constructed. A new Zorba restaurant was also built during the same period. A year or two later a brand new Cappuccino Bar sprang up.

So you can tell me that it is reasonable that millions of dollars be spent building a 5-star facade while people can get (very) sick drinking contaminated drinking water because finance won’t by some filters? Do not tell me that the problem may be financial.

How can massive new expenditure be justified when basic maintenance (that for example ensures people drink clean water) is ignored. The problems may now be also becoming financial, but that is not how things started out. Also it is unlikely that the root cause has been removed. Investment in a facade generates a return on investment so long as people don’t suspect that underneath is filth. This works nicely for the 3-week turnaround jet-setting business-person. Why don’t you go for a holiday? The monsoon has not finished yet so you might catch a good bout of typhoid, cholera, e-coli, amoebas, or whatever. Hence I suggest you not forget to get your injections up do date, else I might just be singing sweet songs around your funeral pyre down at the burning ghats.

With the slowing down in visitors, for sure there is now no way there will be the financial resources to get basic infrastructure like the water system upgraded, let alone properly maintained.

Kranti you also talk about value. When I first identified the drinking water contamination problem (some 6 years ago) and the drinking water stations were consequently shut down for a month or more, we (the sannyasin engineers) investigated the problem. We were looking into chlorine fluctuations when all of a sudden at the drinking water station for the new resort complex there was no chlorine at all. Investigations found that the Sodexo technician had turned the machine off for service, and forgot to turn it on. I wonder how often that has happened?

When working in Hygiene I took to delivering a contamination report to the Sodexo engineer-in-charge from the consulting micro-biologist. Normally I just dropped off the report. One time, because there was a serious problem, I discussed the situation with the engineer. The report identified particular water stations that needed cleaning by the engineer. However the engineer was not familiar with the labelling system for taps, and hence did not have a clue which taps he should have been cleaning. This is an ongoing and important job that he was supposed to have been performing.

The above two examples are not isolated incidents. Hence your argument about value is NOT FACTUAL.

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Abhay



If a community is based on volunteering, than whatever value that gets generated out of the selfless service of love (the path of devotion) should be returned into the ongoing prosperity of the community (and its outpourings). From what I have heard, when Osho left the body there was a genuine outpouring of devotion, and this created many flowers and reduced the treasured ego. However if a few like Jayesh have profited from that then this is criminal not capitalist. I would like to know who has profited and by how much over the years.

On a personal level, one instance of me being attacked by Dhyanesh and his security team was when I was handing out a water contamination report outside the front gate of the resort. I was not in any ones way, was going about the task peacefully, and was well received - including by a resort engineer. I was asked to give a copy to the front gate. I did so, and the main guard there told me to wait nearby as someone was coming to talk to me. I waited nearby for the oncoming violent attack on me. However later on I found out that the reason I was attacked was because I was blocking the entrance to the resort. Do you see how the truth gets twisted! People like Dhyanesh, and no doubt others higher up, know the truth, yet they are smart enough to twist this into a lie that others will believe. This lie gets fed on down the social channels and then people like me turn out to be the violent aggressors.

I ask anyone this question. If I am just a fool making crazy statements, and of course have a number of mental illnesses that Osho therapists can fix, what is the harm of me standing around (out of harms way), looking like a fool. Can I not just stand around and hand out a Water Contamination Report that is full of lies? What is there to fear? Is there anything to fear in what I have to say on this site?

The line of argument presented by people like Harri Om has as yet gone unanswered to the general sannyas community. I am sure that Harri, myself, and of course many others, are just completed mentally warped. Why not set us straight. Jayesh, let us hear from your deep insight into Osho’s work how it is that his people can for years sit in a nice air-conditioned auditorium, and then go outside, drink the water, get sick, and possibly drop dead. I eagerly await your wisdom for you I dream to touch on thy feet. Let us not hear the rebuttal of Kranti and Shantam. Let us hear words of wisdom from the Awakened One. Please grace us with your presence. Shower flowers upon my deluded sole.

Of course I also concede that Prem Bubbie has a rather sharp tongue.

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Abhay



Re: Banned Buddhas

A lot of the Osho sannyasins that are banned remain innocently unaware of the ugly lies that are made up about them. These lies are fed to the entire sannyasin community. The banned buddhas cannot respond to the lies because firstly they know not what they are, and secondly because they are crafted with such evil and cunning intent that it is difficult to anticipate.

Re: Osho Global Connections Osho Centres

All the global Osho centres that are listed on Osho.com and that are part of Gobal Connections are partially responsible for what is happening at the Osho resort. This is especially so if attempts have been made to make them aware of criminality and negligence, and if they have intentionally ignored this.

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Abhay





Has anyone every got sick from drinking the water or eating the food at the resort? I used to work assisting the consulting micro-biologist at the resort. I became aware of a clear pattern of serious contamination of food service equipment, of food, and of water. Furthermore no serious attempts were made to address the problem. Why would the resort go to the effort of finding out about contamination (unlike almost all other such places in India) yet do nothing about it? It is the same as asking why build a flash new resort and not replace the water filters.

I used to help the nurse out in the Medical Centre. You wonder whether people actually ever got sick. People used to come in their droves to the medical centre. I am sure that not all the ailments attributed to consuming unclean food and water was from bad airline food or from eating out at the local Koregaon Park restaurant.

There is such a thing in law as proximate cause. It is almost impossible to say that the resorts drinking water caused a person to contract a water-borne disease. However if the resorts water is sufficiently contaminated, and other possible ways of contracting the water-borne disease are shown to be not nearly so likely, then in the legal sense it can be argued that the resorts contaminated drinking water was the proximate cause of contracting the water-borne disease.

People have been commenting about volunteering. It reminds me of the nurse I used to help out in the Medical Centre. She has basically given a life service to Osho, from Pune 1, to The Ranch, and to Pune 2 (the ashram and the resort). When she arrived at the front gate Christmas before last, she was expecting the usual scenario. She was living in Lao Tzu on a residential program and she worked in the medical centre. However she was informed that there was no room for her. She had to find a room outside the resort. Someone else was performing the medical duties. The reason for this happening was of course a mix-up: Vatayana had somehow got it wrong and had informed everyone that she was no longer coming to the resort. This is the kind of thankyou that is given to people that offer their life to voluntary service. Also, if Vatayana got it wrong, why then did not someone have the wisdom to get it right? But no, this devoted Osho sannyasin spent the rest of the season coming to the resort infrequently because she could not afford to regularly pay the entrance fee or the exorbitant food prices. All this to a person who has perhaps given more service to Osho than any other.

I am sure that this nurse’s association with me also had nothing to do with the outrageous treatment of this devoted Osho sannyasin.

Kranti has mentioned that the lack of continuity and commitment of the transient voluntary community has needed to be balanced by a paid workforce. However if you follow the circumstances closely you will see that the matter is not so simple. Firstly many volunteers stopped doing so because they were no longer allowed to work a couple of hours a day. A real volunteer had to work at least six hours a day. This reduced the voluntary workforce. Also, much of the sincere and committed voluntary community left in disgust at the way things were run. Of course others left because they were banned or forced out. Hence with a limited and incohesive voluntary system, this led inevitably to important work being neglected and to problems in communication. The blame for these problems then was transferred to the existing and depleted voluntary team. Of course now a hired workforce was needed, and Sodexo came to the rescue. From all accounts Sodexo has done a tremendously abysmal job. However don’t they look smart in their nice uniforms.

Kranti you have written a sincere comment that is quite lengthy. I therefore assume you also don’t mind reading a little. All your questions are already answered in my blog.

Shantam has been openly critical of me and has claimed to have read my blog. His uninformed criticisms show that either he is lying, he has been hypnotised, or that he is just plain stupid.

You wonder why you have not heard replies from people like Jayesh. This is not because they are above me or a site like sannyasnews. It is because if they do reply you will see their stupidity. I for example have always taken the position that all I want to know is that the water problem is fixed. If I got even the shortest of emails saying so, this will be an acknowledgement that there was a problem in the first place. This is something they cannot do. Also, to whatever extent they respond to criticism, it is in writing and they therefore need to stand behind that. They have nothing to stand behind except lies, negligence and criminality.

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Abhay

http://oshobuddhism.blogspot.com




Anand…just a little health information. I had a girl-friend who had typhoid. I also had a case of diagnosed amoebic dysentery, after making the change from bottled water to resort drinking water. I had an ultra-sound at a Pune hospital that thankfully gave the all clear for anything like previous intestinal damage: cysts and the like. However, despite the benefits of modern medical treatments it is still the case that people who contract serious gastro-intestinal infections may never fully remove the microbe, or heal from the physical damage. Sometimes for example cysts may develop in the bowel, and this may create significant health problems many years from now.

Alok John I suggest you use a little more lateral intelligence than your current narrow minded and deluded brain is currently doing. Your response to my anecdote about the Medical Centre nurse is typical of the establishment, and is typical of their ignorance: just let-go, be cool, and meditate. The example of the Medical Centre nurse, which includes me spending significant time helping her out, leads somewhere. This nurse knows all about the detailed health problems of all the people that come to the resort. She for example knows whether they just came for a week-end special at the new hotel. She also knows things like whether it is likely they contracted an illness from travelling in India.

While I was helping her I for example spent time as a minder of a person who spent a brief few days in intensive care in a Pune hospital. The person collapsed at the local Gurdjieff Resaurant, went into a coma, and then died. His body was burnt down at the burning ghats. I know a lot about the events surrounding this person’s death. That knowledge may be inconsequential, however it may be extremely significant. The nurse new a lot about the health situation at the resort, and I, inadvertently or not, did also. So Alok John, before you reply in the ignorant and predictable manner of a resort spy, I suggest that you reflect on what is being written as it is written with more intelligence than you currently can fathom.

With the long-stay nurse out of the way, the Medical Centre functioned only as a referral service to the local hospital. Hence there is no longer extensive information (evidence) about the illnesses that people contract.

Shantam Prem where are you getting you facts from? You are making up a story at your own pleasure, and even if you account had an element of truth (which it does not), it misses the point. Let it be understood that the resort’s target market is not the average Western hippie. They are targeting quick turnaround wealthy professionals. Anyone in the West, or indeed in India, that gets drawn to the all inclusive short-stay Resort packages that are being widely marketed is not interested in drinking water or eating food that is not of the highest standard. This is the expectation, and the resorts marketing campaign mirrors this. If the resort does not comply than it is being deceptive. Also, if these short-stay wealthy visitors new that the quality of hygiene may systematically be not better than the worst street-stall, I think they may be a little annoyed, especially if they got (very) sick. Also, if such people got very sick, then it is likely that they got sick from the resort, as presumably a lot of these visitors do not go down to the local street vendor and buy a week old curry.

Kranti I understand your approach with respect to water. You want to know what really has and is currently happening (and why). That is all I have asked for around six years. At first I asked nicely, I got a nice no-reply. Gradually I asked louder and louder, and the no-reply was louder and louder. In the end I asked by standing outside the resort with a piece of paper; the response was violence. However I still kept pointing out that all I wanted to know was whether the water treatment system is now at least up to minimum standard. I didn’t even place the expectation that it might even get close to being optimum. To be at a minimum standard is in my view still deplorable, but at least it is neither negligent nor criminal.

Shantam Prem, on what grounds do you say that the water thing is a one man crusade? Just because you have not heard about it from anyone else does not mean that people who sense they have become sick from resort food and water don’t care. And even if it is a one person crusade, is there a problem with that. If one person is trying to stop thousands (perhaps historically hundreds of thousands) of people from drinking contaminated water from a water treatment system that is in a deplorable state, is there anything wrong with that? What is wrong is that someone like you writes emotive language that is personally directed at someone and something that you no absolutely nothing about. Are you also on the take?

Again, like so many times before, I conclude with the following. All I want to know is if the water treatment system(s) at the resort is (are) at least up to minimum standard. What would also be nice, but (perhaps) not as important, is a clear response to so many other health and safety issues that I have raised. I also think that for all the people that have become sick from drinking contaminated water, they have a right to know the historical facts, and also a legal right to compensation.

http://oshobuddhism.blogspot.com click on “osho resort” on right side of blog

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Abhay




I have not finished yet…

Why go to the effort of finding out about food contamination and do nothing about it? I know that Harri Om will have an excellent metaphysical response to this one: the evil and criminal unconscious mind. However this is not sufficient explanation for a world of laws and courts.

When I was involved with Hygiene in the Kitchen Department I found out that lettuce was contaminated regularly and for years. I went through years of old reports and put this information in graph and table form. This information went to the then Kitchen manager. The remarkable thing out of this was that the then manager said that she knew about the problem and that if she had her way lettuce, along with a number of fruits (papaya for example) would simply not be served. So if the kitchen manager could not have her way, who’s way was it?

I was informed by a senior sanyassin engineer (who as I understand designed both water treatment facilities, and was also deeply involved in food/water purification – including the use of Hydrogen Peroxide) that McDonald’s had taken to flying in lettuce from overseas because it was impossible to grow and keep it clean in India.

My efforts to remove lettuce (temporarily) were successful. I was also temporarily successful with the water contamination problem. I noticed and then informed (what is now called) Facility Management about the water contamination problem. Facility Management included the water division. The drinking water stations were closed for more than a month while the problem was supposedly addressed. During that same monsoon the Himalayan drinking water was found to be contaminated. I managed to get Himalayan water withdrawn from the resort, and no more orders were to be accepted until the problem was understood and rectified.

Some weeks after the Himalayan bottled water problem was first identified, to my surprise Himalayan water was back on the shelves. I approached the micro-biologist about this. The decision was done without my knowledge and from my recollection was made by the then kitchen manager Gartha. However the issue of Himalayan water contamination was not resolved, and was subsequently found again to be contaminated. Furthermore this problem continued to occur in subsequent years.

The water treatment system was found to be in a state of severe neglect. This was the conclusion of the person in charge of water (a sannyasin engineer) and myself (I have an honours degree in manufacturing systems engineering, and have specialised in fluid systems). We made a number of recommendations. However part of the process was to inform and discuss the issue with the historic engineering leadership. A partial dialogue with one of these senior engineers took place. Another sannyasin engineer who was previously in charge of water returned to the resort and took over the problem. He in my opinion did nothing of any significance to fix the problem, and hence (according to the microbiologist) the problem was worse the following year. I accept however that this engineer made it clear to me that his efforts to request even the simplest things like some new filters went unheeded. Hence there was little chance of the needed significant upgrade.

Regarding re-opening of the water system, from the head of the micro-biology consulting company, it was clearly stated to me that the water pipes needed to be flushed prior to re-opening: after a serious contamination, a film of micro-organisms can build up at different places throughout the system. If they are not removed through for example injecting hot steam into the system, then they can continue to remain in the system, and periodically release toxins or microbes. He offered this service, and also stated that though this was not his field of expertise, he knew someone that was, and that this person resided in Pune.

The year after I tried to get lettuce removed, it was back on the menu. This brings me back to the main question. Why would lettuce continue to be offered when it was for years not possible to keep it clean (from memory, some months the average pass rate from the microbiologist was around 50%). The answer is that lettuce, along with a wide variety of other raw foods and meals, is seen as the healthy Western ideal. Of course many health conscious Westerns are interested in eating such meals. Also, many Indians aspire to adopt Western eating habits, and hence this food also appeals to them. Hence, having such foods on the menu is very good for business. Of course in India such foods are regularly contaminated and hence will make people ill, but that doesn’t really matter does it? Also, I am quite sure that the microbes that the microbiologist tests for are chosen with clear scientific reason. The acceptable level of microbes is also no doubt stipulated with good reason. E-coli for example is so concerning that even a count of 1 means that the item fails the test.

From my experience and understanding, and from the accounts of other relevant people, E-coli has historically been regularly spread throughout the resort, from the water and food, to the food containers and the pool. E-coli is a microbe that is already found in our intestines. However, it is also something that can also cause death.

You may think that when you visit the resort you can just drink the bottled water. Perhaps the water treatment system has anyhow been ‘fixed’. Perhaps Himalayan water no longer gets contaminated. I do not know the current situation. What is strange to me is that I have the potential to hurt the image of Osho and the resort. Hence I just cannot work out why I have never been informed of where it is that I have gone wrong in my understanding, or whether the problems that I have raised are important (as Amrito agreed in a phone conversation), and have been, or are (time permitting) in the process of being, addressed. Hence I continue to inform people of the historic situation and can only assume that the trajectory has not changed.

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Abhay

http://oshobuddhism.blogspot.com



Alok John, you say you have not been to Pune since 1990. Perhaps you are smarter than you have indicated. However your brief sharing of Osho’s wisdom rings hollow – and that is not the hollowness of the metaphoric bamboo. If these were Osho’s words they would be full of emptiness because they come from and are connected to the source. This is why editing Osho’s words, or indeed paraphrasing them in a tragic blasphemy, is a crime in matters of the spirit.

Anand, I used to find it comical that the resort referred to its very own organic farm. First of all you would assume from this that the resort owned the farm, which it does not. Second of all you would assume that most of the food that was provided by the resort came from the farm, which it does not. You may ask who am I to make such comments. I have travelled to the farm with the owner of the farm in the owners own farm vehicle. When we set out for the farm I was looking forward to getting away from the craziness of Pune city. To my surprise we had yet to leave what I consider to be the suburban pollution belt when we turned of the main road at an Indian settlement.

I think dealing with the surrounding thick Indian air pollution may have proven difficult for keeping above ground vegetables clean from pollutants. I understand that the farmer also had significant problems with run-off from the local settlement that had unexpectedly grown considerably in size. Part of the problem was this run-off (nice stuff as you may imagine) used to make it into the farms open well. However the farmer was in my opinion genuinely and enthusiastically trying to do his best to grow vegetables that were as free as was possible from chemicals.

Yes “Osho.com” website is full of little twists and turns. It is a little like when I read that the resort tested the drinking water daily. Well in a way it is true (except of course on Sundays). Each day some water samples are taken. One day it may be samples from the wells, another day may be several drinking water stations and the pool. On another day samples may be taken from taps in various kitchens. So I suppose the statement was vaguely approximating the truth. Of course that hygiene is to the best of international standards is also just shy of the mark.

http://oshobuddhism.blogspot.com

click on “osho resort” link

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Abhay