Tall Buddha Syndrome

This article explores possible links between Osho’s (possible) poisoning, and the violence towards Swami Rajneesh and Prem Abhay.

Remember when I made the researched proposal about the most likely scenario of Osho’s poisoning (that eventually led to his rapid decline and death): it is most likely that Osho was poisoned during the period leading up to (or perhaps just prior to) his ear-infection at the Pune 2 commune. The reason why no-one has ever considered this, even though it is much more likely than a United States government conspiracy theory, is because it is something that no-one would ever suspect.

If I wanted to rub someone out (so to speak), and if the finger was already pointing towards me, do you think that I would be smart to try and rub them out? No, if I was really crafty, the best time to rub someone out was either when no-one was looking, or when the finger was already pointing to someone else - that’s smart, of course if you were a calculating criminal.

Something is striking my little mind. It is a comment in “sannyasnews” about Swami Rajneesh: and we all know why that happened to him. Of course most people think they know why - he is that slow walking nutcase who thinks he is Osho. The interesting thing is that now, years on, he has decided rather than directing is entire energy into the inner search, to engage with the world. Most importantly, the world likes him very much - so much so that Vatayana had to send a circular out to all the Osho centres to tell them that ‘just to let you know there is a little guru play here’. The trouble for Vatayana and the gang is that Swami Rajneesh aint know little guru. He is not as great a seer as Osho, although he looks a damn lot like him. However this man is a very powerful and striking being, who is drawing throngs of followers.

Swami Rajneesh’s account of the threats and violence against him whilst at the Pune 2 commune suggests a systematic attack from the establishment. If this is the case and if it could be proven to be so, this would result in serious criminal convictions. Swami Rajneesh was threatened with a knife, he was also badly beaten: some of the injuries took many years (and intense therapy) to heal.

Yet at the time, Swami Rajneesh was by all accounts a nut-case. The only objection to kicking him out was that he was anyhow just harmless. The onslaught on him was extremely harmful. Yet this did not raise any concerns. Just see the absurdity of this.

Unfortunately for some, Swami Rajneesh was not some psychotic nutcase. He was also not a little buddha in the making. He was a big buddha in the making, and the establishment (probably) knew it. Of course the crowd of blind followers went along with the violent campaign that the establishment likely set into train. If you think he is still a nutcase, read his book or have the courage to sit in front of him and look him straight in the eyes.

What about this Prem Abhay fellow that I also talk about. He is another nutcase like Swami Rajneesh isn’t he? First of all he has a string of academic qualifications so if he is indeed a nutcase, he is not a stupid one. Also, Prem Abhay spent years and years and years in silence. Three of those years were spent in Osho’s Samadhi and Osho’s Lao Tzu garden. He used to work in the garden with Mukta (the old mystic lady that owns Lao Tzu – she bought it for Osho, to form the first and greatest commune). I can only suppose that Mukta and Abhay must have communicated in silence, for the sake of the flowers.

There were rumours that Abhay was Mukta’s latest lover. There were other rumours that Abhay was the lover of one of the other disciples that still resided in the Master’s home. Also, by some accounts Prem Abhay looked to be going through hell. By other accounts he was also a slow walking man like Rajneesh, with long hair and a beard (and in silence). I myself think Prem Abhay has walked around Buddha Hall more times than anyone else, including Mukta.

When Prem Abhay seemed to come out of his apparently withdrawn and mentally ill state, fireworks happened. Of course there were the nice people who wanted to help this lost soul by doing therapies and the like. However (from his blog) have a read of this…

I recall one particular incident that occurred when I was standing at the back-gate of the centre. A car roared up to the gate and stopped abruptly; music was blazing loudly; and the young man of Indian appearance gave the appearance of being drunk. The car window was down, and he made some strange obscure comments to me. Suddenly he accelerated of, only to stop approximately 100 metres down the road. The car then spun around, and came back at considerable speed. It then swerved towards me. I reacted quickly, and ended up near the wall of the centre – another person witnessed this event. Other than thinking what a ‘crazy driver’ (a euphemism), I thought nothing further of it; nothing further, that is until right now I type these words.

http://oshobuddhism.blogspot.com/2008/03/further-reading.html

Now this happened before he spoke out. It happened when everyone thought he was just a victim that needed saving by therapy. Noone knows where Prem Abhay is or what he is doing. However it seems reasonable to assume that he does not have a global following like Swami Rajneesh is developing.

His first collection of poetry is entitled “The Dark Night of the Soul: A Way Through”.

http://oshobuddhism.blogspot.com/2008/03/witness-doorway-to-higher-understanding.html

Perhaps Prem Abhay is a nutcase like Swami Rajneesh is not. Perhaps Prem Abhay is a great master who wants to see out his days in his last body sitting in silent communion because the crowd is too stupid. In any case, the background fits with the possibility that Prem Abhay may one day become a great Master, even one that could stand beside Osho. (I know this will be deeply sacrilegious to a few fools…get over it). Imagine what the establishment would think of that. Their whole future is based on abuse of Osho’s words and image. Imagine if a real living buddha that spoke in ways like Osho and that had a real and powerful presence like Osho’s, was still in the body. Such a person could be very dangerous (just like Osho was). Imagine Jayesh and Amrito going around saying ‘it is in the name of Him that I do and say’, when there is an Osho II that will stand up and run over them.

If I were an evil and calculating criminal, I would dispose of Prem Abhay at the earliest, well before anyone would think anything of it. If unfortunately that did not work, I would slander him and make him a pariah, just like Swami Rajneesh. It is unfortunate that Swami Rajneesh came back to haunt the establishment. However what about this Prem Abhay fellow? If he came back I think people might here about it. Where is he? Also, knowing what is happening with Swami Rajneesh and his world tours, I would think it may be pertinent to take a risk and find Prem Abhay, rub him out, and just weather the storm if anyone happens to here that the person that noone knows anything about (yet still writes on “sannyasnews” and oshoworld’s “sannyas world news” board) is dead.

http://oshodemocracy.blogspot.com

Crimes Against Humanity

It is argued that conduct at the Osho International Meditation Resort, Pune, India, falls under Chapter 7 (k) of the International Criminal Court Rome Statute.

From wikipedia we have:

The definition of what is a "crime against humanity" for ICC proceedings has significantly broadened from its original legal definition or that used by the UN, and Article 7 of the treaty stated that:

For the purpose of this Statute, "crime against humanity" means any of the following acts when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack:

(k) Other inhumane acts of a similar character intentionally causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or to mental or physical health.



The Rome Statute Explanatory Memorandum states that crimes against humanity…
are particularly odious offenses in that they constitute a serious attack on human dignity or grave humiliation or a degradation of one or more human beings. They are not isolated or sporadic events, but are part either of a government policy (although the perpetrators need not identify themselves with this policy) or of a wide practice of atrocities tolerated or condoned by a government or a de facto authority.…On the other hand, an individual may be guilty of crimes against humanity even if he perpetrates one or two of the offences mentioned above, or engages in one such offense against only a few civilians, provided those offenses are part of a consistent pattern of misbehavior by a number of persons linked to that offender .... Consequently when one or more individuals are not accused of planning or carrying out a policy of inhumanity, but simply of perpetrating specific atrocities or vicious acts, in order to determine whether the necessary threshold is met one should use the following test: one ought to look at these atrocities or acts in their context and verify whether they may be regarded as part of an overall policy or a consistent pattern of an inhumanity, or whether they instead constitute isolated or sporadic acts of cruelty and wickedness.

To fall under the Rome Statute, a crime against humanity which is defined in Article 7.1 must be "part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population". Article 7.2.a states "For the purpose of paragraph 1: "Attack directed against any civilian population means a course of conduct involving the multiple commission of acts referred to in paragraph 1 against any civilian population, pursuant to or in furtherance of a State or organizational policy to commit such attack."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_against_humanity



Based on the above information I would argue that research may indicate that (State) Indian governmental institutions are aware of, and have tolerated, the atrocious and systematic treatment of the collective of religious people that visit the Osho International Meditation Resort, Pune, INDIA. Also, the collective of Osho Inner-Circle and Pune Resort management are an organization engaged in systematic and grave infringements on human physical and mental well-being – as per Article 7, Section (k). Also, the stipulation of “knowledge of the attack” is becoming more and more a reality. It is also clearly stated that it be directed against “any” civilian population. The collective of religious people that have visited the Pune resort over the last decade or so easily constitutes being a significant civilian population (in the order of hundreds of thousands, if not more than a million, civilians).

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).

Yahoo
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.

Yahoo
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.

Yahoo
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.

Yahoo
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.

Yahoo
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

Yahoo
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.

Yahoo
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

Yahoo
Abhay

Inner-Circle & Resort News

In the interest of truth I have taken the liberty of providing the following references. I hope I have made the responsible decision.

If you are interested in the recent happenings at Osho International Meditation Resort, Pune, India, then visit Prem Abhay’s site:

http://oshobuddhism.blogspot.com

Click on “osho resort” on the top right of the blog.

For a more historic perspective visit Swami Rajneesh:

http://www.oshorajneesh.net

You can download his book “Tears of the Mystic Rose”.

Resort Blues (News) from Prem Abhay

I hope I am not taking too much liberty in here reproducing Prem Abhay’s relevant comments in “sannyasnews.com”.


Re: Contamination of Drinking Water at OIMR Pune.

I have been following the recent posts with interest (and concern). For my efforts to have the resort laboratory proven ‘drinking’ water contamination problem resolved I was firstly removed from a Residential Program. However I was also not allowed to work at all, hence I had to pay (what I could not afford) to go to the resort. So I quickly ran out of money and left.

I know that in Pune 1 there were difficult circumstances and there is a sense that people tried their best on the hygiene front. I am also not talking about Pune 2 the ‘Ashram’, where to my knowledge the water treatment system was probably leading the standard for India. I am here talking about the new ‘Resort’. The water infrastructure for Pune 2 ‘Ashram’ had been left to slowly decay, and the additional water infrastructure that came with the ‘Resort’ did not work properly - and no-one fixed it!!!

I found the fact that people could simply go on drinking contaminated water year after year utterly unacceptable. I also found out about a lot of other serious problems at the resort: serious risks and negligence relating to food, trees, buildings, lighting etc.

When I came back to Pune nearly 2 years ago I stood near the front entrance of the resort and handed out a Water Contamination Report. The following is what happened in the days and weeks afterwards. (Prior to arriving in Pune I received a threatening email warning me not to come to Pune).

In Pune I have been verbally threatened with being beaten; I have been pushed and punched; I have been threatened with a broom stick, sticks, metal rods, and threatened with a knife in Osho park; I have been warned to leave Pune, and have been on the receiving end of a number of potentially dangerous incidents whilst walking around Koregaon Park.

From talking to people I have a sense of the terrible things I have supposed to have done: from being uncaring and reckless, violent and dangerous, a terrorist, a racist, and a hypnotist. Like many people that come in search of a Master, I have certainly gone through a difficult inner journey during my time at the Osho ashram/resort. Thankfully Osho’s message of cathartic therapies and active meditation saved me from the torment of strict Buddhist (and yoga) practice - I am forever thankful to him for this. However whatever drama I have been involved in at the resort has been from my side innocent in nature, and I have heard how these situations have been transformed to make me the culprit. Their lies start with an element of truth. Then they twist this into an utter fabrication.

You have not heard of the drinking water contamination problem because the person that has tried to tell you has been slandered and violently removed from the scene.

This Harri Om person is no doubt well versed in the long tale of Osho’s movement. He (oops…or She) has most likely read my stuff, or at least read the posters/reports that were once splashed all over Koregaon Park.

However the people who write here have not, or perhaps they may even know me as that crazy terrorist guy who had a fight with Dhyanesh at the front gate last year. Either way, you do not have a clue what is really going on there.

I have a blog:

http://oshobuddhism.blogspot.com

It used to be called nomindspiration.com

On the right side of the blog is a tag Osho Resort. If you click on it you will find the whole disgusting journey. Towards the end (scroll a long way down) is the nuts and bolts of what is trying to be covered up: “Water Contamination Report” and “Sheela and Who?: Further Reading”.

It is with some very real concern for my well-being that I write this. I do take some comfort knowing that there are many other Osho sannyasins that have had the courage to speak out. However, what has happened to me is testimony to the extent that people will go to stop our voices being heard.

People regularly comment in these pages (and elsewhere) on the oasis like buddha field in Pune.

The Pune resort is run like a violent tyrannical dictatorship, ruled by fear and an iron fist; you call that a buddha field???

Team management India and the current Inner-Circle are guilty of criminality and criminal negligence.

I somehow don’t get Harri Om’s murder conspiracy theory, but the thing that gets me is that I know that a lot of other things he/she is saying are true.

Good luck cause you might need it!

Yahoo
Abhay


Abhay then responds to criticism with the following:


…I am sure that I would have been banned in Osho’s life time too, but not by Osho. Since you are interested in backward looking, the same situation occurred with Swami Rajneesh. He was also banned and assaulted, however Osho told management to let him in and leave him alone, and for the guards not to attack him.

You say you have read my blog. So obviously you are aware that the filters had been removed from the wells and not replaced; that the filters at the taps were years old and finance refused to give the engineers new ones; that there is a serious design flaw in the old water treatment system; and that the central filtration system underneath the new resort complex has never ever been turned on because it does not work.

So a lot of the water that is from the wells has no initial or central filtration system. You say this is the best in Pune. However I am absolutely sure that the PMC has a filtration system that is not only installed, but actually turned on.

The entire water treatment system is in a deplorable state. However, even so, if it is on par or even better than the whole of Pune, is that any great achievement? If I am sitting at an internet cafe somewhere on this planet looking for a nice place to go for a holiday, and I see osho.com, do you think I might think much of the fact that there is actually not much difference between drinking the water at the resort and going down the road to the nearest slum and drinking that water?

Not far from the resort, in a slum area near the railway, there have been reports of cholera in recent years. The so called pristine stream in Osho Park is actually the sewer being fed from these upstream areas. Hence it is for example entirely possible that cholera, let alone all the other typical viruses and bacteria found in India’s water, can make its way into the resort’s wells. Hence, with a water treatment system in a state of either decay or not working at all, it is quite possibly that people at the resort will drink cholera and other potential deadly micro-organisms.

To be quite frank I don’t mind a few bones in my tomato soup, but if I go to the resort, am encouraged to drink the signed drinking water, and it may contain typhoid, e-coli, cholera etc, than actually I do mind quite a bit. If also this has been going on for lets say 7 years or so, and this includes hundreds of thousands of people, I would consider it more than a frivolity.

Of course feel free to go to Pune and drink the drinking water (especially when it rains) because I don’t know what I am talking about, and even if I did, it is just a little fuss.

Voting Anonymity

Osho Movement for Democratic Change (OMDC) has no technical information about voting participants, and this includes a computers IP address. The programming and technical details of the poll is an internal service provided by Blogger.

The Great Ocean

This is a story about a great Master, his people, and the crowd.

On planet Earth there once lived a Master called Great Ocean. He was called Great Ocean because of the long flowing waves of his beard, and for other reasons. After attaining the ultimate through a search not helped by another, the Master pondered in silence why he should help others know the truth. He knew that everyone wakes up from the dream in their own time; why throw cold water upon their smiling faces he thought. While he was pondering this he travelled all over the vast countryside. He wasn’t really interested in attracting followers, or even waking people up. He was just curious about the way the world and its inhabitants pursued their ways. However the Master’s magnetism grew many from near and far, and before long he had gathered many sincere seekers around him, and the crowd. The Master knew these people needed a home to collect their silence and cleanse their souls, so he stopped travelling and settled down.

In a way the Master did not settle to preach to the masses, but rather to explore another stage in the mysterious journey of this life. However the masses did so come with many needs and desires. The Master in his wisdom gave great discourses that were perfectly in tune with every gathering. However to the Master’s dismay, after every discourse his inspired followers, rather than letting the words and wisdom settle into their being, trod all over his words and ignored their true meaning. Of course meanwhile many sincere seekers were making their way along the pathless path that only a Master has travelled.

Unfortunately the crowd thought that they had grown wise and started taking over the Master’s home, and kicked out all the sincere seekers. The Master tried at every turn, but the crowd could not hear and would not listen. There was only one option left…to leave. One morning the Master left for a foreign land in hope of losing the crowd. Of course the crowd new better and followed him. This new land brought promise and hope, yet in just few short years the Master was again in the same dilemma. This time the Master was getting old and weary and hence decided not to run, but rather withdraw into silence. Of course the crowd destroyed the oasis, and the Master was also kicked out and left listless and homeless.

In a strange twist of fate, the Great Ocean flowed back down the one river and ended up in his land of birth, and in his old abode. Would things be different this time, the Master wondered. With all the dramas, the trouble was that by now the Master looked bad not just to the world, but also to many of his closest disciples. Though they had followed him back home, they had secretly lost trust in his ways. They had also thought that they themselves had grown old and wise, and knew better the Master’s message than himself. Hence out of great compassion for the world they decided to do away with the Master, and just keep his message. They were the new vehicles and after all it is the message that is important, not the messenger - so they thought.

All seemed to work well for a time, and then strangely enough the new master plan seemed to hit a few speed bumps. Though the crowd came they also left not to return. Many of the old Master’s sincere seekers, not before troubling for the worldly games, decided to again engage with the world. This created even more trouble with the New Team. Perhaps, they thought, we are having troubles like Great Ocean had. These worldly dreamers know not the truth nor the way, and hence try and fight us. Of course there was no use in contemplation or meditation to solve this one, for the New Team had already attained all on that front - or so they thought. With their inward tools seemingly lacking, the New Team decided to fight the foolish world with freshly crafted outward weapons.

At first their conduct was subtle and cunning, yet in time the intractable sleeping world required a gentle touch of physical violence. After all, the physical threats and violence was just a new age Zen stick. This approach was very successful because the crowd became very silent. The New Team thought that now the crowd had finally started to learn a little about meditation. However the fearful crowd was more a dam readying to burst than a silent stream. Of course the fearless ones that stood pillars against the violent aggression were also unmoved. In fact they had grown more resolutely in the power of here and now. To be continued.