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Osho International Foundation submits clarification to governor on sale of ashram properties
PUNE A week after disciples of the Osho ashram in Pune urged the Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari to launch an investigation into activities of the Osho International Foundation, a charitable trust, to stop a bid to sell two plots at the ashram at Koregaon Park, the Osho International Foundation has submitted a clarification against the memorandum to the Governor
PUNE A week after disciples of the Osho ashram in Pune urged the Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari to launch an investigation into activities of the Osho International Foundation, a charitable trust, to stop a bid to sell two plots at the ashram at Koregaon Park, the Osho International Foundation has submitted a clarification against the memorandum to the Governor.
According to Ma Amrit Sadhana, media in- charge, Osho International meditation Resort, the activity of meditation has been run by public charitable trusts over the last 30 years at Koregaon park, Pune, also known as the Osho International Meditation Resort, and earlier as the Osho Commune.
“The Zurich-based International Foundation is not the owner of the Osho Commune. It is owned by public trusts registered with charity commissioner of the state of Maharashtra, namely Neo Sannyas Foundation and Osho International Foundation,” she said.
The disciples in their letter had mentioned sale of a part of Osho ashram, to which the letter signed by Mukesh Sarda, trustee, Osho International Foundation said, “Recently the foundation has filed an application with the charity commissioner in Mumbai for the sale of two plots of land, which has a swimming pool and tennis court, and one small building providing lockers, toilets and changing rooms, which are part of the recreation area and 1.5 % of all of the campus built up. From 1987 to the present, the total area of the campus has increased from six acres to 28 acres. Due to Covid-19, during the last 15 months, the foundation’s premises have been closed, so there is no income. Maintenance of land and buildings costs around Rs7 crore a year. Right now the foundation is using its savings for the funds required, hence, for-sufficiency of the foundation, its trustees have decided to sell these two plots to generate a large corpus fund, the interest from which will take care of the maintenance cost and provide a strong financial base for a long time to come.”
He also clarified that all the meditation activities are happening in the trust properties which are not for sale including, as per Osho’s instruction, the location of his ashes which have been kept under his bed.
A majority of normal income of the foundation is from international participants, which will take a long time to return due Covid-19.
The letter also points out to ‘others’ creating problems for the activities of the foundation.
“They are provoking other people to file false complaints to different authorities against the trustees of the foundation and against the people whom they don’t like,” it states.
The number of people coming to the resort has increased by 400% - 12-14% of those participating were Indian nationals 30 years ago. Now that figure is 67%. The remaining 33% come from over 100 countries around the world.
The letter also said that this resort is an educational foundation. The development control rules of Koregaon Park would never allow a puja facility, and in any case, this would be totally contrary to Osho’s guidance. “We are in affect a meditation school that uses the techniques from India’s meditation heritage and also some new meditation techniques that Osho has created for the contemporary person,” said Ma Sadhana.
The foundation also mentioned in their letter that they charge the international visitors twice the entrance fees, where Indian nationals enjoy a 10% to 40% discount for the same. In addition, for the meditation therapies, international visitors pay three times more than nationals. International visitors comprise 85% of the income of the foundation.
Ashram still expanding
From 1987 to the present the total area of the Osho campus has increased from six acres to 28 acres. This includes a model environmental public garden of 12 acres, where entrance is at no cost. During this same period, the management team has overseen an increase of built up area from 89,000 square feet to 252,000 square feet.
