Warring faction claims entry denied, Osho Commune points to rules
Some followers of Osho claimed that they were prevented by OIF from entering the Commune to offer their tributes at Osho’s Samadhi in Koregaon Park on his death anniversary
PUNE:Some followers of Osho on Thursday claimed that they were prevented by Osho International Foundation (OIF) from entering the Commune to offer their tributes at Osho’s Samadhi in Koregaon Park on his death anniversary. The OIF management committee however pointed to rules saying all those who adhered to these conditions were allowed the access.
Denied entry into the commune, the devotees protested and termed the OIF’s action as ‘high-handed and dictatorial’. The agitating disciples claimed that on Osho’s death anniversary, several followers had gathered at the gate of the Osho International Commune at Koregaon Park to visit Osho’s samadhi and five other samadhis belonging to Osho’s parents and devotees. After they were refused entry, initially, they warned of an agitation on Wednesday although some of them were detained and released the same night by the police. The rebel devotees said that there is no prohibition on visiting Osho’s samadhi and that the Bombay high court (HC) order clearly states the same.
Swami Chaitanya Keerti, ex-trustee, OIF; editor, Osho World; and one of the old-timers who has been spearheading a legal battle against the OIF, said, “Despite seeking police protection and assistance in implementing the HC’s order of allowing disciples to visit Osho’s samadhi, the OIF management refused entry to devotees wearing the Osho mala, a mala given to followers by Osho himself during initiation into sanyas. And as per his directions, the tradition continued even after Osho left his body for over a decade.”
Asked about the rules for entering the Osho International Commune, OIF spokesperson Ma Amrit Sadhana said, “The management committee has laid out certain conditions such as: wearing the maroon-coloured robe of the Osho Commune, producing a gate pass and not wearing the mala. All those who follow these conditions are allowed inside.” Asked why certain disciples were not allowed access despite the HC order, Amrit Sadhana refused to comment saying that the matter is sub-judice. According to the OIF, more than 200 devotees from across the world had gathered at Koregaon Park on the 33rd death anniversary of their guru.
Whereas Chaitanya Keerti said that the OIF management has committed contempt of court by denying entry to Osho’s disciples. One of the protesting followers said, “The petitioners are determined to move the honourable high court in this matter. Besides, ex-trustee Keerti Ma Dharm Jyoti, one of Osho’s earliest disciples, was denied entry on the grounds that she wore the sanyas mala.”
The OIF and the rebel faction of Osho devotees have been at loggerheads with each other over the sale of property and other assets of the late guru in India. The office of the charity commissioner of Mumbai, through newspaper advertisements published on October 10, had invited fresh offers for the sale of two plots of the OIF. Meanwhile, Chaitanya Keerti and disciples of Osho challenged the order. The property in question bearing city survey numbers 15 and 16 is spread over 9,836.20 square metres along with bungalows and other structures at Koregaon Park and falls within the limits of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC).
