Pune, Pune: Osho, it seems, has gone 'missing' from Osho Commune International, Koregaon Park. This was first reported, not by the Pune police, but The New York Times on December 10, which called Oshos 'disappearance' from the commune as the 'de-Oshoization' of the commune.
Hundreds of pictures of Rajneesh (Osho) which earlier greeted visitors to the newly-christened meditation resort, have been removed from the commune premises.
This was strikingly conspicuous on Thursday at a rare press reception and a guided tour of the new-look commune organized by the communes management, following a 50- crore renovation work and fresh constructions in the commune.
A new, six-storey-high pyramid auditorium, a modern guest house, an ultra-modern kitchen and an open air dining area presents a dramatic change from the past. As with other Osho buildings spread out in 40 acres
of Koregon Park, the new buildings are also draped in black, with dark blue windows. But the charismatic images of Osho, which smiled at visitors from the vantage points earlier are missing. Even as an official explanation from the communes management team was awaited by this paper a member of the commune, speaking informally, said that Oshos pictures had been removed as they distracted new visitors to the commune.
We want to emphasise on Oshos meditation and not on Osho himself. Osho was against the traditional way of carrying on belief systems. He was against people following him in the traditional sense, he said. The member added that Oshos pictures were there in individual rooms of residents and in the commune bookshop.
Rebel sannyasins such as former spokesperson Chaitanya Keerti who are now based in Delhi, said that the removal of Oshos pictures from commune was part of a deliberate plan to emphasise on the 'resort' and downplay the communes association with Osho.
Senior members of the communes management team, such as Darcy O Byrne ( Yogendra) have said it openly in a New York Times interview that Oshos pictures were removed because new visitors to the commune are put off by Oshos pictures, Keerti said.
Incidentally the downplaying of Oshos images, which has happened for the first time after Oshos death in 1990, is also evident in the communes latest publications such as the Osho Experience and the Osho Diary 2003.
The 161-page Osho Experience, which is an introduction to the commune, carries scores of happy pictures on life in the commune. There is just one picture of the mystic, underplayed on page 150, and two small pictures of the 'books' section. Similarly, Osho Diary 2003 carries just one picture of the mystic among scores of other pictures, primarily those of nature.
