The last days of Osho

Keerti: Osho’s health took a severe beating when he was arrested and kept in a US jail for 12 days. The police said he was arrested because he was trying to flee the US, but it was a ridiculous charge. In the jail, he was made to sleep on a mattress that exposed him to radiation. He was given a certain type of thallium poison… This came to light after his return from the West in 1987… We came to know about this as Osho himself spoke about it in one of his discourses at the Ashram.

Q. But when exactly did the sanyasins realise that there was something wrong with Osho?

Keerti: After his return from the US in 1987, Osho’s discourses had become infrequent. He was holding discourses on and off. There were short discourses. We were told that he was not well when he failed to make an appearance. Osho used to deliver his discourses in the Buddha Hall of the Osho Ashram in Pune to a gathering of at least 3,000, sometimes more than that.

Q. Was he admitted to any hospital in Pune?

Keerti: No, he was not admitted to any hospital during his ailing period. ENT specialist Dr Pramod Jog was requested to attend to Osho because he was experiencing earache. Osho mentioned Dr Jog during his discourses.

Q. What diseases were he suffering from?

Keerti: Osho was constantly having health issues. He had gone to the US in the early ’80s because he suffered from severe back pain. He had dental issues as well. He returned from the US but his condition worsened. Osho personal’s physician from London, Dr Amrito (John Andrews), was taking care of the other diseases and ailments that he might have been suffering from.

Q. When Osho was not well, did you have an interaction with him? Did he ever tell you what he was suffering from?

Keerti: Nobody was allowed to have any interaction with Osho except his caretaker, his secretary and personal doctor and, occasionally, Swami Anand Jayesh (Michael O’ Byrne), who died last year in the UK.

“Osho was constantly having health issues. He had gone to the US in the early ’80s because he suffered from severe back pain,” said Swami Chaitanya Keerti

Q. For how many days was Osho bed-ridden? Did you meet him during this time? What did he tell you?

Keerti: Osho stopped speaking on April 10, 1989. Before that he was giving daily discourses to the audience during the evening satsang… After April 10, he kept coming daily to the Buddha Auditorium in the evenings for silent sitting, and Gibberish meditation till January 17, 1990. Two days later, he left his body.

Q. Were the sanyasins aware that Osho was nearing his death?

Keerti: Osho himself made us aware that his time of departure was near. About 9-10 months before he left his body, something happened to his navel. This indicated that after 9-10 months, he would leave the body. This is what he told us. Another point is that a few weeks before he left his body, he himself gave the words to be inscribed on his samadhi – ‘Osho – Never Born Never Died. Only Visited this Planet Earth Between 11 Dec, 1931 to Jan 1990’.

Q. Were you at Osho’s bedside when he died? And who broke the news of his death?

Keerti: His death was announced at 5 pm on January 19 by Dr Amrito in the Buddha Hall. Osho’s body was brought to the Buddha Hall at 7 pm for the death celebration. There was a gathering of at least 10,000 people.

At about 5.15 pm on January 19, Osho Multiversity vice chancellor Swami Satya Vedant came out of the Inner Circle meeting in Osho’s Library and told me: “Osho has left his body. You inform the media.” I broke down instantly. Gathering myself, I then called up The Indian Express first and alerted them. The BBC and other news channels were calling me up the whole night. I could not join the funeral celebration or his last darshan inside the Buddha Hall.

Q. There were rumours that he was suffering from HIV. Is it true? Did any HIV expert visit him?

Keerti: Rumours were spread by one doctor who wanted to become famous. He was punished by the Maharashtra Medical Association (MMA) as he never visited Osho but said something unethical. We complained to the MMA about the falsehoods he spread. The MMA cancelled his licence.

Q. Who was Osho most close to in the Ashram?

Keerti: I had only one relationship with him, that of master and disciple. Ma Prem Nirvano was his caretaker. In her past life, she had been in love with Osho and found it in this life also.

Q. In which room was Osho lodged while he was ailing?

Keerti: The same room he always lived in, but in between he stayed at the Chuang Tzu Auditorium for a brief period of a week or two.

Q. Who cooked his food?

Keerti: Ma Amrit Mukti and Ma Divya Gandha cooked for him for years. Dr Amrito was keeping an eye on the food. Osho always had vegetarian food. He used to eat twice a day, at 11 am and 6 pm… Sometimes, he used to have a glass of milk before going to bed at 11 pm. He used to wake up every day around 6 am.