Remembering Osho, the mystic who told us more about conscious birth and death

Know Osho, one of the most influential mystics and spiritual teachers of the modern time.

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Remembering Osho, the mystic who told us more about conscious birth and death
Osho

One of the most influential mystics and spiritual teachers of the modern time, Osho (December 11, 1931 - January 19, 1990) was an Indian professor of philosophy and a public speaker, who garnered an international following.

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Here are some interesting facts about the mystic, Osho:

  • Osho was born as Chandra Mohan Jain in a small village in the Raisen district of Madhya Pradesh state in India
  • He studied philosophy at the University of Jabalpur and earned his Bachelor's Degree in 1955
  • After completing his MA from the University of Saugar, he began teaching
  • He was known as Acharya Rajneesh from the 1960s onwards, as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh during the 1970s and 1980s, and as Osho from 1989
  • In the year 1966, he resigned from the university and became a guru and a teacher of meditation
  • In the 1960s, he travelled throughout India as a public speaker
  • His outspoken criticism of socialism and institutionalised religions and a more open attitude towards sexuality made him controversial
  • In 1970, after settling in Bombay for a while, Osho took on the role of a spiritual teacher and began initiating disciples, known as neo-sannyas
  • Moving to Pune in 1974, he established an ashram that attracted increasing numbers of Westerners
  • Osho relocated to the United States in 1981 and his followers established an international community, later known as Rajneeshpuram, in the state of Oregon
  • In 1985, the Oregon commune collapsed when Osho revealed that the commune leadership had committed a number of serious crimes including arson, attempted murder, drug smuggling etc.
  • Shortly afterwards, he was arrested and charged with immigration violations. Osho was deported from the United States
  • After travelling to many countries, he returned to Pune, where he died in 1990

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