Osho Ashram

Chandra Mohan Jain (11 December 1931-19 January 1990) was the one known by the name of Osho (or Rajneesh or Acharya Rajneesh). He was known as a mystic and a spiritual leader. He travelled through various parts of India and hence became a renowned public speaker. He usually advocated the masses about human sexuality, which portrayed him as a bold guru. In the following years, he initiated some followers who he names as the neo-sannyasins. In 1974, he relocated to Pune where he started his foundation ashram. He died in the reinvigorated Pune ashram in 1990. His teachings form the basis of the Osho code of conduct and focus on various issues like the importance of meditation, celebration and love, creativity, humour, religious tradition and various belief systems. Osho's main principle was to combine the spiritual teachings of Gautama Buddha with the zest for like as shown by Nikos Kazantzakis (Zorba the Greek). His teachings were initially strongly opposed by the natives of India but were later accepted by many people, including eminent personalities like Mr Vinod Khanna. Rajneesh aka Osho is considered to be one of the most controversial spiritual leaders. His teachings on sensitive issues like marriage, sex, family and relationships contradicted the traditional values and hence, brought in a lot of criticism for him. His growing popularity and gradual acceptance made him a thoughtful spiritual leader in the later years. In fact, there are about a dozen of films made on his life and teachings in many countries.

The Osho International Meditation Resort is located in Pune in the Koregaon Park area. It appears to be built like a resort and one needs to walk around 1 kilometre from the main road to enter this unique place. The surrounding locality is quite posh and exhibits a lot of greenery. The Osho guesthouse also offers some usual accommodation facilities or one can even choose their living in the program. Some people even stay in the nearby hotels and flats while undergoing the meditative sessions at Osho. They enter the centre early in the morning and leave for their accommodation after dinner. There is a shuttle service as well to ease up the process of picking and dropping people in the vicinity of Ashram. From 6:00 AM till 10:30 PM there are a plethora of activities to indulge into. They offer meditation that suits various types of people and includes all methods whether active or passive. The Osho Auditorium is the world's largest meditation hall. People dine at the dining place in Osho Ashram that serves amazing vegetarian cuisine. Inside the ashram, there is a dress code to be followed. Deep maroon coloured robes are worn by everyone throughout the day, while during the evening meditation plain white robes are worn. Even the swimwear is mandatorily maroon coloured. There are excellent medical facilities too available at a short distance from the ashram.

The Osho Ashram offers daily entry stickers that include the full day meditation program and the open air classes in Buddha Grove. They can be purchased for 1-10 days or 30 days. The cost of these stickers is INR 870 per day for Indians and INR 1,790 per day for the foreign nationals (these rates are further discounted depending upon the time of purchase and the number of days for which they are purchased). The accommodation costs around INR 15,000 to INR 20,000 per month. For registering at the Osho International Meditation Resort, one needs to reach their counter between 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM (lunch break is from 12:30 PM to 2:00 PM). Foreign nationals need to carry their passports and visas while Indians must carry an ID proof for the registration. Also, one needs to get their blood tested for HIV at the time of registration here. The cost of registration for the first time visitors is INR 1,250 (including gate pass with digital photo and participation in Welcome Morning, excluding daily entry sticker). Welcome Morning includes the campus tour, detailed introduction of the meditations offered here, orientation to the Osho Multiversity programs and an individual experience of these activities. You also need to purchase the appropriate clothing here which cost about INR 2,000 (for two robes), INR 700 (for socks and shawl) and INR 1,600 (for meditation set).

1. Take special care if there are children accompanying you.
2. School going children should only visit the ashram during their school holidays.
3. Children under the age of 12 should be accompanied by their parents all the time.
4. Young adults (12-18 years) should only visit Ashram if they have a genuine interest. They can take part in 4 hours work as meditation.
5. The ashram does not offer any day care facility.

The Osho Ashram is in Koregaon Park, 2 kilometres from the railway station. One can hire auto-rickshaws or hail buses or simply use taxi hailing Apps to reach the Ashram. To reach the main gate, one needs to walk for about 1 kilometre from the main road. The whole area is flourishing with lots of greenery and has a soothing feel to it.