A Contemporary Guru: Rajnish

Historical notes by Michael Topper on this re-surfaced documentary, one of the first about Osho and his commune

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In 1974, WHA-TV public access in Madison, Wisconsin ran a series titled Exploring the Religions of South Asia. Episode 13 was titled ‘A Contemporary Guru: Rajnish’ and was primarily filmed at the newly established Shree Rajneesh Ashram in August of that year.

The entire series was recently uploaded to YouTube, including the episode dedicated to ‘Rajnish’, an interesting spelling variation of Rajneesh, later to be known as Osho. It is worth a look not only for its preciously rare footage of the ashram in its infancy, but also for the commentary on the movement given by the show’s host, Professor David M. Knipe of the University of Wisconsin.

The half-hour episode’s first ten minutes serves as an introduction to the various godmen and gurus who were sprouting in India at that time with an appeal to Western audiences, and of the various signs of devotion and ecstasy that they inspired in their disciples.

The program then focuses on ‘Rajnish’ as it reveals various scenes of activity at his ashram, which had been established only five months prior to filming. The morning discourse is shown, which at the time was still held in the somewhat crowded first-floor terrace of Lao Tzu house, prior to the construction of Chuang Tzu Auditorium; the lecture heard that morning was given on August 15, 1974 and appears as Chapter 5 of No Water, No Moon.

The documentary then moves on to show the various meditations happening throughout the day (the period from August 11-20 would have coincided with the ashram’s monthly meditation camp), including several that would soon be discontinued such as Mandala (aka “rolling eye”) and Kirtan; notable ashramites who can be seen in the footage include Veena and Madhuri. Divine Healing is then shown, before finishing that evening with Sufi Whirling, a graceful exercise which Professor Knipe appears particularly impressed with.

Knipe’s commentary is largely positive toward the movement, as he tries to find a link between what went on at the ashram with the experiences of devotion and ecstasy/catharsis discussed earlier in the program. Knipe does make one puzzling swipe at the master’s books, which he describes as “occasionally interesting, but the prose is clouded over with traditional bombast and misdirected metaphors,” an opinion sure to be vehemently contested.

What is undeniable, however, is that this earliest of looks at the ashram – when it was still comprised of just two houses, largely Indian in sannyasin composition, and devoid of therapy groups or any real controversy – is historic, coming some 16 months prior to Robert Hillman’s Bhagwan and over four years away from Ashram in Poona.

The footage of Mandala, Kirtan, Divine Healing and Sufi Whirling is the only film that survives of these techniques as they were practiced in Pune 1 and make for engrossing viewing.

Related meditations

Madness Meditation: Breaking through from the faces to the faceless

– A meditation Osho gave to his disciples in the early Pune days – described by Madhuri

– A meditation Osho gave to his disciples in the early Pune days – described by Madhuri Osho Mandala Meditation – instructions for the stages

Related articles

Osho, 1975 – A rare video filmed at the end of 1975 in Pune (now no longer available online) by Robert Hillmann, aka Prem Samvada

Ashram in Poona – The movie ‘Ashram’ still creates headlines after 30 years