Kathmandu (Nepal): "Love is absolute freedom. Love knows no boundaries. And unless you drop all boundaries, you will not be able to know love." "Love is not a passion, love is not an emotion. Love is a very deep understanding that somebody somehow completes you. Somebody makes you a full circle. The presence of the other enhances your presence. Love gives freedom to be yourself; it is not possessiveness." When "Mediation becomes your love", "You disappear from the collective world, "You start seeing things as they are", "You feel silence, serenity, deep joy bubbling inside your being".--All excerpts are from Osho books.
All of the above words of Osho are related to meditation and divine love. You believe it or not, it is my experience that meditation can be done, and love can be felt and experienced in Osho Tapoban, an International Commune and Forest Retreat Center instead of reading them in books. You can see about 500 people dancing joyfully, bewildered in ecstasy on Saturdays. No one can remain aloof from the dancing tune and environment. Everyone starts dancing or shaking their body without hesitation in the Commune. Established in 1990, Osho Tapoban covering an area of about 100 ropanis of land is located at the outskirts of Kathmandu valley on the way to Kakani, amidst the Himalayan forest Nagarjuna, 10 kilometers away from Kathmandu city center and five kilometers from Balaju bypass.
Acharya Rajneesh (1931-1990) was born Rajneesh Chandra Mohan, presently known as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, in Kuchwara, a town in central India. Various sources state that "Bhagwan" means either "The Blessed One" or "God" and that "Shree" means "Master". At the end of his life, he changed his name to Osho.His parents' religion was Jainism. However, Osho never subscribed to any religious faith during his lifetime. He received "sambodhi" (enlightenment in which his soul became one with the universe) on 1953-MAR-21 at the age of 21. Rajneesh obtained a masters degree in philosophy from the University of Saugar. He taught philosophy at the University of Jabalpur for nine years and concurrently worked as a religious leader. In 1966, he left his teaching post and gave his full attention to teaching his sannyasins (disciples) while pursuing a speaking career.Osho developed new forms of active meditation, among 108 methods of it. The best known is Dynamic Meditation which often starts with strenuous physical activity followed by silence and celebration. These were expected to lead the individual to overcome repression, lower their personal inhibitions, develop a "state of emptiness", and attain enlightenment. The person then would have "no past, no future, no attachment, no mind, no ego, no self." Osho assigned a new name to each of the disciples. Men were given the title "Swami"; women were called "Ma".He taught a form of Monism, that God was in everything and everyone. There is no division between "God" and "not-God". People, even at their worse, are divine. He explained that the purpose of his jokes was to shock people and to encourage them to examine their identification with and attachment to their ethnic or religious beliefs. His contention was that national, religious, gender and racial divisions are destructive. Courtesy: Online Sources.
Tired of their hectic routines, people from all walks of life, whether they are school students, college or university students, professionals, engineers, doctors, ordinary folks, male or females and older generations visit the holy place of Tapoban specially at Satsang program on Saturdays and meditation camps organized every week, special occasions and full moons. Meditation is thought to be a scientific therapy, which helps heal and cure people from psychological, mental and emotional ailments.
People visit the commune, where there are two dozens of residential members, and take part in the Satsang program on Saturdays. Swami Ananda Arun pacifies the curiosities of visitors as well as of Osho disciples in a humorous way. The number of young generation in the Satsang counts for higher data. "It is a good symptom for spiritual development of young generation. The thirst for religion in an older age may be so-called in which age nothing more could be done. Young age is the ripe time of energy and productivity that can win the world," he said.
Swami Arun, who has given neo-sanyas to about 20,000 Nepalese and approximately 5,000 foreigners including Indians, said that life is ecstasy and celebration instead of worrying and taking it seriously. "If one is happy he can only make others happy. How can a sad man make others happy? Meditation is medicine to make a sad man happy by relieving one from mind and joining with the heart," he said.
"Feel more, think less, and you will be more and more happy," Osho. "Nothing can be more important than this dive from the head to the heart."Suman Uprety and Surendra Thapa, both hailed from Chitwan, who are Master's in Business Studies students at the Central Department of Management, Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur said that their first visit at Tapoban was quite interesting and joyful. They used to read the Osho books and journals. "We have heard that Tapoban is environmentally and naturally a good place and spiritually a divine place." Thapa remarked that the place was very peaceful and full of healthy environment with enough oxygen.
Both of them agreed that they had not heard any indecent things about Tapoban. "I was too much curious about commune culture, sanyasins and the maroon (red) dress of Sanyasins but unable to know the inner reality. It is difficult to comment on any activities that occur in churches and temples," Uprety added in a tone of skepticism. "We don't believe in what others comment hypothetically. It is not necessary to believe in their hypothesis and criticism rather than knowing the facts well. However, we are yet to understand the commune well in depth."Swami Anand Arun said that unlike traditional sanyas, neo-sanyas initiated by Osho belongs to the spirit of the holy book Geeta, which indicates renouncing doer rather than doing. "This sanyas allows to use everything meditatively but not to escape from the world and life.
"Osho philosophy and religion is sometimes criticized by the traditional and orthodox believers for being open about sex and its interpretation. Swami Arun says sex is related to every spectrum of life. "Sex is life energy. It is the beginning of life and inspiration of life," said Swami Arun. "However, it is false and wrong assumption to link the commune with sexual activities." "I welcome all of them who doubt over the commune activities to visit the commune and to examine what is happening here," he added.
Swami Arun said that traditional and orthodox religion could not accept the sex and poisoned it. "Only escaping from sex and being involved in sadhana would not help us to get rid of sex. We need to synchronize, consolidate and manage the sex as Osho has guided us. Sex can be a ladder for meditation to go ahead for the divine journey.
"Swami Arun said that meditation is a scientific tool for catharsis of repressed human feelings. "It has been psychologically and scientifically proved that human psyche is affected by daily activities of human being. Humanity has stepped down due to the irrational behavior, violence and brutality."
"Meditation is an appropriate scientific and religious therapy to excrete the repressed physical, mental, emotional and psychological tensions and filth from the body," he added. Medication, which is a chemical solution for illness, may have many side effects though it can cure some diseases whereas meditation, which can purify heart, nurture and stimulate wisdom and develop humanity, is a natural way to treat human being and natural solution of life problems, said Swami Arun. "Psychologists have claimed that about 80 per cent of human diseases are caused by mental problems and stress.
"Swami Bishnu Chaitanya from Kathmandu said that he was having anti-depression medicines for months, which were effective only during the course. "As I went through meditation, I got relieved from the problem of stress and depression, and now meditation is my medicine, which has healed me enough dissolving tensions."
Physiological Benefits of Meditation
Deep rest-as measured by decreased metabolic rate, lower heart rate, and reduced work load of the heart.Lowered levels of cortisol and lactate-two chemicals associated with stress.Reduction of free radicals- unstable oxygen molecules that can cause tissue damage.Decreased high blood pressure.Higher skin resistance. Low skin resistance is correlated with higher stress and anxiety levels.Drop in cholesterol levels. High cholesterol is associated with cardiovascular disease. Improved flow of air to the lungs resulting in easier breathing. This has been very helpful to asthma patients. Decreases the aging process. Higher levels of DHEAS in the elderly. An additional sign of youthfulness.
Psychological Benefits of Meditation
Increased brain wave coherence.Greater creativity.Decreased anxiety.Decreased depression Decreased irritability and moodiness Improved learning ability and memory.Increased self-actualization.Increased feelings of vitality and rejuvenation.Increased happiness.Increased emotional stability.
Spiritual Benefits of Meditation
The longer an individual practices meditation, the greater the likelihood that his or her goals and efforts will shift toward personal and spiritual growth. Many individuals who initially learn meditation for its self-regulatory aspects find that as their practice deepens they are drawn more and more into the realm of the "spiritual." In her work with many cancer and AIDS patients, Dr. Borysenko has observed that many are most interested in meditation as a way of becoming more attuned to the spiritual dimension of life. She reports that many die "healed," in a state of compassionate self-awareness and self-acceptance. Courtesy: Online sources.
Ma Dhyan Surabi (Dr. Nisha Jha, practicing at the children's ward of Nepal Medical College, Jorpati of Kathmandu), who started reading Osho from Class Nine, said that meditation was an effective scientific method to get rid of stress and depression. She, who recently completed her MBBS, said more than 75 per cent of the human diseases are borne by psychological reasons. "Meditation, which smoothes our life, is very reliable device for stress management and for mental purity and peace. We can perform our work well after we practice one our meditation each day," she added, sharing the experience of meditation. "I felt ecstasy and bewildered, experienced feeling of love, kindness in my heart and the fountain of love emerges for sharing it and giving it others.
"However, she is still confused about the seven energy centers of the body as assumed by Yoga and spiritual values. "I tried to find out those centers in the human body when I had to dissect the dead bodies in course of practical classes but I could not trace them in the body," she said. "But I have felt flowing energy in the body."Swami Dhyan Rishi (Adarsha Bhandary from Biratnagar), a residential member of the commune for last two years, said that meditation was one of his basic needs. He left his home after he completed his I. Sc. and then he completed the computer programming course that helped him find a job in the commune. "Meditation is necessary for a person who lives in multidimensional world being involved in various activities.
"The meditation helped him to understand life easily and build confidence in tackling the difficulties in life. "I used to be pinched or hurt and feel irritation before I practiced the meditation. I learned to live a playful life through it," he said. "I had never thought the life could be so easier. Love, joy and happiness have bloomed in my life because of the meditation."He thinks marriage for the sake of sex is not necessary for him. "The meditation helped me understand what sex is. I will marry if the marriage can become a part of my meditation," he added.
Tapoban has been a retreat center for also the foreigners. Ma Dhyan Nidhi (Natalia Kamchskaya, first year student at Economic University of Moscow) is here in Tapoban for about three months. She came here as a tourist and has been staying at Tapoban practicing meditation in the tune of commune routine. The regular meditation starts at 7 a.m. and ends at 9 p.m. everyday. "The life style of the commune is very much interesting," she said. "My parents teased me enough and I left Russia because of tension. The meditation has tremendously transformed my feeling into love and happiness.
"Many people who came in the commune and endured the meditation practices were corrected from their bad habits and illnesses. Ma Kundan, 53, from Dharan, who has been staying as a residential member for eight years, has witnessed many people recovered from addictions. She illustrated an example of one of her relatives, who used to have marijuana, alcohols, smoking. He recovered from his bad habits after he practices meditation for three months. However, she refused to divulge the details of the person.
She further said Pravas Devkota from Kathmandu, who completed his study from USA, was an addict. According to her, he could do nothing without having drug injection. "He came here regularly for meditation. And now, he is all right. He visits commune frequently," she said. She expressed her qualm about the poor people who are deprived from staying in the commune. "If they do not have money, how can they afford to stay here? It should not have been in the place of God."
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