Osho - Yahoo and Let Go

by Purnima Coontoor

A three-day osho retreat at fireflies, bangalore, leaves the author rejuvenated in body, mind and spirit

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The setting was perfect for a weekend spiritual getaway. The lovely resort on the outskirts of Bangalore, charmingly called Fireflies, beckoned around 25 Osho enthusiasts, new and old, to celebrate life with laughter and meditation for three days of bliss. For us city slickers, the place was pure paradise, with its gently swaying trees, tiled cottages, narrow walkways leading to tiny nooks of natural splendour, little kitchen gardens and pitch-dark nights of silence, blessed silence. Organised by the Savvy Sanyasins of the Osho Celebration Centre in Bangalore, this Osho retreat (March 27 to March 30), as always, left everybody rejuvenated in body, mind and spirit.

Spearheaded by Ma Divya Gandha, a petite and passionate Osho disciple, the events took place in the spacious meditation hall adorned with a huge picture of the spiritual master. The days began with a resounding yell of ‘Yahoo!’ followed by let-go laughter. Next would be Osho’s trademark Dynamic Meditation which allows for total loosening up of the body and emptying the mind, by working with the breath. Evenings were for Kundalini Kriya and celebration. Nights ended with ‘Evening Satsang with the Master’ – celebrated in exactly the same manner that Osho himself used to conduct in Oregon, USA, followed by ‘Yahoo!’ and celebration. Tea and celebration, breakfast and celebration, lunch and celebration … Everybody seemed to eat a lot, joke a lot, laugh a lot, dance a lot and meditate a lot! It was a great opportunity for the meditators, generally bogged down by all sorts of limitations in their daily lives, to enjoy their very own space, to be totally uninhibited, allowing themselves to just ‘be’ and float in an ocean of consciousness. The Celebration Centre’s MJ (Meditation Jockey), played an excellent collection of soulful music for all occasions, transporting us to higher realms of being. When the dancing to the bhajans reached a crescendo, Osho’s mesmeric voice with wonderful insights on life transported us to a world of utter silence deep inside our beings. In the evenings, the resort was suffused with the light of candles lit by Osho lovers.

As always, the three-day retreat ended with the initiation of new sanyasins into the fold on the last day. Contrary to popular belief about sanyas, Osho’s sanyasins are not expected to reject anything in life, but embrace all and everything with more joy and enthusiasm. The only commitment the Master demands of his sanyasins is a promise to live life the way they wish to, and to be meditative. Live life spontaneously, says Osho, do not dream of a secure future since it is an oxymoron. “Life is a dangerous game to be lived dangerously, moment to moment, and if you want security, please enter your grave,” says the Master! The initiation ceremony of Osho sanyasins is a sight to behold… a pure treat for the senses. At Fireflies, the meditation hall wore a festive look for the event, with marigolds, roses and assorted blooms adorning every nook and corner. The sweet scent of rajnigandha wafted in the air, and Osho looked resplendent, his eyes penetrating the atmosphere from his life-like photograph, pervading it with divinity. It was as if the gods had descended to personally shower their blessings on the gathering. Amid the music, dancing, cheering and cries of ‘Osho’ rending the air, the neo sanyasins were born. They received a new name and a new life as they happily joined Osho’s caravanserai of joyous sanyasins, journeying through life with a skip in their step. Wow! If this is sanyas, who wouldn’t want more!

The retreat ended and the meditators left to reclaim their lives back at home and office, but they did so happily, with a mandate to fill their lives with Celebration, Joy, Yahoo and Let Go…

At Fireflies, it was a perfect Osho event. Thank you, Osho.

Contact:purnimacoontoor@gmail.com