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  • Essay / The Rajneeshpuram Cult Led by Chandra Mohan Jain

    Rajneeshpuram was a 1980s cult located in The Dalles, Oregon and led by Chandra Mohan Jain, also known as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh or Osho. He was born in India and spent his youth there, traveling everywhere and speaking publicly about his spiritual philosophy. He was infamous for his free-spirited views on sexuality and was considered the "sex guru" (Vasant Joshi, 1982) by the world's press. His first group of disciples called themselves the Neo-Sannyasins and followed him to his first ashram developed in Pune, India. Due to his provocative teachings and the continued growth of neo-sannyasins, attention has increased towards government officials and community members. In an attempt to avoid any legal trouble, Rajneesh and the neo-sannyasins fled to the state of Oregon in 1981 and established what is known today as Rajneeshpuram. Even though Rajneesh had a following of several thousand, he was far from legitimate as a guru. His main goal in life was money, his elected leaders were full of criminals, and his teachings were inexcusable. To Rajneesh, it seemed that his teachings alone were enough of a gift to give to his people, and in return, he had to buy it. gifts. The neo-sannyasins had used their hard-earned money to buy Rajneesh several Rolls-Royce automobiles, with one individual stating, "I wanted to buy enough Osho's so he could drive one every day of the year" (The Zaits , 2011). It is estimated that ultimately 93 Rolls-Royces were in Rajneesh's possession, the largest number owned by one person in the world at that time, and his reasoning was that "the anger and envy that his possession of so many people ...if absurdly, needlessly, outrageously numerous - among them... middle of paper ... your child is born with defects such as blindness, deafness or mutism, he "should be asleep forever" (Osho, 1997). As a parent, hearing someone tell you that because your child was born with a birth defect that you should euthanize them would be unbearable. This should never be an option, let alone for a child who has no say. Throughout his teaching, whether in Poona, India, the United States or elsewhere in the world, he made an impact on his disciples. With his love of money, horrible leadership choices, and offensive teachings, it's safe to say his impact hasn't been better. Not only did he give a bad name to neo-sannyasins, but also to the places and people he associated with. He was refused entry to 21 countries before returning to Poona, India, demonstrating that no one wanted this man to be part of their culture..