ELLE MAGAZINE ITALY

10/97

By: Rita Stucchi Pedrini. Selected text excerpts

Osho:
Master of Freedom
In the eighties, young people from all over the world went to Pune to listen to his
teachings on meditation. The long-bearded guru fascinated them with his words of
peace and spiritual harmony. A graduate in philosophy, he was accused of getting rich
from his disciples. A controversial person, who still, seven years after his death, arouses
interest.
"He led his disciples on paths, which were philosophical, scientific, psychoanalytical, and
religious. "
"His knowledge of the West was as formidable as his knowledge of the East. From Buddha
to Jesus, from Heraclitus to Marx, from the Indian mystic, Tilopa to Jung, from Zen to the
Sufis, from Yoga to Tantra, he would point out the strengths and weaknesses of each
doctrine."
"His bottom line was always: "From now on, do whatsoever you want, but do it with
awareness. Easy and natural are the keys. Don't repress anything, be your own self."
"Bhagwan was the Master who would not give solutions, but simply provide a space to let
go of the madness caused by living a life where the body, mind, being and soul were not
connected."
"In Pune, things like asceticism, renunciation, dieting, and sitting like a Buddha, were
peripheral. The important thing was to free yourself from the neurotic energies inside, to
generate an inner explosion, to transform your inner world."
"In the ashram could be heard the rumbling of the thunder of a revolution which could
spread all over the world. And this unarmed rumbling started to worry those inside and
outside India who were controlling the destiny of the world. In Pune, agents began to
arrive from governments fearful of these teachings against the vested interests.
"Democracy will be possible only when politicians disappear."
"Like Socrates he was considered a corrupter of the morals of young people, like all true
philosophers he demolished a belief system that produced only unhappiness, not joy."
"His greatness was that he didn't give solutions, only tools for people to realize
themselves. "The answer is in yourself. I just tell you the potential of your being."