Talk:Osho's Itinerary
The Dec 25 1968 - Jan 22 1969 Itinerary
the cancellations
A number of small disagreements or mis-alignments arise in the interaction between the Dec 25 1968 - Jan 22 1969 itinerary and those with which it overlaps. They will be addressed below, after we consider the "CANCELLED" stamps that have been applied to three of the previously scheduled events. They are not the only events that got cancelled and shifted around in those loosely organized days, but they are the first we have seen cancelled in such an "official" way.
How "official" and how widely distributed were these cancellation stamps?
It is unlikely that every copy of this issue got these stamps, because the stamping was plainly not part of the one-colour printing process. The magazines got printed, and then at some point stamps were applied to some copies. For them to have got applied to all copies would have meant they were stamped immediately after printing and before being sent to subscribers, which sending would have been by definition as soon as possible after the mag came from the printers. There were two organizers involved in these three events, so each of them would have had to notify mag staff in a very short space of time, so most likely copies did go out to subscribers, with the stamps applied only to the remainder, which would be sold in centers and in camps and so on. Perhaps there are copies with one or two of the events cancelled but not all three.
One other strangeness: The Bangalore (Bengaluru) event was cancelled in the itinerary covering Dec 25 1968 to Jan 22 1969. In the other itinerary, covering Jan 5 to Apr 15 1969, it is not cancelled. One may wonder how an earlier schedule can cancel something that remains intact in a later schedule.
the Jan 1969 Amravati events
There is disagreement between this itinerary and the Jan 7 - Apr 15 itinerary regarding the precise dates of these events. Most likely the other one is in error, as it is overriding its usual formatting of dates: for Amravati it has dates 16--20--21 Jan. Usually it specifies every day for a series of events, so if it really were 16 to 21 Jan it would read 16--17--18--19--20--21 Jan. The 16 thus probably should be 19, which would then agree with the Dec 25 1968 - Jan 22 1969 Itinerary.
Interestingly, there is another input for the dates for Amravati, and that is Osho himself, in a Letter written on 14 Jan 1969, wherein he indicates the dates are 18-20 Jan. There is every possibility his dates are the most correct, since a) he personally was going to be there and b) it is the latest information, after all changes and adjustments are made, as happened so often with projected dates involving his schedules. -- Amravati section added by doofus-9 16:57, 29 March 2020 (UTC)
other matters
About the other items of potential interest in this itinerary:
Of the two organizers of the Nagpur event, only Baba Uttaravarji is named in both itineraries, with JJK also only appearing in one.
Premchand Maheshvari, the organizer of the two cancelled events in Mumbai, has not been heard of in other contexts. There may be a story there.
The Bengaluru organizer is rendered as CJ Dauliya in one doc and as CJ Toliya the other. Dauliya seems more likely but will leave Toliya for now.
"Seoni" IS a town in Madhya Pradesh, complete with a Polytechnic College, and this is how it is widely known in the Anglo world, but the Devanagari version, सिवनी, more "properly" transliterates as Siwani.
The Oct 22 - Dec 22 1970 Itinerary
Some itineraries did not include the year in the dates for posted events. Most were easy to establish by comparison with existing wiki Timelines, but this one eluded certainty until it got matched with the issue cover. The reason for the uncertainty was that no events could be found that completely aligned with known events in the 1970 Timeline. In fact, the only event with even a hopeful alignment was still partial: the eight talks for Suli Upar Sej Piya Ki (सूली ऊपर सेज पिया की) from Nov 10-17 are in this itinerary as Nov 9-14.
There is one frank conflict: the event in Anand Dec 1-2 cannot be made to fit with the Geeta Darshan series happening at that time. And the other events are simply not found. Most likely most or all of them were cancelled in the wake of the Hindu chauvinist agitation on Aug 23 in Ludhiana, documented at Naye Samaj Ki Khoj ~ 10. Why they remain in this itinerary can be added to our list of mysteries, which will have to include events still being promoted in later itineraries, even in Ludhiana! -- doofus-9 19:03, 19 April 2019 (UTC)
Accuracy of the post-Manali schedules
This discussion applies mainly to the three itineraries covering the period from Oct 7 1970 to Mar 15 1971, but peripherally before and after as well:
- Sep 1 - Oct 21 1970 Itinerary (the last bit)
- Oct 22 - Dec 22 1970 Itinerary and
- Dec 21 1970 - Mar 15 1971 Itinerary
Posted schedules in Yukrand and Jyoti Shikha were always subject to cancellation but in this period an extra factor entered, the disturbance created by organized Hindu chauvinist agitators in Ludhiana in Aug 1970. After that, Osho cancelled a lot of outdoor events open to crowds that involved travel out of Mumbai, where he was now based. Events also got shuffled around. Where there is a realistic possibility that posted events actually happened, they have been added to the Timeline.
This change of direction may be related to other changes as well, such as the beginning of sannyas initiation in Manali. The move to Mumbai had just recently happened, and that led to the beginning of an influx of Westerners, English discourses, longer, more intensive camps, the Geeta-Darshan mega-series ... all that and more flowed together. -- doofus-9 19:48, 2 August 2019 (UTC)
The Jun-Sep 1971 Notice
Two series are announced in this Notice, which has some of the same format of the previous itineraries but does not announce all events or series, just two "special" ones, "special" here referring to a new structure for participation proposed for these series. The "study circle" for what will be the Tao Upanishad series -- though it is not yet named -- will be limited to 100 "members", who will have paid Rs 500, a hefty amount in those days, to attend these study circles for six months. The talks will feature some Q&A but it is unstated how many or how often these talks will happen. In the event, there are 22 talks for Tao Upanishad, Bhag 1 (ताओ उपनिषद, भाग एक) before the six months is up. Also in the event, the actual dates are slightly different, Jun 19-26, in Palm Beach High School.
The other series featured in this Notice is explicitly named, Mahaveer Vani, with the "membership" fee for that Rs 100, for the one-time eighteen days in Patkar Hall. -- doofus-9 02:41, 20 May 2019 (UTC)
The Nov 1972 - Feb 1973 News
A couple of things about the Lao Tzu study circle: First, the actual times: We have seen many changes happen between these proposed schedules and the actual times, dates and places when the events did happen. Thus, it is not surprising that there are some small changes in this case. But here, there is reason to suspect that the times (am/pm) given in the Timeline are slightly askew.
What the schedule here proposes is two days of morning talks and five of evening talks, likely to cater to people working five days a week. Sure enough, a 1972 calendar shows that Nov 25 and 26 of that year are a Sat and Sun, lending weight to this hypothesis. In the Timeline currently, the dates agree but 25-27 are morning talks. Perhaps oriented toward a four-day workweek?
Whatever. Looking at other groups of seven Tao Upanishad talks, the pattern is either seven talks all in the evenings or five in the evenings and two in the mornings, always on Saturdays and Sundays. This five/two pattern applies five times, to all 21 talks for Tao Upanishad Bhag 3 and to the first 14 talks of Bhag 4. Given this fairly consistent pattern, i will change the 27th to pm.
The other matter connected with the study circle is, well, the study circle itself. In earlier times in the Timelines, the "Immortal Study Circle" was given as the actual venue for the Mumbai portion of Osho's Tao Upanishad mega-series. It is now apparent that it was not that, but a model of participation. Whether it was intended as a way to raise cash or a way to provide some seekers with a more intimate experience of Osho, perhaps those who were unable to attend a lot of events because they were working is not known. Perhaps it was both.
How it evolved over the three years or so it ran in Mumbai is also not known. That this week-long series was in Patkar Hall hints that at least it was not so intimate any more. In fact, all of Bhags 2, 3 and 4 were in Patkar Hall.
About the Geeta event, this was to be a part of the mega-series Geeta-Darshan, Osho's talks on Adhyaya 11 (Chapter 11 of the original Bhagavad Gita). In the event, it did not happen at this time, and was apparently reduced from an intended 18 talks to 12 when it did happen, in early Jan 1973. The venue had been intended to be the Hockey Ground, an open field in Churchgate, an area of Mumbai. The Timeline currently does not name a venue.
There is also this "Geeta Gyan Yagya", as the event-type or handle for the Geeta talks. This term was used by Gyan Bhed to refer to these talks -- not just Adhyaya 11, but the whole mega-series and i had been dismissive of it, not knowing of its wider currency back in the day. More respect may have to be given to it. It literally (sort of) means "Geeta Wisdom Offering", Osho's fairly large gesture of respect for Krishna's greatest work. Gyan Bhed also reports on the actual dates of Adhyaya 11 as it happens, and they are those same dates in Jan 1973 and he says the venue was Cross Maidan, so that can reasonably be added to the Timeline. -- doofus-9 05:52, 24 May 2019 (UTC)
