From Bhagwan to Osho: The story: Difference between revisions
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Osho talks at some length about the ten [http:// | Osho talks at some length about the ten [http://sarlo.42web.io/Yox.htm Ox-Herding pictures of Zen] (sometimes called the Ten Bulls of Zen), especially the much-misunderstood tenth picture, wherein the one who has realized returns drunk (with the divine) to the marketplace, with a wine bottle in his hand. | ||
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Latest revision as of 10:33, 2 June 2021
The story / trajectory of Osho's name changes presented on the Osho's names page is a bare-bones one. This page covers in detail the period from Dec 1988 to Oct 1989, from Bhagwan to Osho, along with the dropping of Rajneesh. It is based largely on his words.
The wording of the quotations below is that heard on audio, which is the same as the words printed in the books and on the CD-ROM, except where stated otherwise. A detailed list of dates, publications and the names used is shown in From Bhagwan to Osho : Publications table.
Some conclusions that arise from this study are discussed on From Bhagwan to Osho: What's in a name?.
Dropping "Bhagwan"
No Mind: The Flowers of Eternity ch 1, Dec 26 1988: Osho comes back to speak after an absence of twenty days. He speaks of visions received by Sw Govind Siddharth and Katue Ishida, a Buddhist / Shinto seeress in Japan, that Gautam Buddha has come to inhabit his body. He speaks of how he detests the name Bhagwan, and now is the time to drop it.
He says, "Gautam Buddha's prophecy was: 'My name after twenty-five centuries, if I can find a vehicle, will be Maitreya Gautam Buddha'. Maitreya means the friend. [...] I am your Beloved Friend. You can call me 'Beloved Buddha'."
No Mind ch 2, Dec 27 1988: Osho says, "I have accepted Gautam Buddha's soul as a guest, reminding him that I am a non-compromising person, and if any argument arises between us, 'I am the host and you are the guest -- you can pack your suitcases!'"
No Mind ch 3, Dec 28 1988: Osho reports that Anando is having difficulty to remember not to call him Bhagwan, so he suggests, "Buddha was called by his lovers 'Bhante' -- which is far more refined, of greater implications. 'Bhante' means a friend who has gone far ahead -- you are also on the path, but somebody is ahead of you. So just to help you drop that old ugly word 'Bhagwan', I suggest you use the word 'Bhante', at least for the transitory period".
No Mind ch 5, Dec 30 1988: Osho announces that Gautam Buddha was too accustomed to his ascetic routine and became demanding regarding Osho's perceived luxuries: jacuzzi, pillows, food, etc, so he has told him, "You just disappear in the ultimate blue sky". He adds, "It will be a great difficulty for poor Anando, because now I declare that my name should be Shree Rajneesh Zorba the Buddha". He apologises to Katue Ishida.
No Mind ch 10, Jan 4 1989: Up to now, Maneesha has been addressing Osho as "Beloved Buddha". Osho asks her to make it "Zorba the Buddha", to remind everyone that he is "disconnected from every organized religion" and to emphasize the unity between the outer and inner worlds.
No Mind ch 12, Jan 7 1989: About "Zorba the Buddha", that is his philosophy but "I would like my editors not to put it behind my name. I don't want to irritate ignorant, blind, unintelligent people [...] 'Shree Rajneesh' is enough to indicate towards me. As far as you are concerned, you can address me as 'My Beloved Master' [...] Hence, I will be simply my own name. I hope nobody objects to it. Otherwise, I can manage without a name".
This completes the dropping of "Bhagwan".
The Dawning of "Osho"
Zen: The Mystery and the Poetry of the Beyond ch 1, Jan 8 1989: Maneesha addresses him as "Our Beloved Master", on behalf of all in attendance, continuing that until the final change to "Osho". Hints of that change coming begin to appear, not in this book, nor the next, but starting in the one after that, Yakusan: Straight to the Point of Enlightenment. They come in the form of the sutras / Zen anecdotes which Maneesha reads and which Osho comments on. These are presented in some detail and at length, since, taken as a group, the pattern is compelling. In the not-very-long period presented here, less than three weeks, Osho speaks many times on the meaning of "Osho".
In what follows below, all framed material is from Osho's books, with sutras / anecdotes and other source material in ALL-CAPS, and Osho's comments in ordinary type.
Yakusan ch 5, Jan 21 1989:
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Osho goes on to explain that Ungan is also enlightened, and in this exchange, both are just chitchatting, having fun. But Ungan, the disciple, is still addressing Yakusan with this loving, honoring, grateful term. This is a fine introduction to the word.
Christianity: The Deadliest Poison and Zen: The Antidote to All Poisons ch 3, Jan 24 1989: This, Osho's next book, continues the elucidation of and pointing toward "Osho", with anecdotes of Yakusan and Ungan supplemented by appearances by Hyakujo and Dogo:
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Osho goes on to observe how most people, when they talk of their past lives, have gloriously impressive lives totally out of synch with their current drab and oppressive conditions, just the opposite of Yakusan. Meanwhile, "Osho". Again the hint, "Osho is a word of honor, of tremendous honor, of infinite honor". Like, you're looking for a name for me, what else do you need to hear?
"Meikei Osho" above is not commented on by Osho here, nor, interestingly, is it findable by the CD-ROM, likely because it is part of the sutra appearing before Osho's comments. There are a few other similar instances.
Christianity ch 6, Jan 27 1989: Osho speaks of Ungan having been with Hyakujo for many years prior to going to Yakusan. His older brother Dogo was with Yakusan and invited him to come. Ungan asked Hyakujo, who of course gave him his blessings and a letter to take to Yakusan.
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Christianity ch 7, Jan 28 1989, another small mention, with Dogo addressing Yakusan as "Osho", with, Osho notes, "deep love and gratitude".
Communism & Zen Fire, Zen Wind ch 1, Jan 30 1989: Hints about "Osho" continue. Also by the bye, Katue Ishida is by now in Pune, listening to Osho. He addresses / mentions her in this discourse, saying he will make her his ambassador to Japan. (There is a picture of her in No Mind hard copy, for those interested. And that book is dedicated to her.)
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Osho talks at some length about the ten Ox-Herding pictures of Zen (sometimes called the Ten Bulls of Zen), especially the much-misunderstood tenth picture, wherein the one who has realized returns drunk (with the divine) to the marketplace, with a wine bottle in his hand.
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God Is Dead, Now Zen Is the Only Living Truth ch 1, Feb 6 1989: In this new book we meet some different masters and disciples. Again, the term of address is "Osho". Sekito has been sent by his dying master Eno to complete his journey with Seigen, a "competitor" master. When Sekito and Seigen meet, they spar in the Zen way but a mutual respect is immediately there. Finishing a complex and fast-paced exchange:
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God Is Dead ch 2, Feb 7 1989: Wherein we are introduced to Nangaku, who lived in another mountain monastery nearby. Seigen refers to him as Nangaku Osho and asks Sekito to deliver a letter to him:
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God Is Dead ch 3, Feb 8 1989: Osho brings "Osho" into the herenow by referring to his video cameraman and Sekito surrogate, Niskriya, as "Stonehead Osho", just what Sekito was called when he became a master.
There are several other instances of the use of "Osho" in this period. The instances detailed above have been deemed the most significant. Interestingly, he is not known to have commented on "Osho" after this period, and not much before. As the previous instances may bear on this story in important ways, they are covered in another page, From Bhagwan to Osho: Prequel to Osho's name change.
Settling on "Osho" and Dropping "Rajneesh"
The story of the final steps to Osho's adopting this name is not to be found in his words but we have three sources for getting a handle on this story: a Rajneesh Times International newspaper editorial dated Apr 1 1989, a press release from Sep 15 1989 and the "explanations" inserted in books. The content, flow and timing of those explanations are explored in depth at the "See also" links below.
The Rajneesh Times editorial appears in full at From Bhagwan to Osho: Publications table. In short, it explains that sannyasins talked about Osho's words above and got together on Feb 27, 1989 and "decided" to call him Osho Rajneesh. It is a simple story. The pages linked below attempt to explain how and why it got complicated.
The press release offers nothing in the way of explanation, just the facticity of a reasonably precise timing -- Sep 12-15, 1989 -- of the final dropping of "Rajneesh". It can be viewed here.
As far as the books are concerned, the first known appearance in books of the name Osho Rajneesh was in a Hindi book, Mera Swarnim Bharat (मेरा स्वर्णिम भारत), in Apr 1989. Interestingly, this was some two months before any such appearance in English books. It is "Osho Rajneesh" on the cover -- well, "ओशो रजनीश" -- and an explanation on an inside page in Hindi that aligns with Osho's Japanese Zen master explanation. These explanations appear in other books through the rest of 1989 in various places, flap text, colophon and inside pages, and the name remains as "Osho Rajneesh" until early 1990, when it is finally just Osho.
In fact, this "Osho Rajneesh" was likely never more than a transitional name for publishers and booksellers. They were given leave to use this name for a while, to acquaint readers with the change, then it was all "Osho". Even during that time though, "Osho Rajneesh" was not a name used by insiders, its purpose was to enable name recognition in the "outside world". Thus did "Rajneesh" fade into nothingness.
In Osho's talks, there is no more commentary about his name. "Osho" just appears without fanfare in The Zen Manifesto: Freedom from Oneself, his last series of discourses, in two ways: In the first two discourses, the salutation is as before, "Beloved Master". There is then a hiatus of about six weeks, as he is not well and doesn't come out to speak again until Apr 2 1989. For that discourse and all that follow, he is addressed as "Beloved Osho". This is all clear from the audio record.
In the book, for consistency one supposes, the salutation is rendered as "Beloved Osho" for the whole book. Thus it appears to change from one day to the next: On Feb 19, the last talk of I Celebrate Myself, Osho is still "Beloved Master" and on Feb 20, the first talk of Manifesto, he is "Beloved Osho". Just like that! Even before the Feb 27 meeting!
Because the name is introduced in this oblique way, without a clear directive from the master, the scene is set for a lovely constellation of devices, dynamics and dances that only come to full flowering after he retires from the body. The "See also" pages linked below are an attempt to track some of the details and trajectories which go into making that constellation what it is.
- See also