Ma Prema Veena: Difference between revisions

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The success of my first booklet, '''''Meeting the Master''''', has encouraged me to continue writing, as it seems that many people are interested in my stories about the time I spent with Osho. ‘Meeting the Master’ was, as it says, a short account of how I came to meet Osho in 1971, before the world knew about him, and the change of direction that my life took as a result.  
Having travelled overland to India, Veena met Osho in Mumbai in Dec 1971 and took sannyas at a meditation camp held in Matheran, a hill station in the Ghats between Mumbai and Pune, in Jan 1972. In March she went to the first Mt Abu meditation camp in Gujarat and directly afterwards was sent by Osho to join a ‘Kirtan Mandali’, led by [[Sw Narendra Bodhisatva|Swami Narendra]], travelling around Gujarat.


I have just finished a second book, '''''A Seam for the Master''''', much longer this time, about the 12 years I spent as his tailor and hat-maker.  
Osho then asked Veena to open a meditation centre in London and towards the end of the year, with the help of Shyam Singha, she opened the [[Nirvana Meditation Centre, London|Nirvana Meditation Centre]] -- the first Osho meditation centre in the West. Supported by Shyam -- then for a time by R.D. Laing, then Paul and Pat Lowe (Teertha and Poonam, who ran a new-age growth centre called Quaestor) and Michael Barnett (Somendra, who ran another such centre called Kaleidoscope) – the centre rapidly became popular and many people took sannyas and went to India. Among well-known sannyasins who directly or indirectly went to Osho through the Nirvana Meditation Centre were Leela, Yoga Pratima, Sudha, Veeresh, Anam, Shunyo, Garimo, Maneesha, Anurag, Devapama, Somesh,  Hugh Milne (Shiva) – and many others.


Being quite good with the English language, and having done a lot of teaching and editing through the years, I am offering my skills to anyone who needs to get something out to the public or prospective clients in good English e.g. a website, a brochure, an article or a book.
Veena returned to India in Jan 1974, spent 5 months at Osho’s experimental ‘new commune’ called Kailash near Chandrapur in Maharashtra, then lived in the new ashram in Pune where she started editing and helping to publish Osho’s books. She was invited to be one of Osho’s mediums during this time. After 5 years of editing, she started to sew Osho’s robes and household necessities, to make hats for him, and to design and make the many costumes for photo sessions. She did this until Osho left his body -- apart from two other jobs in Rajneeshpuram in the USA, first as a ‘Twinkie’ in the PR department, and then in the construction department.  


Those who know me might remember that I was one of Osho’s first editors and was involved in the publication of his books for 5 years in the early Poona days.
After Osho left his body, she urgently needed to make some money, so she went to Japan where she taught English. It was a difficult time because she was seriously ill for 10 years, spending the last 2 years at Croydon Hall, the Osho Centre in Somerset, UK. Recovering from the illness, she got a job as a Youth Hostel Manager in Scotland, quite near to where her old friend, Ma Yoga Punya, and her husband Sw Amiten were living. Together Punya and Veena started the online magazine OshoinUK. This later became the world-wide OshoNews online magazine, still run by Punya and now Bhagawati.  


After Osho left his body I got some more qualifications and taught English as a foreign language for 13 years, specialising in the Cambridge Certificate Examinations.
In 2008 Veena’s life changed dramatically when, after seeing a BBC documentary, she embarked on a 12-year-long spiritual adventure, visiting the most sacred mountain in China: Song Mountain. Here she traced Osho’s connections with Taoism, Zen, and,especially, Bodhidharma.  


I took some editing and proofreading courses to further hone my skills.
Veena has written 5 books: ''A Seam for a Master'' (out of print) about sewing Osho’s clothes and making his hats; ''A Vanished Road'', about her trip overland to India in 1971, ending with a strange introduction to Osho; ''Glimpses of my Master'', about her time as a disciple of Osho (includes the text of ''A Seam for the Master''); ''A Mountain in China'', about her time living alone in a small village in the foothills of Song Mountain, meditating and discovering many connections with Osho; ''Gulun Kung fu'', which she co-wrote with a Chinese Kung fu student, in consultation with the Kung fu master, Master Wu Nanfang. She is currently writing another book, ''Farewell to Song Mountain'', about many more Chinese and spiritual adventures. She regularly writes articles for OshoNews.


I am a writer myself. Beside being the author of the above books, I wrote numerous articles for the ‘Osho in UK’ website, for ‘Viha Connection’ and various other sannyasin publications.


Punya and a young Chinese friend, Yujie Zhao, both experienced translators, are working with me to offer translating services in English, Italian, French, German and Chinese.


 
;Contact Details  
 
'''Contact Details'''


;address  
;address  
:Wanlockhead
:Dorset
:UK
:UK


;phones
;email
:3books88[[image:666.gif|link=]]gmail.com
;email


;website
;websites
:[http://www.songmountain.co.uk/ Song Mountain Editing]
:[https://3booksblog.wordpress.com/ 3books]
:[https://3booksblog.wordpress.com/ 3books]
:[https://amountaininchina8.com/ A Mountain in China]
:[https://shaolinwugulun.wordpress.com Shaolin Wugulun Kung fu Academy]
:[https://gulunkungfu.wordpress.com/ Gulun Kungfu]


;bibliography
;bibliography
Line 48: Line 45:


;see also
;see also
:[https://www.facebook.com/booksbyveena Books by Veena on facebook]
:[http://www.sannyasnews.com/Articles/Veena3.html ''A Seam for the Master'' - An Introduction by Veena]
:[http://www.sannyasnews.com/Articles/Veena3.html ''A Seam for the Master'' - An Introduction by Veena]
:[http://www.sannyasnews.com/Articles/Veenareview.html ''A review of ''A Seam for the Master'"]
:[http://www.sannyasnews.com/Articles/Veenareview.html ''A review of ''A Seam for the Master'"]

Revision as of 19:19, 17 July 2020

(R.L.Schlegel, BA, B Ed, Cambridge RSA CELTA)


1969 just before meeting Osho
Osho and Veena in Woodlands, Bombay, 1973
Osho, Veena, and Shyam in Woodlands, Bombay, 1973


Having travelled overland to India, Veena met Osho in Mumbai in Dec 1971 and took sannyas at a meditation camp held in Matheran, a hill station in the Ghats between Mumbai and Pune, in Jan 1972. In March she went to the first Mt Abu meditation camp in Gujarat and directly afterwards was sent by Osho to join a ‘Kirtan Mandali’, led by Swami Narendra, travelling around Gujarat.

Osho then asked Veena to open a meditation centre in London and towards the end of the year, with the help of Shyam Singha, she opened the Nirvana Meditation Centre -- the first Osho meditation centre in the West. Supported by Shyam -- then for a time by R.D. Laing, then Paul and Pat Lowe (Teertha and Poonam, who ran a new-age growth centre called Quaestor) and Michael Barnett (Somendra, who ran another such centre called Kaleidoscope) – the centre rapidly became popular and many people took sannyas and went to India. Among well-known sannyasins who directly or indirectly went to Osho through the Nirvana Meditation Centre were Leela, Yoga Pratima, Sudha, Veeresh, Anam, Shunyo, Garimo, Maneesha, Anurag, Devapama, Somesh, Hugh Milne (Shiva) – and many others.

Veena returned to India in Jan 1974, spent 5 months at Osho’s experimental ‘new commune’ called Kailash near Chandrapur in Maharashtra, then lived in the new ashram in Pune where she started editing and helping to publish Osho’s books. She was invited to be one of Osho’s mediums during this time. After 5 years of editing, she started to sew Osho’s robes and household necessities, to make hats for him, and to design and make the many costumes for photo sessions. She did this until Osho left his body -- apart from two other jobs in Rajneeshpuram in the USA, first as a ‘Twinkie’ in the PR department, and then in the construction department.

After Osho left his body, she urgently needed to make some money, so she went to Japan where she taught English. It was a difficult time because she was seriously ill for 10 years, spending the last 2 years at Croydon Hall, the Osho Centre in Somerset, UK. Recovering from the illness, she got a job as a Youth Hostel Manager in Scotland, quite near to where her old friend, Ma Yoga Punya, and her husband Sw Amiten were living. Together Punya and Veena started the online magazine OshoinUK. This later became the world-wide OshoNews online magazine, still run by Punya and now Bhagawati.

In 2008 Veena’s life changed dramatically when, after seeing a BBC documentary, she embarked on a 12-year-long spiritual adventure, visiting the most sacred mountain in China: Song Mountain. Here she traced Osho’s connections with Taoism, Zen, and,especially, Bodhidharma.

Veena has written 5 books: A Seam for a Master (out of print) about sewing Osho’s clothes and making his hats; A Vanished Road, about her trip overland to India in 1971, ending with a strange introduction to Osho; Glimpses of my Master, about her time as a disciple of Osho (includes the text of A Seam for the Master); A Mountain in China, about her time living alone in a small village in the foothills of Song Mountain, meditating and discovering many connections with Osho; Gulun Kung fu, which she co-wrote with a Chinese Kung fu student, in consultation with the Kung fu master, Master Wu Nanfang. She is currently writing another book, Farewell to Song Mountain, about many more Chinese and spiritual adventures. She regularly writes articles for OshoNews.


Contact Details
address
Dorset
UK
email
3books88gmail.com
websites
3books
A Mountain in China
Shaolin Wugulun Kung fu Academy
Gulun Kungfu
bibliography
Meeting the Master
A Seam for the Master
A Vanished Road
Glimpses of My Master (Chapter 5, Editing Osho's Books, is quoted in full in this Wiki.)
A Mountain in China
see also
Books by Veena on facebook
A Seam for the Master - An Introduction by Veena
A review of A Seam for the Master'"
Episode 60 - Keeping Osho on Planet Earth Interview/podcast about Ma Prem Nirvano on LoveOsho, 11 December 2019. Transcript of this podcast
Twinkies -- stories from the Ranch's PR dept

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