Osho's Children

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Soli is one of the first International productions by Italian podcast platform storielibere.fm.
Soli brings to the audience the true stories of “Osho’s children”, who in the late 70s and early 80s were brought by their parents to live in the controversial guru’s communes. We hear their memories and voices, discovering the mixed feelings they have now, as adults, towards their childhood journey: the awareness of freedom and unconventionalism, of being part of a special world, but also the confusion, the premature sexual experiences they were exposed to and the loneliness they all felt. They tell how they came to terms with something that deeply affected them, when their parents, suddenly, decided to leave everything and put them in common, at all levels. The International version of Soli has been translated by Edoardo Rialti, the official Italian translator of G.R.R. Martin. The International voice of Roberta Lippi is Cecilia Gragnani.
Find the original Italian podcast here: [1]
Cover image by Martino Pietropoli
Music by Smokelab

language
English
notes
11 episodes (incl. a double episode) + Trailer
time period of hosting
2021
presenter (producer)
Cecilia Gragnani
see also
Soli: i bambini di Osho - original Italian podcast
Hosting website


episodes


Episode 0
Trailer
Soli is one of the first International productions by Italian podcast platform storielibere.fm. Through their memories and voices, we discover how they came to terms with something that deeply affected them, when their parents, suddenly, decided to leave everything and put them in common, at all levels. The International version of Soli has been translated by Edoardo Rialti, the official Italian translator of G.R.R. Martin. The International voice of Roberta Lippi is Cecilia Gragnani.
Date of broadcast :
Duration : 3:05
Listen to this episode here
Episode notes :

Episode 1
The backstory
Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, known as Osho, became an Indian spiritual guru in the 1960s. In the mid 70s, the members of his cult founded the Puna Ashram, a commune in India that soon attracted members from all over the world. Mostly, young adults pervaded by the hippie culture, taking their children along. But Osho had very clear ideas about them: “The idea that children belong to you is wrong. Children belong to themselves”. What happened to the hearts and souls of those children, that following the guru’s precepts were left alone to take care of themselves? What have they become today? This is the starting point of a journey through their memories and stories.
Date of broadcast :
Duration : 17:38
Listen to this episode here
Episode notes :

Episode 2
Let’s go to Puna
At the center of this episode is Khrisna Venu, whose sannyasin name means “The flute of Khrisna”. He got it at the age of 4, in India. His mother was renamed Ma Prem Anugatha, which means “A little love story”. She received her sannyasin name in Puna too. Osho himself initiated both of them, giving them a new identity, along with a new destiny. Anugatha and Venu, mother and son, are deeply connected: they went through a bonding experience, that they lived together and separated at the same time.
Date of broadcast :
Duration : 18:12
Listen to this episode here
Episode notes :

Episode 3
Medina, the children’s common
The story of Venu and Anugatha continues: for a while, mother and son are separated. After the opening of Rajneeshpuram, in Oregon, all the children of the communes scattered around the world are sent to the kid’s Medina commune, in England, alone. What was Venu’s life back then, at the age of ten, without his mother beside, having to take care of himself?
Date of broadcast :
Duration : 22:20
Listen to this episode here
Episode notes :

Episode 4
Out of the commune
At the center of this episode is Massimo, who never became a proper sannyasin, but knows very well what it means to be one, since he spent his whole childhood and with an Osho-devotee mother.
She decided not to move to a commune abroad, but nevertheless she strictly followed the guru’s teachings from her hometown, travelling to the communes all around Italy. How was Massimo’s childhood?
Date of broadcast :
Duration : 28:26
Listen to this episode here
Episode notes :

Episode 5
Forbidden games
Osho earned the definition of “sex guru” because his cult members were allowed to freely express their physical desire, even with multiple partners. The guru had no trouble in openly talking about sex and even gave practical advices to his cult members on how to get the best out of the intercourse. He also preached that children had to know the truth about everything, including sex – but he did not consider that children imitate adults. They want to be like them, do whatever they do. What happens if what they start to imitate is sex? At the center of this episode is Swami Anand Satish, who recalls how all the experiences in the sannyasin communes started far too early. All of them.
Date of broadcast :
Duration : 24:41
Listen to this episode here
Episode notes :

Episode 6
Where is my mother?
Listening to their stories, we learn that most of the former sannyasin children seem to have developed special skills and potential.
This theory is confirmed by Camila Raznovich, former MTV, VJ, now successful TV host in italy, born in 1974 from a melting pot family. She was raised as a sannyasin child since the day she was born. How were the first ten years of her life? How did she deal with that experience? Story continues in the next episode, online on 27th april 2021.
Date of broadcast :
Duration : 33:27
Listen to this episode here
Episode notes :

Episode 7
After the escape
Camila’s story continues to reveal her best and worst moments in the commune. She recalls the difficulties of growing up in a split family, but mostly about ending up in the Medina commune, England, alone. She stayed there until her parents finally decided it was time to take her back home and leave the sannyasin for good. From that moment on, Camila had to fall back into the “normal” world. There was no more room for Kamla, the child she had been for ten years. How did she cope with such a big change? What is her angle on this whole experience, now that she is a mother?
Date of broadcast :
Duration : 38:00
Listen to this episode here
Episode notes :

Episode 8
Nobody wants to talk
The publishing of “Soli” drew attention and got noticed by the sannyasin community. Some former Osho’s kids came forward with their stories.
We realized that we missed one last chapter, a tribute to those who decided to forget. At the center of this episode, Maroesja Perizonius, a Dutch director who in 2004 shot a documentary on her story as “Child of the commune”. Maroesja goes through her memories as sannyasin child, separated from her mother and living in different communes, alone. When she started to search for answers, she realized that nobody – including her mother – wanted to be accountable for how their choices affected Maroesja’s life.
Date of broadcast :
Duration : 32:10
Listen to this episode here
Episode notes :

Episode 9
I am only Bindu
Bindu’s experience as an Osho’s kid has something unique. Contrasted emotions emerge from her words as she recalls her time in the Osho’s commune of Puna. Bindu is born there. She shares with us sweet memories of her childhood – and also bitter ones. Some of them are painful. Memories of great ideals, not always equally shared, but at least respected by everyone. Her story is full of sharp thought and a curious anecdotes. On of them allow us to unexpectedly close the circle and drew us back at the very beginning of “Soli”‘s journey.
Date of broadcast :
Duration : 44:53
Listen to this episode here
Episode notes :

Episode 10
There is another truth
Bindu’s experience as an Osho’s kid has something unique. Contrasted emotions emerge from her words as she recalls her time in the Osho’s commune of Puna. Bindu is born there. She shares with us sweet memories of her childhood – and also bitter ones. Some of them are painful. Memories of great ideals, not always equally shared, but at least respected by everyone. Her story is full of sharp thought and a curious anecdotes. On of them allow us to unexpectedly close the circle and drew us back at the very beginning of “Soli”‘s journey.
Date of broadcast :
Duration : 42:37
Listen to this episode here
Episode notes :

Episode 11 (Part-1)
Siddhartha, the Golden Boy – Part 1
Not a child of Osho, but THE child of Osho: the protagonist of this double episode of Soli is Siddhartha, the Golden Boy, Baghwan’s favorite child with whom he established a unique and special bond. For this reason, Sid had become a friend with all the members of community, loved by everyone, but also very hated and abused by Sheela: how far can human envy go? What about the resilience of a little child?
Date of broadcast :
Duration : 37:23
Listen to this episode here
Episode notes :

Episode 11 (Part-2)
Siddhartha, the Golden Boy – Part 2
In this second part of the episode dedicated to Siddhartha, we continue to listen to the story of the Golden Boy, his travels in search of himself and his place in the world without ever forgetting the Master, his visits to Rajneeshpuram, which Siddhartha has ever seen as the Promised Land, and the constant abuse and harassment he suffered from Sheela. Who is Siddhartha today? How does he remember that period of his life and all the people who, when he was just a child, did everything but protect him?
Date of broadcast :
Duration : 34:24
Listen to this episode here
Episode notes :