Osho Dham

Address
Osho Commune International
17 Koregaon Park,
Pune - 411 001
Maharashtra India.

Location
Pune is easily accessible via air, road or rail as It is just 180 km from the nearest metro, Mumbai Though road travel should be avoided during the monsoons that is June to August, as the Mumbai-Pune highway. Private airlines like Jet Airways, along with the domestic carrier Indian Airlines conduct two flights to and from Mumbai daily. The train service between Pune and Mumbai is an excellent one. Buses frequency is good enough as every half an hour to Mumbai and back.

About the Founder
The foundation of the centre was laid by the Bhagwan Shri Rajneesh. Osho Ashram over the period of time, has become a virtual refuge for anyone looking for Indian spirituality. Osho still continues to hold people's imagination even after his death. Though Osho was raised as a Jain, he practiced his own form of spirituality after his samadhi. This was first called Rajneeshism and then Oshoism. He taught philosophy in Jabalpur for nine years, while preaching his own faith. After that, he left his post and focussed on his own teaching. Local opposition from the public forced him to close down his ashram in Mumbai in 1974, he was rebuilt it in Koregaon Park, a more isolated suburb. Many of his students came from the US. Today, the ashram have thousand of followers.

About the Society
The society had about 2,00,000 members and 600 centres around the world. To the outside world, Osho, both the leader and the commune, has been the centre of controversy. And targeted by many anti-cult groups as an evil, mind control cult. One source, in a masterful stroke of religious disinformation, claimed that Bhagwan means Master of the Vagina. He has been called the "sex guru." Spanning over 32 acres of land, Osho Commune carefully converted into an oasis for spiritual health. It provides a multitude of possibilities for inner discovery and exploration.

Thousands of visitors throng to commune every year from all countries and from all walks of life. The commune is open to all. To participate in the commune's activity, one needs to have an AIDS negative certificate. The testing is to be done in the commune itself.

Interestingly, the followers of Osho wear a typical dress in maroon robes for meditation and white robes for the discourses, with a necklace of 108 rudraksha beads with an attached picture of Rajneesh. Recently, they have been assigned a new name as men are given the title of "Swami" and women "Ma". They are not expected to continue relationships with their family, when they are in the commune. Accommodation at Osho ashram can be cost-effective as one desires or as expensive. There are numerous moderately priced as well as high priced hotels and lodges dotting the verdant Koregaon Park neighbourhood. For those intending to stay on for a longer time, there are many willing to accommodate Pgs near the ashram.

Activities in Commune
On daily basis, there are six different meditations that happen for the duration of one hour each. The high point of the day is the Osho White Robe Brotherhood which starts at 7:00 pm and incorporates music, dancing, meditation and discourse.