Paradise away from paradise : An Osho experience

Ever since coming to America from Nepal two years ago, I have missed my paradise. My paradise where birds sang Osho songs, where trees sat in za-zen and where the rolling mountains around vibrated with pristine energy. My Tapoban, my moments spent there, silences, wild ecstatic free space within and frequent random visits by beloved Osho during meditations, during Samadhi sittings – memories of my blissful days back in Tapoban would overwhelm me from time to time here in America. And to remind me of what I lost, once a year Swami Arun would come to America with lots of Osho energy and love to share and to tease me with the taste of the paradise. His brief visits would ignite in me a desire to create a Tapoban in America, and this hope to have a living, vibrating Osho ashram in America has been floating in my heart for long now.

Once one has tasted the bliss of living in a Buddha-field, one is constantly craving for the experience. I was lucky this spring to have such experience again here in the U.S. It was spring again, outside and inside. Flowers were blooming, hills were smiling with lush green trees, and birds were singing their welcoming song as we drove towards Ithaca, NY for a 3-day Osho meditation camp.

The first evening over 30 people gathered in this beautiful meditation hall on premises of the Foundation of Light – a vibrant ashram maintained by Melissa who was welcoming everyone with a deep loving embrace. We started with introduction of Osho and his revolutionary meditation techniques and ended the evening with a prayer. There was a new medicine Buddha prayer, “Teyate Om Bekanze, Bekanze, maha Bekanze… “ sung by Ma Pratiti and repeated in acapella, and I found myself humming  it everywhere  for the entire time . That night the sky was clear and I could see stars that are rare around the city because they are masked by city lights. There was silence and beauty in this place Ithaca, and the excitement of anticipating Osho meditations the next morning overwhelmed me as I went to bed.

The next two days were wild, reminded me of Tapoban where time flew in dancing, rejoicing, singing together which brought a dynamic silence within. There were times when every participant melted into a single vibrant group energy playing together in joy and bliss. I met with sannyasins from the time of Osho: swami Akul who used to open the car's door for Osho as he arrived for morning discourses; Swami Shanti Lou and his beautiful wife who lived and took care of Osho in Kips castle in New Jersey; Ma Usha who was around Osho through all the years in Poona I, Rajneeshpuram and Poona II; and finally Ma Pratiti who brought back the fragrance of those beautiful Poona I days with Osho into the buddha-hall in Ithaca. These are experiences which cannot be explained in words. They can be lived, they can be sung and they can be dreamt. There were friends from Quebec, Canada, Ohio, Montreal, Boston, Washinton D.C., NJ, NY, Connecticut and many from Ithaca itself. Many of us had never met before but eventually bonded as closest friends in just two days: maybe Osho magic floating all around was pulling us together. On Sunday, the last day of the camp, when we all had to part, nobody wanted to leave! We were standing in a circle outside praying that we get to meet again and relive the magic.

The lives each of us had lived back home were in sharp contrast with the bliss we just experienced.  I then felt like everyone’s heart was feeling what I felt, a deep desire to live in a Buddha-field, to walk without legs, to fly without wings, to live in Master’s presence and dance with him every day.

It started as an idea to get together and share joy with Ma Pratiti and few sannyasins who had lived in Osho's presence started as an idea , and ended up with 3 beautiful days of bliss, sharing and bonding with many open-hearted , lovely people. I was happy to sync with my people finally,  I felt hope, I see it happening some day soon.