Rajneeshpuram – The Beginning
After the exciting and turbulent years in Poona, events continued even more exciting and turbulent – but now no more in India but in the homeland of all pioneers - America.
On an abandoned piece of land in the middle of nowhere in Oregon, the Big Muddy Ranch (the name says everything), which was for sale for almost 50 years and once used for John Wayne Hollywood movies, the Sannyasins turned a devastated desert into an oasis with all comforts one can possibly think of.
The ranch developed into the largest spiritual commune in the world.
By the end, 5000 - 6000 spiritual seekers lived here permanently, almost completely self-sufficient.
They had cattle farms, large agricultural machines, publishing facilities, a fire-brigade and police, which were prescribed by state laws after Rajneeshpuram became recognised as a city..
At the beginning, everything looked like the experiment was succeeding where thousands of humans could live and work together without private property in a self-responsible way.
Exactly that was Osho's vision as an alternative to the traditional “small family”.
It was living communism, with the great disadvantage of it functioning perfectly.
And that could never be accepted by the capitalist USA and the Reagan administration, particularly since the commune became ever more successful and attracted ever more people.
"Our greatest crime was that we were so successful", Osho, 1987
Additionally, Osho's clarifications about the criminal history of Christianity alarmed the Vatican and the Christian fundamentalist clique around Ronald Reagan.
From now on they had only one goal: to silence Bhagwan and to destroy the municipality, at all costs.
They received unexpected support from within the ranch through the criminal activities of Sheela, personal secretary of the ranch, who abused Osho's silent phase for her own purposes and to strengthen her position.
This offered a welcome case to the US authorities to destroy the ranch.
In 1985, Osho was kidnapped and illegally arrested (to this day, no arrest warrant exists), detained 12 days in different prisons and then expelled from the United States, without any crime ever been proven to him.
1 year later, in 1986, the state attorney responsible, Edward Meese, said in a press interview: "we had no evidence against Bhagwan, our only goal was to silence Bhagwan, no matter how"
20 min
Rajneeshpuram – The First Year
This film shows the pioneer work of the first years in an impressive way.
The commune still looks like the wild west in many parts, but the future structures can already been seen evolving.
We see the Sannyasins, who only one year before had lived in India as long haired hippies, suddenly working with enormous road construction machines, stacking up mounds of earth and blowing up complete hills to build a dam for an artificial lake.
28 min
Rajneeshpuram – The 2nd Step
After a hard winter where landslides and tidal rains destroyed much of the last year’s work, a new beginning is made under most adverse circumstances.
37 min
Rajneeshpuram – Join the Dance
A filmed invitation to Sannyasins in the West to come to the summer camp on the ranch.
It shows the life in the commune, starting from the first arrival in Rajneeshpuram, when all the friends meet again, to ordinary day to day activities and scenes from the groups offered here.
The spirit in the commune is described very sensitively.
20 min
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Rajneeshpuram – The Way Of The Heart
No other film shows the unique atmosphere of love and spirituality better than this masterpiece. A must for all who want to learn more about the ranch and the vision of life lived there
Fascinating film scenes are commented by quotes Osho has given about the context shown there.
30 min