Books in the Pipeline

‘Past the Point of No Return’ – a compilation by Bhagawati

An intriguing title!

This is a collection of stories of how people came to take sannyas. I know a few of the stories and I think they are quite mind-blowing. Really, how did these people tread that path to Osho’s door? What mystery!

The book is now available from www.dkpd.com at the price of IR 750 including shipping within India, and at US$ 30 for buyers abroad, which includes international shipping. (This price difference is due to the cost of shipping one book internationally from India which is a whooping IR 660.) More on this flyer or on this Facebook page.

‘On the Edge: Living with a Master’ by Punya

Punya has written a book entitled ‘On the Edge’ (a play, no doubt, on Osho’s title and much loved quote ‘On the Razor’s Edge’). This book is precious and unique because it is, to my knowledge, the only first-hand detailed account of what went on in the various communes in India, Europe and the USA over a period of about 15 years.

As an historical record it is priceless. We have quite a few books written by sannyasins who lived and worked close to Osho but Punya was ‘just’ a regular commune member and her book tracks the everyday events of the commune – cooking for hordes in Vrindavan in Poona 1, getting Saswad together, running a taxi service at night on the Ranch and how the Italian and Swiss communes operated. Nothing like this exists in print. I confess I read open-mouthed as I knew little of these goings-on and was utterly fascinatated. Punya writes with humour, wit, candor and liveliness and all the time her great love for Osho shines through. This is going to be a must-read for everybody. It will be published later this year.

‘Glimpses of my Master’ by Veena

Many people still ask me for copies of my book ‘A Seam for the Master’ which was published in 2004 and the little booklet I wrote entitled ‘Meeting the Master’. No copies of these exist.

I have decided therefore to publish a kind of compilation to include these two pieces of writing and some other things I have written about Osho. There will be two pieces not seen yet: one about the amazing experiment Osho put 30 people thorough in 1974 when he sent us into the centre of India, to a deserted farm, to ‘build the new commune’. This was a unique chapter, largely unknown, in the history of sannyas and has never been written about except for a short chapter in Krishna Prem’s book, see below. The second chapter will be entitled: Energy Fields, Hits and Hormones...

‘Osho, India and Me: A Tale of Sexual and Spiritual Transformation’ by Jack Allanach / Swami Krishna Prem

This book touches my heart deeply. It is by my beloved friend Krishna Prem who died in 2007. Divy, his life-long friend and Sourabh, his wife, are publishing the book posthumously. I will let Divy write about it...

"The first time I see him he is reading Zorba the Greek. He sits in an orange armchair in the far corner of the room, legs crossed, the novel resting lightly on one knee. Apart from the single chair, a shelf of books, and a wide bed that lies close to the floor like a futon, the room is empty...

It is early November 1973. Osho lives in a single room in a three-bedroom flat in Woodlands, a luxury-apartment complex in the affluent Malabar Hill section of Bombay."

So starts ‘Osho, India and Me’.

Thirty years ago Osho asked Krishna Prem to write ‘a little book’. He wrote what was to become a unique account of a master/disciple relationship and life around an Enlightened Master.

From early days in Bombay, Dynamic Meditation on Chowpatty Beach at 5am, a journey to the middle of India for a quasi survivor experiment; a full moon acid party in Goa; meetings with Indira Gandhi and Morarji Desai to meditations on the secret of sex and darshans with the Master – the ‘little book’ evolved.

In 1981, when the commune moved to the USA, it was left behind and forgotten.

Many years later in Poona, by a fluke, I came across the manuscript and returned it to Krishna Prem, who finished editing it three weeks before his death in 2007.

To be published in Spring 2010 (Northern Hemisphere), Autumn 2010 (Southern Hemisphere). Announcement of publication will be made on all sannyas websites.

Editor’s note: Divy, being the incredible artist and graphic designer that he is, designed the cover of the book. He says, ‘We wanted something metaphorical for the cover – light behind obstacles, a window, see through, the tree of life etc. The photograph was taken by Anando in Rajasthan.

‘Bhagwan, The First Buddha In The Dental Chair’ by Devageet

This is a collection of amusing and at the same time, touching anecdotes by Devageet where he recounts his experiences being Osho’s dentist. I have read quite a bit of this book – sometimes it is hilarious; other times it touches on the deep mystery of an enlightened being functioning in a way we can never fathom. Many times his narratives brought tears to my eyes. It is a unique story of a Master and his disciple.

‘Bhagwan: Messiah of Life love and Laughter’ also by Devageet

I have not had a chance to see anything of this book but Devageet describes it as a subjective account of his life with Bhagwan, 1976 – 1990. Devageet is an excellent writer and for sure this book, with the dentist one, is also going to be a must-read for everyone.

Both books will be published later this year

These seven books have in common accounts, from very different perspectives, of the Master/disciple relationship and what it was like to be around one of the greatest enlightened Masters this earth has seen. I know I am involved but still I hope I am being objective when I say I feel it is important that these unique experiences be recorded for people who will come to Osho many generations hence. The bald truth is that those who knew Osho personally and had these experiences, are dying off at an alarming rate!! Beloved Krishna Prem has already left. It is fitting that these first-hand, immediate experiences be preserved as they give unique glimpses of the phenomenon of enlightenment. We know so little about the great Masters. Only about Gurdjieff and Osho have disciples written in depth about things as they happened rather than people, like followers of Buddha or Christ, writing a few hundred years later recording stuff handed down over centuries. In my opinion these records by sannyasins are priceless as they reveal something of the Masters and hopefully help others to understand, benefit and perhaps be transformed by the Masters’ ‘teachings’.

---

The next two books are by disciples who have developed processes aimed at helping people along their particular paths.

‘Evolution Remembered: Narratives from The Akashic Processes’ by Devageet

Shortly before he died Osho called Devageet into his room and spoke to him at length about secrets to be revealed by the exploration of peoples’ teeth and how they might help to free people from the constraints of past baggage and transform into their real selves. ‘Evolution Remembered’ is a fascinating collection of peoples’ experiences as they go deep into their own and the collective pasts.

To be published later this year.

‘Untherapy: a Positive Psychology for Enlightened Living’ by Prem Sunshine

The area of ‘Therapy’ is absolutely not my thing but I read quite a bit of this book and I loved it! This is the endorsement I wrote for it: ‘As an antidote to the endless alternative therapy production line, Sunny Massad’s book, Untherapy, is a straightforward, honest, no-nonsense, sans jargon, back-to-basics guide to seeing things as they simply are. Buy it, read it, and laugh at yourself so that you can live a life that is much less stressed and much more joyful.’

Sunny uses many quotes by Osho – choosing the most ‘down-to-earth’ ones – to illustrate her ideas and encourage people in their quest for a life to be lived in joy.

Untherapy is available now at amazon.co.uk, amazon.com, booklocker.com and at barnesandnoble.com.

---

And the last book is one I can’t wait to read because I travelled this overland route as well...

‘Like a White Cloud: Overland to India in 1974’ by Devika

Devika is already the successful author of the much enjoyed ‘Love Song for Osho’, a book now read all over the world. She has recently written an account of her journey overland to India in 1974 which culminated in her meeting Osho and taking sannyas.

She has called her book ‘Like a White Cloud’ because ‘My Way: the Way of the White Clouds’ was the first Osho book she read and, because of it, she decided to go to India to meet him. His words: "Float like a white cloud wherever the wind takes you" nestled in her heart and drew her to him.

Her route took her from Amsterdam to Istanbul and then through the sadly now ‘no-go’ countries of Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. The beauty and magic of those countries has been destroyed and is gone forever. Few people have written about that overland route so little is known about such a unique journey. Devika kept a diary recording her impressions day by day and, as she is an excellent writer, I am sure this will be a fascinating look at a time and places now gone forever as well as a touching account of her path to Osho. She took sannyas in July 1976.

To be published this year.

text by Veena – January 2010