Saturday, October 10, 2009

Is Osho Auditorium next Bhopal?

This article discusses the possibility of the feet pounding WHO stage of Dynamic meditation and evidence of poor construction standards at the Pune resort combining to produce a disastrous scenario. It also mentions problems with cabled trees.

Significant stressors to a bridge can come not just from the obvious vehicular traffic and from powerful winds, but also from pedestrians (walking or jogging). A tightly packed bunch of marathon fun-runners pounding their way across a bridge can be a significant stress if the joggers become synchronised in their step, and if the step frequency fits with the natural frequency of the structure.

High profile examples of pedestrian induced bridge vibrations include the 8-lane Auckland Harbour Bridge in New Zealand, the London Millennium Bridge and the Passerelle Solferino in Paris.

Relevant news – you may well be wondering – applies to the (Osho) International Meditation Resort in Pune, India – a resort that claims to have over 100, 000 visitors annually. In particular I refer here to its new almighty, award winning, towering, monolithic, pyramid-like meditation auditorium.

The news is that this building has had cement failure, and a neighbouring building (constructed as part of the same project) has had failings due to mixing down of cement (not using enough cement in the concrete mixture).

The interesting question is what happens to the brickwork, structural steel, cement, welds, and bolts, when the devoted Osho sannyassins pound the floor of the Auditorium during their controversially active morning Dynamic meditation?

The following example shows how construction work at the resort is not necessarily of high standard. A brick-layer came to the resort to do some work-as-meditation. He was put to work supervising labourers doing construction projects. The summary of the scenario – as told by him to me – was that the workers thought that he would obviously not know anything about construction work, and so they could pull the wool over his eyes (so to speak). He was of the opinion that they were trying to steal cement. What they did was overstate the amount of cement needed and used for any particular job. Now a supervisor who has no idea of construction would not have a clue how much cement is needed for a job. However this person happened to be a brick-layer by trade.

I don't recall the exact details: whether they were stock-piling cement on the side or whether at the end of the job it appeared that all the cement was used, yet could not possibly have been: someone who knows about such things would be able to look at the colour of the concrete to see how much cement is used in the concrete mixture. The likely scenario put forward to me was that over-quoting and supposedly using this excessive amount meant that the labourers were free to steal a certain amount of valuable cement.

Now if someone wanted to investigate the quality of cement work on a project they could easily look at the amount of cement used, and draw conclusions accordingly. However in this case the conclusions would be wrong.

So what about the mixing down of cement that I identified on the project that included the grand meditation pyramid? One possibility is that the correct amount of cement was quoted, with lesser cement used, and some of the valuable product strangely disappearing.

While I am on the subject, one last little twig. Trees and branches have historically been neglected, and a high-tension cabling system winds trees up into a dangerous state of tension.

It has been some time since my last un-meditative visit to the resort – where I was assaulted for revealing the truth about negligence at the resort – and I assume that deep meditation in the still-standing auditorium has channelled wisdom and compassion into the supposedly spiritual management group.

Also, although I am not a civil engineer, I am a qualified engineer with practical civil experience.

Friday, October 2, 2009

Global Web of Deception

A seemingly cohesive argument in support of mass marketing of abridged Osho texts is as follows. Cast the web wide with a marketing plan that has popular appeal. So much of the starving humanity will have a taste of Osho’s precious depth, and will either at least be helped a little, or hopefully come looking for more. It is an argument which seems to make perfect sense.

Cast the net wide with a soft touch and gently bring humanity into the fold of consciousness, hence saving the planet and the universe. Of course by logical deduction we have it that those who have tasted the divine shall in time be drawn to the source. Unfortunately a few fish will taste Osho and go to another well. Jayesh and the gang will no doubt be full of best wishes towards them that got away.

There are two problems with this approach: one technical, the other practical. The technical problem is that every word that a Master utters is not without good reason. Also, the use of a particular word or phrase may be critical to the Master’s message. However to anyone other than the Master there is no way of knowing. It may be that a word or phrase can be removed or added, and the essential message remain the same. Unfortunately there is no way of ever knowing whether this is the case or not.

The second problem with this approach is, as mentioned, a practical one. The source of the Orange people was Sheela, her gang, and The Ranch. Osho was either hidden from the world, or chose to remain silently waiting for the tide to turn. My position, as supported by the arguments and facts I have repeatedly tried to share, pertains to the Maroon movement centred on Osho International Foundation (OIF), the Inner-Circle, and the Osho International Meditation Resort, Pune, INDIA. The view is that this Maroon movement is a cult no different, and perhaps worse, than Sheela and the Orange gang. Hence the argument goes that if you go to the source you are drawn to unconsciousness and criminality not consciousness and freedom.

If you go to the source of Osho what do you think I may find? What do you find at the Osho International Meditation Resort, Pune, INDIA, for example? My logical mind leads me to conclude that I will find all of Osho’s original discourses and transcriptions - in Hindi and otherwise. Surely the sacred book store shall be filled with all the unedited truth, after all I am no longer just interested in a taste. I am looking for the real thing. Also, since reading all his cheap, pleasure filling fictions, I still do not even know what the great Master looks like. At least when I go to the Osho International Meditation Resort, Pune, INDIA, I will be able to see what he looked like. I am myself a professional painter and would therefore like, with special permission, to view all his paintings, signature and otherwise.

What you will really find when you go to the well is water contamination (literally) and criminality (literally). Do you see the absolute stupidity, lack of common sense, and insanity? People go on and on about superficial arguments, have been shown what lies in the depths of the basement, yet still carry on with meaningless crap.

Yes go to the source like me, get banned, received threatening emails, get verbally threatened, physically threatened with a broom, sticks, metal rods, get pushed and punched, get threatened with a knife, be on the receiving end of mysterious threats outside the resort, and get told to leave Pune (as I was told not to come).

I know what lies at the source for I have been there. One year in silence I spent working in Osho’s Samadhi. Two years I spent in silence in his sacred Lao Tzu garden. I perhaps was the last one to have a chance to come close to the source, before the lid finally be closed by Jayesh and his gang.

If you are so stupid as to not see the brazenly obvious then I agree that you are asking for cold water to be splashed upon your face. However what about all the innocent people that do come to Osho International Meditation Resort, Pune, INDIA, after reading a cheap fiction? What about all the Osho sannyasins that have had the integrity to leave, quietly or otherwise?

What about so many other Osho sannyasins that know how ugly things have got, yet they feel there is nowhere else on this planet to go? This is perhaps the most ugly thing of all. There are so many of these people. They no how ugly the resort has become, yet lonely they still come. Isn’t this so sad.

There are so many centres all over the world, yet still so many feel lost. In part this is because most, if not all, of the centres are a close circle of friends. It is therefore difficult to integrate into this cosy situation. (Nothing wrong with this mind you, but the point is there is little else). The irony is that those in need are by definition not in the most open and positive social space. Hence they do not fulfil the requirement of being happy and friendly and therefore able to integrate into the closely knit community. Therefore many of the lost souls of this world who do not fit with any of the mainstream religions either travel the path alone, or come to Pune despite knowing the tragedy of the place.

What do the real seekers need? They need safe and affordable accommodation - nowhere to be seen in Koregaon Park as the locals rip everyone off. They also need cheap and healthy food - nowhere to be seen in Koregaon Park, especially at the resort. They also need an affordable space to meditate - the only one I could find was down at the burning ghats, but it has its limitations. They also need safe means of getting there and a safe environment upon arrival - no chance of that…have you taken a taxi from Mumbai to Pune…or have you walked the back streets of Koregaon Park alone (day or night)?

If an authentic space for seekers were to be, I could go there, have a chai, see a picture of Osho, perhaps talk to a stranger or an old friend, listen to a discourse, or maybe do some dynamic meditation. The crazy thing is these type of basic ingredients do not cost that much. We have lost the way. Not a space exists on this planet for souls like me that love crazy people like Osho. You may say I am wrong, and invite me to your place with welcome arms. You may say come and sit down and have a chat and meet my friends. I may say that I am looking for Osho’s hidden truth and am not in the mood. Do you see how something essential is missing? An authentic friend may start out as a friendly stranger. The resort is an absurd indictment on all the powers that be. Cannot we do a little better?

Following Osho's Vision

Where has Osho gone? If he is in all his peoples hearts, why are they not dancing together rejoicing? His message is tangible. It is that religiousness and life are not separate: that religion is not dull, and life is not empty. It is a message often repeated but difficult to embody.

In the absence of the Master celebrations can become empty or hypocritical. Without the blessing of the Master going inwards can become an idea rather than an experience. Yet those who have crossed his way or read or heard his wisdom can capture Osho’s spirit and his vision.

Without the presence of the Master the crowd easily disperses and the seekers move forth in fits and spurts. The path can become full of doubt and despair. In the vibrant celebration of the throngs of followers, and in the settling calmness that follows, humanity propels and is propelled by a collective field of energy. The energy field of the Master and the gathering create the sacred space for empty hearts to be filled, and for timid tigers to leap forth.

Understand this clearly, Osho is the indivisible collection of three things: himself; his teachings; and his people. If his people are split than Osho is fractured. It is like careering down the road in the middle of a moonless night with one headlight shining off to the right and the other shining off to the left. The driver is blind to what is directly in front.

There of course can be different groups of Osho’s people. There may be an exclusive resort or a sadhus thali stop - more rich of course would a sacred space be that welcomes and embodies all types of seekers. However this issue of accepting differences is different to the division of us and them, of friends and foe. How foolish it is to have as an enemy a fellow traveller on the path. How can such a blind person not lose their way?

There are those whose ego’s stand on the road in front of Osho’s fleet of rolls-royces, deflecting and splitting the headlights to the left and right. They stand tall on the highway facing the travelling caravan. Yet the Master does not stand and face his people. The light of wisdom leads the way and shines forth into the mysteries beyond. The Master does not blind followers eyes. Rather, the great light shines forth so that others may also see.

Some travellers veer off the road to the right. Other travellers veer off the road to the left. Naturally one should not travel blind into darkness. Better to travel by lesser light into the gutter and then along a rough dirt track…hmmm. The journey does not stop and after a while the great ego’s will stand tall in a cloud of dust.

I just say that for the dispersed and dusty voyager, Osho’s paved autobahn lies just to the right or the left. Egos of destruction will in time deflate. How long can one be a megalomaniac standing on a dusty, dark, and barren highway – a highway that once led somewhere and is now forever disused: new travellers will pave new paths. Of course these lost souls are welcome to join the end of Osho’s convoy, for they will need the support and guidance.

Life is a festival of carnivals and silences.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

News Story 26 Feb 09

News is often bad so may as well start with the bad news for the day. If luck has its way there will then be room for some good news.

The bad news is that the current Chinese presidents greatest achievement to date (other than for his efforts being promoted to president) is that he was governor of the Tibetan region during the brutal crushing of the second Tibetan uprising.

The good news – see I had a feeling there would be some good news forthcoming – is that Australia will soon no longer manufacture any clothing, and hence if Australia goes to war with China they will have to fight naked. No problem in that I should think, at least we can drive our cars around until they run out of fuel from the Middle East.
Interesting news is that the most pressure applied to a bridge comes not from a convoy of fully laden trucks driving over them, but from a tightly packed bunch of marathon fun-runners pounding their way across it.

Of relevant news – you may well be wondering – applies to the (osho) International Meditation Resort in Pune, India – a resort that claims to have over 100, 000 visitors annually. In particular I refer here to its new almighty, award winning, towering, monolithic, pyramid-like meditation auditorium.

The news is that this building has had cement failure, and a neighbouring building (constructed as part of the same project) has had failings due to mixing down of cement (not using enough cement in the concrete mixture).

The interesting question is what happens to the brickwork, structural steel, cement, welds, and bolts, when the devoted Osho sannyassins pound the floor of the Auditorium during their controversially active morning Dynamic meditation?

Of course it hardly seems worth mentioning that for years people drank contaminated drinking water at this so-called spiritual oasis.

To tie things up neatly, I wonder how many Chinese children died in schools that collapsed during last years horrific earthquake disaster due to atrocious and incomprehensible workmanship?

For the second string on the wrapping, the parallel between Chinese food contamination scandals and contamination of drinking water at the resort is also interesting.

You probably would not be surprised to learn that for my efforts to expose the truth I have been banned from this (osho) resort; I have been threatened in writing; I have been verbally threatened; I have been threatened with being punched, have been pushed, and have been punched; I have been threatened with metal rods and sticks; and I have (probably) been threatened with a knife.

I almost forgot about a sweet little anecdote. A brick-layer came to the resort to do some work-as-meditation. He was put to work supervising labours doing construction projects. The summary of the scenario was that the workers thought that he would obviously not know anything about construction work, and so they could pull the wool over his eyes (so to speak). He was of the opinion that they were trying to steal cement. What they did was overstate the amount of cement needed and used for any particular job. Now a supervisor who has no idea of construction would not have a clue how much cement is needed for a job. However this person happened to be a brick-layer by trade.

I don't recall the exact details: whether they were stock-piling cement on the side or whether at the end of the job it appeared that all the cement was used, yet could not possibly have been: someone who knows about such things would be able to look at the colour of the concrete to see how much cement is used in the concrete mixture. The likely scenario put forward to me was that over-quoting and supposedly using this excessive amount meant that the labourers were free to steal a certain amount of valuable cement.

Now if someone wanted to investigate the quality of cement work on a project they could easily look at the amount of cement used, and draw conclusions accordingly. However in this case the conclusions would be wrong.

So what about the mixing down of cement that I identified on the project that included the grand meditation pyramid? One possibility is that the correct amount of cement was quoted, with lesser cement used, and some of the valuable product strangely disappearing – perhaps into nirvanna?

While I am on the subject, one last little twig. Trees and branches have historically been neglected, and a high-tension cabling system winds trees up into a dangerous state of tension.
It has been some time since my last un-meditative visit to the resort, and I assume that deep meditation in the still-standing auditorium has channelled wisdom and compassion into the supposedly spiritual management.

As far as the Chinese communist party is concerned, the latest US state department survey has noted last years brutal crushing of Tibetans for the third time, and also an increase in the level of human rights abuses generally.

The contents of this article reflect the opinion of the author only. Some of the contents may appear factual, but are conclusions. The author shall not be held liable for any of the articles contents.

Also, the author is not a civil engineer, but is an engineer with practical civil experience.

Finally, it should be noted that the author worked with engineers and consulting microbiologist at the resort, and is a qualified engineer.