Editing Rajneesh (section)

=== University years and public speaker: 1951–1970 ===
In 1951, aged 19, Rajneesh began his studies at [[Hitkarini College of Engineering and Technology|Hitkarini College]] in [[Jabalpur]].<ref>{{harvnb|Süss|1996|p=29}}</ref> Asked to leave after conflicts with an instructor, he transferred to D. N. Jain College, also in Jabalpur.<ref name=Carter43>{{harvnb|Carter|1990|p=43}}</ref> Having proved himself to be disruptively argumentative, he was not required to attend college classes at D. N. Jain College except for examinations and used his free time to work for a few months as an assistant editor at a local newspaper.<ref name=Joshi50>{{harvnb|Joshi|1982|p=50}}</ref> He began speaking in public at the annual ''[[Sarva Dharma Sammelan]]'' (Meeting of all faiths) held at Jabalpur, organised by the Taranpanthi Jain community into which he was born, and participated there from 1951 to 1968.<ref>Smarika, ''Sarva Dharma Sammelan'', 1974, ''[[Taran Panth|Taran Taran Samaj]]'', Jabalpur</ref> He resisted his parents' pressure to marry.<ref name="LT15">(1985) Interview with Howard Sattler, 6PR Radio, Australia, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ocbZhRQS9I video available here] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161130174649/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ocbZhRQS9I |date=30 November 2016 }}. Retrieved 10 July 2011.</ref> Rajneesh later said, he became spiritually enlightened on 21 March 1953, when he was 21 years old, in a mystical experience while sitting under a tree in the Bhanvartal garden in Jabalpur.<ref name="BM12">{{harvnb|Mullan|1983|p=12}}</ref>

Having completed his [[Bachelor of Arts|BA]] in philosophy at D. N. Jain College in 1955, he joined the [[University of Sagar]], where in 1957, he earned his [[Master of Arts (postgraduate)|MA]] in philosophy (with distinction).<ref name=Joshi185>{{harvnb|Joshi|1982|p=185}}</ref> He immediately secured a teaching position at [[Raipur]] Sanskrit College, but the vice-chancellor soon asked him to seek a transfer as he considered him a danger to his students' morality, character, and religion.<ref name="LFC44" /> From 1958, he taught philosophy as a lecturer at [[Jabalpur University]], being promoted to professor in 1960.<ref name="LFC44" /> A popular lecturer, he was acknowledged by his peers as an exceptionally intelligent man who had been able to overcome the deficiencies of his early small-town education.<ref name="JSG25">{{harvnb|Gordon|1987|p=25}}</ref>

In parallel to his university job, he travelled throughout India under the name Acharya Rajneesh (''[[Acharya]]'' means teacher or professor; Rajneesh was a nickname he had acquired in childhood), giving lectures critical of [[socialism]], [[Gandhi]], and institutional religions.<ref name="FF1-77" /><ref name="LFC44" /><ref name="JSG26-27">{{harvnb|Gordon|1987|pp=26–27}}</ref> He travelled so much that he would find it difficult to sleep on a normal bed, because he had grown used to sleeping amid the rocking of railway coach berths.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Prashant|first=Acharya|title=What do you think of Osho?|url=https://library.acharyaprashant.org/english/read/50dbae|access-date=23 August 2021|website=library.acharyaprashant.org|language=en}}</ref>

According to a speech given by Rajneesh in 1969, socialism is the ultimate result of capitalism, and capitalism itself, of revolution that brings about socialism.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book|first=Satya |last=Vedant |title=The awakened one : the life and work of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh|date=1982|publisher=Harper & Row|isbn=0-06-064205-X |location=San Francisco|oclc=8194778}}</ref> Rajneesh stated that he believed that in India, socialism was inevitable, but fifty, sixty or seventy years hence, India should apply its efforts to first creating wealth.<ref>{{Cite book|first=Satya |last=Vedant|title=The awakened one : the life and work of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh|date=1982|publisher=Harper & Row|isbn=0-06-064205-X |location=San Francisco|page=89|oclc=8194778}}</ref> He said that socialism would socialise only poverty, and he described Gandhi as a [[self-defeating personality disorder|masochist]] reactionary who worshipped poverty.<ref name="FF1-77" /><ref name="JSG26-27" /> What India needed to escape its backwardness was [[capitalism]], science, modern technology, and [[birth control]].<ref name="FF1-77" /> He did not regard capitalism and socialism as opposite systems, but considered it disastrous for any country to talk about socialism without first building a capitalist economy.<ref name=":5" /> He criticised orthodox [[Indian religions]] as dead, filled with empty rituals, oppressing their followers with fears of damnation and promises of blessings.<ref name="FF1-77" /><ref name="JSG26-27" /> Such statements made him controversial, but also gained him a loyal following that included a number of wealthy merchants and businessmen.<ref name="FF1-77" /><ref name="Lewis122">{{harvnb|Goldman|2004|p=122}}</ref> These people sought individual consultations from him about their spiritual development and transforming their daily lives, in return for donations and his practice snowballed.<ref name="Lewis122" /> From 1962, he began to lead 3- to 10-day meditation camps, and the first meditation centres (Jivan Jagruti Kendra) started to emerge around his teaching, then known as the Life Awakening Movement (Jivan Jagruti Andolan).<ref name="ASIMA">{{harvnb|Osho|2000|p=224}}</ref> After a controversial speaking tour in 1966, he resigned from his teaching post at the request of the university.<ref name="LFC44">{{harvnb|Carter|1990|p=44}}</ref>

In a 1968 lecture series, later published under the title ''Sex Matters: From Sex to Superconsciousness'', he scandalised [[Hindu]] leaders by calling for freer acceptance of sex and became known as the "sex guru" in the Indian press.<ref name="Carter45">{{harvnb|Carter|1990|p=45}}</ref><ref name="Joshi 1982 pp=1–4" /><ref>{{cite book |author=Osho|title=Sex Matters: From Sex to Superconsciousness |date=11 July 2003 |publisher=Macmillan |isbn=978-0-312-31630-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ifHHR7Fba30C |language=en}}</ref> When in 1969, he was invited to speak at the Second World Hindu Conference, despite the misgivings of some Hindu leaders, his statements raised controversy again when he said, "Any religion which considers life meaningless and full of misery and teaches the hatred of life, is not a true religion. Religion is an art that shows how to enjoy life."<ref name="Joshi88">{{harvnb|Joshi|1982|p=88}}</ref> He compared the treatment of lower caste [[shudra]]s and women with the treatment of animals.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s-XbBB3bOn4C&q=osho+patna+second+world+hindu+conference&pg=PA271|title=The Rebellious Enlightened Master Osho|last=Bhed|first=Gyan|year=2006|publisher=Fusion books|pages=273|location=New Delhi|isbn=81-8419-047-6}}</ref> He characterised [[brahmin]] as being motivated by self-interest, provoking the ''[[Shankaracharya]]'' of [[Puri]], who tried in vain to have his lecture stopped.<ref name="Joshi88" />