Editing Rajneesh movement (section)

== Beliefs and practices ==

=== Religion ===
A 1972 monograph outlined Rajneesh's concept of sannyas.<ref name="Yoga Chinmaya 1972" /> It was to be a worldwide movement, rooted in the affirmation of life, playful, joyful and based on science rather than belief and dogma. It would not rely on ideology and philosophy, but on practices, techniques and methods aiming to offer every individual the chance to discover and choose their own proper religious path; the intent was to lead people to an essential, universal religiousness. The movement would be open to people of all religions or of none, experimenting with the inner methods of all religions in their pure, original form, not seeking to synthesise them but to provide facilities whereby each might be revived, maintained and defended and their lost and hidden secrets rediscovered. The movement would not seek to create any new religion.

[[File:NSI-Logo.gif|thumb|180px|left|Logo of Neo-Sannyas International. ''Circa'' 1970s.]]
To this end, communities would be founded around the world and groups of sannyasins would tour the world to aid seekers of spiritual enlightenment and demonstrate techniques of meditation. Other groups would perform ''[[kirtan]]'' (call and response chanting) and conduct experiments in healing. Communities would run their own businesses, and various publishing companies would be founded. A central International University of Meditation would have branches all over the world and run meditation camps, and study groups would investigate the key texts of [[Tantra]], [[Taoism]], [[Hinduism]] and other traditions.<ref name="None">{{harvnb|Palmer|1993|p=72}}</ref>

In one survey conducted at Rajneeshpuram, over 70 per cent of those surveyed listed their religious affiliation as "none";<ref name="None" /> however, 60 per cent of sannyasins participated in activities of worship several times a month.<ref name="None" /> In late 1981 Rajneesh, through his secretary [[Ma Anand Sheela]] (Sheela Silverman), announced the inception of the "religion of Rajneeshism", the basis of which would be fragments taken from various discourses and interviews that Rajneesh had given over the years.<ref name="Metha111">{{harvnb|Mehta|1993|p=111}}</ref> In July 1983 Rajneesh Foundation International published a 78-page book entitled ''Rajneeshism: An introduction to Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and His Religion'',<ref>{{cite book|title = Rajneeshism: An Introduction to Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and His Religion|date = 1983|publisher = Rajneesh Foundation International|isbn = 0880506997|editor = Academy of Rajneeshism}}</ref><ref name=Carter300>{{Harvnb|Carter|1990|p=300}}</ref> in an attempt to systematise Rajneesh's religious teachings and institutionalise the movement. Despite this, the book claimed that Rajneeshism was not a religion, but rather "a religionless religion&nbsp;... only a quality of love, silence, meditation and prayerfulness".<ref name=Carter185>{{Harvnb|Carter|1990|p=185}}</ref> Carter comments that the motivation for formalising Rajneesh's teachings are not easy to determine, but might perhaps have been tied to a visa application made to the [[Immigration and Naturalization Service]] to obtain "religious worker" status for him.<ref name=Carter186>{{Harvnb|Carter|1990|p=186}}</ref>
People followed the norms of wearing similar clothes and participating in the same activities. The people were allowed to come and go as they pleased as long as they did not hurt anybody.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.scribd.com/document/226836614/Rajneesh|title=Rajneesh – Rajneesh – Religion And Belief|via=Scribd}}</ref> In the last week of September 1985, after Sheela had fled in disgrace, Rajneesh declared that the religion of "Rajneeshism" and "Rajneeshees" no longer existed, and that anything bearing the name would be dismantled.<ref name="tl85">{{cite news |title=Rajneesh renouncing his cult's religion |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1347&dat=19851001&id=OBgVAAAAIBAJ&pg=1946,4458 |author=Sally Carpenter Hale, Associated Press |newspaper=[[The Ledger]] |date=1 October 1985 |page=8A |access-date=15 July 2011}}</ref> His disciples set fire to 5,000 copies of the book ''Rajneeshism''.<ref name="tl85" /><ref name="sc85">{{cite news |title=Guru's arrest not imminent |agency=Associated Press |newspaper=[[Spokane Chronicle]] |date=2 October 1985 |page=D6}}</ref> Rajneesh said he ordered the book-burning to rid the sect of the last traces of the influence of Sheela,<ref name="sc85" /> whose robes were added to the bonfire.<ref name="sc85" />

=== Society ===

==== Intentional community ====
Rajneesh held that families, large cities and nations would ultimately be replaced by small communities with a communal way of life. By 1972, small communes of disciples existed in India and Kenya, and a larger one, to be known as Anand Shila, was planned as a "permanent world headquarters" in India. However, this plan was repeatedly thwarted. Large communes were planned in the west. The Rajneesh organisation bought the {{convert|64229|acre|km2|adj=on}} Big Muddy Ranch near Antelope, Oregon, in July 1981, renaming it Rancho Rajneesh and later Rajneeshpuram.<ref name="hunt127" /><ref name="latkin">{{Harvnb|Latkin|Sundberg|Littman|Katsikis|1994|pp=65–74}}</ref> Initially, approximately 2,000 people took up residence in the [[intentional community]], and Rajneesh moved there too.<ref name="goldman209">{{Harvnb|Goldman|1997|p=209}}</ref> The organisation purchased a reception hotel in [[Portland, Oregon|Portland]]. In July 1983 it was bombed by the radical Islamic group [[Jamaat ul-Fuqra]], a group that had connections with militants in Pakistani-held [[Azad Kashmir]] and sought to attack "soft" targets with Indian connections in the United States.<ref>Mira L. Boland (18 March 2002). [https://web.archive.org/web/20020601183642/http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/000/996lxfmd.asp Sheikh Gilani's American Disciples]. ''The Weekly Standard''. Retrieved 8 July 2011.</ref>

The Rajneesh movement clashed with Oregon officials and government while at Rajneeshpuram, resulting in tensions within the commune itself.<ref name="reader104">{{Harvnb|Reader|1996|p=104}}</ref> A siege mentality set in among the commune's leaders, and intimidation and authoritarianism ensued. Disillusioned followers began to leave the organisation. Commune members were instructed to cease communication with anyone who left.<ref name="reader104" />

==== Marriage and the family ====
Although the movement was without clearly defined and shared values,<ref>{{harvnb|Carter|1990|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=d1SLj0HbX-MC&pg=PA9 9]}}</ref> it was well known that Rajneesh discouraged marrying and having children,<ref name="pike222">{{Harvnb|Pike|2007|p=222}}</ref> since he saw families as inherently prone to dysfunction and destructiveness. Not many children were born at the communes in Oregon and England,<ref name="pike224">{{Harvnb|Pike|2007|p=224}}</ref> and contraception, sterilisation, and abortion were accepted.<ref name="pike223">{{Harvnb|Pike|2007|p=223}}</ref> According to Pike, some parents justified leaving their children when moving to the ashram by reasoning that spiritual development was more important.<ref name="pike223" />

===Allegations of sexual abuse of children===
Rajneesh supported sexual freedom and non-monogamy, and former members reported widespread [[child sexual abuse|sexual abuse of children]] in the community.<ref>{{cite web | last=Abbott | first=Carl | title=Rajneeshees | website=  The Oregon Encyclopedia | date=2024-10-21 | url=https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/rajneeshees/ | access-date=2026-03-09}}</ref> A survivor recounted that she and her friends were pressured into sexual acts with adult men in the commune. For her, it started at the age of seven and it culminated in rape at the age of twelve.<ref>{{cite web | title=UK Woman Recounts Sexual Trauma In Osho's Cult | website=www.ndtv.com | date=2024-09-29 | url=https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/survivor-of-bhagwan-shree-rajneeshs-sex-cult-reveals-decades-of-abuse-6675679 | access-date=2026-03-09}}</ref> Another survivor told of sexual acts that started when she was ten years old.<ref>{{cite web | last=Carroll | first=Sarito | title=My abuse in the Osho Rajneesh cult has haunted me for decades. Now I'm ready to speak out | website=The Guardian | date=2024-10-12 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/oct/12/abuse-rajneesh-cult-children-communes | access-date=2026-03-09}}</ref><ref name=foryea>{{cite web | last=Richter | first=Anke | title=Forty Years After the Oregon Cult Commune: The Girl from the Osho Ranch | website=Fair Observer | date=2025-09-11 | url=https://www.fairobserver.com/culture/forty-years-after-the-oregon-cult-commune-the-girl-from-the-osho-ranch/ | access-date=2026-03-09}}</ref> She alleged that many of the teenagers on the [[Rajneeshpuram|ranch]] were pressured into sexual relationships with adults, which she characterized as [[statutory rape]] and child sexual abuse that was tolerated or concealed within the community.<ref name=foryea/> A German survivor gave a similar account, alleging that adults sexually pressured children in the commune and that some girls and boys aged 12–14 had sexual relations with large numbers of adults.
She added that adults did not object to such behaviour, which she described as being regarded as normal at the time and not concealed.<ref>{{cite web | last=Binswanger | first=Michèle | title=Bhagwan-Kommune in Zürich: «Niemand fühlte sich verantwortlich, dass Leute mit Kindern Sex hatten» | website=Tages-Anzeiger | date=2025-11-12 | url=https://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/bhagwan-kommune-zuerich-so-war-die-kindheit-in-einer-sekte-809954731293 | language=de | access-date=2026-03-13}}</ref>

The 2024 documentary ''The Children of the Cult'' presents an international investigation into the Rajneesh movement<ref name=dartmo/> that focuses on accounts of widespread sexual abuse of children within the movement.<ref>{{cite web | last=Stimpson | first=Mansel | title=Children of the Cult | website=FILM REVIEW | date=2024-10-03 | url=https://www.filmreviewdaily.com/new-reviews/children-of-the-cult | access-date=2026-03-09}}</ref> It depicts an environment in which sexual themes were pervasive, children were separated from their parents, and clear boundaries were often absent. The film argues that Rajneesh and his followers sought to create a new society with its own moral code, and it alleges that this setting enabled and normalized serious crimes against children.<ref name=dartmo>{{cite web | title=Children of the Cult | website=Dartmouth Films | date=1970-01-01 | url=https://www.dartmouthfilms.com/childrenofthecult | access-date=2026-03-09}}</ref>

=== Commerce ===

Hugh B. Urban comments that "one of the most astonishing features of the early Rajneesh movement was its remarkable success as a business enterprise".<ref name="urban179">{{Harvnb|Urban|2005|p=179}}</ref> It "developed an extremely effective and profitable corporate structure", and "by the 1980s, the movement had evolved into a complex, interlocking network of corporations, with an astonishing number of both spiritual and secular businesses worldwide, offering everything from yoga and psychological counselling to cleaning services."<ref name="urban171">{{Harvnb|Urban|2005|p=171}}</ref> It has been estimated that at least 120&nbsp;million dollars were generated during the movement's time in Oregon, a period when the acquisition of capital, the collection of donations, and legal work were a primary concern.<ref name="urban180" /> The popular press reported widely on the large collection of [[Rolls-Royce (car)|Rolls-Royce]] cars Rajneesh had amassed,<ref name="hunt127" /> reported to be 93 at the final count.<ref name="oregonian-apr2011-1">{{Citation |last=Zaitz |first=Les |title=25 years after Rajneeshee commune collapsed, truth spills out&nbsp;– Part 1 of 5 |date=14 April 2011 |newspaper=[[The Oregonian]] |url=http://www.oregonlive.com/rajneesh/index.ssf/2011/04/part_one_it_was_worse_than_we.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160320131107/http://www.oregonlive.com/rajneesh/index.ssf/2011/04/part_one_it_was_worse_than_we.html |archive-date=20 March 2016 |access-date=27 March 2018}}</ref> James S. Gordon reported that some sannyasins saw the cars as an unrivalled tool for obtaining publicity, others as a good business investment or as a test, others as an expression of Rajneesh's scorn for middle-class aspirations and yet others as an indication of the love of his disciples.<ref name="JSG114-115">{{harvnb|Gordon|1987|pp=114–115}}</ref> Gordon opined that what Rajneesh loved most about the Rolls-Royces, apart from their comfort, was "the anger and envy that his possession of so many—so absurdly, unnecessarily, outrageously many—of them aroused".<ref name="JSG114-115" /> He wrote of a bumper sticker that was popular among sannyasins: "Jesus Saves. Moses Invests. Bhagwan Spends."

By the mid-1980s, the movement, assisted by a sophisticated legal and business infrastructure, had created a corporate machine consisting of various front companies and subsidiaries.<ref name="urban179" /> At this time, the three main identifiable organisations within the Rajneesh movement were: the Ranch Church, or Rajneesh International Foundation (RIF); the Rajneesh Investment Corporation (RIC), through which the RFI was managed; and the Rajneesh Neo-Sannyasin International Commune (RNSIC). The umbrella organisation that oversaw all investment activities was Rajneesh Services International Ltd., a company incorporated in the UK but based in [[Zürich]]. There were also smaller organisations, such as Rajneesh Travel Corp, Rajneesh Community Holdings, and the Rajneesh Modern Car Collection Trust, whose sole purpose was to deal with the acquisition and rental of Rolls-Royces.<ref name="urban180">{{Harvnb|Urban|2005|p=180}}</ref><ref name="WRIGHT141-146">{{harvnb|Wright|1985|pp=141–146}}</ref> By the early 21st century, members of the movement were running stress management seminars for corporate clients such as [[BMW]], and the movement was reported in 2000 to be making $15–45&nbsp;million annually in the U.S.<ref name="Carrette 2004 154">{{harvnb|Carrette|King|2004|p=154}}</ref>

From 1981 to 1985, the movement owned an airline, [[Air Rajneesh]].