About Rajneesh
Osho (pronounced [ˈoːʃoː]; born Chandra Mohan Jain; 11 December 1931 – 19 January 1990), also known as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, Acharya Rajneesh, and simply Rajneesh, was an Indian godman, and founder of the new religious movement, the Rajneesh movement. He rejected institutional religions, insisting that spiritual experience could not be organized into any one system of religious dogma. As a guru, he advocated meditation and taught a unique form called dynamic meditation. Rejecting traditional ascetic practices, he encouraged his followers to embrace life fully while remaining unattached to worldly desires. Osho said he experienced a spiritual awakening in 1953 at the age of 21. Following several years in academia, in 1966 Osho resigned his post at the University of Jabalpur as a lecturer in philosophy, and began traveling throughout India, becoming known for his criticism of the orthodoxy of mainstream religions, as well as of mainstream political ideologies and of Mahatma Gandhi. In 1970, Osho spent time in Mumbai initiating followers referred to as "neo-sannyasins". During this period, he expanded his spiritual teachings and commented extensively in discourses on the writings of religious traditions, mystics, bhakti poets, and philosophers from around the world. In 1974, Osho relocated to Pune, where an ashram was established and a variety of therapies, incorporating methods first developed by the Human Potential Movement, were offered to a growing Western following. By the late 1970s, the tension between the ruling Janata Party government of Morarji Desai and the movement led to a curbing of the ashram's development and a back tax claim estimated at $5 million. In 1981, the Rajneesh movement shifted its focus to the United States, where Osho established a commune called Rajneeshpuram in Wasco County, Oregon. The movement ran into conflict with county residents and the state government, and a succession of legal battles concerning the ashram's construction and continued development curtailed its success. In 1985, Osho publicly asked local authorities to investigate his personal secretary Ma Anand Sheela and her close supporters for a number of crimes, including a 1984 mass food-poisoning attack intended to influence county elections, an aborted assassination plot on U.S. attorney Charles H. Turner, the attempted murder of Osho's personal physician, and the bugging of his own living quarters; authorities later convicted several members of the ashram, including Sheela. That year, Osho was deported from the United States on separate immigration-related charges in accordance with an Alford plea. After his deportation, 21 countries denied him entry. Osho returned to Mumbai in 1986 and, after a period of public discourse, moved back to Pune in January 1987 to revive his ashram, where he died in 1990. Osho's ashram, now known as the Osho International Meditation Resort, and all associated intellectual property, is managed by the registered Osho International Foundation (formerly Rajneesh International Foundation). Osho's teachings have had an impact on Western New Age thought, and their popularity increased after his death. In 1974, Rajneesh relocated to Pune, where an ashram was established and a variety of therapies, incorporating methods first developed by the Human Potential Movement, were offered to a growing Western following. Rajneesh said he experienced a spiritual awakening in 1953 at the age of 21. In 1970, Rajneesh spent time in Mumbai initiating followers referred to as "neo-sannyasins".
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.