Ma Anand Sheela has courted a life of controversy and has raised a lot of curiosity and questions over the years on her association with Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, popularly known as Osho and on her life choices.
Though a lot of time has passed since the controversies, two documentary films 'Wild Wild Country' and 'Searching for Sheela' by Netflix put her back in limelight.
'Searching for Sheela' has been produced by Karan Johar and during the making of the film, Sheela visited India after 34 years.
In an exclusive interview with Chirantana Bhatt of Gujarati Mid-Day.com, Ma Sheela further opened up about her life recently. But before we delve into that, here's a small introduction of Ma Anand Sheela.
All about Ma Anand Sheela
Ma Anand Sheela was known as Sheela Ambalal Patel before she turned into a cult icon. She was the spokeswoman of the Rajneesh movement and Osho's secretary from 1981-1985. The cult established its first international base in 1981. The city was named Rajneeshpuram, and Sheela looked after the Rajneeshpuram ashram in Wasco County, United States.
But Ma Sheela had a fall out with Osho. In 1984, she was accused of a Bioterror attack. Hundreds of people fell ill after eating salmonella and Sheela was accused of sprinkling the bacteria on the salad bars across many restaurants.
In 1985, she fled to Europe and was finally arrested in then-West Germany in October 1986. Ma Anand Sheela was sentenced to 20 years in prison for a number of crimes but was later released on parole for good behaviour.
Osho, accusing her of the crimes, publicly denounced her, but Sheela continues to maintain that she loves Rajneesh till date.
Below are the excerpts of the interview from Gujarati Mid-Day.com.
'No sense of guilt'
Guilt and liberation are two sides of the same coin and neither of them applies to me. Most people live between freedom and guilt. Someone asked me how you react when you feel a sense of guilt, but I don't feel guilty. I do what I have to do and do it the way I want to do it, be it cooking, be it cleaning, or any philosophical endeavour. I do and say what I have in mind. A person can move on only if there is no sense of guilt.
'I love Osho, but love and sex are two different things'
I loved that man and still do today. Love and sex are two different things. Whenever I think of Bhagwan (Osho), I do not associate my emotions with a sexual feeling, even for a moment. I have only felt love, honor, respect and gratitude for Bhagwan.
I just fell in love, just like any young girl. No one thinks anything when they fall in love, they don't use their brains. It doesn't matter if its hormones or not. I was in love and it was a very nice feeling.
There is no expectation in love, and if there is, it is not love. Then it is a deal, it is business - you do it for me and I do it for you.
