Osho Foundation skips dates with charity commissioner

After making a controversial application to the charity commissioner, Mumbai, to “gift” valuable property valued at more than Rs8 crore to an obscure trust in Delhi, representatives of Osho International Foundation (OIF) have failed to show up at two hearings conducted by the charity commissioner’s office.

Although hearings were scheduled on October 7 and 20, in connection with objections raised to the gift proposal, OIF representatives skipped them. The spokesperson for the trust, Amrit Sadhana, declined to give details and sent a cryptic message, “The matter is sub-judice.”

As reported extensively by DNA in October, while Osho followers Yogesh Thakkar (Swami Prem Geet) and Kishor Raval (Swami Prem Anadi) have challenged the OIF application to the charity commissioner, another disciple, Nitin Phulphagar (Swami Nitin Bharati), has joined them in challenging various activities of the OIF.

All three have questioned the OIF’s gift deed application moved by OIF trustee, Mukesh Sarda, under section 36(1)(a) of the Bombay Public Trusts Act, 1950. The application proposes to gift “six units” in Little Woods Co-op Housing Society, plot number 22 in Koregaon Park, to New Delhi-based Darshan Trust, with its registered office at A-34, Defence Colony.

The property is named ‘Osho Sanai’ with single-storey bungalows in Lane 1.

The OIF application states that the gift was being proposed after a request was made by trustees of Darshan Trust, whose objectives were similar to that of the OIF. The OIF decided that the 6,611-square-foot property in Koregaon Park was “excess space”, which was not required by the OIF to fulfill its
objectives.

Therefore it decided unanimously to donate the property to Darshan Trust. The aims and objectives of Darshan Trust were stated as education, teaching of yoga, meditation and philosophy and medical relief, among other
activities of public utility.

The OIF controls the Osho International Meditation Resort, formerly the Osho Commune, and related activities spread over nearly 35 acres in Koregaon Park.

Meanwhile, the property dispute around the Osho International Meditation Resort has triggered an online networking buzz among Osho’s followers. The petitioners against the OIF, Yogesh Thakkar and Kishore Raval have formed ‘Osho Team Poona’ and started an online campaign “Save Osho Premises”, a forum for interaction, posting documents and their voices on a website, www.oshowork.org. This has triggered a buzz among the sanyasins.

“We are getting support from across the world. Followers from Germany, Thailand, UK, Japan and other countries are in touch with us and are extending their support to our campaign to save the Osho premises in Pune. This is for the first time that someone has challenged the functioning of the commune trust on legal grounds with supporting proof,” said Thakkar.

The questions that are circulating through various postings on networking sites are: Who has the rights to the estimated Rs1,000-crore Osho Commune property in Koregaon Park? Is it not time for sanyasins to ask for financial transparency about the workings of this temple of meditation? Does the secular government of India not have any responsibility towards spiritual heritage places such as this?

Questions are also being asked by followers if this is the first step towards winding it up: Is the Commune broke? Is it just a property deal, or an attempt to shut shop? Why such magnanimity of gifting commune property?