Osho Foundation's activities need to be probed

Once again, disturbing facts have come to light with regard to the Osho International Foundation (OIF), which controls valuable assets, including an estimated Rs1,000 crore worth of prime property, and which conducts its affairs in high secrecy.

The government and the citizens need to decide whether there is need to demand greater transparency from OIF, whether Osho's samadhi in Koregaon Park needs to be opened to the public, and whether the properties of this trust should be nationalised to safeguard the interests of Osho's followers.

Ever since the spiritual mystic, Osho Rajneesh, died in Pune on January 19, 1990, one controversy after another has been dogging the OIF. First, Osho's followers split into two factions, with one group (led by three foreigners) taking full control of the OIF properties. The other group, comprising mainly Indians, left the commune on their own or were forced to do so.

The two factions clashed bitterly over OIF's attempt to copyright Osho meditations and intellectual property, but this was rejected by a US court.

While the OIF has certainly beautified the premises and transformed it into an international meditation resort, not all are happy with the changes. Access to the premises is highly restricted, daily entry fee has been increased sharply and many traditions discontinued.

OIF's latest bid to gift a valuable property of nearly Rs8 crore to an obscure Darshan Trust in New Delhi has not only been challenged by Osho's followers, but has also revealed links between OIF and this trust.

Clearly, someone needs to move the government or the courts to protect what belongs to the community of Osho's followers before it is too late.