Hello, I watched alot of OSHO videos on Youtube, and then I came across a Buddha at the Gas pump video that featured Vishrant.He was a former disciple of OSHO and there is a video of him interviewing OSHO in the 1980s. This BATG(Buddha at the Gas Pump) was a video of him from 15 years ago and he seemed quite affable and like a sage who has understanding of the world.I looked more into him and I saw he has a Youtube channel of his own and he still holds meetings weekly. I decided to attend his meetings and he often speaks of awareness being aware of itself and how this is our true nature. He says we are "pure consciousness" and that he is here to help people "wake up". I thought I was quite lucky to have found him. All the while at I was starting to look more into the wild wild Country documentary on Netflix which addressed OSHO and alot of the controversy behind his commune in Oregon. Up to that point I had just seen videos of him being recorded on a chair and I thought he was quite wise. I also would push aside his grandiose displays of wealth as some sort of device to shake people up like he claimed. He had a good way of making all of his nonsense seem necessary or ok. I also read a book by one of his former disciples called ma satya bharti who wrote the book called a promise of paradise, and it reflects on alot of the controversy that took place in the commune as well and how OSHO reportedly abused woman and did other unsavory acts like advocate Hitler which was a sure display of antisemtism which is the last thing I expect from someone who is supposed to be "enlightened", anyway back to Vishrant, this really hurt my credibility for him as well. I started to look more into him and I even messaaged one of his disciples who left a negative review on his society and what she had to say about him, she reflected on how he is quite manipulative and it is all a money game.When I would attend his meetings he did present himself as being a sort of know it all and he would always talk about himself and how he has always been so successful and what not.He would also be very obnoxious and speak very profanely regarding different topics, he would make jokes about being trans, he would make jokes about peoples race and ethnicity,he would demean people infront of others and have bursts of anger when his request was not satisfied,and he would call this"shiva energy".He claims that these are all devices that he uses to see where people are contracting and so they can have a chance to see where they are closed so they can open up. I think it is offensive and his words can be hurtful to people. He goes by Vishrant Buddhist society but he constantly uses profanity, and he talks about stuff that have nothing to do with spirituality, he does not renounce the material world the way many buddhists do as he rides motorbikes and drives mustangs. You cant have a buddhist society and pick and choose what you want to apply from the teaching.He always talks about his love for OSHO and how he was such a great and enlightened master and how his "energy blew him away". He says all enlightened beings including himself carry an energy field and this is not the first time I have heard this about OSHO or other enlightened people.At many of his meetings Vishrant will hold up his hand while his disiciple looks at him all googly eyed and with a gaping mouth. He says ,"ahh you are becoming quite in tune to the energy here".He also often moves his hands in a certain rhythym which is quite surely some form of mudra like he calls it, but it is hypnosis. I frankly think it is nonsense but alot of people say they feel some sort of peace around people like this, but it is highly likely to be group think. I looked at his "nonproft" earnings and he has been in business since 2012 and he has been earning over 500k since 2016 yearly. I mean wow. He says that he is against competition and that business is war, he says he dosent care about the money and he is only here to help people, how can you justify taking all this money off people? By defenition having a business in a capitalist society you are competing with others you so there is one way he contradicts himself, but that is not all. There are alot of ways he differs from a cult because he advocates for seekers to be doubters and only rely on direct experience, but on the other hand he sees his budda field and the seekers unconditional surrender as being essential to waking up. How do these things add up? I feel he has really taken me on a ride, and I want to see what others opinion are of him. Thank you.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/06/2024 01:01PM by nikanjavadzadeh.

"There are alot of ways he differs from a cult because he advocates for seekers to be doubters and only rely on direct experience, but on the other hand he sees his budda field and the seekers unconditional surrender as being essential to waking up. How do these things add up?"

Lots of cult leaders tell newbies to rely on direct experience. They say so because these people are confident that they can get you to distrust your direct experience and instead rely on them more and more as time goes on.

You'll be told that what you regard as your direct experience cannot be trusted because your feelings and perceptions are distorted by your unenlightened craving ego. So - you MUST put your doubts aside and rely on this enlightened leader.

Merely spending time with the followers of these cult leaders will lead you to distrust yourself. You'll see doubters and skeptics laughed at and made fun of during satsang/sangha gatherings.

He says he sees Buddha field. You are stuck relying on what he says.

Maybe he can see the Buddha field. If so -- is he using that talent honestly, humbly, benevolently? If he is so gifted, why does he need all that money and those fancy cars?

Special powers are horrible and dangerous if used by someone greedy.

Crazy wisdom isn't wisdom it all - its the worst lie in the world.

You touched on some good points. alot of his followers are adamant that they experience something special when with him, and this did cause me to doubt myself. I also think you are right with the fact that he tells people to use direct experience as a way to hedge his bets to not be seen as authoritarian while getting the sheep to walk passively to him on their own.

The social scene created by gurus has an effect on us, too. There's an instant intimacy.

We share that same quest, that curiosity, hope, that same open-ness.

There's an intense bonding, verbal and non verbal amongst the sangha.

We want to become and remain part of that. We are social creatures in a lonely world.

This social scene is full of people seeking healing.

I couldn't agree with you more, and that was my main reason for joining. In this age of technology and connection sometimes it feels like I have never been more alone, and that is why I think it is crucial to be able to rely on our own inner strength like Gautama the Buddha said,"No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path."



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/08/2024 12:04AM by nikanjavadzadeh.

I would like to elaborate on how his meetings take place. He holds three public satsangs weekly (satsang means meetings in truth) and four private(22 USD a piece) ones that are only open to disciples or sannyasins. When you become a sannyasin, he gives you a name along with a sadhana (teaching) intended to help you achieve liberation. I am a man, and he gave me the name Kalyani, which is that of an Indian goddess. I was surprised by this.

In one of his public meetings, before I became a sannyasin, I shared that I had once dreamt of a sexual interaction with a same-sex friend, which troubled me because I did not identify as homosexual. Given this, receiving a female name from him felt like an attempt to provoke me further about my sexuality. I asked him several times why he chose this name for me, and he mentioned that he chose it because it would save my life. This suggested to me that he saw my situation as quite serious.

Introspection is not new to me; I strive to understand as much about myself as possible so that I am not caught off guard by certain issues and can address or accept them. I have delved deeply into my own psyche to reach certain conclusions, but he seems to claim an extraordinary ability to see people more clearly than they see themselves. Frankly, this is quite intimidating. I doubt that anyone can truly glimpse into most people's psyches.

In his public meetings, he is relatively benign and casual, but his private satsangs are quite different, almost akin to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. He says his intention is to destroy people's egos. To me, it feels like he is trying to express himself and his power in a way that is both thrilling and provocative (think of the line from "The Road to El Dorado": "It's tough to be a god. But if you get the people's nod, count your blessings, keep them sweet, is my advice"). He often contradicts himself in his behavior, which he claims is part of the show. It feels as if, like a hedge fund manager who can do no wrong, everything he says or does is intended to help people, regardless of how irrelevant or rude it may seem. He often contradicts himself with the way he acts and he says thats part of the show. Like a hedge fund manager that cant go wrong everything he says he does is all part of the process to help people, no matter how irellevant or rude he comes across.

It continues to perturb me, because his teachings are not so esoteric and farfetched like most others. He often talks about being in service , being open and loving, accepting life as it is, you know, all the good stuff. This is what makes his whole show quite insidious, because it leads me to believe that if he is lying(Which he most likely is) he as an individual must be quite corrupt and equivalent to a sociopath. Any time I am doing something objectively good I will often times think of him and thinking oh he is the one who provided me with these values, but in reality I have instilled them in myself after many years of learning more about how to conduct myself in life.I dont want to remain bitter because of one individual that I have come across, but the fact that he continues to run his carnival does bother me.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/15/2024 01:42AM by nikanjavadzadeh.

Those unpredictable mood/personality switches are classic for abusive partners, bosses, and cult leaders.

Look up trauma bonding, the work of psychologist Alexandra Stein and fear without a solution.

This so called "crazy wisdom' is an excuse to keep people insecure, and unable to leave or critique.

You get mood states ranging from bliss to surreal clarity to terror -- but in none of these are you adult and autonomous enough to see this person is harmful and get away.

Thank you corboy, This topic of emotional attachment is certainly something I need to due my due dilligence on. I will check it out.

[www.youtube.com]
This YouTube video captures an interaction I had with him before I became a sannyasin for a brief two weeks. As I mentioned in earlier sessions, his private satsangs reveal a much different personality than the jovial one you see here. However, even in this video, his tendency to dodge certain topics or avoid addressing the deeper roots of issues is evident.

In several sessions, I mentioned to him that I was feeling stuck and wanted to live my life more fearlessly. In this video, he advises me to forget about having a job and focus on having fun. I don't think he realizes that for someone living in the suburbs, not in the city, there aren't many opportunities to "have fun." In today's world, having a job is one of the closest things to having a sense of fulfillment and purpose, but he doesn't seem to share that view.

He advocates for a 'carpe diem' lifestyle, which sounds great in theory, but isn't very practical in a society where job security and housing are necessities. I wonder if anyone else thinks this was appropriate guidance to give, especially to someone who is uncertain about how to move forward in life. At the end of the video, you can see that I mustered up the courage to question him directly, but he immediately dodged my question. When I persisted in seeking a tangible answer on how to move forward, he completely avoided the issue by advocating for me to make my own choice. While this may have seemed empowering from his perspective, I felt deeply unsatisfied with his response. When I ask someone something as significant as how to move forward, I would prefer a more solid answer, even if I might not agree with it.