Hello friends! Today's blog is about the the Rajneeshpuram's spiritual movement. Our dear friend Jane Martin, who lived in the infamous Oregon commune back in the 80's, is our special guest in episodes 50 and 51 and she tells us everything about her life as a cult follower! You HAVE to check it out if you haven't already.
To listen to the full story click in the links below:
Rajneeshpuram was a very charismatic leader from India. Since the New Age movement was on the rise, a lot of people searching for a deeper spiritual meaning in life thought they would find in him the answers they were looking for. As the spiritual guru started to gain more and more popularity (and consequently more money), he decided to create an utopian society based in a small town in Oregon, USA, where everyone would be equal and follow Rajsneesh's teachings AND rules.
However, the spiritual commune was very controversial. The people who lived there, also known as the "orange people", had to work 7 days per week for over 12 hours per day. They had very little time to eat or time for themselves while Rajneesh had a pretty good life, driving around one of his many Rolls Royce cars and traveling around the world. The commune was divided in casts and it was almost impossible to move up to a better cast. There were issues with local authorities as well as residents of that town who were not happy with the new neighbors. There were stories of criminal activities, fraud, sex orgies, etc. If you have ever read Animal Farm from George Orwell you will have an idea of the type of society we're talking about.
Two years before the decline of the movement Jane left the commune with her then boyfriend and never came back. That was the best decision she has ever made! Rajneeshpuram, who later became known as Osho, continues to influence a lot of people nowadays, as weird as it may sound. People still follow his spiritual teachings and believe in his idea of an utopian society.
That's all for today, folks! We hope you enjoy these two episodes and we can't wait to hear from you! What do you think about this movement? Would you ever fall for a cult? Let us know!
Have a great week and keep your vibes high!
Silvia and Veronique
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