SANNYAS: A LOTUS IN A SWAMP
“So, it will be ok in white clothes?” With a sweet smile on his face, Osho asks me at my very first darshan on the first day of a ten-day meditation camp in 1975, at Shree Rajneesh Ashram in Poona. Working in Chicago, I took a short leave and came especially to see ‘Bhagwan’ and attend the meditation camp.
Utterly overwhelmed by his luminous and gracious presence and soaked in his compassionate and sweet voice, I simply looked at him and nodded my head in affirmative. And then, with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes, he says: “But you will have to get into orange soon…hmmm?” Once again, in the similar state of how a child looks at a wonderful scene, I nodded looking at him in affirmative. And thus, Osho places mala in my neck and gives me the name Sadhu Satya Vedant and initiates me into Neo-Sannyas while I bow down at his feet not really knowing what had happened, or what was happening (all out of compassion, Osho would give those early days sannyas in white clothes as well so that it may be easier to work in one’s job and hence the name had ‘Sadhu’ in the beginning. As one changed into orange clothes the name would begin with ‘Swami’).
And that’s how I was reborn and set on a totally new journey into the unknown. However, so that we may have some perspective, my understanding is that among the myriad gifts Osho has given, three are the most outstanding: Meditation, Sannyas, and the Commune. Meditation, for self- awareness; Sannyas, for self-commitment; And the Commune, for self-contribution.
Briefly, let me share what this incredible journey has meant for me focusing on the following. How has sannyas worked for me? In many ways; but essentially, it has given me clarity to see and courage to be. But it would be futile to define an all-inclusive vision of Neo Sannyas. In fact, Osho says, definition is never possible about anything that is alive.
Definition is possible only about something that is dead, which grows no more, which blooms no more, which has no more possibility, potentiality, which is exhausted and spent. Then definition is possible. Such as, one may be able to define a dead man, but one cannot define a man who is alive.
“Life basically means that the new is still possible,” explains Osho. “The old sannyasin has a definition, very clear cut; that's why he is dead. I call my sannyas 'neo-sannyas' for this particular reason: my sannyas is an opening, a journey, a dance, a love affair with the unknown, a romance with existence itself, in search of an orgasmic relationship with the whole. (The Heart Sutra, Ch.10)
In view of how significant and momentous Sannyas is, Osho has made a very insightful statement. He declares, “In the coming fifty years many sannyas traditions will suddenly disappear from the world. There was a Buddhist sannyas tradition in China which suddenly became nonexistent. Lamas are going away from Tibet, they cannot survive. There was an old tradition of Christian monks in Russia which ceased to exist. And it will become very difficult for sannyas to survive in any part of the world. Hence, in my view, such a precious flower like sannyas should not get destroyed. Sannyas as an institution may disappear, but sannyas as such must not go away.” (Translated from the Hindi: Chetna ka Surya,p.101)
As a sannyasin, as Osho’s disciple, I found that moment so overwhelming, so fulfilling, so incredible when upon my having His very darshan after my reaching Rajneeshpuram He says:
“Come Vedant…I was waiting for you…I missed you everyday” What can a disciple be blessed with more than these utterly loving and compassionate words of one’s Master.
I find the essence of the vision of neo sannyas is alive and spreading globally. It is also my experience that while living a life of a neo sannyasin one is constantly redefining what it means to be meditatively committed to synergizing the material and the spiritual, the local and the global, the inner and the outer by being all-inclusive and open to making a positive contribution to individual and collective growth. Osho gives a clarion call:
“My sannyasins have to become the first rays of the sun that is going to come on the horizon. It is a tremendous task, it is an almost impossible task, but because it is impossible it is going to seduce all those who have any soul left in them.” (Darshan Diaries, Zorba the Buddha, Ch.1).
