who
is Swami Chaitanya Bharti
I
wish I could meet God. Just to have a face to say
‘Thank You’to. If I trace back the trail
of blessings in my life, it would beginthe day Gurudev
entered my world. From that day onwards, sometimes
slowly and imperceptibly, and sometimes dramatically,
life began to shower its blessings upon us.
I say “us” because I would have to include
my family in it too. We have all journeyed together
in His caravan. He initiated us into a mysterious
world. A world which we had read and heard about,
and maybe even fumblingly touched, before He took
us there.
Yes, our personalities changed… as we glimpsed
that part of our personality which was beyond change;
our relationships changed, as we began enjoying
the taste of aloneness; and our lives changed, as
he untiringly reminded us that we were never born
and would never die.
His contribution was not in His words. His glory
was not even in His actions. He gave us His entire
Being. And in that sharing there is no space for
two. In that part of Him which is beyond blood and
marrow He holds us…while His words remind
us that there is only ONE.
So
who is Gurudev ?
Is He imprisoned within certain fragments
of conditioning,
certain patterns of behaviour? I sense something
grander in Him. Even within His pragmatic demeanour,
I sense something vast, silent and mysterious. He
comes from a place beyond and this rough-hewn mind
and age-worn body are only His point of contact
with the world we consider “real.”
In
this “reality” He has a history –
He was born to an impoverished family in that part
of Punjab which is now in West Pakistan.
But,
Swamijee will be the first to point out, none of
this is any more relevant than a dream at noon.
And what really matters cannot be given in words.
It must be passed on like a flame from lamp to lamp.
From living Master to disciple. And being with Him
is an invitation to let your inner lamp be lit…
a brief history
On
the pleasant evening of 4th October 1969, a 27 year
old photographer met Osho for the first time and silently
handed him
a note. It said...
"Please
look into my eyes and see if they can be set aflame...
if they have the potential to see the light. If yes,
then I have all the energy and courage to move on
those paths which are unknown."
On
reading it, Osho looked at him, smiled, and said...
"Ab aa gaye ho to wapis nahin laut paoge."
(Now that you have come, there is no turning back)
Since then, the young photographer never looked back.
When Osho started initiating disciples into Neo-Sannyas
in 1970, this photographer was fortunate to be amongst
the first six disciples to be initiated into sannyas
by Him. He was given the new name -- Swami
Chaitanya Bharti.
And
for the next 21 years, he did everything his Master
asked him to. He worked as Osho's personal photographer
for many years, edited numerous Hindi discourses,
designed many of his Hindi book jackets and also worked
as the co-ordinator of the Pune Communes Audio Duplication
Department. And whenever he got the chance, he immersed
himself into intense meditations along with long periods
of silence and seclusion. In 1974, when Osho stopped
conducting meditation camps personally, he appointed
him to conduct them on His behalf.
Since
then, Swami Chaitanya Bharti -- now lovingly addressed
as Gurudev --
has conducted over a 100 meditation camps in India
and abroad. He also spent six intense months in Nairobi,
guiding a group of 150 sannyasins into the deeper
realms of meditation. Now in his late sixties, Gurudev
lives at
OSHO DEVLOK, Srirangapatna, India... and continues to conduct meditation
camps with undiminished energy, enthusiasm and commitment.
As he says...
"This
is my way of repaying the Master for all the blessings
he has showered, all the wisdom he has shared, all
the love he has poured on me... a debt which is basically
impossible to repay."
Thus
Gurudev continues to forge ahead with the torch set
aflame by his Master, combining meditation with love,
laughter
and celebration.
Gurudev is also the founder of Oorja Music, a spiritual
music company dedicated to creating music based on
Osho's vision of music, dance and meditation. He is
the author of 3 books : "Osho aur Inner Circle"
in Hindi ; "Out of His Ashes" in English...
and just released Gurudev's third book titled...
...and
nothing has ever happened
the awakening
In
September 1990, after 21 years of being a disciple
of Osho,
Swami Chaitanya Bharti was stunned into Silence by
an unexpected event. For months afterwards, his appetite
almost disappeared and sleep diminished to a few hours
a week. When he did sleep, the inner space was racked
by a series of explosions.
When
he does – reluctantly – talk about this
experience, he says...
“It felt as if a huge building complex
– with many floors – had been exploded
with dynamite. I used to weep for hours and hours...
bathing in Grace and divinity. Tears of gratitude
flowed day after day; it felt as if a vast, frozen
inner world was melting and dissolving, washing away
lifetimes of pain and suffering."
Even
as this continued, he was gripped by a new dilemma.
Throughout the day, and especially whenever he walked,
he found himself wordlessly wondering: Who is this
fellow? Who is walking? What am I?
Late
one night, he came across a passage in a book which
said... “Everything
is just happening. There is no doer…”
While
reading this, he suddenly realized that there was
no reader…! In that instant, where once Swami
Chaitanya Bharti had been, now there was an unbounded
vastness which had no center… there was no person
there at all!
Slowly-slowly
there arose a feeling, which soon became constant,
as if all opposites became absent… There was
no friend, no enemy; no craving, no aversion, nothing
to gain and nothing to lose. Everything became still
and silent... as if time had stopped. Everything was
perfect as it was.
Another
surprising realisation was that all kinds of fears
had simply vanished. And in the bonfire that was raging
within, the entire heap of emotional and psychological
memories had been burned.
The
entire past – including the memory of the event
that had triggered the process – faded away,
except as a factual yet dream-like record. The only
thing that remained was an ongoing sense of Presence.
“It
still took a long time to understand that this is
what is traditionally called Self-realization, Awakening
or Enlightenment. That this is the same state which
Osho had been referring to. That this is the state
which many are desiring, and working so hard to achieve.
But surprisingly, this thought never occurred to me
that I am enlightened or that something special has
happened to me. On the contrary, as days passed by,
life became more and more simple and spontaneous.
“Since
then, there is a pure living, being, seeing, knowing...
but without a knower. “I” disappeared;
me and mine became empty words – remaining only
as reference points for communicating or relating.
Apart from that, they had no meaning at all.
“Listening
to all this, you may feel that this is a very high
state, that this is what enlightenment is, but to
me, it is just a natural state – most ordinary
in one way, but most extraordinary in another.
“That
is why, when somebody asks: “Are you enlightened?”
no response arises from within. I can neither say
that I am enlightened, nor that I am un-enlightened.
At the most I can say:
I am what I am.
Though many names are given to this state,
for me it is one's simple and natural state.
“And
don't forget that all experience – even a so-called
enlightenment experience – is part of the maya,
the dream from which one has to wake up. To consider
oneself enlightened is as illusory as it is to believe
oneself un-enlightened. That is why I hesitate to
talk about this experience.”
In
the years that have followed, Gurudev has transformed
many lives by sharing His love, laughter and meditation.
His meditation retreats have become a Mecca for many
sincere seekers from around the world.
And
although many consider him their Master, He insists
that He is just a friend.
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