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The Ultimate Game: The Rise and Fall of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh
Details the inner workings, strategies, and tactics that made the Rajneesh movement a major international religious phenomenon and reveals how the Bhagwan inspired thousands of sophisticated people to give their lives and possessions to him
381 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1987
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May 29, 2021
Could certainly have used some additional editing. Not exceptionally well written, but I found her personal account of the experience very worthwhile. I'm curious to know what's happened to her since writing this book.
September 16, 2024
A FORMER DISCIPLE TELLS OF HER 9 YEARS WITH RAJNEESH
The Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (born Chandra Mohan Jain; 1931-1990; he changed his name to "Osho" shortly before his death) was a controversial Indian spiritual teacher with an international following. His teachings on Tantra and sexuality earned him the name "the sex guru" in the mass media; he moved his ashram from India to Oregon in 1981, where they had substantial conflicts with the local community (including a criminal food contamination attack on Oregon residents ordered by the ashram leaders); he was deported in 1985 [see 'Bhagwan: Twelve Days That Shook the World'], and finally settled in India again, where he died.
His teachings continue to be promoted by the Osho International Meditation Resort. His daily lectures were recorded for many years, and turned into books such as 'I Am the Gate: The Meaning of Initiation and Discipleship,' 'Book of the Secrets Three,' 'Philosophia Perennis Volume 2,' etc.
Other books about him include 'Dying for Enlightenment: Living with Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh,' 'Bhagwan: The God That Failed,' 'The Promise of Paradise,' 'The Quest for Total Bliss,' 'The Golden Guru,' etc.
Author Kate Strelley wrote in the Preface to this 1987 book, "Since the writing of this book Bhagwan has returned to the original site in Poona. Messages have gone out to all sannyasins to send donations and return to live and work once again in the Ashram. It is amazing just how many people have chosen to return, together with many new people. It would seem the cycle continues... This book has given me a chance to go over the past, especially the way I viewed life and the players in it..."
She notes, "Gurdjieff was an admitted influence on Bhagwan, and many of his ideas and ways of working with his followers paralleled much of what Bhagwan taught." (Pg. 12) She suggests, "In time, with proper training... the 'alchemy' (as Bhagwan called it) began to work on you, making you less and less trusting of your own instincts, reasoning, and emotions, and more and more pliable to manipulation by the office or the Master. Your own mind was artfully guided into a series of preconditioned ways of thinking that always challenged doubt or defiance and nudged your toward surrender to Bhagwan's will." (Pg. 81) She adds, "Question yourself was the overriding principle." (Pg. 86)
She recalls, "That was the amazing thing about Bhagwan: Each sannyasin would fall in love with him in his or her own way. Some wanted to be his lover; some wanted to be ... devotees. each was there for him for a particular reason... I valued him as a master who not only tells you a story, but lets you live it." (Pg. 102)
She explains, "Some people might cry, 'Mass hypnosis!' Others might say, 'Brainwashing!' ... I'd call it 'mass self-hypnosis.' ... In the Ashram this kind of stimulation was happening continually. This was why we felt high all the time. When we returned alone to the West we would fall into a depression, almost a withdrawal." (Pg. 188)
She observes, "Bhagwan was an amazing mass-marketer. Most religious organizations go through one channel to get their adherents...In the Ashram there were as many different appeals as there were sannyasins. Anyone who opened a center signed a release in advance that distanced the Ashram from any negative fallout... The Ashram relied on individuals, using their own creativity, to attract people---though this was never an official program. The Ashram never appeared to be telling anyone what to do. This was the brilliance of the approach, because people put MORE energy into what they felt was their own effort all the way. Because nothing was ever ASKED of them, people would send part of what they made to the Ashram." (Pg. 317)
This book will interest anyone looking for an "insider's" perspective on Rajneesh and his movement.
The Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (born Chandra Mohan Jain; 1931-1990; he changed his name to "Osho" shortly before his death) was a controversial Indian spiritual teacher with an international following. His teachings on Tantra and sexuality earned him the name "the sex guru" in the mass media; he moved his ashram from India to Oregon in 1981, where they had substantial conflicts with the local community (including a criminal food contamination attack on Oregon residents ordered by the ashram leaders); he was deported in 1985 [see 'Bhagwan: Twelve Days That Shook the World'], and finally settled in India again, where he died.
His teachings continue to be promoted by the Osho International Meditation Resort. His daily lectures were recorded for many years, and turned into books such as 'I Am the Gate: The Meaning of Initiation and Discipleship,' 'Book of the Secrets Three,' 'Philosophia Perennis Volume 2,' etc.
Other books about him include 'Dying for Enlightenment: Living with Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh,' 'Bhagwan: The God That Failed,' 'The Promise of Paradise,' 'The Quest for Total Bliss,' 'The Golden Guru,' etc.
Author Kate Strelley wrote in the Preface to this 1987 book, "Since the writing of this book Bhagwan has returned to the original site in Poona. Messages have gone out to all sannyasins to send donations and return to live and work once again in the Ashram. It is amazing just how many people have chosen to return, together with many new people. It would seem the cycle continues... This book has given me a chance to go over the past, especially the way I viewed life and the players in it..."
She notes, "Gurdjieff was an admitted influence on Bhagwan, and many of his ideas and ways of working with his followers paralleled much of what Bhagwan taught." (Pg. 12) She suggests, "In time, with proper training... the 'alchemy' (as Bhagwan called it) began to work on you, making you less and less trusting of your own instincts, reasoning, and emotions, and more and more pliable to manipulation by the office or the Master. Your own mind was artfully guided into a series of preconditioned ways of thinking that always challenged doubt or defiance and nudged your toward surrender to Bhagwan's will." (Pg. 81) She adds, "Question yourself was the overriding principle." (Pg. 86)
She recalls, "That was the amazing thing about Bhagwan: Each sannyasin would fall in love with him in his or her own way. Some wanted to be his lover; some wanted to be ... devotees. each was there for him for a particular reason... I valued him as a master who not only tells you a story, but lets you live it." (Pg. 102)
She explains, "Some people might cry, 'Mass hypnosis!' Others might say, 'Brainwashing!' ... I'd call it 'mass self-hypnosis.' ... In the Ashram this kind of stimulation was happening continually. This was why we felt high all the time. When we returned alone to the West we would fall into a depression, almost a withdrawal." (Pg. 188)
She observes, "Bhagwan was an amazing mass-marketer. Most religious organizations go through one channel to get their adherents...In the Ashram there were as many different appeals as there were sannyasins. Anyone who opened a center signed a release in advance that distanced the Ashram from any negative fallout... The Ashram relied on individuals, using their own creativity, to attract people---though this was never an official program. The Ashram never appeared to be telling anyone what to do. This was the brilliance of the approach, because people put MORE energy into what they felt was their own effort all the way. Because nothing was ever ASKED of them, people would send part of what they made to the Ashram." (Pg. 317)
This book will interest anyone looking for an "insider's" perspective on Rajneesh and his movement.
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April 25, 2015#003.07 LAZY REVIEWER QUOTES FROM DUSTCOVER: This is the fascinating inside story of the incredible rise and the dramatic fall of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh - the man who inspired thousands of sophisticated people to give him not only their worldly goods but their complete devotion. Going far beyond the journalistic accounts, this insider's report tells in fascinating detail, and from first-hand observation, the inner workings, strategies, and tactics - the ultimate game plan - that made the Rajneesh movement into a major, international religious phenomenon. In frank detail, Kate Strelley portrays the events that ultimately strangled the movement, bringing about its spectacular demise in rural Oregon.
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