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The Osho Carnival of Life was created and filmed in 1992 to celebrate the occasion of Osho leaving-the-body. This January 19th marks thirty-six years.

The carnival was the brain-child of Mohi and Francesca. A large workshop was created in the Pune Commune (now called The Resort) where hundreds of people participated in a huge, energetic happening making all manner of costumes, floats, and rehearsing various acts. As you will see, even an elephant joined the party.

The video concept and editing was done by Loki, Vimal, and myself. It was “lost” for many years, but Bhikkhu from New Earth Records recently discovered it on his hard drive and shared with me. I did some additional restoration to get it to its original length. I don’t think I have ever seen so much joy gathered in one place!

Osho continues to inspire seekers from around the world. His “carnival of life” sends a powerful message to live a life of totality overflowing with meditation, love, creativity, and celebration.

Osho stopped speaking publicly on April 10, 1989, his last words being: “The last word of Buddha was ‘sammasati’. Remember that you are a buddha – sammasati.” The subsequent months were a series of darshans consisting of celebration and silent sitting.

Osho attended these as often as his health permitted. When not able to attend, Osho suggested playing discourse videos as a way for his people to stay connected with him. It became more obvious as months went on that he was preparing us for a time he would no longer be with us physically in the body.

The format of the darshans slowly evolved into a three-stage meditation known as Evening Satsang With The Master, also known as the Osho White Robe Brotherhood. Night after night, Osho was honing the stages, especially the second stage. In the beginning, Osho would sit in silence for about ten minutes, then open his eyes, get up, and go out dancing. Initially, the music would play through these times he was in his chair. One particular evening, Osho’s hands suddenly began moving, gently keeping time to the music, and before the musicians knew it, he had raised his arms skyward as if raising the collective energy, all the while keeping time to the music. One particular evening, he suddenly clapped his hands together high above his head, signaling a stop. Unsure of what was happening, we (the musicians) played on. It was a situation we felt terrible about afterwards because we had not followed his direction. We decided that if he did it again the next night, we would stop with him. Alas, it happened again! This time after the stop, Osho brought his arms down and rested his palms on his lap. Lo and behold, after a few minutes, he started moving his hands again, and then his arms! Up they went, as did the music, to a peak, and again he stopped. This sequence happened a third time. After a few minutes, he opened his eyes, got up, and started celebrating with the hall. This format crystallized and eventually became the Music/Silence Stage we know today. Osho asked Nivedano to keep the time, and after ten minutes, he should hit his drum three times.

The musicians asked for a video feed and monitor from Nishkriya. Since we were sitting far back in the hall, it helped us see Osho’s movements (and his dancing!) and follow him better.

This music/silence sitting became quite wild with each progressive night. Osho would move his arms and hands in the most amazing ways — always giving and raising energy, which would deepen and intensify the gaps of silence. As everyone in Buddha Hall had their eyes closed, no one except the musicians could see what he was doing. At some point, Nishkriya set up a video monitor in the Book Store to play the previous night’s darshan so people could witness for themselves this amazing spectacle.

Another beautiful phenomenon developed whereby at the darshan’s end, Osho would get into his car, and people would rush to the perimeter of the hall. Osho would have Avesh drive slowly, and there was this lovely, sweet namaste communion that happened. During this time, the musicians would continue to play, grooving and jamming. One such track comes at the end of this clip, accompanying a few iconic photos of Osho from the darshan evenings.

Darsana is the Sanskrit root of the word ‘darshan’. It literally means “to see” or “to behold”. It is often used in a reciprocal sense to describe the melting of energies that occurs in the presence of the master.

Waduda and Bhikkhu made this footage available, formatting it with title and quotes. I did some additional editing of the soundtrack and added the ending. The live track can be heard on the CD “Lion’s Roar”. It is one of four tracks from this unique time, the last months Osho was in the body. It is available as a free download here: https://www.oneskymusic.com/instrumental/

This clip is a New Year’s reminder to live life to its fullest; not to take a single moment for granted; to live a life of joy, love, laughter, and celebration. It is one of the last darshans with Osho before he left his body, January 19, 1990.

Beloved Friends,

First of all, Happy New Year! 🎉✨
It promises to be an exciting, nourishing year of music, meditation, and celebration.

We have a great line-up for Oshofest Dallas this year:

Sofia–flute and vocals
Lee–saxophones
Milarepa–guitar, vocals
Prabodh–bass
Teerth–drums
And special guest, Aneesha Dillon

Join us for this Spring awakening, an inner reset in the best sense of the word.

The dates are April 3 – 5.
Plan to arrive Thursday as the event will start first thing Friday morning with, you guessed it, Dynamic Meditation!🙌💥🙌

Mark your calendar!
Book early!!
This is going to be amazing!!!

Details:
Osho Simran Center, Dallas, Texas
Contact: Sangeeta (phone 214-724-1991) (oshosimran2025@gmail.com)

Meditation reveals your subjectivity. Subjectivity is your consciousness. And your consciousness and its experience makes your life significant, meaningful, eternal, immortal, without any beginning and without any end, a celebration, a moment-to-moment dance. Unless you have transformed your life into a moment-to-moment dance, you have missed the opportunity that existence gives you.
Osho Yahoo! The Mystic Rose #30

* Archival Footage from Uruguay (photo session) and Portugal (Osho departing for India)

This clip was created sometime during 1991-92 after Osho left-the-body. It was the ending feature for an edition of the Commune video news magazine “Osho Now News” that had a brief, but colorful run.

“My religion is nothing but the art of living, the art of loving. And if you can manage two things – total life, total love – the third thing, enlightenment, will come of its own accord. You have earned it. You need not seek it, you deserve it. It is a reward from existence to those people who have respected life, loved, lived, danced, enjoyed.”
Osho from  Death to Deathlessness #10 

Song by Sudhananda/One Sky Music
Featuring Amlas (bass), Milarepa (guitar), Rishi dk (drums) Sidhamo (piano), Sudhananda (vocals, guitar).
FREE DOWNLOAD:

The farmer channels water to his land.
The fletcher whittles his arrows.
The carpenter turns his wood.
And the wise man masters himself.

*from The Dhammapada

This day, I will sail across the water
This day, I will sail across the sea
This day, I will reach the far horizon
Where the sun gives all its colors to the sky

This day, I will sing a song a freedom
This day, I will dance my destiny
This day, I will live each precious moment
In the Pure Land of the Buddha

I turn to face a thousand suns
There’s nowhere else for me to run
So much joy and happiness I’m coming home

From the album “Lotus Paradise” (click ‘Celebration’)

Musicians:

Amlas (bass)
Gustaf (lap steel guitar)
Isa (drums)
Milarepa (guitar, vocals)
Neera (vocals)
Sidhamo (piano)
Vedam (flute)

Free download:

This day
I offer up my song of gratitude
Blessings upon blessings
Here Now
Love dwells in Eternity
Osho, Master of Masters

I made this video in the early 1990’s after Osho left-the-body.
I had an idea to create a music video with a simple script
about Man’s search, his spiritual journey.

Parallel to the storyline, I wanted to have Sufi whirling.
I selected a track discourse music titled called
“Spiritual Heart” that I thought would fit the concept.
Bhikkhu and Waduda used it on their New Earth Record’s
Garden of the Beloved compilation.

I found a location for the shoot in the middle of nowhere,
in the dry, barren hills outside Pune City.
It had a mysterious ring of stones which I have no idea
how they came to be placed there.

Zahira, known for her whirling groups, was in Pune at the time.
She’s a beautiful whirler, very aesthetic.
I asked her if she would participate and also bring some of her
people for the filming and she said ‘yes’.
My Australian friend, Darpan, was also in town and agreed to
act as “the seeker” while friends, Mutribo, Ashvagosha,
Mark, and Vimal helped with the filming and production.

We got up way before sunrise, had buckets of chai, and drove
out to the hills as an entourage.
The idea was to finish the whole shoot in before it got too hot.
It was hot season in India, if you know what I mean.

It was a fun project, one of which I lost track of it over the years.
Bhikkhu recently discovered it sitting on his hard drive.
It has been so nice seeing it again.
After thirty some years!

The music coordinator during my time at the Oregon Ranch, Garimo, once said to me, “We don’t know why people take sannyas.” Her words have stayed with me over the years. Initially, I was surprised by this statement. Living in the commune, I naively assumed that we all shared similar thoughts and feelings—at least those similar to my own! However, her statement opened my mind to the diverse perspectives that others might hold. It served as a powerful reminder that we are all individuals, each a unique universe unto ourselves. 

Every time someone takes sannyas at an event, I find myself faced with a conundrum. The word “conundrum” perfectly encapsulates my predicament because I also don’t understand why people choose to take sannyas. I can explain why I made that decision and what it means to me. But when it comes to understanding the motivations of others—why they would make seemingly illogical or crazy choices—it remains a mystery. 

Sometimes, I ask people directly, “Why do you want to take sannyas? Your life is fine as it is. What do you hope to gain from it?” Most of the time, they look at me, fall silent, and are unable to articulate their reasons. Their inability to express their motivations might actually be the closest explanation of sannyas. 

In my view, sannyas is akin to love; it exists in a similar dimension. When someone is in love and is asked why, they often can’t articulate a reason. They may look at you as if YOU are the crazy one! Love, much like sannyas, confounds the mind. It is inexplicable, yet its essence is undeniable. Even if one cannot explain it, one knows it. 

I was reminded of this once again at Oshofest Dallas 2025 when three individuals decided to take the leap into sannyas. As I tuned my guitar for the celebration, I pondered, “What compels a person to reach such a pivotal moment in their life?” This highlights the beautiful mystery that defines sannyas. Sannyas represents a leap—a significant leap of faith—a life-changing plunge into uncharted waters. Only those who have taken that leap truly understand its meaning. Such is the paradox of love and sannyas. 

We celebrate the sannyas of Ma Deva Nalini, Ma Anand Amiyo, and Ma Deva Mamta, honoring them with our songs and dances as they embark on what can only be described as an inexplicable journey.

In the words of Osho: 

“Meditation is the awareness that I am not the mind. When the awareness goes deeper and deeper in you, slowly slowly, few moments arrive, moments of silence, moments of pure space, moments of transparency, moments when nothing stirs in you and everything is still. In those still moments, you will know who you are. And you will know what is the mystery of this existence. And once you have tasted those few dewdrops of nectar, great longing will arise in you to go deeper and deeper into it. Irresistible longing will arise in you, a great thirst. You will become afire. That’s what sannyas is all about: when you have tasted few moments of silence of joy of meditativeness, you would like this state to become your constant state, a continuum. The desire to make meditation your whole lifestyle is what sannyas is all about.”  Philosophia Perennis, Series 2, Chapter 5