Bhagwan: The God That Failed (A Thomas Dunne Book)

Rating:
Summary: Misreadings
Review: ...You should get this book from wherever possible and check why one of the most controversial and wisest Gurus failed in his mission. A book by Bhagwan's personal bodyguard, this pinpoints every sinle detail about how the author became Bhagwan's follower, carried on, meditated, and finally realised the wrong things that were going on. I personally, still believe that Bhagwan was a wise person with immense knowledge about life, love and spirituality but this book helped me to understand him better. This book in a way was an eye-opener for me, showing me that no one is absolutely clean. Thus, I don't take comments on Bhagwan personally anymore. It's only natural for people including Bhagwan to make mistakes. But I must admit that, Bhagwan's words and vision helped me to understand myself better.

Rating:
Summary: Misreadings
Review: A review can say so much more about the reviewer than the book in question. The Library Journal review wonders how people could "throw away" years of their lives, etc., to follow such a guru--and criticizes Milne for failing to explain. In fact, he does explain the attraction: it was experiential; living in the presence of Rajneesh and in the company of other followers proved more powerful and enlightening--felt better--than life on the outside. Therapists and body workers found their practices enhanced by Rajneesh, not merely his "teachings" but by their own transformation, mind-body-spirit, catalyzed by Rajneesh. Milne also points out that it is not unusual for people in mass movements or utopian communities based on "love" to experience the high bliss of community.

Readers seem to expect books by former Rajneeshees all to be sociological studies in cultism as well as expose's of crime & intrigue replete with interviews and testimonials. Sometimes the best source of information is one's own experience; that can be enough for one book to digest. Rajneesh drew people to his writings as well as to his meditations...and ultimately, in many cases, to his ashrams. People were 'hit' on many levels. The question posed by the Library Journal review--why so many normal people would throw away so much to follow Rajneesh--implies that a flaw in their collective character caused the phenomenon, when the cause is far more normal and common: people seeking 'truth' who make the mistake of diminishing their selves while elevating someone else to the status of hero-god. That phenonenon didn't stop with Bhagwan. And memoirs about that experience will probably continue to be ambivalent because of the very powerful, in many cases transformative, experiences people have vis a vis the brainwash and surrender of identity. The experience did not cost Milne, a young man at the time, his career as an osteopath. For all the lessons learned, it seemed to have enhanced it.

Rating:
Summary: more like a demon that accomplished what he set out to do
Review: How could this Bhagwan be "wise" when he was literally *killing* people???? Unfortunately, the book does not give much insight into how "normal" people get sucked into this kind of horror. And it would be nice if it also *named names* so we could know who the people were who cooperated with the Bhagwan's terrorist activities - there are probably many who are still at large ...

Rating:
Summary: Accurate and revealing
Review: I'm a former Sannyasin (never went to Oregon) and reading this book helped me finally to leave the group. I am forever in debt to it's author.

Rating:
Summary: Bhagwan: The God That Failed
Review: This is not a great work as writing goes but it is a really unique insight into a phenomenon that touched so many lives around the world. I really appreciated the undertaking of Hugh Milne in writing about his teacher, his world and identity for so many years and his ultimate separation from a heady movement gone berserk and ultimately destructive.

Never drawn to this movement I knew of others (American and Brits) who were. I was drawn to another'spiritual growth' movement when much younger and had some agonizingly lonely separation traumas myself once I questioned where it was leading - so I found the account by Milne a genuinely valuable read.