As a sannyasin of Bagwan, Osho, since 1973, I have avoided seeing this, because I thought it was so full of complete lies. I will check it out, with a new look. Anyone reading Osho books can't help but feel the truth.
@@camhabibi2217 -- I have been brainwashed! Bhagwan (Osho) told me in personal darshan in 1975, all he was doing is cleaning mirrors so people can get a true perspective of their own reflections. And it was hard work, people held on to their old images with white knuckles. That is the why of Dynamic Meditation, to shake up the old concrete concepts, that didn’t make positive change change happen and never would. Swami Anubava
As a sannyasin it's important to be open minded because any religious movement can easily be branded as a cult these days.. I'm glad that osho put that in our heads
This documentary is probably the best documentary on Netflix. Such an amazing story that I cannot believe our teachers and educators never once mentioned it in school or college. . I have no doubt that even with a 6 episode documentary, there is still a ton of information and footage being left out of "Wild, Wild Country" !! Would absolutely love to hear and see more interviews of the "sannyasins" that were part of and lived at the very beautiful & infamous Rajneeshpuram, Oregon Commune !!
LONG COMMENT BELOW: This was an incredible documentary. Not just the aesthetics (I loved the handwritten font and how it appeared on the screen, I love the contrast of colors between all the orange, red, purple of the archival footage against the interviews which were very cool blue.) But it was also a documentary that was so even handed in its presentation of both sides that I found myself switching my opinion multiple times throughout each episode. As it stands now, I believe both sides had their failings and that the goal of creating I completely self generating and peaceful society isn’t possible at least not while humans are the way they are (more on that later). I also believe neither side was completely truthful in their interviews. Both sides wanted to be seen as completely right with their opponents being completely wrong. There were so many people and so many conflicts, so many years this conflict spanned that I can’t imagine either side could have been completely correct all of the time. But I think it’s human nature to want to believe you’re correct, it’s hard to admit you’re wrong, even more so when there has been a ton of fallout, most people wouldn’t want to shoulder that blame. The worst things got, the worst both sides dug their heels in because neither wanted to be responsible for the damage to the communities. I don’t trust that Bhagwan really wanted to set up a peaceful society. How could you have a peaceful society that also doesn’t believe in turning the other cheek but rather heading back twice as hard? We saw his blatant affinity for the finer things in life, none of which came from his commune which she said all should live off of. The documentary didn’t get into it much, and I haven’t read his books so maybe the answer is in there but I don’t trust when he says he wants to create a new human by merging western and eastern man. What does he mean by that? In the physical sense of eastern and western people having sex and giving birth to someone that shares both DNA? Or more probably someone who shares the ideals of both western and eastern cultures? I also thought it was incredibly ignorant on Sheila‘s part to think that they could show up out of nowhere and en masse to a small conservative Christian town and not expect some kind of backlash. I don’t understand why she thought the best way to counter this was to not blink, constantly smile and worst of all be aggressively belligerent and sarcastic to her detractors - that’s no way to win hearts and minds. She wanted to force the commune into America using Americas tools to do so, and not try to bring it to America by convincing everyone to get on board. It’s not like I think the people of Antelope Oregon were always right either. I’m not a fan of Christians or conservatives and I do believe they wouldn’t be comfortable with any non-white, non-Christian, non-conservative moving into their town regardless how few. And while I think they’re Christian religion has done far more harm than Rajneeshpurum ever could, these particulars town folks seem to keep to themselves and not harm anyone and I don’t think they deserve to have their entire community totally disrupted, certainly not so quickly and severely. I wish I could have learned more about the property border dispute that the Oregonians used to stop the commune from growing, the reason the Rajneesh started running for local government. Why couldn’t that property border dispute be resolved? That seems to be the tipping point for how things got out of control. If that issue was resolved, perhaps we can still have this commune… Or maybe all of the things going on behind the scenes in the commons and would have brought it to its demise anyway. That’s the other thing about the commune and why I thought it was a mistake for them to try and make it. I don’t think humans can be happy all the time even if they scream and cry until they have no energy left. Being sad, being angry, being jealous and all of the other negative feelings and thoughts we have our human nature and I believe humans need to have those emotions for a healthy mind. There’s just no way all of those members could have been happy all of the time. And even though the documentary only showed a few hours out of the thousands of hours they apparently had access to, and even though I believe those unseen hours also probably don’t show anyone upset or sad or negative in any way, I’m betting it was there, all over the place. The members of the commune just put on an act for the cameras whether it was pressed footage or the footage the members themselves filmed i’m betting it was there, all over the place. The members of the commune just put on an act for the cameras whether it was press footage or the footage the members themselves filmed. They had an image to maintain.
Funniest part of the doc was the attorney general claiming to be doing “god’s work,” then using the ‘separation of church and state’ as an argument to shut the town down.
Wow I’m shocked I was born and raised here in Oregon & never heard of this cult. I randomly clicked on this documentary on Netflix not knowing it was based in oregon not only that i live only an hour away from this abandoned town😱
People who are obsessed with labelling this a "sex-cult"should really look at themselves in the mirror and try to see if theres any hypocrisy in there. The church speaks against sex and yet has so many skeletons in its closet. I am not an Osho follower and know him as a philosopher, one who is much respected by even modern day readers. His approach to sex was giving it its legitimate place in the Human life, without suppressing it or over hyping it. Eating food is necessary, greed is not.. so also sex has its place but it is lust that drives a mans desires.. He made you confront that lust and see it face to face to overcome it. If sex controls you, you can never reach or be free to fully express you human Beingness or consciousness.
I'm late to the discussion here as I just recently saw WWC. However unlike most of you I lived in Central Oregon when all this was happening. My feelings were based on what rumors I heard and what I saw in the media which by and large were all unsettling. Another source of information was seeing the film Ashram (google it) which played at a local theater. I thought this docuseries was very well done but left some 'skeletons in the closet' that would have revealed that the alleged assassination attempt at Puna was not the only reason Bhagwan fled India (tax evasion) and that he first went to a castle Sheela bought in Montclair, New Jersey where they encountered local pushback by locals who considered them a 'tax exempt sex cult' rather than a religion. Their reputation (deserved or otherwise) followed them to Oregon and the locals caught wind of it. I support freedom of religion and personal property rights and I think had the Rajneeshees played their cards right the outcome might have been different. Rather than 'tough titty' talking Sheela they should have had a likeable diplomat as their public spokesperson. They also could have avoided problems had they done their research beforehand regarding Oregon land use laws. For a group of worldly, educated 30-somethings they made a number of naive tactical blunders that came back to bite them. One incident in particular revealed Bhagwan as a charleton rather than a mystic. That was when he started talking sh*t about Sheela when she and her entourage bailed. Someone operating on a higher spiritual plane does not sink to that level. A true Master would have either let it slide or at least kept it behind closed doors and let his trusted lieutenants deal with it without raising a fuss. But I supposed Bhagwan could see his empire beginning to crumble and needed a scapegoat. My sympathy goes to the Antelope citizens who had their world turned upside-down and also the common Sinyassin who went to Rancho Rajneesh with good intentions only to be left hanging when it all fell apart. Incidentally I visited the Big Muddy 35+ years ago during it's heyday (tagged along with a friend who went there on business) then again a couple weeks ago just to see what had changed. (The main road through is a County road and open to the public.) Many of the Rajneesh buildings remain, many new facilities constructed for Young Life. Unchanged is the natural beauty of the hilly High Desert terrain.
My mom was a Sannyasin starting 1986, so I grew up surrounded by Rajneesh and his ideas. This documentary kind of closes the chapter for me, I loved the documentary, it makes all so much sense now. We were told Sheela was a criminal and Osho the poor victim. It was completely negated what had happened in Oregon and shoved under the rug. I am glad to see now how it really was and I actually celebrate the guts Sheela had, it makes me happy to see how sassy she was and how she stood up to everyone. What a strong, intelligent and courageous woman! Too bad Rajneesh couldn't bring himself to stand by her side, shows what weak man he actually was...loved the documentary, thumbs up!!!
He is one of the best charismatic Narcissist we have seen. The members even now are not aware they are and have undergone "abuse". He has feed so much of brainwash that the minds refuse to see they are hypnotized too see facts which he wants . (so deep that they don't see it even now after 4 decades)
Sheela the shewolf completely devoid of any spiritual depth practically brought the whole empire down. Poor Osho didnt know his pet snake will bite him in the end.
5:17 - 6:15 Because it's sooooo different from Jones or Waco. All three were a threat to the (American) establishment, but Osho was a REAL threat. I mean REAL, and he was a zillion times wiser and smarter than Jim Jones or David Koresh.
Was that Oprah in the second part of the serious talking in the news??>If she was. This is very interesting. She is makig now herself a lot of money from new age , spirituality so on...
I don't do binge watching, but I loved the Rajneesh series and the insider perspective convinced me it was made by the Sanyasans themselves. Well done!
I am a disciple of Osho and am disappointed that the media has only focused on the few people who betrayed Osho and the rest of us by acting out in destructive ways. Those who acted against both people in Oregon and also against us- and even Osho himself- do not represent what we were doing and learning by being with Osho. The Netflix series "Wild, Wild Country" seemed to make no sincere effort to point out this basic truth: that a handful of confused ex-disciples do not represent our sincerity and love in being with Osho. None of us supported what Sheela and her group did to the people of Oregon. We were not with Osho to commit crimes but to meditate and be with the man who has inspired us on this mysterious journey toward discovering our inner truth. It is truly sad-really tragic-that these sensationalized documentaries like "Wild, Wild Country" don't tell the real story of Osho and the miracle of His awakening. I hope that people who are truly searching for their own path in life will look past the Hollywood style propaganda of "Wild, Wild, Country" and listen to Osho's discourses with an open heart. With all my gratefulness for the chance I had in Oregon to be with the most incredible being on the planet, Osho, Rama Kumar
Ramakumar, only two of the speakers for the followers left the religion. Several talked about how they loved it. Even Shelia talked honestly and positively about it... before she went nuts.
He never said Materialism was wrong. He said Materialism is one half of Humanity's conscious growth. The other half is Spiritualism. On the opposite, The East is only concerned with Spiritualism so much that it has shackled humans. The solution is integrating both.
Exactly, he said the west ONLY cared about materialism, meaning it’s lopsided. And also said the east only cared about spirituality and that was also lopsided. His point was to show that spirituality and materialism aren’t mutually exclusive. You can live luxuriously and also have a spiritual centre.
I have known dozens of sunyassins over the years, and had managed to patch together a sense of this story. I really appreciate finally having this overall perspective, start to finish. Prior to this documentary, I had heard that Bhagwan had been refused entry into India after being deported from the U.S. In prior accounts, he had been allowed, finally, to land in Nepal, where he died. It surprised me that he is shown here spending his last days in India after all.
O, if only he had come to Europe indeed. I'm sure Italy would have welcomed him. Netherlands would have probably too small and too bad a climate. Mooji obviously learned from Osho and now took residence in Portugal.
thats the same thing I was wondering...They urgently chose America to get out of the situation in India....during the Oregon months/year, if they were facing a backlash from the start, they could have started looking out for another country for HQ. If they researched the events of Jonestown, they could have taken a friendlier approach... sort of invited a few of the towns people to show they weren't dangerous or something, share some food with the neighbors etc. some of the members were born and raised Americans, but none of those people could predict the backlash by conservative white rural americans?
thing was antelope wasn't on their radar until they were told that laws would be changed retroactively to undo the corporation of the city on their land.
Amazing documentary showing how ignorant and naive people are and what they will believe in. As an example also probably not too far from how all the other religions began. Should be taught in school as an example. Also the arrogance some of these people from this cult still have to this day is just mind boggling,
thomas, with how many of his followers did you have an actual conversation? Come on now thomas, be honest! Isn't that a bit arrogant and naive of you to say that you know in what they believe in, based on some footage/interviews about and with some people the makers picked out? Trust me, we're all quite naive and arrogant when it comes to human interactions and human relationships. We are all easily deceived and/or influenced or guided. I feel it's mind boggling that most human beings don't realize we're in this huge cult called ''world-society'' with all its authorities and (written and unwritten) rules and regulations, and we're unaware that we copy behavior and letting ourselves be conditioned, thinking we are authentic and original thinkers and actors..... Schools are mainly there to see whether students are suitable to fit into society and capable of sustaining that society. Osho's view, the way I feel it, on organized religion is one of despise and oppression. He doesn't see his movement as a religion in my humble opinion, but more as an alternative way to encounter spirituality and esoteric stuff. Have an open-minded day!
Lex, maybe I am proving thomas' point here. And? I don't mind that I'm arrogant and/or naive. Two quite good characteristics to go on in life I feel, especially when they are a little balanced :-) Ignorant? Maybe, maybe not, I don't know; In some fields I am, in some fields I ain't I guess; Probably like most people...... You, after reading my comment, make it sound like thomas is really right about me and that I'm stupid and you guys are on to me haha. Wow, you should do something with that skill ;-) Again, I don't feel being arrogant, naive or ignorant is directly related to stupidity, but then again, I'm stupid, so how would I know, right? What, and that goes for thomas too, do you think Osho's ''people'' believe in? Is it an overall thing? Do they all have the exact same ''believe'', and if yes, again, what is that believe in your opinion? Are they all arrogant and naive? And for you also Lex, because thomas didn't really answer my question; How many of Osho's people did you actually have a conversation with in your life, and what did that tell you? Did you ever read one of his books or listened with an open mind to one of his discourses? Are you assuming, or are you just going with the footage you saw in the documentary alone? If the latter is the case, then your judgement, together with judging my character after reading only one comment, might come a little too quick I feel, but hey, it's a fast world.... Anyway, have a non-judgemental day!
The ''Centre'' is missing. All the rest are discussed. Everything was happening around a ''possibility'' that was being explored. The crux of that creativity is ignored and the rest of the exterior is spot lighted..We have done the same thing again - missed the point !!
The interviewer asks, "How were you able to get the interview with Sheela?" and the filmmaker completely ignores the (really good) question and sort've rambles off the topic. Disappointing. That wouldve been very interesting to hear about.
My American brothers and sister who said because they couldn’t meet him, actually we have 2 apare for him for our generation people, their name is Sri sri ravi shankar and sadguru
The fact that there was nothing new to me in the whole interview proves that the makers conveyed, at least to me, everything what they wanted to show in the docu.
Today, if you ask someone above the age of 60 in Oregon about the Rajneesh, they either refuse to talk about it entirely, or they can't shut up about it.
the doc really made the oregonians look very ignorant but it seems like the sannyasins were acting out of fear alot . i feel alot of the bs they went through could have been prevented or maybe not
In the series you show it far more balanced than in this conversation. I really don't like how the whole time you just call it cult, cult, cult. Osho was a great philosopher. What happened wasn't pretty on both sides when trying to put philosophy into practice. The Balkanization of Iraq, Syria and if you look at the US current political situation, the United States shows things haven't changed that much. The Bundy family and the take over of the Federal land a couple years ago in Oregon shows the radicalism of the fear of the other in the Fox news run propaganda machine that most people receive out there. The radicalism of the Rashnesshes reflected poorly on them and it's a universal theme in mankind which is why the series is good among other things. Congratulations on a great documentary by the way! I think it would be better to not show so obvious your leanings, distain and belittling your subjects, the ones making you guys famous. I grew up in the Northwest and was aware of the commune (something very common in Oregon and California in the 60s and 70s). It was a miracle that you got Ma Sheela. I had always heard what a "power hungry monster" she was through hearsay, but here you make her seem relatively sympathetic. I am sure she doesn't feel that, but from the hearsay I had heard about her, you can see her convictions. Great film, not so great talk. EDIT....3 days later, after watching entire series. I have to say, I did learn a lot after completing the series. I just knew his words from teachings and lectures, not the details of what happened in Oregon and the power struggles among his disciples. I can see why from certain worldview you use the word cult. The way they flew him back from North Carolina was cruel. I think the US was more fair back then versus now. He just got to leave, the one woman got 10 years, the other woman got 5 years. Seems about right because the other side is that civil rights and religious freedom and voting rights were stripped from them and the homeless people. Osho's vengence on Sheela really ended up getting him. You guys did an AMAZING job on the editing and showing both sides of it. I liked the "Christian Life" videos at the end showing how in a way it is a radical sect as well. As America further dives into "sectarian violence", this film is very relevant. The juxtaposition of the old videos and the new videos showing the timelessness of the land was very effective as well.
Really bizarre interview....it's strange to say "the town pushed us into doing these evil things to them" but that seems to be the perspective of the filmmakers. I guess 20 Rolls Royces and poly-amorous free sex is OK for a religious leader. Any green type thing this community was doing was probably done by many others a decade earlier, and with all the resources they had that didn't go into Rolls Royces, you would expect at least something along those lines.
They weren't doing anything "green." They overtaxed the ranch land obscenely, ignored all zoning and EPA regulations, ruined the local water access and interfered with downstream water rights (a felony in itself.) When they weren't raping kids, of course.
I also found the part disturbing where one of them said maybe had it happened before Jonestown it could have actually succeeded. And they can't blame it all on cult hysteria in USA. Spinning it into a kind of left-right clash is so typical of the times.
Was it Seela that took down the community, without the express knowledge or consent of Osho, or did Osho guide the whole thing? I don't think that we'll ever know the whole story. I grew up there and still don't know the full truth.
My impression was that Osho backed out of his responsibilities and by doing so betrayed his followers. He took a vow of silence when things were just beginning, giving what kind of instructions to Shiela- to bring in the homeless to pump up the vote, under the guise of do gooding, and then drugged their beer, and then poisened the town. ? Whose ideas were those... Im assuming it was Oshos. we will never know, but they did have not and could not have good results. And on top of that, he was planning a suicide in the midst of this grand experiment, and possible took his own life in 1990- that is a great betrayal! He was responsible.
Whoever did the backdrop-room divider, did a horrible job trying to replicate a city wall. lousy graffiti, fake, replica concert posters, and stickers that would are two numerous, badly positioned..
I thought this documentary series was excellent until I started researching further after watching. There are soooo many dark and corrupt details that they left out, possibly to create suspense or not make anyone look bad until the end. The movement was completely shady, dark, and abusive from the very beginning. Make no mistake about it. Rapes, forced marriages, forced sterilizations, forced abortions, forced hysterectomies as punishment, child abuse, pedophilia, covered up suicides and possibly murders, mass surveillance, financial slavery, physical slavery. The leadership were all soulless narcissistic sociopaths, totally lacking empathy or ethics. The rebranding of Rajneesh as Osho and the mass marketing that occurs today is disgusting. I was really impressed by this docu-series but ultimately I feel it was highly slanted and manipulative on the part of the directors to protect the legacy of Osho's philosophy. Cognitive dissonance typical of the Hollywood left. I'm neither a Christian or a right winger. It seems like Duplass and the directors are trying to make this more about the bigoted old white ppl discriminating against these peaceful beautiful people, completely ignoring the rampant violence, abuse, corruption, disease, and mind control/slavery that occurred.
I hope you have watched the 4 part series up on youtube. Has the Oshoians screaming about prejudice, which is probably a good sign. We have many of these conmen in saffron or other coloured robes cropping up all the time in India. As soon as some fall (the latest is Asaram), others rise. I am so sorry Rajneesh escaped to USA and unleashed the madness there albeit briefly. But as you may have learnt, he was already in trouble in Pune and fled. Yes, as the Oshoians keep saying, that's not so different from tax evading billionaire barons fleeing India either. But how exactly does that make Rajneesh any different then and why are we supposed to condone his misdeeds?
He was in deep, deep tax trouble in Pune. The methods he followed in Pune or in Oregon are not very different. Always using subterfuge to gain access to land and moving onto intimidation once he had gained critical mass. There's more but that's already conman enough for me.
How many did he owe? I thought he was rich from conning all these people who gave him a lot of money; So he could have paid off some tax debts, couldn't he? And he had so much land also you write. Couldn't he just sell some of that to pay his taxes? How did he use escapes to gain land? I mean, with what kind of technique did he do that? How did he do the intimidation when he had a lot of land? Thanks for the answers already.
Osho can be understood only in complete silence. Not in words and not in documentary. The whole USA is a bible belt. How anybody could move beyond Abhramic faith?
Just watched this series, it's good, but these guys sound like total idiots. They didn't even look into the whole larger story of the cult, how can they even sympathize with these criminals? Oh, because they fell for the fantasy too. It's still an excellent series but interesting how much they left out as they wanted to portray the two sides equally. I hope others see how utterly despicable this cult is, they are still around.
I agree! They did not do their homework, they just edited a bunch of footage from mostly American TV and did not delve into the history of the cult. It did not start in 1981! The other amazing thing is that no one seems to find it strange that most of the followers at the ranch are Westerners.
Mark, Maclain and Chapman,You Guys just missed the mark. Made a good documentary in terms of direction, cinematography and some research. But Its not complete research and truth. Osho's vision and teachings are missing. Many incidents were staged likes of nude people acting crazy . Do some more research, read his books, listen to his interviews with media and you will understand more about MASTER OF THE MASTERS.Many of his interviews and teachings are available on UA-cam. There are 658 books written by OSHO and about his teaching. If you will read any of 10 books by Osho, first thing you will do is, remove the word CULT about him. He was way ahead than rest of the world and people couldn't understand him. Few more years and everyone with the brain will understand that Osho was the enlightened Master of all the Masters. HE WAS THE BEST PERSON WHO TRAVELED THE PLANET EARTH.
Why does Mark Duplass talk like a Valley Girl? He uses the word “like” 3 times in every sentence. Don’t you have to go to college to be a Producer these days?
Ha, no you don't have to go to "producer" college, you only need connections and money. He has both, plus film industry experience in other capacities. The other guys say "kinda" to qualify almost every sentence and it really bugs. Only Brits can do that ("sort of") and make it sound charming in a self-deprecating way.
I'd love to hear more about why you - unlike the overwhelming majority - found this shitty. I LIVED there and found this documentary very well made and very intriguing. Sure, it wasn't the most balanced, and it couldn't possibly convey the entirety of what happened, but it was very well made and informative. Please share your critique.
You're right perhaps i over-reacted somewhat...i felt it misrepresented Osho to such an extent that it made him look like some power - hungry, dictator type figure, when i truly believe he was not....of course things went down in the sangha, but i think it was a biased perspective that didn't do the movement justice at all, and i felt it was really more of an attempt to have a good 'story' that would keep people watching, than an honest attempt to inform....and i thought it was specifically targeted at destroying Osho's reputation, which i think is a bit below the belt given all the good he has done generally.
I found it refreshing to see Osho portrayed as a human being instead of a God. And heart-breaking how this frail man was treated by the authorities. And I am no less an admirer of his teachings after seeing this documentary.
Well said, having finished the documentary now, i can say in fairness i think the documentary portrayed the certain sannyasins accurately, who did terribe things, and unfortunately Osho's reputation suffered for that i think...
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I am a Former Sannyasin of Bhagwan I thought the doc was magnificent : and am especially impressed by the objectivity of the series.
As a sannyasin of Bagwan, Osho, since 1973, I have avoided seeing this, because I thought it was so full of complete lies. I will check it out, with a new look. Anyone reading Osho books can't help but feel the truth.
@@camhabibi2217 -- I have been brainwashed! Bhagwan (Osho) told me in personal darshan in 1975, all he was doing is cleaning mirrors so people can get a true perspective of their own reflections. And it was hard work, people held on to their old images with white knuckles. That is the why of Dynamic Meditation, to shake up the old concrete concepts, that didn’t make positive change change happen and never would. Swami Anubava
As a sannyasin it's important to be open minded because any religious movement can easily be branded as a cult these days.. I'm glad that osho put that in our heads
This documentary is probably the best documentary on Netflix. Such an amazing story that I cannot believe our teachers and educators never once mentioned it in school or college. . I have no doubt that even with a 6 episode documentary, there is still a ton of information and footage being left out of "Wild, Wild Country" !! Would absolutely love to hear and see more interviews of the "sannyasins" that were part of and lived at the very beautiful & infamous Rajneeshpuram, Oregon Commune !!
LONG COMMENT BELOW:
This was an incredible documentary. Not just the aesthetics (I loved the handwritten font and how it appeared on the screen, I love the contrast of colors between all the orange, red, purple of the archival footage against the interviews which were very cool blue.)
But it was also a documentary that was so even handed in its presentation of both sides that I found myself switching my opinion multiple times throughout each episode.
As it stands now, I believe both sides had their failings and that the goal of creating I completely self generating and peaceful society isn’t possible at least not while humans are the way they are (more on that later). I also believe neither side was completely truthful in their interviews. Both sides wanted to be seen as completely right with their opponents being completely wrong. There were so many people and so many conflicts, so many years this conflict spanned that I can’t imagine either side could have been completely correct all of the time.
But I think it’s human nature to want to believe you’re correct, it’s hard to admit you’re wrong, even more so when there has been a ton of fallout, most people wouldn’t want to shoulder that blame. The worst things got, the worst both sides dug their heels in because neither wanted to be responsible for the damage to the communities.
I don’t trust that Bhagwan really wanted to set up a peaceful society. How could you have a peaceful society that also doesn’t believe in turning the other cheek but rather heading back twice as hard? We saw his blatant affinity for the finer things in life, none of which came from his commune which she said all should live off of. The documentary didn’t get into it much, and I haven’t read his books so maybe the answer is in there but I don’t trust when he says he wants to create a new human by merging western and eastern man. What does he mean by that? In the physical sense of eastern and western people having sex and giving birth to someone that shares both DNA? Or more probably someone who shares the ideals of both western and eastern cultures?
I also thought it was incredibly ignorant on Sheila‘s part to think that they could show up out of nowhere and en masse to a small conservative Christian town and not expect some kind of backlash. I don’t understand why she thought the best way to counter this was to not blink, constantly smile and worst of all be aggressively belligerent and sarcastic to her detractors - that’s no way to win hearts and minds. She wanted to force the commune into America using Americas tools to do so, and not try to bring it to America by convincing everyone to get on board.
It’s not like I think the people of Antelope Oregon were always right either. I’m not a fan of Christians or conservatives and I do believe they wouldn’t be comfortable with any non-white, non-Christian, non-conservative moving into their town regardless how few. And while I think they’re Christian religion has done far more harm than Rajneeshpurum ever could, these particulars town folks seem to keep to themselves and not harm anyone and I don’t think they deserve to have their entire community totally disrupted, certainly not so quickly and severely.
I wish I could have learned more about the property border dispute that the Oregonians used to stop the commune from growing, the reason the Rajneesh started running for local government. Why couldn’t that property border dispute be resolved? That seems to be the tipping point for how things got out of control. If that issue was resolved, perhaps we can still have this commune… Or maybe all of the things going on behind the scenes in the commons and would have brought it to its demise anyway.
That’s the other thing about the commune and why I thought it was a mistake for them to try and make it. I don’t think humans can be happy all the time even if they scream and cry until they have no energy left. Being sad, being angry, being jealous and all of the other negative feelings and thoughts we have our human nature and I believe humans need to have those emotions for a healthy mind. There’s just no way all of those members could have been happy all of the time.
And even though the documentary only showed a few hours out of the thousands of hours they apparently had access to, and even though I believe those unseen hours also probably don’t show anyone upset or sad or negative in any way, I’m betting it was there, all over the place. The members of the commune just put on an act for the cameras whether it was pressed footage or the footage the members themselves filmed i’m betting it was there, all over the place. The members of the commune just put on an act for the cameras whether it was press footage or the footage the members themselves filmed. They had an image to maintain.
Fantastic and well-produced documentary of a complex story.
I am excited. Going to watch this as soon as it release. Only minutes to go.
Funniest part of the doc was the attorney general claiming to be doing “god’s work,” then using the ‘separation of church and state’ as an argument to shut the town down.
I just finished WWC, it was good and fascinating. I wish it would have shown more about their actual commune/cult life.
Very good docuseries and surprisingly balanced.
Wow I’m shocked I was born and raised here in Oregon & never heard of this cult. I randomly clicked on this documentary on Netflix not knowing it was based in oregon not only that i live only an hour away from this abandoned town😱
People who are obsessed with labelling this a "sex-cult"should really look at themselves in the mirror and try to see if theres any hypocrisy in there. The church speaks against sex and yet has so many skeletons in its closet.
I am not an Osho follower and know him as a philosopher, one who is much respected by even modern day readers. His approach to sex was giving it its legitimate place in the Human life, without suppressing it or over hyping it. Eating food is necessary, greed is not.. so also sex has its place but it is lust that drives a mans desires.. He made you confront that lust and see it face to face to overcome it. If sex controls you, you can never reach or be free to fully express you human Beingness or consciousness.
I'm late to the discussion here as I just recently saw WWC. However unlike most of you I lived in Central Oregon when all this was happening. My feelings were based on what rumors I heard and what I saw in the media which by and large were all unsettling. Another source of information was seeing the film Ashram (google it) which played at a local theater. I thought this docuseries was very well done but left some 'skeletons in the closet' that would have revealed that the alleged assassination attempt at Puna was not the only reason Bhagwan fled India (tax evasion) and that he first went to a castle Sheela bought in Montclair, New Jersey where they encountered local pushback by locals who considered them a 'tax exempt sex cult' rather than a religion. Their reputation (deserved or otherwise) followed them to Oregon and the locals caught wind of it. I support freedom of religion and personal property rights and I think had the Rajneeshees played their cards right the outcome might have been different. Rather than 'tough titty' talking Sheela they should have had a likeable diplomat as their public spokesperson. They also could have avoided problems had they done their research beforehand regarding Oregon land use laws. For a group of worldly, educated 30-somethings they made a number of naive tactical blunders that came back to bite them. One incident in particular revealed Bhagwan as a charleton rather than a mystic. That was when he started talking sh*t about Sheela when she and her entourage bailed. Someone operating on a higher spiritual plane does not sink to that level. A true Master would have either let it slide or at least kept it behind closed doors and let his trusted lieutenants deal with it without raising a fuss. But I supposed Bhagwan could see his empire beginning to crumble and needed a scapegoat. My sympathy goes to the Antelope citizens who had their world turned upside-down and also the common Sinyassin who went to Rancho Rajneesh with good intentions only to be left hanging when it all fell apart. Incidentally I visited the Big Muddy 35+ years ago during it's heyday (tagged along with a friend who went there on business) then again a couple weeks ago just to see what had changed. (The main road through is a County road and open to the public.) Many of the Rajneesh buildings remain, many new facilities constructed for Young Life. Unchanged is the natural beauty of the hilly High Desert terrain.
I literally live 5 minutes away from the Ashram in Pune and I had no idea of the consequences this Ashram held.
My mom was a Sannyasin starting 1986, so I grew up surrounded by Rajneesh and his ideas. This documentary kind of closes the chapter for me, I loved the documentary, it makes all so much sense now. We were told Sheela was a criminal and Osho the poor victim. It was completely negated what had happened in Oregon and shoved under the rug. I am glad to see now how it really was and I actually celebrate the guts Sheela had, it makes me happy to see how sassy she was and how she stood up to everyone. What a strong, intelligent and courageous woman! Too bad Rajneesh couldn't bring himself to stand by her side, shows what weak man he actually was...loved the documentary, thumbs up!!!
He is one of the best charismatic Narcissist we have seen. The members even now are not aware they are and have undergone "abuse". He has feed so much of brainwash that the minds refuse to see they are hypnotized too see facts which he wants . (so deep that they don't see it even now after 4 decades)
Sheela the shewolf completely devoid of any spiritual depth practically brought the whole empire down. Poor Osho didnt know his pet snake will bite him in the end.
5:17 - 6:15 Because it's sooooo different from Jones or Waco. All three were a threat to the (American) establishment, but Osho was a REAL threat. I mean REAL, and he was a zillion times wiser and smarter than Jim Jones or David Koresh.
and much more manipulative
Great job . Keep up with the good work
Was that Oprah in the second part of the serious talking in the news??>If she was. This is very interesting. She is makig now herself a lot of money from new age , spirituality so on...
I don't do binge watching, but I loved the Rajneesh series and the insider perspective convinced me it was made by the Sanyasans themselves. Well done!
A good balanced documentary. Congratulation to the Way brothers and Duplass. Osho is the man for the 20th century. Read his books.
I am a disciple of Osho and am disappointed that the media has only focused on the few people who betrayed Osho and the rest of us by acting out in destructive ways. Those who acted against both people in Oregon and also against us- and even Osho himself- do not represent what we were doing and learning by being with Osho.
The Netflix series "Wild, Wild Country" seemed to make no sincere effort to point out this basic truth: that a handful of confused ex-disciples do not represent our sincerity and love in being with Osho. None of us supported what Sheela and her group did to the people of Oregon. We were not with Osho to commit crimes but to meditate and be with the man who has inspired us on this mysterious journey toward discovering our inner truth.
It is truly sad-really tragic-that these sensationalized documentaries like "Wild, Wild Country" don't tell the real story of Osho and the miracle of His awakening. I hope that people who are truly searching for their own path in life will look past the Hollywood style propaganda of "Wild, Wild, Country" and listen to Osho's discourses with an open heart.
With all my gratefulness for the chance I had in Oregon to be with the most incredible being on the planet, Osho,
Rama Kumar
Ramakumar, only two of the speakers for the followers left the religion. Several talked about how they loved it. Even Shelia talked honestly and positively about it... before she went nuts.
Very well said! Swami Prem Anubava
I binged dawg, that was wild wild stuff
Osho: west only care about materialism
Also Osho: I need 80 Rolls Royces
He never said Materialism was wrong. He said Materialism is one half of Humanity's conscious growth. The other half is Spiritualism.
On the opposite, The East is only concerned with Spiritualism so much that it has shackled humans.
The solution is integrating both.
Exactly, he said the west ONLY cared about materialism, meaning it’s lopsided. And also said the east only cared about spirituality and that was also lopsided. His point was to show that spirituality and materialism aren’t mutually exclusive. You can live luxuriously and also have a spiritual centre.
Great documentary. Thumps up!
I have known dozens of sunyassins over the years, and had managed to patch together a sense of this story. I really appreciate finally having this overall perspective, start to finish.
Prior to this documentary, I had heard that Bhagwan had been refused entry into India after being deported from the U.S. In prior accounts, he had been allowed, finally, to land in Nepal, where he died. It surprised me that he is shown here spending his last days in India after all.
William, he died in Pune, India, where he was the last 5 years of his life.... Not in Nepal.
Thank you Marc. Your definitive response suggests that you were present at his death.
William, haha. Good one. I wasn't, but I lived in The resort for a couple of years and spoke to many who were there when it happened. Have a nice day!
@@marcjacobs5988 Did he die of natural causes? I heard someone say he was murdered.
It shows Osho did great mistake chose America for sharing his wisdom in practical ways.
O, if only he had come to Europe indeed. I'm sure Italy would have welcomed him. Netherlands would have probably too small and too bad a climate. Mooji obviously learned from Osho and now took residence in Portugal.
thats the same thing I was wondering...They urgently chose America to get out of the situation in India....during the Oregon months/year, if they were facing a backlash from the start, they could have started looking out for another country for HQ.
If they researched the events of Jonestown, they could have taken a friendlier approach... sort of invited a few of the towns people to show they weren't dangerous or something, share some food with the neighbors etc. some of the members were born and raised Americans, but none of those people could predict the backlash by conservative white rural americans?
Only ignorance is The Original Sin.
thing was antelope wasn't on their radar until they were told that laws would be changed retroactively to undo the corporation of the city on their land.
Amazing documentary showing how ignorant and naive people are and what they will believe in. As an example also probably not too far from how all the other religions began. Should be taught in school as an example. Also the arrogance some of these people from this cult still have to this day is just mind boggling,
thomas, with how many of his followers did you have an actual conversation? Come on now thomas, be honest! Isn't that a bit arrogant and naive of you to say that you know in what they believe in, based on some footage/interviews about and with some people the makers picked out? Trust me, we're all quite naive and arrogant when it comes to human interactions and human relationships. We are all easily deceived and/or influenced or guided. I feel it's mind boggling that most human beings don't realize we're in this huge cult called ''world-society'' with all its authorities and (written and unwritten) rules and regulations, and we're unaware that we copy behavior and letting ourselves be conditioned, thinking we are authentic and original thinkers and actors.....
Schools are mainly there to see whether students are suitable to fit into society and capable of sustaining that society. Osho's view, the way I feel it, on organized religion is one of despise and oppression. He doesn't see his movement as a religion in my humble opinion, but more as an alternative way to encounter spirituality and esoteric stuff. Have an open-minded day!
Marc, you're exactly proving Thomas' point here.
Lex, maybe I am proving thomas' point here. And? I don't mind that I'm arrogant and/or naive. Two quite good characteristics to go on in life I feel, especially when they are a little balanced :-)
Ignorant? Maybe, maybe not, I don't know; In some fields I am, in some fields I ain't I guess; Probably like most people......
You, after reading my comment, make it sound like thomas is really right about me and that I'm stupid and you guys are on to me haha. Wow, you should do something with that skill ;-)
Again, I don't feel being arrogant, naive or ignorant is directly related to stupidity, but then again, I'm stupid, so how would I know, right?
What, and that goes for thomas too, do you think Osho's ''people'' believe in? Is it an overall thing? Do they all have the exact same ''believe'', and if yes, again, what is that believe in your opinion? Are they all arrogant and naive?
And for you also Lex, because thomas didn't really answer my question; How many of Osho's people did you actually have a conversation with in your life, and what did that tell you? Did you ever read one of his books or listened with an open mind to one of his discourses? Are you assuming, or are you just going with the footage you saw in the documentary alone?
If the latter is the case, then your judgement, together with judging my character after reading only one comment, might come a little too quick I feel, but hey, it's a fast world.... Anyway, have a non-judgemental day!
@@marcjacobs5988 By "arrogant", you mean "ignorant"?
The ''Centre'' is missing. All the rest are discussed. Everything was happening around a ''possibility'' that was being explored. The crux of that creativity is ignored and the rest of the exterior is spot lighted..We have done the same thing again - missed the point !!
The interviewer asks, "How were you able to get the interview with Sheela?" and the filmmaker completely ignores the (really good) question and sort've rambles off the topic. Disappointing. That wouldve been very interesting to hear about.
sheela, what a power house! bagwan all gurus dream rolls royce drugs and rock and roll👍
Who would’ve known about Osho… My mom had one of his books
Osho, my main man!
My American brothers and sister who said because they couldn’t meet him, actually we have 2 apare for him for our generation people, their name is Sri sri ravi shankar and sadguru
Sadguru is crap. He doesn't speak straight forward like Osho. Just speaks round and round.
The fact that there was nothing new to me in the whole interview proves that the makers conveyed, at least to me, everything what they wanted to show in the docu.
Good way to look at it.
Conclusion - Osho was good, and Sheela was a perfect hitch.
Today, if you ask someone above the age of 60 in Oregon about the Rajneesh, they either refuse to talk about it entirely, or they can't shut up about it.
the doc really made the oregonians look very ignorant but it seems like the sannyasins were acting out of fear alot . i feel alot of the bs they went through could have been prevented or maybe not
In the series you show it far more balanced than in this conversation. I really don't like how the whole time you just call it cult, cult, cult. Osho was a great philosopher. What happened wasn't pretty on both sides when trying to put philosophy into practice. The Balkanization of Iraq, Syria and if you look at the US current political situation, the United States shows things haven't changed that much. The Bundy family and the take over of the Federal land a couple years ago in Oregon shows the radicalism of the fear of the other in the Fox news run propaganda machine that most people receive out there. The radicalism of the Rashnesshes reflected poorly on them and it's a universal theme in mankind which is why the series is good among other things. Congratulations on a great documentary by the way! I think it would be better to not show so obvious your leanings, distain and belittling your subjects, the ones making you guys famous. I grew up in the Northwest and was aware of the commune (something very common in Oregon and California in the 60s and 70s). It was a miracle that you got Ma Sheela. I had always heard what a "power hungry monster" she was through hearsay, but here you make her seem relatively sympathetic. I am sure she doesn't feel that, but from the hearsay I had heard about her, you can see her convictions. Great film, not so great talk. EDIT....3 days later, after watching entire series. I have to say, I did learn a lot after completing the series. I just knew his words from teachings and lectures, not the details of what happened in Oregon and the power struggles among his disciples. I can see why from certain worldview you use the word cult. The way they flew him back from North Carolina was cruel. I think the US was more fair back then versus now. He just got to leave, the one woman got 10 years, the other woman got 5 years. Seems about right because the other side is that civil rights and religious freedom and voting rights were stripped from them and the homeless people. Osho's vengence on Sheela really ended up getting him. You guys did an AMAZING job on the editing and showing both sides of it. I liked the "Christian Life" videos at the end showing how in a way it is a radical sect as well. As America further dives into "sectarian violence", this film is very relevant. The juxtaposition of the old videos and the new videos showing the timelessness of the land was very effective as well.
Really bizarre interview....it's strange to say "the town pushed us into doing these evil things to them" but that seems to be the perspective of the filmmakers. I guess 20 Rolls Royces and poly-amorous free sex is OK for a religious leader. Any green type thing this community was doing was probably done by many others a decade earlier, and with all the resources they had that didn't go into Rolls Royces, you would expect at least something along those lines.
They weren't doing anything "green." They overtaxed the ranch land obscenely, ignored all zoning and EPA regulations, ruined the local water access and interfered with downstream water rights (a felony in itself.) When they weren't raping kids, of course.
I also found the part disturbing where one of them said maybe had it happened before Jonestown it could have actually succeeded. And they can't blame it all on cult hysteria in USA. Spinning it into a kind of left-right clash is so typical of the times.
@@kell_checks_in --- Not true. We build check dams, and restored the water table, to better than it ever was in the history of the Big Muddy Ranch.
America should apologize for destroying the vision of the most beautiful man of the 20th century...osho.
No, Sheela should apologize for destroying his vision.
Was it Seela that took down the community, without the express knowledge or consent of Osho, or did Osho guide the whole thing? I don't think that we'll ever know the whole story. I grew up there and still don't know the full truth.
My impression was that Osho backed out of his responsibilities and by doing so betrayed his followers. He took a vow of silence when things were just beginning, giving what kind of instructions to Shiela- to bring in the homeless to pump up the vote, under the guise of do gooding, and then drugged their beer, and then poisened the town. ? Whose ideas were those... Im assuming it was Oshos. we will never know, but they did have not and could not have good results. And on top of that, he was planning a suicide in the midst of this grand experiment, and possible took his own life in 1990- that is a great betrayal! He was responsible.
"Osho" aka. Chandra Mohan Jain, can rot in hell.
osho loved the bling bling. dropped sheela for the rich people who gave him diamond rolexes
Whoever did the backdrop-room divider, did a horrible job trying to replicate a city wall. lousy graffiti, fake, replica concert posters, and stickers that would are two numerous, badly positioned..
Well , at the end dont you think that this people were taking advantage of people.
I thought this documentary series was excellent until I started researching further after watching. There are soooo many dark and corrupt details that they left out, possibly to create suspense or not make anyone look bad until the end. The movement was completely shady, dark, and abusive from the very beginning. Make no mistake about it. Rapes, forced marriages, forced sterilizations, forced abortions, forced hysterectomies as punishment, child abuse, pedophilia, covered up suicides and possibly murders, mass surveillance, financial slavery, physical slavery. The leadership were all soulless narcissistic sociopaths, totally lacking empathy or ethics. The rebranding of Rajneesh as Osho and the mass marketing that occurs today is disgusting. I was really impressed by this docu-series but ultimately I feel it was highly slanted and manipulative on the part of the directors to protect the legacy of Osho's philosophy. Cognitive dissonance typical of the Hollywood left. I'm neither a Christian or a right winger. It seems like Duplass and the directors are trying to make this more about the bigoted old white ppl discriminating against these peaceful beautiful people, completely ignoring the rampant violence, abuse, corruption, disease, and mind control/slavery that occurred.
Frank, sounds like you're describing today's world and its leaders.....
I hope you have watched the 4 part series up on youtube. Has the Oshoians screaming about prejudice, which is probably a good sign. We have many of these conmen in saffron or other coloured robes cropping up all the time in India. As soon as some fall (the latest is Asaram), others rise. I am so sorry Rajneesh escaped to USA and unleashed the madness there albeit briefly. But as you may have learnt, he was already in trouble in Pune and fled. Yes, as the Oshoians keep saying, that's not so different from tax evading billionaire barons fleeing India either. But how exactly does that make Rajneesh any different then and why are we supposed to condone his misdeeds?
Madan, why did Osho fled Pune? Why was he in trouble there? How is he a conman? What did he do to deceive people? Have a same same day!
He was in deep, deep tax trouble in Pune. The methods he followed in Pune or in Oregon are not very different. Always using subterfuge to gain access to land and moving onto intimidation once he had gained critical mass. There's more but that's already conman enough for me.
How many did he owe? I thought he was rich from conning all these people who gave him a lot of money; So he could have paid off some tax debts, couldn't he? And he had so much land also you write. Couldn't he just sell some of that to pay his taxes? How did he use escapes to gain land? I mean, with what kind of technique did he do that? How did he do the intimidation when he had a lot of land? Thanks for the answers already.
Osho can be understood only in complete silence.
Not in words and not in documentary.
The whole USA is a bible belt. How anybody could move beyond Abhramic faith?
FUCK "OSHO."
Kell, ua-cam.com/video/6D7rWLzloOI/v-deo.html
"fuck the world and fuck everybody. "----- Repeating this phrase with deeper verbal outlet should be a deep meditative approach.
Watch out for meaning of "Fuck" by Osho
and then they chose trump well done.
Just watched this series, it's good, but these guys sound like total idiots. They didn't even look into the whole larger story of the cult, how can they even sympathize with these criminals? Oh, because they fell for the fantasy too. It's still an excellent series but interesting how much they left out as they wanted to portray the two sides equally. I hope others see how utterly despicable this cult is, they are still around.
I agree! They did not do their homework, they just edited a bunch of footage from mostly American TV and did not delve into the history of the cult. It did not start in 1981! The other amazing thing is that no one seems to find it strange that most of the followers at the ranch are Westerners.
Mark, Maclain and Chapman,You Guys just missed the mark. Made a good documentary in terms of direction, cinematography and some research. But Its not complete research and truth. Osho's vision and teachings are missing. Many incidents were staged likes of nude people acting crazy . Do some more research, read his books, listen to his interviews with media and you will understand more about MASTER OF THE MASTERS.Many of his interviews and teachings are available on UA-cam. There are 658 books written by OSHO and about his teaching. If you will read any of 10 books by Osho, first thing you will do is, remove the word CULT about him. He was way ahead than rest of the world and people couldn't understand him. Few more years and everyone with the brain will understand that Osho was the enlightened Master of all the Masters.
HE WAS THE BEST PERSON WHO TRAVELED THE PLANET EARTH.
Why does Mark Duplass talk like a Valley Girl? He uses the word “like” 3 times in every sentence. Don’t you have to go to college to be a Producer these days?
Ha, no you don't have to go to "producer" college, you only need connections and money. He has both, plus film industry experience in other capacities. The other guys say "kinda" to qualify almost every sentence and it really bugs. Only Brits can do that ("sort of") and make it sound charming in a self-deprecating way.
This is fucking hilarious....even after this shitty documentary it just makes you realise Netflix are really scraping the bottom of the barrel...
I'd love to hear more about why you - unlike the overwhelming majority - found this shitty. I LIVED there and found this documentary very well made and very intriguing. Sure, it wasn't the most balanced, and it couldn't possibly convey the entirety of what happened, but it was very well made and informative. Please share your critique.
You're right perhaps i over-reacted somewhat...i felt it misrepresented Osho to such an extent that it made him look like some power - hungry, dictator type figure, when i truly believe he was not....of course things went down in the sangha, but i think it was a biased perspective that didn't do the movement justice at all, and i felt it was really more of an attempt to have a good 'story' that would keep people watching, than an honest attempt to inform....and i thought it was specifically targeted at destroying Osho's reputation, which i think is a bit below the belt given all the good he has done generally.
I found it refreshing to see Osho portrayed as a human being instead of a God. And heart-breaking how this frail man was treated by the authorities. And I am no less an admirer of his teachings after seeing this documentary.
Well said, having finished the documentary now, i can say in fairness i think the documentary portrayed the certain sannyasins accurately, who did terribe things, and unfortunately Osho's reputation suffered for that i think...