Drowning in Love (by Aneesha)

Seeing, Watching, Living with the Master and Being at Home by Ma Yoga Neelam;
Osho Nisarga Foundation 2022;
Hardcover; 500 pages.
Available from Viha for $29.95

At last, Ma Yoga Neelamʼs book has arrived! Her life was dedicated to supporting Osho and His vision. This book, completed shortly before she left her body, describes her journey of love in service to her spiritual Master.

Every page is filled with so many of Neelamʼs memories and stories that you will have to read it yourself to discover the gems hidden there. The whole expanse of her life is beautifully depicted in many pages of photographs, generously spread throughout the book.

Reading her book was for me like watching Neelam transform under Oshoʼs loving guidance, from a naIve, carefree girl into a woman of substance, commitment, devotion, and surrender. One aspect of her life that I had not really been aware of before was how much inner work it took for her to expand beyond her proper Indian conditioning into the free spirit that was her essential nature.

Neelam was born in north India in 1949, the youngest daughter of an affluent family. She carried a whole array of personal qualities – kindness, grace, acceptance, and the capacity to flow with the moment. Osho guided her to develop and grow into these during their long association.

Throughout the book Neelam speaks about her relationship with her husband Amarjeet, who originally brought her to an Osho talk in 1969. Together they visited Him in the Mt. Abu meditation camps, in His Bombay flat in Woodlands, and eventually, at the Pune Ashram.

In those early days Osho was very available to seekers, and Neelam was able to meet with Him and ask questions; He seemed to enjoy being with her, and she received much personal guidance on her marriage, motherhood, and life.

In 1982 Osho invited Neelam and her family to live in Rajneeshpuram. Neelam and her daughter, Priya, decided to stay with Osho on the Ranch, while Amarjeet returned to work in his business in India. It was the end of their marriage, and a painful time in Neelamʼs life.

On the Ranch Neelam worked at a number of ordinary jobs: in the kitchen, the cleaning, as the RBG Tea Mom. It seems to have been a time when Osho worked hard on her ego, and she learned to relax and let go into ordinariness, finding joy in simple work. From time to time, she received messages from Osho and had some contact with Him.

Once back in Pune, Oshoʼs work immediately started up again as more sannyasins than ever flooded back to the ashram. Neelam loved working with her team in administrating the work there, as well as running the festivals and arranging the artists who performed for many years.

After Oshoʼs death Neelam continued her work, but eventually encountered serious disagreements with some people in the Inner Circle. She was effectively asked to leave; this was yet another painful time in Neelamʼs life, and she describes what she experienced at that time.

However, this hurtful and unpleasant experience was eventually followed by a project where Neelam was able to apply all the skills she had developed over her many years with Osho. With the help and support of both Indian and Western sannyasins, Neelam created Osho Nisarga, a jewel of a Meditation Center in the foothills of the Himalayas.

The book was self-published by Priya. She followed Oshoʼs guidance for the publication of His own books: hardbound with an attractive cover, the title embossed in gold, a round spine (not flat), and the pages not too white or too yellow. This is a truly beautiful tribute both to Osho and her mother.

Aneesha
oshopulsation.com

Original article published in
Viha Connection Magazine
March / April 2023 Issue