For the last 23 years, followers of Osho were not permitted to wear an Osho mala – a string of beads with a locket – inside the very ashram established by the godman in Pune. Things changed today when the ashram’s controversial trust submitted to the demands of a group of “rebel” followers.
A similar protest had taken place in January. On March 21, celebrated by Osho’s followers as his “enlightenment day”, the protesters sought police protection to enter the ashram – and permission that they be allowed to wear the mala while doing so. A spokesperson for the ashram told Indian Express, “Everyone is welcome but they will have to follow the rules and regulations of the resort.”
