thousand, Rajneesh abandoned it in favor of creating a commune in Oregon, initiates” before USA in 1981 (Lindholm 2002:363; Palmer 1992:S74). The commune in Oregon was founded the utopian ideals of “Rajneeshpuram” “on sharing, equality, meditative consciousness, ecological harmony, and and sexual communism” expanded quickly due to the dedication of devotees (Palmer 1992:S74). The movements’ practices of engagement in therapy and meditation took place in the commune where Rajneesh also focused on the deconstruction of gender roles as well as enhancing material comfort as a for The levels of these “precondition enlightenment” (Carter 1990:20; Goldman 1999:27-28). therapy and meditation practices varied, resulting in certain that could take less “Short courses” than one day to three days and which lasted anywhere from 2 weeks to 3 “Longer courses” months (Carter 1990:25). These workshops served as practices that reinforced the central Rajneesh belief that the for the in contact humans must “transcend ‘need’ world but…remain with the (Carter 1987:152). world” The most significant symbol within the movement is Bhagwan Rajneesh himself as a representation of all his disciples have in common: a new vision of “the ultimate idividual…what (Palmer 1992:S82). The of this power is shown themselves” devotees’ understanding symbol’s by the extent to which followers, known as attempted to achieve sannyasin, Rajneesh’s enlightened state. Further, symbols reflecting the advancement were used sanyassin’s extensively within the organization of the movement. Inside Rajneeshpuram, residents wore and that represented their to the different “sunrise colors” “status badges” “relationship (Carter 1990:21). commune” The position as a was key within the movement in order to be considered a sannyasin and once initiates were recognized by the organization they received new “full participant,”
thousand, initiates” before Rajneesh abandoned it in favor of creating a commune in Oregon, USA in 1981 (Lindholm 2002:363; Palmer 1992:S74). The “Rajneeshpuram” commune in Oregon was founded “on the utopian ideals of sharing, equality, meditative consciousness, ecological harmony, and sexual communism” and expanded quickly due to the dedication of devotees (Palmer 1992:S74). The movements’ practices of engagement in therapy and meditation took place in the commune where Rajneesh also focused on the deconstruction of gender roles as well as enhancing material comfort as a “precondition for enlightenment” (Carter 1990:20; Goldman 1999:27-28). The levels of these therapy and meditation practices varied, resulting in certain “Short courses” that could take less than one day to three days and “Longer courses” which lasted anywhere from 2 weeks to 3 months (Carter 1990:25). These workshops served as practices that reinforced the central Rajneesh belief that humans must “transcend the ‘need’ for the world but…remain in contact with the world” (Carter 1987:152). The most significant symbol within the movement is Bhagwan Rajneesh himself as a representation of “the ultimate idividual…what all his disciples have in common: a new vision of themselves” (Palmer 1992:S82). The devotees’ understanding of this symbol’s power is shown by the extent to which followers, known as sannyasin, attempted to achieve Rajneesh’s enlightened state. Further, symbols reflecting the sanyassin’s advancement were used extensively within the organization of the movement. Inside Rajneeshpuram, residents wore different “sunrise colors” and “status badges” that represented their “relationship to the commune” (Carter 1990:21). The position as a sannyasin was key within the movement in order to be considered a “full participant,” and once initiates were recognized by the organization they received new