Bhagwan’s Belongings to Be Auctioned

Want a piece of the Bhagwan?

Or maybe you have a hankering for opulent fabrics, fine crystal, china and silverware.

If so, the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh’s personal and household effects will be auctioned at the Utsava Rajneesh Meditation Center in Laguna Canyon to help finance the travels of the guru who was ousted from the United States late last year.

Center officials said Friday that the Bhagwan’s dulcimer and flute, along with 53 lots of bone china, crystal and silver, and 400 lots of exotic fabrics intended for his personal wardrobe, will go on the auction block March 2 at noon.

“The proceeds will go to the Rajneesh Trust, to help the Bhagwan travel,” said Ma Dhyan Avabhasa, one of about 20 disciples staying at the Laguna Canyon center, the last remaining Rajneeshee commune in the United States.

The Bhagwan, who was arrested on suspicion of fraud last fall while trying to flee the country in a private jet, is now living on the island of Crete, according to Avabhasa.

The articles being auctioned were either used by, or purchased for, the Bhagwan at the Rajneeshee ranch in Antelope, Ore., Avabhasa said. Among the items for sale are silk saris and a luxurious wedding kimono, but it was not known whose clothes they were.

Avabhasa said the auction items were brought to Laguna Canyon to be sold, for one reason, because “there are no facilities to do it in Oregon.”

Because it costs a great deal to keep the Bhagwan in the style to which he is accustomed in his travels, the Rajneeshee center also plans to sell his personal effects for whatever the market will bear.

The items will be available for inspection in the center’s main hall on March 1, from 2 p.m. until 5 p.m.

It’s cash-and-carry only, Avabhasa added.