Bhagwan Rajneesh Dies at 58; Headed Ore. Commune

NEW DELHI —  The Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, the guru who drew thousands of followers to central Oregon by preaching a blend of Eastern religion, pop psychology and free love, died today of heart failure, his spokesman said. He was 58.

Rajneesh, known as Osho Rajneesh in recent years, died at his commune in the southern city of Poona, where he had lived since being deported from the United States in 1985.

“Osho left his body at 5:30 p.m. The doctors say it’s heart failure,” spokesman Swami Kirti said. Disciples carried Rajneesh’s body on their shoulders to a funeral pyre built on a nearby riverbank, and it was cremated, Kirti said.

As the bhagwan, a Hindi word for god , Rajneesh presided over a 64,000-acre commune in central Oregon from 1981 until 1985, when he pleaded guilty to violating federal immigration laws.

In its heyday, the commune known as Rajneesh Puram was home to 4,000 red-clad followers who toiled for 12 hours a day and showered Rajneesh with jewels and Rolls-Royces that he used for daily drives past lines of singing, clapping fans.

Residents of nearby communities resented the intrusion, and Rajneesh’s top aide was eventually convicted in an elaborate scheme designed to gain political control of the county.

Rajneesh pleaded guilty to immigration charges in 1985 and under a plea agreement received a suspended 10-year sentence, paid a $400,000 fine, and agreed not to return to the United States for five years without the written permission of the U.S. attorney general.