I was intrigued about Ma Anand Sheela after watching the documentary ” Wild Wild West” on Netflix.
I had heard about Osho but never heard about this feisty individual who was instrumental in building the brand of Osho. Osho had moved to West and he was in the process of building a city for his followers called, ” Rajneeshpuram”. Ma Anand Sheela was endowed with this responsibility. She had taken up this project with all her might and she was ready to tackle any hurdle to make this project a success. She said, ‘I was not looking for enlightenment. I was in love with Bhagwan’. Her dedication towards Bhagwan and her love for him urged her to take up this daunting task against so many odds. Eventually Sheela garnered a lot of support and slowly started soaring in rank . She even started to get her own followers and the question of loyalty towards Bhagwan arose. Eventually she had to leave Rajneeshpuram and she left the country. However due to turn of events criminal charges were brought against her and she spent 39 months in prison. After she was set free she settled in Switzerland where she started two homes for the specially-abled adults and named the homes after her parents.
This book is about her journey as an philanthropist and how she put to practice the teachings of Bhagwan. She faced many challenges while setting up these two homes but nothing deterred her from her goal. She keeps emphasizing that the teachings of Bhagwan and the values imbibed by her parents helped her to battle all odds.
What I liked about the book are the words of wisdom which was given before every chapter and how she connected them to real life situations. Though the book doesn’t give any insight about the reason which led to her exit from Rajneeshpuram or her days in prison ; it provides a lot of insight about the fire in Ma Anand Sheela which made her to take such daunting tasks. There are very few instances in the eighties where a woman has stood up to a man and tried to lead life by her rules. Ma Anand Sheela was a fearless woman who wanted to give Osho a global identity. She says in one of her interviews that Osho had a product and she knew how to market it. This kind of personality is worth an applaud.
This book is a pleasant and a fast read about a woman who was courageous and had brilliant entrepreneurial skills which she later put to practice for the betterment of human society. She is a living example who showed the world that she could live on her terms and no power could have cowed her down and deter from her belief. It’s quite an inspiring account.
My verdict 3.5 stars out of 5