Today I was tidying up my papers in preparation for going back to NZ from Saudi and I came across a pamphlet on Rudra Meditation, which I’d been meaning to read for years. The final pointer was: “The greatest sadhana is meditation on your teacher.”
Sadhana, according to one definition, means daily spiritual practice. Your teacher in this context could be your guru. The pamphlet says: “The purpose of Guru Yoga is to learn to see the world through the Guru’s eyes.”
I stopped and considered who my teacher would be. At the moment I’m reading many books by Dr. Wayne Dyer. I once did an introductory meditation course at a Sri Chinmoy center, and I very much like the cards you find with his quotes on them.
![sri chinmoy quote](https://ebethallan.local/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/sri-chinmoy-quote.jpg)
But actually Osho has been my guru since I was four years old. He was a professor of philosophy who travelled through India as a public speaker before being called to mysticism. [NB: the recent doco abut him on Netflix would make anybody think twice about admitting to being a follower!]
![Osho calligraphy - creativity](https://ebethallan.local/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/osho-calligraphy-creativity.jpg)
![osho master](https://ebethallan.local/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/osho-master.jpg)
In the 1980s my mother, step-mother, step-father and some of their friends became Sannyasins. When you signed up you were given a new name and many people (including my mum) changed theirs officially. They wore a lot of orange and red and purple clothing and some visited the ashrams.
![osho sannyasins](https://ebethallan.local/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/osho-sannyasins.jpg)
![Osho_Drive_By](https://ebethallan.local/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/osho_drive_by.jpg)
There were five kids in our blended family and two of us chose to join. My name is Anurag Deepika: a lantern of love. We wore mala beads with a picture of Bhagwan (as he was known then) in a glass pendant – to primary school! I also remember pictures of him around the house, watching on kindly.
![mala](https://ebethallan.local/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/mala.jpg)
Over the years mum continued to give me Osho books and also a set of Tarot Cards. Everything written by him makes perfect, natural, intuitive sense to me.
![osho clouds](https://ebethallan.local/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/osho-clouds.jpg)
![tarot](https://ebethallan.local/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/tarot.jpg)
![10 commandments](https://ebethallan.local/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/10-commandments.jpg)
Osho was criticised for the Rolls Royces and sunglasses and other trappings of success—not to mention the sex—but I agree that spiritual wealth and material wealth are not mutually exclusive. Nor must a master be a fierce ascetic.
![osho bling](https://ebethallan.local/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/osho-bling.jpg)
I’m happy to have had this reminder of Osho today. I’ll continue to seek out his wisdom, and will start meditating on his image so I may start to see more of the world through the eyes of a sage.
![Osho-RB02-03](https://ebethallan.local/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/osho-rb02-03.jpg)
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