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Swami Ananda Arun Misused the “Osho” Trademark and Conducted an Illegal Sale of Osho’s Book
The Following Excerpt Was Originally Published by the Nepal AAJA Foundation
Kathmandu, Nepal
Osho Rajneesh’s foundational organization, Osho International and Osho Tapoban have had disputes for some time now. However, we were not able to two sides of the story yet. Since Osho Tapoban was created from Osho’s name everybody assumed that the organization was promoting Osho’s vision. How could there be a doubt in that? Since things were not clear, we contacted the Osho International Foundation based in Pune, India. The organization requested a written set of questions that they could answer in writing. After we sent them the list of questions, they sent us the list of answers as well. The answer is not from a specific person but the organization.
Regarding Osho Tapoban, the organization states that “Osho is a trademarked name”. Which means that Osho’s name has been trademarked just like Coca-Cola, K.F.C, and Pepsi. It is illegal for Arun to open an NGO based on Osho’s name if he does not adhere to Osho’s vision. The foundation states, “Every book that Osho has ever written has his copyright on it”. Which means, it is illegal to print and sell books in Nepal haphazardly. It is also not allowed to sell Osho’s translations by printing it in a random manner. The foundation claims that Ananda Arun is selling the books in any way he likes which is illegal.
Answers to the Questions That Were Sent by AAJA
Answers to questions from:
Madhav Prasad Guragain
Managing Director – Merchandise Publication Pvt. Ltd.
Managing Director- Caxton Media
Director- Nepal AAJA Foundation
- 1.
There is one allegation against you made by Swami Anand Arun and his followers. You are funding anti Osho Tapoban movement in Nepal. Is it true?
This is not true. Every OSHO centre is an independent entity, where each centre is trusted to comply with Osho’s specific guidelines for he would like each centre to function.
- 2
One Osho Follower Swami Devsundar (Mr. Arjun Prasad Pandey) is arrested today in the name of ‘cyber crime’. He is conducting anti Tapoban movement in Kathmandu. What is his connection with you?
We have no knowledge of this man or his activities. In addition, we are not involved with any of Arun’s “spiritual” competitors in Nepal.
- 3.
Do you think Osho Tapoban is using your copyright property and trademark without taking your prior approval? If yes, is it ethical to have copyright and trademark in the name of Osho?
The trademarking of his name, and the copyrighting of all his works is done at Osho’s specific request. This was all put in place while Osho was in the body. For example, Osho reviewed every one of his books ever published and confirmed the appropriate copyright information was always there. His name was first trademarked at his request in the 1970’s.
To clarify your point about it being “ethical.” The reason for trademarking Osho’s name is to make sure that when something is offered under the name “Osho” it is in fact the genuine article! Arun’s misrepresentation of Osho is a perfect example of why Osho wanted this trademarking in place. He warned that all kinds of unconscious people would offer any nonsense under his name. He is clear. If you want to do your thing, that is your freedom, “but take my name off it.”
Osho Tapoban is indeed publishing pirated editions of Osho’s works in Hindi and English and selling them into India, the US and Canada, without any copyright agreement, contrary to Osho’s specific guidance, and in the process damaging legitimate publishers in these countries.
- 4.
What is your conflict with Swami Anand Arun (Arun Kumar Singh)?
We have no personal conflict with Arun. Our concern is the fact that he is completely ignoring Osho’s guidance and in the process distorting Osho’s message and misleading people who come to his centre. In addition, to legitimise his piracy and his endless distortion of Osho’s proposal, Arun started to attack OSHO International Foundation.
Our concerns are as follows:
- Arun presents himself as a middleman between Osho and other meditators. By contrast as Osho explains:
“My effort is to leave you alone with meditation, with no mediator between you and existence.”
And:
“A meditator needs no personal guidance. A meditator, on the contrary, needs only one thing: the atmosphere of meditation.”
- Arun also plays the guru figure, which is again totally contrary to Osho’s proposal:
“All the gurus of India are angry with me, because I don’t belong to their tradition. I am not here to exploit anybody; I am not here to force any indoctrination on you: Indian culture, Indian religion, and all that nonsense. I am just here to help you to be free from Christianity, Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism. I am here to help you to be yourself, just to be yourself.
“My sannyasins are not my followers, they are just my friends. I love them; they love me, but there is no hierarchy. I am not holier than you or higher than you. That goes against the Indian investment. They are bound to be against me. I am affirming life, and they have been denying it all long.”
- Arun also presents himself as a spiritual leader and guide to others. Again, something Osho has always denounced:
“All Leadership is misleading, and to guide is to misguide. Buddha was not a guide and Buddha was not a Leader.”
“I am not your Leader. And I hate the very word from my guts, because I can see the implications of it. To be a Leader means to be a criminal! Of course, the crime is so subtle that you don’t see somebody being murdered. But the whole humanity is being crushed, murdered under the weight of it.”
And:
“All that you have to remember is: no God, no priesthood, no holy scripture, no miracles, no superman. For the first time in the whole of history I am saying that an ordinary man can be enlightened. In fact only an ordinary man can be enlightened. Ordinariness for the first time is given this much respect. So don’t try to make me someone extraordinary.”
- Arun is essentially following the traditional business model of all the religions. There is the compulsory “Special One” – a God, a messiah, a Guru etc. – with the priest as the go-between, usually in a large chair beneath the symbol of the special one, with the followers seated at his feet.
Compare that with Osho’s radical approach:
“These are your priests, your evangelists, your great spiritual leaders! They are neurotic and they are driving the whole of humanity neurotic. Avoid all spiritual nonsense – and spiritual nonsense is real nonsense; all other nonsense is very ordinary, very mundane. In fact, with mundane matters you cannot be too nonsensical – reality will prevent it, science will prevent it, your own sense of pragmatism will prevent it. But with religious nonsense there are no checks. There is no reality, no criterion so that you can judge, so you can fly off into all kinds of esoteric bullshit.
“Your priests are such bullshitters; for centuries they have been bullshitting you! You are crawling in holy cowdung! It is time to get out of it.”
And associating Osho with religion? Osho explains:
I would have loved not to be associated in any way with the word religion. The whole history of religion simply stinks. It is ugly, and it shows the degradation of man, his inhumanity, and all that is evil. And this is not about any one single religion, it is the same story repeated by all the religions of the world: man exploiting man in the name of God.”
- 5.
Are you against wearing Osho’s Mala and praying to his photo and scriptures?
If you visit neosannyas.org you can read in Hindi Osho’s precise instructions about the use of his mala.
The Final Message to the Academy of Initiation on Malas, 1989.
Osho sends a message to the Academy of Initiation that there is no need to wear malas any more. Sannyas is about going inwards and nothing to do with the outer.
Some people are upset, so it is taken in to Osho again and his response, passed on again to the Academy is: “If you must wear your mala, then at home in meditation only.”
You can read these same instructions in Hindi, including Osho’s whole revolutionary approach to sannyas here: http://neosannyas.org/osho-on-sannyas/hindi.aspx
You will immediately realize that what Arun is promoting is nothing to do with Osho. So, it is not that we are against Arun, it is Arun who is against Osho.
You will also notice that Arun imitates Osho who once experimented with touching people’s third eye, shaktipat, before explaining he had stopped it because the disciple “has to be in lower state than the master – which I don’t like.” With other methods “the disciple need not be a slave, a spiritual slave.” And in addition, “Much spiritual exploitation is possible in the name of shaktipat.”
You also mention praying to his photo and scriptures.
About prayer in general, Osho is clear:
“There is no other God than the fragrance of love. But the fragrance can arise only in deep meditation, not in prayer. Prayer stinks of fear.”
Essentially the issue here is “worship.” Osho again:
“Remember: it is the same whether you crucify or you worship. Both are the ways how to get rid of those people. One is crucifixion, another is worship. Worship is more cultured.”
And about the way we worship these people, Osho is clear:
Just their footprints are left on the sand of time. You can call them holy footprints, but that does not make any sense. You can worship them, you can have photographs of them, you can hang those photographs. You can do all kinds of stupid things, which are being done in all churches, all mosques, all temples, all synagogues.
The man who knows has to say something against all that is going on.
We hope we have made it clear that Osho’s message is very simply that of meditation, and that the role that Arun is playing has no part in his work. As Osho explains in this message below, the predatory nature of Arun’s relationship with those around him is almost inevitable:
Osho has warned to watch out for the mind of the wolf, the guru mind. He says that this mind will surface after he leaves the body, when people will find themselves in a vacuum, in the gap. This guru mind will see his people like a wolf sees sheep – it won’t be able to help itself, it will have to move in on them.
And referring to the meditators with him, Osho adds:
They people are unique on this planet. And will be irresistible to the wolf and guru mind. This is not a problem if people are aware of their own minds, that their minds could be vulnerable to this predator type. If we understand that the mind in its unconsciousness does not want to be alone… does not want to be responsible… and in this state, unaware, is vulnerable to the wolf’s mind or the guru mind.
“If people are a little intelligent, it is not a problem,” he says.
About Arun’s situation specifically, Osho also commented at the time of his leaving Nepal:
“Arun is trying to have me leave Nepal so that he can be the guru – if I stay in Nepal then Arun is finished.”
A final word from Osho that perhaps encompasses the whole issue:
“I want you to drop all games – worldly games, spiritual games, games that the whole of humanity has played up to now. These games keep you retarded. These games hinder you from growing into consciousness, into your own ultimate flowering. I want to cut away all this rubbish that prevents you.
“I want to leave you alone, absolutely alone, so that you cannot take anybody’s help, so you cannot cling to any prophet, so that you cannot think that Gautam Buddha is going to save you. Left alone – utterly alone – you are bound to find your innermost center.
“There is no way, nowhere to go, no advisor, no teacher, no master. It seems hard, it seems harsh, but I am doing it because I love you, and the people who have not done it have not loved you at all. They loved themselves and they loved to have a big crowd around themselves – the bigger the crowd, the more they feel nourished in their egos.
“That’s why I called even enlightenment the last game. The sooner you drop it, the better. Why not just simply be? Why unnecessarily hurry here and there? You are what existence wants you to be. Just relax.”
Das Europäische Gericht – eine Zweigniederlassung des Gerichtshofs der Europäischen Union – trifft eine endgültige Entscheidung über die OSHO-Marke und bestätigt die Eigentumsrechte der Osho International Foundation
Ein Urteil des Gerichts der Europäischen Union in Luxemburg vom 11. Oktober 2017 ist nun rechtskräftig und bestätigt die Gültigkeit der OSHO-Marke und des Eigentums von OSHO International Foundation, Schweiz [Fall T670 / 15].
Das Europäische Gericht In diesem Artikel werden wir uns den Hintergrund dieses Rechtsstreits, seine Auswirkungen näher ansehen und den Osho Times-Lesern einen Hintergrund geben, warum Osho die Notwendigkeit sieht, seinen Namen und seine Arbeit rechtlich zu schützen und warum die OSHO-Marke so ist einzigartig und erfolgreich.
Die endgültige Entscheidung in diesem Fall ist in der Tat die rechtliche Bestätigung zweier früherer Entscheidungen des Amts der Europäischen Union für geistiges Eigentum (EUIPO) in den Jahren 2014 und 2015, die zwei sehr klare Entscheidungen zugunsten des Anspruchs der OIF auf die Marke getroffen und jeden Versuch abgelehnt hatten um es zu stornieren. Das Gericht hat in diesem abschließenden Urteil die früheren Entscheidungen des EUIPO zu jedem einzelnen Punkt bestätigt. Die OSHO Times hat zuvor über die Entscheidung des EUIPO berichtet.
Der Versuch, die OSHO-Marke für ungültig zu erklären, war Teil eines konzertierten Angriffs durch eine kleine Gruppe von Menschen, die versuchten, das geistige Eigentum von Osho zu kontrollieren. Diese Menschen waren zuvor in die Arbeit der Stiftung involviert, unter anderem von Robert Doetsch, der auch als Swami Ramateertha, der kontrollierenden Figur eines lokalen Osho-Meditationszentrums in Köln, bekannt ist. Doetsch, ebenfalls ein Schüler von UG Krishnamurti, nutzte ein Osho Mediation Center, um einen legalen Angriff auf Oshos Arbeit zu starten.
Doetsch war und ist an anderen ähnlichen Angriffen beteiligt, darunter an einem Versuch von 2014, die Kontrolle über die Schweizer Stiftung zu übernehmen. In einer ungewöhnlich formulierten stechenden Antwort wies die Schweizer Regierung alle Ansprüche gegen die Direktoren der Stiftung zurück und bestätigte, dass Doetsch die Schweizer Behörden mit falschen und bösartigen Anschuldigungen getäuscht hatte. Zudem habe der Schweizer vorsätzlich zurückgehalten, dass er und nahestehende Personen seit dem Jahr 2000 versucht hätten, gegen die Osho International Foundation (OIF) in verschiedenen Ländern rechtliche Schritte einzuleiten, um die Marken “zu Fall zu bringen” und Urheberrechte von OIF. Doetsch und seine Gruppe hatten Schritte unternommen, um die Stiftung zu fördern, eine Stiftung, aus der Osho Dötsch persönlich gebeten hatte, dreißig Jahre zuvor im Jahr 1986 zurückzutreten, nachdem er von Sheela Silverman zunächst in den Vorstand berufen worden war.
Wie bei der schweizerischen Aktion führte Doetsch das Europäische Markenamt vorsätzlich in die Irre, indem er vorgab, eine unabhängige Partei zu sein und seine frühere enge Beziehung zu der Stiftung verbarg. Zu diesem Punkt erklärten die Richter: “Der Beschwerdeführer [Osho Lotus Commune e.V. und Robert Doetsch] hat versucht, seine langjährige Verbindung mit OIF zu verbergen.”
Im Rahmen dieser Rechtsfälle veröffentlichten Doetsch und seine Gruppe, die wie Politiker handeln, jahrelang “Fake News”, verbreiten absichtlich Fehlinformationen über Marken und ihre Verwendung im Zusammenhang mit Osho’s Arbeit, führen die Öffentlichkeit irre, um die Integrität zu schädigen Ruf der Stiftung, die von Osho geschaffen wurde, um seine Arbeit fortzusetzen. Sowohl die Schweizer Regierung als auch das EU-Markenamt enthüllten diese Details als “bösartig”, “falsch”, “absichtlich verwirrend” und “unbegründet”. Trotz dieser klaren Entscheidungen dieser Regierungsstellen setzten Doetsch und seine Gruppe ihre Bemühungen fort verursachen Spaltungen zwischen Personen, die in Oshos Arbeit involviert sind.
Ramateertha hat die Leute in die Irre geführt und Osho konzentriert sich auf falsche Details über OSHO-Marken, finanzielle Fehlinformationen und so weiter und versucht grundsätzlich, Oshos Fundament als im Grunde kriminell, kommerziell und kontrollierend darzustellen.
Nach der Anweisung, dass seine gesamte Arbeit nun unter “OSHO” bekannt und vorgestellt wird, überprüft Osho im Januar 1990 das Re-Branding seiner Arbeit – die Programmpräsentationen der OSHO Multiversity.
Wofür ist die OSHO Marke – und wofür nicht?
“OSHO” hat sich nun zu einer “Lovemark” entwickelt, einer dieser einzigartigen Situationen, in denen eine Marke und ein Markenzeichen weit mehr ist als eine kommerzielle Quelle – aber sie entwickelt zusätzliche Aspekte wie eine Verbindung basierend auf emotionaler Assoziation, Respekt und Liebe.
Die Menschen kommen auf vielen verschiedenen Ebenen mit OSHO in Kontakt, durch Publikationen von Oshos und der Stiftung, Meditationserfahrungen, Musik aus der Welt von Osho, Videos im Internet, Hörbücher, einen Besuch im Osho International Meditations Resort oder einem Osho-Meditationszentrum … und viele andere Möglichkeiten. Sie werden so viele einzigartige Ausdrücke erleben, wie es Individuen gibt.
Osho hat ein unglaubliches Verständnis dafür, wie er sein Werk präsentieren kann und wie wichtig es ist, sein Werk zu “brandmarken”, indem er seinen Namen in Gebäude, Meditationen, Musik, Abteilungen, Diskotheken aufnimmt – eigentlich wurde alles, was mit seiner Arbeit zu tun hatte, gebrandmarkt mit dem Namen “Rajneesh”. Schon in den 70er Jahren war sein Name ein internationales
Il Tribunale europeo – una branca della Corte di giustizia dell’Unione europea – prende la decisione finale sul marchio OSHO e conferma la proprietà di Osho International Foundation
La decisione del Tribunale dell’Unione europea in Lussemburgo a partire dall’11 ottobre 2017 è ora definitiva e conferma la validità del marchio OSHO e della proprietà di Osho International Foundation, Svizzera [caso T670 / 15].
Il Tribunale europeo In questo articolo esamineremo da vicino il contesto di questo caso legale, le sue implicazioni e daremo ai lettori di Osho Times uno sfondo perché Osho vede la necessità di proteggere legalmente il suo nome e il suo lavoro e perché il marchio OSHO è così unico e di successo.
La decisione finale in questo caso è in realtà la conferma legale di due precedenti decisioni dell’Ufficio dell’Unione europea per la proprietà intellettuale (EUIPO) nel 2014 e 2015, che hanno preso due decisioni molto chiare a favore della richiesta di marchio OIF, respingendo qualsiasi tentativo per cancellarlo. Il Tribunale ha confermato in questa sentenza definitiva le precedenti decisioni dell’EUIPO su ciascun punto. L’OSHO Times ha riferito in precedenza della decisione dell’EUIPO.
Il tentativo di invalidare il marchio OSHO è stato parte di un attacco concertato da parte di un piccolo gruppo di persone, nel tentativo di ottenere il controllo della proprietà intellettuale di Osho. Queste persone erano precedentemente coinvolte nel lavoro della fondazione, incluso e guidato da Robert Doetsch, noto anche come Swami Ramateertha, la figura di controllo di un centro di meditazione Osho locale a Colonia, in Germania. Doetsch, anch’egli discepolo di UG Krishnamurti, ha utilizzato un centro di mediazione di Osho per lanciare un attacco legale contro il lavoro di Osho.
Doetsch era ed è coinvolto in altri attacchi simili, tra cui un tentativo del 2014 di prendere il controllo della fondazione svizzera. Con una risposta pungente formulata in modo insolito, il governo svizzero ha respinto tutte le richieste avanzate contro i direttori della fondazione e ha confermato che Doetsch aveva indotto le autorità svizzere a indurre accuse false e dolose. Inoltre, gli svizzeri hanno scoperto di aver intenzionalmente trattenuto il fatto che dal 2000, lui e le parti strettamente correlate avevano tentato di intraprendere un’azione legale contro la Osho International Foundation (OIF) in vari paesi, con l’obiettivo di “abbattere” i marchi e diritti d’autore di OIF. Doetsch e il suo gruppo avevano preso provvedimenti per dirottare la fondazione, una fondazione dalla quale Osho aveva personalmente chiesto a Doetsch di dimettersi trent’anni prima, nel 1986, dopo essere stato inizialmente nominato nel consiglio da Sheela Silverman.
Come nel caso dell’azione svizzera, Doetsch intenzionalmente fuorvia l’Ufficio Marchi Europeo, fingendo di essere un partito indipendente, nascondendo il suo precedente stretto rapporto con la fondazione. Su questo punto i giudici hanno dichiarato: “Il candidato [Osho Lotus Commune e.V e Robert Doetsch] ha tentato di nascondere la sua associazione di lunga data con l’OIF”.
Nel contesto di questi casi legali, Doetsch e il suo gruppo, agendo come politici, hanno pubblicato per anni “notizie false”, diffondendo intenzionalmente disinformazione sui marchi e il loro uso nel contesto del lavoro di Osho, ingannando il pubblico al fine di danneggiare l’integrità e reputazione della fondazione creata da Osho per portare avanti il suo lavoro. Sia il governo svizzero che l’ufficio marchi dell’UE hanno esposto questi dettagli come “maligni”, “falsi”, “deliberatamente confusi” e “infondati”. Nonostante queste chiare decisioni prese da questi organismi governativi, Doetsch e il suo gruppo hanno continuato a causare divisioni tra le persone coinvolte nel lavoro di Osho.
Ramateertha ha ingannato persone e centri Osho con falsi dettagli sui marchi OSHO, sulla disinformazione finanziaria e così via, fondamentalmente cercando di dipingere le fondamenta di Osho come fondamentalmente criminali, commerciali e controllanti.
Dopo aver istruito che il suo intero lavoro è ora conosciuto e presentato sotto “OSHO”, nel gennaio 1990 Osho esamina il re-branding del suo lavoro – le presentazioni del programma della OSHO Multiversity.
Qual è il marchio OSHO per – e per cosa non lo è?
“OSHO” si è trasformato in un “Lovemark”, una di queste situazioni davvero uniche in cui un marchio e un marchio commerciale sono molto più di una fonte commerciale, ma sviluppa aspetti aggiuntivi tra cui una connessione basata sull’associazione emotiva, il rispetto e l’amore.
Le persone entrano in contatto con OSHO a diversi livelli, attraverso pubblicazioni di opere di Osho e della fondazione, esperienze di meditazione, musica dal mondo di Osho, video su internet, audiolibri, una visita all’Osho International Meditation Resort o un centro di meditazione Osho … e molte altre opportunità. Sperimenteranno tante espressioni uniche quante sono le persone.
Osho ha un’incredibile comprensione di come presentare il suo lavoro e dell’importanza di “marcare” il suo lavoro aggiungendo il suo nome a tutto, da edifici, meditazioni, musica, dipartimenti, discoteche – in realtà qualsiasi cosa relativa al suo lavoro era originariamente di marca con il nome “Rajneesh”. Anche negli anni ’70 il suo nome era una internazione
