Bhagwan's Broken Cars - Kalen Goodluck

In the early days, when Bhagwan Rajneesh started his first commune in Pune, India in the 1960’s, he regularly engaged with his followers. Many would receive advice, spiritual guidance and listen to his “wisdom.” Many reported crying in joy in his presence or felt a certain weight lifted from them, like they could be themselves.

Gloria Malerba put on the orange robe and entered the Pune temple in the late 1960s. According to Waterfall, when Malerba was ready to go home, Rajneesh told her, “Go and spread my word in New York.”

Gloria Malerba, who went by Ma Satya Priya, headed the past Osho Padma NYC Center in her West Village apartment, establishing a small senyassin community.

At the time, thousands flocked to Rajneeshpuram commune in Oregon, which began in 1981, to sit at the feet of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh.Priya would often travel to the commune and even recruited homeless people in San Francisco to join the commune. (The homeless were used to take over the county legislature. They were also secretly drugged to make them docile.)

Arpana shows a photograph of Gloria Malerba, aka Ma Satya Priya. This photo was taken of her at Rajneeshpuram as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh was passing by in one of his 90 Rolls Royces. April 2018.

Bhagwan's Broken Cars:

The Osho disciples of New York City

“For me, it was always like if you car is broken, you go to a mechanic,” said Arpana. “The guy who knows most about cars is the mechanic. He’d be the master mechanic. If my life is broken, I want to know a little bit more about how I can love myself, take care of myself, be more relaxed with myself. In a sense, Osho is my mechanic.” Following Osho’s meditation, he explains, is taking responsibility for yourself and letting go of the “self.”

Every Wednesday evening, followers called sannyasins gather to perform Kundalini, a series of four meditation practices designed by the Indian mystic. The old Osho Padma NYC center closed in 2017 after the passing of Ma Satya Priya, a sunyassin who rented a studio space and even lived with Osho in India and Oregon.

Now, two followers named Arpana Waterfall and Meera Sakamoto are about to open their own Osho center near Union Square in mid-May—during a time of contention for the senyassin community.

The popular Netflix documentary series “Wild Wild Country” reignited the decades-old Osho controversy and the cult question. Some New York City followers already received backlash from family who found out their affiliation. Many will continue to practice Osho’s meditations.

Arpana Waterfall stands in the backyard of his newly rented meditation center near Union Square. April 2018.

Arpana Waterfall, aka Nicholas Waterfall, was born in South Africa before he moved to the United States in the early 2000s.

Veramo in a café near Union Square.

Ananta stands in Union Square Park. She was introduced to Osho in India before she left to practice medicine in the United States. She met Priya at her Osho Padma Center in the lower west side of Manhattan in the 1990s. She's been meditating ever since.

Arpana Waterfall and Meera Sakamoto prepare for a Kundalini meditation in the lower west side of Manhattan. They rent studio space in a ballerina studio to offer Osho's meditations. April 2018.

Veramo puts on a bindfold, a custom used in meditations to give others privacy in their shared meditation. Waterfall explains it's a way to be nonjudgmental and allow others to act as they wish.

Senyassins gather to begin Osho's Dynamic Meditation, a meditation broken into five stages. One, Breathing. Two, Catharsis. Three, Sex Region. Four, Stillness. Five, Celebration.

April 2018.

One, breathing.

One, breathing. #2.

Two, catharsis.

Three, sex region.

Five, celebration.