Photo Gallery of Osho's reading, library and publishing.

Pierre Evald

 

1. Osho Lao Tzu library, Poona. Osho in his precious library which gradually took over his whole residence. It's a corridor library, holding some 100.000 volumes making it the world's largest private library. In Bombay and Poona 1970-1981 Osho was reading ten to fifteen books a day, titles collected by his librarians from leading booksellers in Bombay and Pune. Osho redesigned the entire library in 1987 following his return to Pune.
2. Osho Lao Tzu library, Poona. Interior from the central room, Ramakrishna. In this room the most valuable parts of the collection are shelved. Books are on glass shelves behind sliding glass doors and with mirrors placed behind the books. Two books of the same size or colour are not to be placed next to each other, so the effect is that of waves going up and down, adding a lighter impression of the packed shelves than usually seen in libraries.
3.  Painting. When reading a book, Osho sometimes made a drawing. He would call for a book he liked the most that week and then painted its philosophy or essence on a blank page at the beginning or at the end of the volume. A full-page painting by Osho inside the cover is found in 900 books.
4. Osho in Lao Tzu library, Poona. During his years in Bombay and Poona Osho read 10-15 books on a daily basis, the books being taken from the library to be read in his privacy. Felt-tip pens are ready at hand for signing.
5. Sushma Sahitya Mandir Bookshop, Jawaharganj Market, Jabalpur. Osho bought many of his new books in Hindi from this bookshop on first floor in the market. The interior is unchanged and the bookshop is still (Feb 2000) with the same owner, S.M.Jain (left), a longtime friend of Osho.
6. Osho entering his calligraphic signature in a book. Some 3.500 books contain various styles of his signature in colour or as part of a painting, all written with different coloured felt-tip pens.
7. Osho's signatures. Signing every book he read, he used 'Old signatures' in three parts and 'New signatures' in one flow. The shift from old to new signatures was a continous process, and we see a gradually change of signature from a more simple in the beginning to new calligraphic signatures coloured with felt tip-pen. Also old signatures are occasionally coloured. Most books in Lao Tzu library are signed, with dates in Hindi in Hindi books, in English in English books. (Out of scale).
8. Osho colouring the signature shown on photo #7.

9. Three logos for publishing. Top: Rajneesh Foundation. For Poona editions 1974-1981. It consisted of a dot in a triangle in a nine-sided shape set in a circle. Center: The swan logo. Rajneesh Foundation International. For paperbacks published in Oregon 1981-86. Bottom: Rebel Publishing House from 1989 (1987). The logo was designed by Osho, in the first rough fully lettered. 

 

10. Prayas [Effort]. Issue nr. 2, 1945. Osho's first publication at the age of fourteen in Gadarwara. Handwritten magazine with titles and some pages printed in toy press with rubber letters. All articles written by Osho, 3-4 in his own name (Rajneesh Mohan Chandra/RMC), some under pseudonym, others in the names of his classmates and friends. Contains drawings, jokes, poetry, e.g. the folk song Rani Durgawati. Also letters to friends to be read in a mirror. Yearly. 1944-issue missing. Format A5. Coloured. Wastepaper.
11. Yukrand. Monthly magazine. First issue: Issue 1, Volume 1. Published 15.6.1969 in Jabalpur. 20 pages. Price: 60 paisa. Editor: Ajit Kumar. Publisher: Yukrand Prakashan. Printer: Swadesh Printing Press. On front page, head and shoulder photo of Osho.
12. Sadhana Path / Acharya Rajneesh. 1st edition. Bombay, Jeevan Jagruti Kendra, 1965.

* Ahimsa Darshan / Acharya Rajneesh. 1st edition. Bombay, Jeevan Jagruti Kendra, 1966.

13. Osho in his favorite chair in the study. Woodlands, Bombay. Early 1970's. 
14. Bombay editions. 

Left: The Gateless Gate. 1st edition. Jeevan Jagruti Kendra. Bombay, 1971. 

Right: Beyond and Beyond. 2nd edition. Jeevan Jagruti Kendra. Bombay, 1972. Namechange on cover.

15.  Osho reading. (Photo session. Poona 1988).

Copyright:

Photo 1,2,3,4,6,7,8,9,15: Osho International Foundation. New York. USA.
Photo 5,10,11,12,14: Sw. Anand Neeten. Skagen. Denmark.
Photo 13: Sw. Chaitanya Bharti.
Poona. India.


Rev. by Pierre Evald 09-06-05