Yatri′s Cartoons
These cartoons were drawn by Yatri and appeared between 1979 to 1981 in the Rajneesh Foundation Newsletter, a forerunner of the Rajneesh Times, which in its turn preceded the Osho Times.After Poona One there was not only The Ranch...
When Osho moved to Oregon to live at the ′Muddy Ranch′, a period called Poona One by sannyasins came to a close and the Rajneesh Foundation Newsletter, with Yatri′s cartoons in it, was discontinued. Sheela & co. who were in charge of the new commune in Oregon soon issued a new publication and called it the Rajneesh Foundation International Newsletter. It was printed on a better quality paper than its forerunner, looked more professionally done, but was also less dynamic and alive.It struck one that there hadn′t been made room for Yatri′s drawings, probably because they were judged to show a lack of respect. If so, it is clear that Sheela & co. didn′t understand at all the love Yatri felt for his master, a love great enough for it not to be disturbed by a few funny drawings.
After Poona One not all sannyasins followed Osho to America, and besides the Muddy Ranch other sannyas endeavours flourished, like for example Medina Rajneesh Neo-sannyas Commune in England and Sangam Rajneesh Sannyas Ashram in Thorenc par Caille, in the south of France. Sheela & co. tolerated these communes at first as is shown by the fact that she didn′t object to page-size advertisements for both Medina and Sangam in her Rajneesh Foundation International Newsletter of April 1 1982 .
But the ad of Sangam is ominous in that it already indicates what is going to happen soon. It indirectly shows friction between the communes in Oregon and France by announcing the "rebirth of the former Rajneesh Newsletter" and invites all those who "miss or missed Poona" to come over to France as "they have created that special flavour of Poona, yet have spiced it with the marvellous food and wine of Southern France... and really have the best of all worlds."
Instead of travelling to the Muddy Ranch, many well-known sannyasins decide to go and live at Sangam′s and share a "deep sense of an intimate family" and to offer groups and sufi-dancing, regular concerts with Chaitanya Hari (aka Deuter, composer of the Kundalini and Dynamic meditation music), music group with Anneeta and Anubhava, evening discos, celebrations, picnics and mountain walks.
Yatri′s cartoons were banned by Sheela & co and they were never published in Sheela′s publication, except for a small drawing encorporated in the Sangam ad. Yatri too must have seen an opportunity to keep the Poona One spirit alive in the Sangam ashram in France - a spirit so distinctly present in his cartoons - and he decided to support the sannyas endeavour there.
Not long after, Medina was closed by Sheela. Prageet, who took the initiative to go to France and found Sangam was first asked by Sheela to close this commune, but because he refused, his mala was taken away and he was expelled from sannyas. In so doing, Sheela managed to save the experiment in Oregon she felt dedicated to.
Here′s Yatri′s vision of Osho in a French setting, as it appeared in the Sangam advertisement. The "Savoir Vivre" is clearly present:
Years later, after the Oregon experiment had collapsed, Osho must have felt to honour Yatri′s visionary talents and the Sangam happening when, while in Greece, he allowed this picture of him taken:
People who lived at, or were associated with Medina