The Tapoban Allure | Feature

SHASHANK SHRESTHA

It's not hard to see why the city dwellers are attracted by the droves in Osho Tapoban. The silence permeates everything here and drips from the ancient foliage of the trees that seems to have stood the test of time and flows from the waterfall where the beauty falls gracefully along with the water. Top it all with the no-nonsense philosophy of Osho, the ordeal to make it there suddenly makes sense.

Just 10 km from the city centre, Tapoban is perched on a silent enclave surrounded by trees and occasional waterfalls. In this setting people are taught the ways of Zorba, the Buddha. It's the vision of complete human being pushed on the teachings of Osho, the controversial guru.

A place for the neo-sannyasins living their life as they see fit, the residents of Osho Tapoban, live by his values of awareness, love, meditation and laughter. "The best thing about this place is the holistic approach to well being," says Sukarma Khanal, 25, a young believer.

"It's so silent and peaceful here," is the common reply of the people who come to visit here. It is this silence that has enchanted Sheeram Shrestha (28) who spends his weekend here meditating. "The main reason is I can take things as I like it and not be accounted to anyone but oneself. I love this essence of freedom," Shrestha opines adding, "meditation and a silent retreat gives me this."

Call it a trend or a fashion statement it has people hooked into it, it's fast becoming a life style; people from all walks of life come pouring in to fill the void inside with the words of the wise ones here. "Whole week I work like a machine and come here to meditate on every other weekend to recharge myself. The tranquil atmosphere of the Tapoban is rejuvenating and the satsang helps me to put my life and actions in perspective," says Pukar Sharma, a regular at Tapoban. It's not surprising that youths like Shrestha and many others are flocking here to take it slow from the overly materialistic world of today. In fact, if you by any chance drop there on the weekends it becomes clear how much popular this place is with the youth.

While most of them are there to fill the 'gaps' left by the modern materialistic world, others come for different purpose altogether. Not all of them are searching for the elusive 'truth'- most of them are looking for a quiet retreat to pass an hour or so, away from the prying eyes and endless clutter of the cities.