Through Dark Glasses Rosily: Sale Gives Peek Into Bhagwan’s Life

As a handful of young women modeled custom-made Christian Dior sunglasses, the standing-room-only crowd in Laguna Beach hushed, awaiting a description of the coveted eye wear.

“These are the glasses worn by the Bhagwan in his daily drives through the Rancho Rajneesh,” a bearded assistant told the riveted group on Sunday afternoon. “I guarantee you, you’ll be the first on your block to own a pair of glasses worn by the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. But they’re his prescriptions, and I warn you, you probably won’t be able to wear them.”

Viren, a 54-year-old retired Air Force fighter pilot-turned-sannyasin, or disciple, didn’t care. It was the chance of a lifetime, and he wasn’t going to let it slip away.

The bidding started at $10, and stopped at Viren’s offer of $50 a pair for two sets.

“I really love Bhagwan, and it’s nice to have something he wore or owned,” the Upland resident said, as he peeled $20 bills from a roll. “I may put my own prescription lenses in them, or I may just put them on the dresser.”

Viren was one of an estimated 300 who gathered Sunday at the Utsava Rajneesh Meditation Center in the Orange County coastal town to bag bargains from a bonanza of the guru’s belongings. Spectators’ cars and trucks--including a sprinkling of Porsches, Mercedes-Benzes and BMWs--choked Laguna Canyon and El Toro roads around the usually quiet sanctuary, which is the last fully operational Rajneesh meditation center in the country.

Although the guru’s personal Rolls-Royces had already been accounted for--85 have been sold, he kept 10--remnants of the lavish personal property left behind when Rajneesh departed the United States last November were up for grabs.

The beleaguered holy man left the country for India after pleading guilty to arranging sham marriages to circumvent immigration laws. He is now reportedly vacationing in Crete.

The guru’s followers who arranged the auction hoped to raise between $15,000 and $20,000 for the Rajneesh Trust to help pay legal fees.

In addition to the sunglasses and other prescription eye wear flown in from Rajneeshpuram--the guru’s commune-city in central Oregon, which is now being phased out--on the auction block Sunday were an 18-karat gold enameled decoration that had graced the Bhagwan’s chair (no bids at the minimum price, $7,000), an Indian silver flute with dangling medallions (sold for $650) and a handcrafted wood-and-glass display case (no sale price available), the guru’s own dulcimer (brought $450), gold and white bone china on which he was served his meals and Sasaki crystal goblets (bids ranged up to more than $700 for some pieces), more than 400 bolts of expensive fabrics, and albums such as “Nayyara Sings Faiz” and “Khayyam: Memorable Melodies” from the “blessed one’s” personal record collection.

Sunday’s spectators were as colorful as the merchandise. Center officials placed the crowd at about two-thirds sannyasins, and one-third curiosity seekers, or gawkers.

Cabbage Patch dolls and designer sweat shirts mingled with turbans, saris and malas--beaded necklaces graced with a picture of the Bhagwan that are worn by his followers. And most indicative of the clash of cultures Sunday was the Valley Girl auctioneer, Andrea Barrie Slavkin of Reseda.

Length of Proceedings

It was estimated that the proceedings, involving 450 lots, would take about five hours.

Slavkin began explaining the rules at 12:25 p.m. Bids would be taken by yard of fabric and then multiplied by the number of yards, she said. If two goblets were held up together, the bid would be doubled and the buyer would take both. “Are there any questions?” she asked.

“Yeah,” someone shouted, “what’s a goblet?”

Needless to say, the auction went much slower than anticipated. Renegade bidders milled around obstructing the view. There was confusion at times about what was being sold. And flailing arms indicated hugging sannyasins nearly as often as they indicated bids. By 1:30, fewer than 50 items had been sold, and the auction staff hunkered down for a long afternoon.

Still, there were plenty of satisfied customers. The first item auctioned off was a collection of Indian sitarist Ravi Shankar’s greatest hits, which went for $30.

A 36-year-old Bhagwan follower named Taro bought eight yards of “beautiful, beautiful blue cloth,” originally meant to be sewn into a gown for the guru, at $3 a yard.

‘Feels Kind of Funny’

“I’m going to make a bedspread and some pillows out of it,” the Laguna Beach resident said, adjusting her heart-shaped glasses. “Bhagwan is important to me. I didn’t mean to come here at first. It feels kind of funny to have his stuff sold.

“But then I thought, ‘I’m just moving into a new house, and it would be wonderful to have something owned by the Bhagwan or bought to make his clothes.’ ”

Some Sunday shoppers were even more easily pleased. Turio, another of the many faithful who have relocated to Laguna Beach, was content just to watch the goings-on and marvel at the “beautiful materials and perhaps things Bhagwan has used, he has touched and is close to him.”

“Why is it important?” she asked. “Because I love him. It is connected with his life and beauty.”