The Region : Last Rajneesh Commune in U.S. to Close

The last Rajneesh commune in the United States celebrated its final day of existence with feasting, prayer and dance. The 4.3-acre Utsava Rajneesh Meditation Center in Laguna Canyon was recently sold for $900,000 to Paul and Anneliese Schimmelpfennig of Laguna Beach, who plan to open a child-care facility next year. Center director Santosh said some Rajneeshees will meet elsewhere in the area for fellowship and meditation, while others may move up to Santa Cruz, where a new center called the Institute for DeHypnotherapy will be established. It will have no legal or financial connection to the Rajneesh Foundation International, which owned the Laguna Beach retreat. Sale of Utsava is part of a dissolution of the Rajneesh empire that began last November when the guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh was fined $400,000 and kicked out of the United States. He is now living in Bombay.