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For Osho’s birthday celebration at The Ranch in 1982, one of my songs was chosen by the Commune to be sung as Osho sat and celebrated with us in satsang. There were maybe five or six songs all together, and a band of the best musician’s among us was selected to play them. It was something of a bonus that each songwriter got to sing their particular song and also had some choice over its arrangement, accompanying singers, and soloists. I, for one, was fascinated by Toby’s alto flute and asked if he would mind playing on my song. All of the songs were great. Many of them later would become Ranch classics. Some were high-energy and danceable while others, like mine, slow and ballad-like. The strongest thing about the whole experience, though, was a certain realization I had while singing. My song had started and the band was playing along beautifully. I felt relaxed feeling their support. I looked out over a sea of swaying, ecstatic people — his commune — and addressed my heart directly to him from across the hall to where he sat. “In the silence of your presence, you carry me away. In the silence of your presence, you carry me away. Carry me away, carry me away”. The words and music wafted out over the hall. It was all I could do to keep my voice steady and not get emotional. Suddenly the realization dawned on me what a golden opportunity this was, not only for me, but for us as a Commune, to say thank you to him. Not just in words, but through song. To express something from our side: our gratitude for all the inspiration and love he continuously showers. What a gift to express this to Osho! From this moment on, I understood that song is not only a powerful medium for love, but also has an ability to touch and open hearts.

The songs of the Commune, often referred to as “Osho Songs”, all start their journey as a single seed in an individual’s heart. These seeds, when watered with love, sprout from feelings of deep gratitude. Many of the well-known ones — those that the Commune embraces after years of singing them in countless celebrations — become part of the fabric of our Sangha. A handful are perennials: they go on flowering year after year and remain as fresh today as when Osho was in-the-body. Songs such as the Pune l music group classic of Anubhava’s (Peter Makena) “There Is So Much Magnificence”; the Ranch classic “Way of the Heart” (Ruparahi); the Pune ll classics “Ah This” (Abhinandan), “Love Is The Fire” (Miten); “Just Say Yes” (Sudhananda); Home Is Where The Heart Is (Narayani); Om Shanti (Subhan); I Am Touched (Neera); I Just Close My Eyes (Madhuro); This Life Our Celebration (Milarepa); and many many more too numerous to list here — all continue to touch people and open hearts, inspiring thousands around the world to explore the dimensions of love, meditation, and personal growth. I consider myself blessed to have had an opportunity to share them via my events since more than thirty years. I have witnessed, time and time again, their transforming effect on people, how they speak directly to the heart, and how they effortlessly open the door to Osho and silence. Perhaps it is this miracle that has kept me going this long! 

One of the songs I speak of, that needs to be included in this conversation, is one that blossomed in the heart of Danish Pratibha. With a little help from her friend, Bindu (also Dansih), she gave birth to “Nothing Is Said”. I can still remember passing them sitting together in Mariam Canteen during lunch hour in Pune 1988, and calling out to me, “Hey, Mila! We have a new song. Wanna hear?” That same evening, we sang it with the Commune for Osho’s discourse. Now more than thirty years later I can say it remains one of the most-loved of all the “Osho” songs. It is as heartful a tribute to the Master if there ever was one. I will post a link below to Pratibha’s article in Osho News Online where she speaks about how the song came about for her.

In the autumn of 2016 after the USA tour, I started a project teaching myself the professional recording software LogicPro X. Learning as I went along, I began sketching out ideas for seven or eight new songs, all the while doing tutorials to practice and sharpen my recording skills. As it happened, on May 24, 2017, a beloved friend of mine and many, Ma Satya Priya — who ran the Osho Padma Center in New York City and also organized our annual band retreat in Upstate New York — left her body. When I received the news, I dropped everything I had been working on and quickly recorded what I knew to be her favorite Osho song, “Nothing Is Said” with the idea of using it as the soundtrack for a video tribute to her I wanted to make. Three days later, I posted the tribute but lost total interest in recording and going further with my projects. So, I dismantled the studio and never looked back. Alas, COVID-19 came along this March and, after the last of my events of the year canceled, I felt pulled to the studio again. My creatively began flowing effortlessly in this direction and so I set up the studio again and began the process of picking up the thread I had dropped three years earlier. One of the ways to familiarize myself with the technicalities of recording was to go back into tracks like “Nothing Is Said” and use them to practice, polish, remember, and hone my rusty skills. When I had originally posted Satya Priya’s tribute, I had some inquiries about whether the song was available anywhere and, if so, where to find it. So, as the track was becoming more finalized, I wrote Pratibha and asked whether she would mind if I shared it as a free download on my homepage. She very graciously said, “Yes”. In one of her email sentences to me she writes, “I couldn’t claim the song as mine since it was really Osho who sent it”. I know she feels this way, but I still want to acknowledge HER on behalf of myself and the many people I know who are going to be touched by this sharing. I hope you will enjoy the beautiful expression of love and devotion for the Master her song is. 

Speaking of Satya Priya: what a divine coincidence this sharing comes on the second anniversary of Padma NYC our dynamic New York City center that continues and celebrates her legacy of sharing Osho and meditation in the heart of Manhattan. We all felt Priya a lot in last Sunday’s event!

Pritabha shares about the creation of “Nothing Is Said” and her experiences playing music in the Commune: https://www.oshonews.com/2015/05/24/pratibha-music/

For more about Pratibha, visit http://www.pratibha.dk.

For more about Padma NYC, our miracle of a meditation center in the heart of New York City, lovingly facilitated by Meera and Arpana, visit www.padmanyc.com.

“Nothing is said, nothing is heard, and yet the heart starts dancing in tune with the master.” Hari Om Tat Sat – The Divine Sound: That Is the Truth Chapter 27

“I am simply singing my own song. The meaning is not in the words, the meaning is in the silences between the words.” Osho, Om Mani Padme Hum – The Sound of Silence: The Diamond in the Lotus #19