The Satsang Network: A Growing Post-Osho Phenomenon

This article describes and discusses a phenomenon I call the Satsang network, a group of Westerners claiming to have reached enlightenment. Several of these persons spent many years with the controversial guru, Osho; hence, I argue that one way of understanding the Satsang network is as a post-Osho development in which satsang holders become an example of how charismatic leaders emerge from institutionalized religious movements. Also discussed are the construction, confirmation, and social support of the enlightenment process; the alteration of meanings when Eastern concepts are interpreted from a Western perspective; and ways in which certain core teachings in the Satsang network mirror key processes of current globalization.