Page 25 - C.A.L.L. #31 - Spring 2009

There have been many communes of various forms around the world in the last

century. Artists, poets, writers, hippies, communists all tried their hands at commune
living, but hardly do we hear a success story. Either the communes were authoritarian
in nature and with the fall of the system that implemented it, the commune fell as
well, or it broke up due to internal feuds or external intolerance.

“The average age of most communes till today is probably only five to seven years,”
says Swami Anand Arun, coordinator of Osho Tapoban and Anil’s mentor, who has
been, surprisingly, running a commune for the last 18 years against all odds.

The breaking up of traditional family systems and the isolation of the individuals
caused by the demands of the post modern era has meant that people are wanting a
social support system that suits and aids their own priorities in life. Anil was lucky to
find a space that supported the lifestyle he wanted for himself and for him, the base
of the commune he lives in has to be meditation but are communes that are not
spiritually inclined possible as well?

“People can come and live together if there is a uniting cause that is the most
important thing in the lives of the ones who form the commune,” shares Swami Arun
from his experience.

“Apart from that, it is also very important to have a uniting figure who has the
capacity to keep things together despite major ego conflicts and also the commune
should be able to generate its own finances,” he adds.

So according to Swami Arun, dancers can live together in a commune but their
passion for dance has to surpass all else and they must have a mentor who is mature
enough to gain the trust of the lot and keep them united.

For this evolving humanity, which is getting even more individualistic by the moment,
this type of living might be a plausible option. People who prize their freedom tend to
go astray in life and end up as social misfits because they don’t get a support system
that respects their individual freedom. But Swami Arun, after a lifetime of
experience with running communes knows of the difficulties that come along with the

task.

“Communes are bound to fail, because humans can neither live alone nor can they live

together. To keep a commune running has been the greatest challenge of my life,” he
states pensively.

It seems that only when civilization matures to a certain degree, can communes that

respect and aid individual freedom be possible. As for Anil, who doesn’t live in
Tapoban anymore and doesn’t want to live in a private house either, life presents a
challenge, and that too a difficult one. Currently, apart from his consultancy work at
Ithari, in eastern Nepal, he is running weekend meditation camps in various towns in
the area. We can only wait and see what plans existence has for him in the coming
years.

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