Comments by Readers

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36 thoughts on “Comments by Readers”

  1. just finished reading your book ‘on the edge’. thank you for the joy & beauty & creativity & love & laughter, and reminder of ‘working meditation'(:)
    it is a true OSHO revival….
    Ch. by email 29 September 2018

  2. I just finished your beautiful book “On the Edge”. It touched me deeply and I am expressing my appreciation for your sharing your journey as a Sannyasin. I laughed and cried along with you and certain inner spaces were opened by your words.

    Love,

    V. – by email 29.6.15

  3. Living in the presence of an unpredictable and uncompromising Master

    Reading this takes me straight into the experience of being part of an experiment in communal living around a unique enlightened mystic. Punya tells it from the perspective of a very ordinary member of the community (a refreshing change from the numerous books detailing special relationships/meetings with Osho). The details of her life, work, meditations and spiritual insights are cataloged in (Swiss) detail, so that the reader begins to participate in the transformations she goes through and feel what it was like to yo-yo between making money in straight jobs in the West and living in the presence of an unpredictable and uncompromising Master.

    Chinmaya – Published on Amazon.com – 30 March 2015

  4. What a great Read…Yoga Punya is pure Heart….Thank you…Yes, we are living on the Edge.

    JJ King – Published on Amazon.com – Five Stars 4 Jun. 2015 – Paperback Verified Purchase

  5. If you haven’t read it yet, get this book! It’s very well written and simply a joy to return to time and again. To be honest, I couldn’t put it down and read the entire thing in two days (425 pages!).

    This is possibly the most comprehensive and balanced account of life in Osho’s communes that I’ve read yet. Punya writes so fluidly – she is a polyglot and uses all of her language skills to expertly describe the life in the community surrounding Osho.

    What I love about On the Edge is that it is from the perspective of one of those powerhouse Mas – the ones that got everything done and could be relied on to pop into just about any job and do it really well. An amazing woman – I wholeheartedly encourage you to read her book.

    P. in a Facebook post – 6.4.15

  6. Liebe Punya,

    Dein Buch ist angekommen und ich bin schon mittendrin!
    Lebendig erzählt und spannend geschrieben – ich werde es im Juni auf unserer Kulturseite als Lesetipp nehmen…

    Vielen Dank und bis bald.

    Ishu – Osho Times Germany – by email 19.4.15

  7. Congratulations, Punya, on this brilliant achievement. To write a book like this needs huge courage and deep commitment.

    This morning a copy arrived in the mail, I was so excited I opened it for a quick scan through as I had a lot to do today…but simply could not put it down, words just flow effortlessly off the page and now I am going back to it!

    THANK YOU for your beautiful writing.

    Audrey Jenkinson – by email 15.4.15

  8. I’ve just finished reading this AMAZING book. I think this may be the best Sannyasin account of life with Osho written yet.

    What I love about Punya’s writing is how she describes the various eras of communes established for Osho’s work with such detail and from the perspective of someone “ordinary”. She seems to capture the essence of the places and times without boring us with too much detail.

    There are so many people on her journey and I’m amazed how she recalls all the names and describes the various departments in the communes where she worked (and apparently she worked EVERYWHERE!).

    What a wonderful life you have led, Punya! I can relate to the twists and turns along your way: the beginnings of meditation, the angst of having to leave and earn money in order to return, melting and merging with Osho and one another.

    Thank you for all the hard work you did for so many years contributing to the communes around Osho. Your effort and that of countless others created an incomparably exquisite environment where consciousness evolves.

    Padmini on the Edge Facebook page 6.4.15

  9. Punya,

    Ordered your book 3 days ago (Amazon), got it 2 days ago, finished it today. Luckily I’m on spring vacation (I’m a teacher in Los Angeles), so I could indulge myself in a deep read. It was riveting!

    Padmini – by email 6.4.15

  10. Beloved,

    Sitting at sunset time in Thailand reading your book. What to say? At the part when you are talking about the bakery! Oh, so amazing to be right there in Poona again! Thankyou, thankyou.

    What a life, and it goes on right. As reflected in the title of your book. And also the image on the cover says it all.

    So happy to read it and to be reminded of so many things.

    Much much love…

    Veda – via Facebook messenger 2.4.2015

  11. It is indeed a wonderful thing that you are sharing your life and spiritual journey, especially for those of us who are “new” on the path. It is difficult to find people who will/can share and become mentors for present/future generations of sannyasins. Having lived through the special years on Earth with Osho, you have so much wisdom, knowledge, and historical information that is so important to preserve….note: pre-SERVE 🙂

    Champak Oregongallery – by email 2.4.15

  12. Beloved,
    I just bought the kindle edition – wonderful. And impeccable English too.
    I’m looking forward to a week of late nights
    Love
    rashid (artist, writer and poet) – by email 1.4.15

  13. Congratulations!

    I thoroughly enjoyed reading the excerpt An Unusual Trio.

    What you say about Drive-by is so true: it could not be compared to any experiences of the past.

    Wonderfully written and expressed.

    M (musician) – by email

  14. It is destined to become a classic of the genre, I would say – very comprehensive – it is inspiring me about getting one of my own out one of these days…

    Madhuri, author – by email

  15. Hii!

    I see now, how amazing it was to have read this book.

    I bought it during the pandemic, as I was interested about knowing what it really meant for older sanyasins to be close to osho, since I have heard stories before. and I have known older sanyains, but what is really strange and crazy is that I never really asked them about how it was. and now only in a book from someone I don’t know, that I am getting all the answers. and everything very well written. mind blowing.

    So as I started to read it, I did got some jealousy, and I was comparing myself a little, since everyone there seemed to be really living the life.
    But as I continued to read it, I also started to look for masters myself. Or better, it happened, as my meditation was also growing during the pandemic, and as everything just goes on complementing everything else.
    And now I went to see a master, Swaha, who happened to be here in brazil, and who was also with Osho.
    And for some time now I have been living trought all the experiences, the honeymoon, being in a flow with life, feeling like alice, everyday totally a different person, totally, finally getting and feeling hit by some words that for some people can take years, and experiencing the commune (the commune around swaha looks very very similar to what I was reading about). among many other things. And only now, that I am getting the book for a second time to read some quotes again, that I am recognizing how important it was to read it.

    thank you!!

  16. Beloved Punya, I just finished reading you book and I wanted to let you how much I enjoyed it! It was a wonderful insight into a disciple’s spiritual journey. Your descriptions brought many memories to life again – I am grateful for that. Lots of love to you,
    A – Germany

  17. when i received your book, it had brought a fragrance of silence.
    now, i would like to make it more clear- it`s not just of silence, it’s the ‘sincerity’, the fragrance of meditation, as Osho reminded us.
    trpn

  18. The Ranch and Poona 2 were my entry; I feel again and again what a privilege it has been to be so personal with him and so close.
    Reading your book I felt taken by the hand on the journey you made.
    W. Germany

  19. I just wanted to tell you how much I am enjoying reading your book. It’s so rich and beautifully written, I want to make it last so am trying to only read a few pages a night. What a fantastically rich life you have had!
    Thank you for writing!!
    J.

  20. I just finished reading On the Edge last night on my kindle and wanted to reach out and say thank you for writing about your life and heart with Osho.
    It was a real gift to read and feel.
    I of course always saw you around the ashram and for me you were always the percussion lady, but we very rarely had a conversation, so everything in the book was a revelation. And i loved to read about your inherent utter trust in existence to look after you, getting jobs easily whenever you needed them and doing so so so many different things through all your phases in the different communes. How absolutely awesome! More power to you.

    Ch. London

  21. I’m writing you to say that I just finished reading your book, “On the Edge” and I wanted to tell you how much I really enjoyed reading it ! You may be surprised at how long it has taken me to read it but the fact is that I am a very slow reader. I was also only reading a few pages at night before going to sleep and it was a very nice companion as you described so many familiar places and people and experiences all around our Beloved Master Osho.

    So thank you for your dedication for journaling these details of your journey. I’m curious to know if you were keeping a diary throughout this time or if you just have an amazing photographic memory? You are a very good writer. I like how you jumped from one timeline to another. I enjoyed your writing style as well as it was very descriptive and created clear images of things that I too remember – like that magical day I joined with you and everyone in that bus trip to Saswad fort. I also loved hearing about your love of music and your evolution as a musician.

    We shared many living places – besides Poona and the Ranch I too spent time in Mill Valley in the early 90’s.

    NN USA
    Author’s note: no journals were written!

  22. I just finished reading your book, “On The Edge” and it was great! What a trip back in time for someone like me. Thank you so much. I got to Pune in ’75 so I was there for most of what you wrote about. The detail was amazing. I don’t know how you did it.
    DG USA

  23. punya, your book is like a big cloud,
    carrying much
    of the beyond
    to many, it communicates on that level only.
    lv and gratitude
    trpn

  24. Yoga Punya,
    I just finished your book, On the Edge, which I thoroughly enjoyed.
    I would have loved to have gone to the Pune ashram in the early 1970’s, but my “journey” took me elsewhere. I have 45 of Osho’s books. He was truly the most enlightening master that I have ever read, and his words have helped me on my “path” over the years. I would have loved to have met him. Your book made me feel like I was at the ashram. I felt as if I was with you, with your very detailed descriptions of your experiences.
    Thank you so much for your gift.

    Truly,
    Edward G. Conti

  25. Dear Punya,

    I have just finished reading your amazing book, ‘On the Edge’ and wanted to write and thank you!

    To be honest, I’m not a fan of ‘accounts of Sannyas past’ anymore… and yet, I really wanted to support you and had the feeling that whatever you write will be worth reading and that there will something to learn from your life and path.

    I wasn’t disappointed. 🙂

    It was beautiful to move with you through your amazing life. So many Osho reminders; so many touching moments; such a rich life – both inside and out! And a HUGE respect for your willingness to surrender with such a yes to all that came your way!

    As I traveled with you through the pages, I was also reminded of the time our paths crossed there in Edinburgh in a little meditation center on the Royal Mile! I was just a fresh-faced Sannyasin then… but remembered loving the space you both created there and feeling very comfortable in your presence. How amazing that at that time you already had sooo many years and experiences behind you and I was just making my first baby steps along the way.

    You also reminded me of that magical space I had experienced in the ashram… those early morning silences with steaming hot tea after Dynamic; the beauty of the Nalla Park… and also of the time I spent playing music there in Buddha Hall.

    I don’t think we ever played together… but thank you for reminding me of the space and heights we touched in those White Robes.

    I also found the way you touched on the thorny subject of what happened to the ashram after Osho left the body, very mature and insightful. I had never heard that quote from Osho but it helped put the political happenings that have played themselves out in the resort into the bigger picture of simply ‘how-things-are’.

    Though we come from very different sannyas generations, there were some delicious parallels and you helped me to see that despite the fact most of life has been lived ‘outside the sannyas family realm’, in the twists and turns that my own life has taken, I also experienced my own ‘Deesha’s kitchen’ and ‘Ranch process’. 🙂

    I had to smile, too at the line when you write about the book ‘Mojud’ and how it ‘has to come to your hands’.

    On my very first visit to Pune as a shy 23-year-old, a young Indian boy who lived in a hut by the river gave this book to me as a present – also with all the pictures removed. 🙂

    Books have come and gone, but this one is still on my bedside table and has been my constant companion for 25 years.

    As I came to the end of your story, the one thing that remained was a question as to how life is for you now… after such a rich life of searching, silence, growth and inner and outer highs and lows?

    Perhaps another book? 🙂

    Thank you again for sharing your amazing life!

    Much love,

    Tanmayo

  26. Beloved Punya,
    Love.
    I just finished your beautiful book “On the Edge”. It touched me deeply and I am expressing my appreciation for your sharing your journey as a sannyasin. I laughed and cried along with you and certain inner spaces were opened by your words.
    Love.
    Sw Anand Veetkam (AKA Dr. Robert D. Schenck)

  27. For a long time I’ve tried to follow the precept ‘live in the present moment; drop the past’ but when I was reading your book some precious moments from my past became so tangibly present I had to revise this idea. I could feel, smell taste and touch those amazing other worlds I’d also experienced in Pune and on the Ranch.

    It seemed that the past had become my present reality. So may be there’s a timeless dimension in which treasured moments are eternal and if so they are never lost.

    Thank you dear Punya for leading me there.

    Phoebe Wyss

  28. “On the Edge” was compelling and fascinating reading for me. Before reading it, I had little idea of what life was like as an insider at the ashram or on the ranch. Now I have a deeply painted picture. Punya’s courage and effort in writing the book are inspiring and I am very grateful for it.

  29. Having been there myself, I can only admire Punya’s wonderful gift to bring back the vivid atmosphere and unique flavour of those exceptional times and places, where so many extraordinary human beings discovered the blessings of just being ordinary and so many ordinary guys were transformed into a laughing and loving community of extraordinary living Buddhas.

  30. What echoes through and through in Punya’s book is the whole concept of “Trust.” She continuously reminds us that if you are going to receive initiation from an Enlightened Master, then it requires that you trust, with awareness, in all its dimensions, the life that unfolds for you.
    Thank you, Punya! A great tale! Highly recommended.

  31. Congratulations, Punya, on this brilliant achievement. To write a book like this needs huge courage and deep commitment. This morning a copy arrived in the mail, I was so excited I opened it for a quick scan through as I had a lot to do today…but simply could not put it down, words just flow effortlessly off the page and now I am going back to it! THANK YOU for your beautiful writing.
    Ikkyu (aka Audrey Jenkinson)

  32. Your book is a major contribution, and I postponed writing to you until I had finished my reading. A lot of words could be said here. No need. Please accept my silent admiration.
    Swami Anand Neeten (Pierre Evald)

  33. Liebe Punya, wow – ich bin so in Oshos Energie dank deines Buches!!! Erzähle Purnam immer wieder davon oder lese vor… Wunderbar – danke! Love,
    Deva Dhyan

  34. Your book is totally enthralling, Punya! I started reading it last night and had to force myself to stop.
    Sw Anand Kaiyum (David Bloch)

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