Henriette Helene Nandeshi Hanky

Henriette Hanky is a PhD candidate in the Study of Religions. Her dissertation project examines continuities and transformations of the sannyas movement (also known as Rajneesh or Osho movement) by investigating contemporary meditation retreats affiliated with Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh/Osho (1931­–1990). Using a qualitative empirical research-design, Henriette conducts fieldwork with participant observation and interviews at retreat centres in Scandinavia, Germany, and India. She is interested in how actors in the field (re-)frame their relation to Osho 30 years after the guru’s death, and how Osho-related teachings, meditation techniques and social practices are performed at retreats in the post-Osho sannyas scene today. The project aims at developing an understanding of shifting forms of community formation, institutionalization, and authority relations in the field of late modern religiosity.