Conversations

The Rajneeshees and me — why Martina thought she needed a guru to heal

09 Dec 2025

Audio

Description

Cult survivor and psychotherapist Dr Martina Zangger on her ten years devoted to an Indian mystic and how she learned to stand on her own two feet.When Martina Zangger was 19 years old she became a devotee of the Rajneeshee Movement led by the Guru, Bhagwan.The cult had its headquarters in a huge ashram, built in rural Oregon, and Martina decided she needed to go there to be closer to Rajneesh to find the healing she desperately needed.She became a sex worker to fund her journey there from Sydney.In the ashram, Bhagwan directed his thousands of followers to wear purple clothing, work for him for free, and avoid monogamy.Then one day, Bhagwan suddenly disappeared on a Lear jet taking his collection of diamond-encrusted watches with him.Martina was left to make a life for herself back in the regular world and to slowly confront the childhood trauma that had led her to join the Rajneeshees in the first place.Not My Shame is published by Ventura Press.This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris, executive producer is Nicola Harrison.It explores religion, spirituality, spiritual seeking, trauma, childhood abuse, sexual abuse, Osho, Rajneesh, Pune, India, Oregon, Ashram, meditation, cults, healing, immigration, therapy, self confidence, self worth, motherhood, perinatal psychosis, mental health, psychotherapy, psychology, relationship, monogamy, parenting, mothers of daughters, social work, social justice, Wild Wild Country, Netflix, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, guru, mystic, philosophy, spiritual bypassing.To binge even more great episodes of the Conversations podcast with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you’ll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.

Transcription

This episode hasn't been transcribed yet

Help us prioritize this episode for transcription by upvoting it.

0 upvotes

🗳️ Sign in to Upvote

Popular episodes get transcribed faster

Other episodes from Conversations

Transcribed and ready to explore now

Why this private investigator loves the cases others have given up solving

17 Jun 2026

Conversations

Encore: My eerie week inside Kanye West's Hollywood mansion

16 Jun 2026

Conversations

How one Australian woman survived the sinking of the Titanic and why no one knows about her

15 Jun 2026

Conversations

From party trick to pop star — meet Molly Lewis, professional whistler

12 Jun 2026

Conversations

Encore: My adventures on the high seas with a fugitive on the run

11 Jun 2026

Conversations

Conversations

The Rajneeshees and me — why Martina thought she needed a guru to heal

This episode hasn't been transcribed yet

Other episodes from Conversations

Why this private investigator loves the cases others have given up solving

Encore: My eerie week inside Kanye West's Hollywood mansion

How one Australian woman survived the sinking of the Titanic and why no one knows about her

From party trick to pop star — meet Molly Lewis, professional whistler

Encore: My adventures on the high seas with a fugitive on the run

Algorithms, accountability and the 'manosphere'—empowering men to be the solution

Sign in to Audioscrape

Share this moment