3 min readChennaiUpdated: Feb 8, 2026 05:39 AM IST
Late Bollywood actor Vinod Khanna was at the peak of his career when he left the film industry to join spiritual guru Osho’s commune in Oregon, US. Vinod was among the biggest stars of the country at the time and had several box office hits to his credit. Many believed he was the closest competitor of the reigning star, Amitabh Bachchan. He left all of it behind to join Osho Rajneesh to his ashram, first in India and then in Oregon, US. However, in a recent interaction, his second wife Kavita Khanna revealed that he walked away from fame and massive success to seek spirituality after the death of his mother.
Speaking on her YouTube channel, Kavita recalled that Vinod was inclined towards spirituality from a very young age and first crossed paths with Osho when he was just 17. She said, “Vinod was very spiritual from when he was a child. When he was 17, he bought the book ‘Autobiography of Yogi’ and at that time, he said that he didn’t realise then that Osho was in the same bookstore at the same time.”
Sharing details about the moment Vinod decided to give up his life as a successful actor and take sanyas, Kavita said, “The tipping point from giving up this unbelievable material life that he had… the adoration he had, and the success… was when a number of deaths happened in the family within two years. So, when his mother passed, he just went to Osho and took sanyas.”
Kavita also revealed how superstar Vinod Khanna worked as a gardener at Osho’s private residence at the Oregon commune. “He was Osho‘s gardener. Osho’s home was private, and very few people had access to it, but if you were the gardener, you were there. That was his seva.”
She added that this was not the only role Vinod took on at the commune. He also served as a model for the designer of Osho’s robes. “In Oregon, Osho had these fabulous flowing ropes, which were designed for him, and all of them used to be tried on Vinod because of their same shoulder size,” she said.
Kavita further shared that Vinod’s devotion to spirituality had begun much earlier, even when he was still living in Mumbai. She recalled that the actor once participated in nude meditation sessions on Mumbai’s Chowpatty Beach. “Even when he was in Mumbai before he moved to Pune ashram, the meditations on Chowpatty Beach in Bombay, which is right at the centre of this throbbing city, and everyone took their clothes off, and they were meditating naked in a circle on the beach.”
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She added, “I know Vinod was not there looking for the physical part of it, I think his journey was a spiritual one with immense commitment and devotion.” Vinod eventually returned to India, and continued his acting career until his death in 2017.
