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Vinod Khanna’s wife Kavita reveals why the superstar left films for Osho and worked as a gardener in Oregon.
Vinod Khanna passed away in 2017.
At a time when he was competing with the biggest names in Hindi cinema, Vinod Khanna made a decision that stunned the industry. He walked away from box office success, fame and fan adoration — not for another film, but for spirituality.
Years later, his second wife Kavita Khanna has opened up about what pushed the late actor to leave everything behind and join spiritual guru Osho at his commune, first in India and then in Oregon, US.
Speaking on her YouTube channel, as quoted by SCREEN, Kavita said spirituality had always been part of Vinod’s personality. “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.”
The Turning Point
According to Kavita, the real shift happened after personal loss. Despite being one of the country’s biggest stars, a series of deaths in the family deeply affected him.
“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.”
For many fans, it was hard to understand why a star at his peak would leave it all. But for Vinod, it was not an escape from success — it was a search for meaning.
Life At The Oregon Commune
Kavita revealed that at the Oregon commune, Vinod lived a very different life. “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 also shared that he helped in other ways. “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.
His spiritual journey, she added, had started even before he formally joined the ashram. “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.”
She clarified his intention and said, “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.”
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February 08, 2026, 09:48 IST
