Deo Kumar Gurung, most often called by his ashram name, Jagannath, is a 66-year-old retired Gurkha soldier and security guard who now lives a life of meditation in the jungle-covered hills of Nagarjun, Nepal.
The son of a Tibetan woman and a Nepali hill tribesman of Eastern Nepal, Gurung lied about his age to join the prestigious military group, The British Gorka Brigade, at the age of 17. According to the BBC, entry into the Gurkha Army is highly competitive, with only 200 out of 28,000 applicants receiving positions each year.
Including training, Gurung spent 5 years with the Ghurka Army as a transportation serviceman, 3 years of which he was stationed on the border of Hong Kong where he was exposed to conflict and fighting. After leaving the military, Gurung spent an eight year chapter of his life drinking, smoking, and philosophizing with sadhus (Hindu monks) as he assisted with temple cremations. He was a street fighter during this time, as well, pressuring wealthy business owners to supply clothing and food to the poor. The next couple of decades included security jobs for the Gurkha recruitment center, as well as the local hospital. By the time Gurung was 50, he felt as if he had accomplished all of the things “on the outside” that he had hoped for.
Despite a happy marriage and good career, Gurung felt a lack of peace. “Suddenly, I was getting a little bit older, and I was just missing something…I wasn’t really where I wanted to be…. Inside,” explains Gurung. He found himself latching onto books and lectures of a guru and spiritual leader by the name of Osho, and eventually relocated to the Osho Tapoban Meditation Center where he spent the next 16 years serving as a security guard as he continued his pursuit of peace and meditation.
Today, Gurung and his wife live in a single room that they rent in a house near the Osho Tapoban Meditation Center. He continues to practice a variety of meditation techniques at least three times a day, and has found a sense of resolution. “From meditation, you get inner peace. When you start practicing every day, a door is opening inside of you,” describes Gurung. “But which door, I cannot say. You have to start practicing yourself.”
“I am a fellow traveller,” states Gurung. “Everybody is a fellow traveller in this planet, Just be who you are, sincerely. No fighting. I hear that all around the world, there is not peace because of the religions. To be a Buddha is beautiful, To be Buddhist is ugly. Buddhist, Muslim, Christian, These things divide the people. Osho taught us to be religious, not religion”