Ma Anand Sheela - Early Life

Early Life

Sheela was born Sheela Ambalal Patel in Baroda, India; the youngest of six children of Ambalal and Maniben Patel. At the age of 18, her parents sent her to the United States to attend Montclair State College. She married Marc Harris Silverman, a wealthy American and resident of Highland Park, Illinois. She became known as Sheela P. Silverman. Upon returning to India in 1972, Sheela and Silverman became sannyasins or initiated disciples of the Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, now commonly known as Osho. She took the name Ma Anand Sheela; her husband became Swami Prem Chinmaya. Silverman subsequently died, and Sheela married another sannyasin, John Shelfer (Swami Jayananda). Her father also became a sannyasin, taking the name Swami Swarupananda.