Is it true that John the Baptist nearly drowned his disciples during baptism, and is this type of experience necessary for a disciple?

According to Osho, yes: John the Baptist’s near‑drowning baptism dramatizes the disciple’s necessary symbolic death—of past, beliefs, and second‑hand knowledge—so true resurrection and rebirth can happen. Every real Master “drowns” you existentially, not physically, stripping the familiar so the new can flower. This demands total commitment—one Master, dropping prior initiations—and the courage to risk the unknown promise over old securities.