Sheela - Interview at Barcelona CCCB Festival (2018)

editor - summary

Interview of Sheela Silverman aka „Ma Anand Sheela” at the Primera Persona festival at the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona on May 11, 2018 after Netflix‘s series „Wild Wild Country“.

Summary from the website www.cccb.org

“The CCCB presents year 7 of Primera Persona, the benchmark festival that brings together creators from various artistic disciplines who base their work on their own life experience. Readings, monologues and conversations, performances that the participants prepare exclusively for the festival. This year, Primera Persona is also celebrating its third outing at La Casa Encendida in Madrid.

Primera Persona 2018, 11 — 12 May 2018 Festival. Autobiographic live sessions: stand-up comedy, pop music, theatre and narrative”

”Friday, May 11, 2018, Live:

Closing day one of the festival is Sheela, the leading character in the Netflix documentary series Wild Wild Country (2018), former personal secretary to and spokesperson for the spiritual master Osho. She became known worldwide thanks to the Netflix series, which looks at her key role in the development of the cult of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and addresses issues such as conspiracies, alternative post-hippy religious cults and culture shock, among many others. A charismatic and controversial media figure, especially after the creation of a huge Rajneesh commune in the Oregon desert, Sheela became the visible face of confrontation with the former inhabitants of that region, first, and then with the US authorities. This confrontation led to 29 months’ imprisonment, accused of several of the activities carried out in the community. Her participation in Primera Persona presents in all its complexity this iconic character in a series that has made her a global phenomenon, but with many nuances. And, most of all, a fascinating life story straight out of a novel.

The television critic and writer Roberto Enríquez (Bob Pop) will interview Sheela. Language: English with simultaneous translation (into Catalan)”

Youtube summary

“Sheela, the central character in the Netflix documentary series Wild Wild Country, gives her version of what happened in Rajneeshpuram while she was Osho’s personal secretary: why the sanyasins were armed and why they used homeless people as voting tools. Sheela also talks about her personal relationship with Bhagwan (Osho), drugs, her controversial TV appearances, and what she thinks about the series. Interviewed by the TV critic Bob Pop, Osho’s former spokesperson takes the opportunity to defend herself from the accusations made against her and argues that she has served her time in prison and that people should move on.

Sheela took part in the Primera Persona festival at the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona (May 2018)"

editor - comments

Sheela's veracity is in question. Nobody is able to determine what is correct and incorrect in her statements. It is also unclear which of her expressions is truly genuine, sincere, or significant.

As one group of people admires her for her strength and sees her as a new "female Osho" or a "Yoko Ono" (quotation from a remark on this video), the other group sees only a megalomaniac, manipulative, and narcissistic "psycho." The CCCB festival introduces her as a "iconic" character - a claim that could be seriously contested - and demonstrates their overall favorable opinion of her.

Contradictions are evident even in her interview's headline, "Leave me alone." Why is she giving this show in front of such a large crowd if she really wants to be left alone?

As a matter of fact, there is absolutely no proof or evidence to support her claims that Osho was aware of or complicit in her activities. All of the inquiries conducted by numerous government officials and agencies would have produced evidence if there were any. However, nothing was there. And any evidence that might have been gleaned from her wiretapping tapes was not discovered or offered.

As a result, this video should be viewed with special caution. Information and verification of her general comments are provided above Ma Anand Sheela or under the Osho Times article "Sheela and her crimes" (https://www.oshotimes.com/osho-news/sheela-and-her-crimes/).