Testimonial letter from Ma Deva Aneesha
This letter is one of a remarkable series of over 2650 letters amassed in 1983 to support Osho's attempt to get permanent resident status in the US at the time of the Oregon ranch. The image is reproduced here with the kind permission of The Oregon Historical Society. Information about their collection of these letters and other supporting material -- the "Jeffrey Noles Rajneesh Collection", named for Osho's immigration lawyer Jeffrey Noles, who compiled them in 1983 and donated them to the OHS -- can be found at this page. The wiki is grateful to the OHS for making access available for these documents. For more information and links to all the letters, see Testimonial letters.
This letter is from Ma Deva Aneesha (Laura Dillon). It is "Exhibit A-844" in the Noles collection.
The text version below has been created by optical character recognition (OCR), from the images supplied by OHS. It has not been checked for errors but this process usually results in over 99% correct transcription. Most apparent "errors" are correct transcriptions of typos already in the original. The image on the right in the text box links to a pdf file of the original letter, it has 2 pages.
 Ma Deva Aneesha To Whom It May Concern: For the last twelve years I have been deeply involved in the Human Potential Movement as a neo-Reichian therapist. Previous to this I graduated from Boston University with a degree in Philosophy and Political Science. I trained with Charles Kelley (1972-74) in Radix neo-Reichian re-Education and since that time have led workshops throughout the U.S. and Canada, at growth centers all over Europe, and in the Shree Rajneesh Ashram in Poona, India. For several years I led groups at Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California and lived there as a resident therapist 1975-76. I am currently on the faculty of Rajneesh International Meditation University and a member of the Rajneeshpuram Peace Force. In 1976 I became interested in the work of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh when I discovered that His meditation techniques were directly related to the scientific principles of Wilhelm Reich, the renowned psychiatrist and scientist who introduced the idea of working with muscular tension as related to neurosis and psychosis. Meditation had been a subject of interest for me but I had never before found a way to integrate it with my work; sitting silently and deep emotional release did not seem to mix. Bhagwan's dynamic, chaotic meditation techniques brought both of these aspects together in the different stages of his meditations. This helped me to discover a whole new way of working and added a dimension to my work that I had been looking for years; how to bring the peace and stillness of the East together with the vitality and drive of the West. This synthesis I had not seen anywhere else and it brought about deep personal changes as well as changes in my work. In 1976 I went to Poona, India, and became a disciple of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. I returned to the West for several months to complete some committments and in 1977 left my. life and my work in the West to live near Bhagwan in India. The work I was given in the ashram was to continue group therapy at the Rajneesh Internatinal Meditation University there. My personal and professional transformation continued for the four years that I worked in Poona under Bhagwan's guidance. He was able to teach me and guide me in a way that no professor or teacher could ever have done; not only through his words but also through his silence, his gestures. I saw people drawn to Him from all over the world as we became the largest growth center in the world. The people who came were highly educated, successful people, many of them professionals in all fields. Now that our growing community is establishing itself in Oregon the same is happening here. I continue my work with the Rajneesh International Meditation University and I work with people from all over the world as they come to participate in the vision of this exceptional enlightened master. Bhagwan's impact on Western psychology is immense because he is offering solutions to the most prevalent medical and psychological problems plaguing contemporary man: stress-related diseases and disorders. Modern man is tense in his body and alienated in his mind. He is out of touch with his heart and his feelings and with his roots in the natural flow of life. Bhagwan is not just telling us we need to relax; he is giving us drugfree methods to drop the tensions of our unnatural, fast-paced way of living. He is not just telling us to be loving and non-violent with each other; he is giving us safe and responsible techniques to release the pent-up agression that we all have as a result of growing up in a repressive society. The living result of Bhagwan’s teachings can be observed in the community which is developing around him in an attempt to realize His magnificent vision. This experiment is working. We have in Rajneeshpuram a loving and crime-free community which is productive, co-operative, alive, and growing. Our last religious festival drew 15,000 friends and disciples of Bhagwan from all over the world and was entirely peaceful. One need only visit here to know that something amazing is happening around this man. The most incredible thing for me about living and working in this community, this Buddhafield, is the constantly felt presence of Bhagwan and the inspiration His presence gives. His daily drive-by is an outer indication that He is here and serves as a daily reminder of why we are here with Him. But what goes beyond His outer presence is the subjective experience of His being here, His helping and encouraging us in so many inexplicable ways to keep going, to keep up this on-going inquiry into the question "Who am I?" We work long hours which shows us that we are capable of much more than we thought and generates undreamt of stamina. We don't take any of it too seriously so the day is filled with laughter and celebration - a rare sight in the world outside this commune. In remembering Bhagwan's vision we remind each other to wake up and become more aware in each moment. We have listened to and read His words and we love His vision of the "new man" as an individual and in society. As His disciples it is part of our worship to help this beautiful vision to be realized. Here, the energy of the many is focused toward the realization of Bhagwan's religious vision, a vision of the whole. The quality of awareness it takes to live in such harmony and such humor requires incredible energy and positivity that can only be generated and sustained if we become capable of putting aside our egos, our personal desires and preferences. Bhagwan's silent presence gives us a constant reminder of that vision which is much more vast than our limited ego-oriented vision. Sitting with Him in Satsangs and Darshan celebrations over the last year always, for me, results in feeling a deeper connection with Him and with every other sannyasin. There are no words in this melting of energies, but every time He sits with us this silent understanding goes deeper and the Buddhafield becomes stronger. America is perhaps the only place in the world where such an experiment can come to flowering, to fruition. Bhagwan is needed here to help this happen. And America needs Bhagwan Sincerely, |
(Please note: We assume that the above letter is still copyrighted, but we regard its historical interest to constitute a Fair Use exception for publication in this wiki.)
