Testimonial letter from Adolf Muschg

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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 Adolf Muschg PhD. It is "Exhibit A-888" 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 one page.

Adolf Muschg
Vorbuhlstrasse 7 CH-8802 Kilchberg Tel.01-715 55 61
July 1983

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN

I am not a member of the Bhagwan Community and fully able to appreciate the reservations some may have towards some of the more whimsical appearances of the Sannyas movement. They are, however, neither offensive to the "normal" society nor out to make proselytes no matter what the cost. Very much to the contrary: it is consideration and love for the substance of Man, for the liberation of the Self and the dignity of one's neighbor that I can see at the core of Bhagwan's message; it is not only written down in his teaching, but actually practiced and lived by his followers. I have seen friends of mine changed into more complete, more responsive and more joyful human beings that have seen the light - not the light of a strange guru, but that of their own deep vocation, and they have simply become more responsible people free to exercice their strength also in the service of others. I consider the Oregon settlement in the best pioneering tradition of America and fully compatible with - and mindful of - what is her lasting contribution to Western culture: independence of mind, social warmth, relying on one's own strength to bring about the Impossible, turning a desert into a garden, caring about the spiritually Needy and Disinherited. It would be more than sad irony, it would indeed be a tragic misunderstanding if the state , misled by a short-sighted opposition, were to turn against a community that embodies so much of its own values rather than giving it a chance to re-invigorate them and profiting from its challenge.

[signed]
Adolf Muschg, Ph. D.


(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.)