Testimonial letter from Alan Silow

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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 Alan Silow MPA. It is "Exhibit A-560" 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.

July 20, 1983

To Whom It May Concern,

I have known about Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh for over 5 1/2 years. I have visited him during my Asian vacation at his Poona ashram, experienced his unique meditations and read many of his books.

I hold a Master's degree in Public Affairs from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public & International Affairs from Princeton University and graduated Phi Beta Kappa, with honors in economics major, from the University of Wisconsin. My professional career includes having been a management analyst for the U.S. General Accounting Office and an assistant Professor of Economics at Armstrong College in Berkeley, California.

Bhagwan's discourses have influenced me both personally and professionally. His insights into our basic human condition are profound and distinctive. As an economics professor, teaching economic development, I introduced my students to Bhagwan's taped discourses on the reasons and possible solutions for poverty in the Third World, particularly India. His book "Beware of Socialism" I used for required reading for classes in comparative economic systems.

Bhagwan Rajneesh is a modem day Rennaissance man, sharing his wisdom and understanding on issues that span the whole spectrum of our daily life. He is a man to be admired, appreciated and welcomed.

Respectfully yours,
[signed]
Alan Silow, M.P.A.


(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.)