Testimonial letter from Barry Jerome Naster
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 Barry Jerome Naster PhD. It is "Exhibit A-252" 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 10 pages.
 BARRY J. NASTER, PH.D. To Whom It May Concern: In 1978, I took my family (my wife Joan and son Ian) with me on a sabbatical to India, During my three month stay, I spent the majority of my time at the Rajneesh Foundation in Poona, At the Foundation, I spent as much time as possible listening to, studying with, and participating in the programs, lectures, and various materials developed by Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. Simply put, I was, and still am in awe of the quantity, quality, and depth of all that was offered at the Foundation. As a Licensed Practicing Psychologist, in both Florida and North Carolina, and as a staff member of the University of South Florida, I believe I have the expertise to evaluate the works of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. One of my major projects is to continue the close scrutiny, evaluation, and internalization of Rajneesh's works. The sheer quantity of books, tapes and other materials produced by Rajneesh is amazing. Volume upon volume has been written by Rajneesh, As a member of the academic community, and as a practicing psychologist, I can easily say that any professional would be ecstatic to have a publication record even approaching that of Rajneesh, not to mention the extensive readership his writings command, Quantity is not the major criterion for excellence. The single most important criterion for excellence is quality, Once again Rajneesh exemplifies the highest degree of excellence that I have seen in this century. The quality of his work is impeccable. The topics range from Buddha, to Lao Tsu, to Freud, to Skinner, to Einstein. Rajneesh imparts a perception of these greats that truly is unique among contemporary man. Rajneesh has been able to draw from a wide spectrum of knowledge and synthesize these works into a philosophical and practical approach to life, His synthesis includes such diverse religious leaders as: Gautam the Buddha, Jesus Christ, Moses, Mohammand, Lao Tzu, Saraha, the Bal Shem Tov, etc. His works incorporates such psychologists and psychiatrists as: Sigmund Freud, B.F. Skinner, Eric Fromm, Ivan Pavlov, and C.G. Yung, to mention just a few. His synthesis does not just include religious and psychological components, but also art, poetry, prose, music, and the physical sciences, In my opinion he is truly a great Renaissance man. The impact this man has made upon me is reflected in my won work. Not only have I lectured and given seminars on my interpretations of the works of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, but in my position as Clinical Psychologist at the Florida Mental Health Institute at the University of South Florida, I have encorporated his teachings into my development of various treatment programs, Several programs I have written using Rajneesh's teachings include: (1) Feelings and Stress Awareness Training, (2) Communication Skills Training, (3) Problem Solving Skills Training, (4) Breathing Relaxation Training, and (5) Agitation and Sexual Misconduct procedures, These programs were developed by me for use with an adult, acute to semi-acute psychiatric residential client population. Since the initiation of these training and procedural programs, many other State, County, and private psychiatric facilities have requested and have received training in these programs for use with their clientele, Several such facilities include the Florida State Hospital, Broward Community Health System, Hillsborough Community Health Programs, South Florida State Hospital, and Boley Manor of Pinellas. There are still other facilities throughout the State requesting our programs. A collegue of mine and I have developed a training seminar based on the Rajneesh philosophy. We offer both week-end and five week one day a week workshops on personal growth, awareness, and meditation. These groups are offered to the general public. Not only has this man affected my professional career, but he has had a profound effect on my private life as well. Through his teachings, I have begun to see my world in a much different way, I can no longer put the responsibility of my thoughts, feelings, and actions on others, but must take full responsibility for myself. Through studying with Rajneesh, this is no longer an intellectualization, but a reality, The effect is beyond specifying. We are all people, doing what people are supposed to do, and doing it exactly as it should be done. What a beautiful way to live! I suspect that the influence of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh will continue to grow. I also strongly believe the philosophical and religious standards of living expoused by Rajneesh will continue to be reviewed, studied, evaluated, criticized, rejected, idolized, and honored by people of an immense range of educational development, intelligence, financial and social standing, religious affiliation and professional status. I can only say that I am very greatful and very honored to have met and studied with Bhagwan. I also hope that someday soon I will be able to re-establish my studies with him in a personal, one-to-one encounter. My education would be greatly enhanced through this contact, not to mention the quality of my life. It would not matter if he were talking or in his present state of non-verbal communication. 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.)
