Testimonial letter from Diane Mintz
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 Diane Mintz. It is "Exhibit A-15" 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.
 30 Sunset Drive TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: I am a professional in the Jewish community, a master of arts in rabbinic literature and in education, and an admirer of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. As a lifelong explorer into the realms of mind, I greeted my first encounters with the works of Rajneesh approximately three years ago with suspicion, then begrudging delight, and finally unqualified respect. Here is a man whose rigorous intellectual acumen sees through the forms which have been the instruments of human socialization and which bind us to repetitions of our collective and individual histories. His integrity is reminiscent of Bertrand Russell, who, unlike his contemporaries in the West, broke through stagnation in his unwillingness to deny the truth of his own experience. In my inquiries into the history and forms of Jewish worship, I had often studied the words of spiritual teachers from other traditions. As a practicing Jew and a student of Judaism, most teachers and theologians I read left me realizing the otherness of their teachings: I ran into a wall of belief, doctrines, and parochialism. Rajneesh’s work bears the imprint not of one tradition, but of a man of intellectual penetration and insight whose perceptions of the human dilemma point not to easy solutions nor to esoteric answers, but which instead return the sensitive reader to him/herself, to an understanding of the universal human need which we continuously seek to satisfy. In his ecclectic approach to religious content and form, he directs those who can hear his message to the nexus of all human experience and of all religions, to that point of commonality among all religious quests. Rajneesh’s learning is staggering: he writes with equal knowledge and lucidity on Jewish mystical teachers, Japanese religious traditions, the great Chinese- mystics, as well as the legendary spiritual masters of his native India. And he is as conversant with Spinoza and Nietzsche as with Christ and Buddha. More importantly than his command of their thought is the new light in which he sees these progenitors of our life philosophies. Rajneesh's unique touch has influenced my work with youth in formal educational settings and with adults in counselling sessions. I frequently quote his teachings, use his meditations, and bring a spark of his joy and tone of celebration to my classes. His influence has extended to my colleagues, indirectly and directly, without a doubt. There is fear in the Jewish community about this man whose message attracts Jewish youth and who is feared to be an anti-Semite. I have spoken of Rajneesh’s non-doctrinaire approach and the penetrating manner in which he refuses to see form and content as inseparable. The rituals which have lost touch with human need may in fact be under attack; Judaism and Jews are not. Many of his disciples are well educated Jews whom he has taught to accept their Jewish roots and Jewishness with love. I hereby give my support for the granting of a visa which would allow this teacher and scholar to remain in the United States. sincerely yours |
(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.)
