Testimonial letter from Elizabeth Lynne Williams

From The Sannyas Wiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search

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 Dr. Elizabeth Lynne Williams. It is "Exhibit A-293" 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.

NEWCASTLE HEALTH AUTHORITY
NEWCASTLE GENERAL HOSPITAL
WESTGATE ROAD NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE NE4 6BE
TELEPHONE
NEWCASTLE 738811
STD 0632
15th July 1983

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

I am a consultant anaesthetist at the above university hospital, specialising in the management of pain during labour and in the postoperative period. The teachings of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh have become part of my medical practice for four years since Ibecame His disciple. He teachs that fear is a great part of pain. The doctor must first work through his own fears before he can really be open to those of his patients. Bhagwan’s therapy groups and spiritual communication have enabled this process to occur in me, thus benefiting my patients.

I first visited Bhagwan four years ago in Poona, India where I was initiated into Rajneeshism and participated in many psychotherapy and meditation groups. Since then I have participated in these and maintained contact with Rajneeshees in England through meditation centres there and I have just attended the celebration at Rajneeshpuram in Oregon. In all these situations I have been aware of His spiritual presence and love, but most of all in Rajneeshpuram.

I also administer general anaesthesia for vascular and gynaecological surgery. The preparation of patients for operative procedures is best facilitated in a situation of trust—-after all, their lives are dependent on me, albeit for only a few minutes or hours. The techniques of relaxation that I have learnt through Bhagwan have helped many patients in my practice.

I have anaesthetised a few of Bhagwan’s disciples and have been very impressed by their ability to relax and enjoy an experience which to others is filled with fear and pain. I am convinced that He is able to produce a change in people towards positive love, enjoyment and health.

[signed]
Dr Elizabeth Lynne Williams M.B., B.S. (Sydney), F.F.A.R.C.S. (Eng.)


(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.)