Testimonial letter from Eugene E. Graciano

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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 Eugene E. Graciano. It is "Exhibit A-529" 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.

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SANTA BARBARA
BERKELEY • DAVIS • IRVINE • LOS ANGELES • RIVERSIDE • SAN DIEGO • SAN FRANCISCO • SANTA BARBARA • SANTA CRUZ
OFFICE OF THE LIBRARIAN
SANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA 93106
July 27, 1983
RINZAI
Hotel Rajneesh
1115 S.W. 11th Avenue
Portland, Oregon 97205

To Whom It May Concern:

This is to offer a professional evaluation of the published works of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh.

Many of the published works of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh are owned by the libraries of the University of California. They are well-read and are discussed often by scholars. Almost all are in the subject areas of philosophy of religion and theology.

As such, they are of the highest quality. I judge them to be of mil-lenial stature, that is, of a quality that may appear perhaps once in a thousand years. They are, in my estimation, of a quality comparable to the works of Thomas Aquinas and Augustine, and will, unquestionably, have a canparable impact on the future of civilization.

The works of Rajneesh are unique in that they logically and clearly explain in words the inherently ecumenical nature of virtually all the world’s major religions and philosophies. Rejneesh is an absolute master of the religions and philosophies of both the East and the West, and is able to explain in clear and logical language the common meanings of the most diverse religious, philosophical and ethical systems of both worlds. He has done this in his published works, and it is impossible to exaggerate the importance of this accomplishment to the future of mutual tolerance, understanding and appreciation among the peoples of the world.

Rajneesh is to the philosophy of religion what. Einstein was to the philosophy of physics. He is a pivotal historical figure of great practical significance to all of us and to our collective future.

Although I am in no way affiliated with Rajneesh, either personally or with his organization, I feel that his work is of such fundamental intellectual importance that his presence in the United States of America is purely an asset. I urge that he not only be permitted to become a permanent resident, but that he also be encouraged to become a citizen.

It is natural that his intellectual contributions be misunderstood, as uninformed individuals may try to retrofit them into their own habitual intellectual and conventional frameworks. In all periods, the great thinkers and writers of the world have had to centend with this. I hope that those who will decide upon whether Rajneesh is to stay and civically become one of us will view these misunderstandings in context, in perspective, and within the framework of the United States as the greatest free nation ever known religiously.

The published writings of Rajneesh exhibit the special qualities of the greatest philosophical works of all time. It is important to Americans that he remain and speak with us.

Sincerely,
[signed]
Eugene E. Graciano
Assistant University Librarian Services
P.S. Attached is my vita to indicate to reviewers my professional qualifications in offering this evaluation.


(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.)