Testimonial letter from Gary S. Rogers
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 Gary S. Rogers. It is "Exhibit A-271" 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.
 July 20, 1983 To Whom It May Concern: As a clinical psychologist interested in Eastern approaches to mental, physical, and spiritual health, it is with pleasure that I write this letter in support of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh’s application to remain in the United States. Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, through his books and lectures, has performed a great service to Western psychologists (in particular), for he has brought to light many ancient texts and teachings from many spiritual traditions all over the world. In this regard, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh is similar to many of our modern anthropologists, who have increased our understanding about our historical origins and values. As one of many psychologists who has conducted laboratory research regarding the physiological and cognitive correlates of different forms of meditation, I know how valuable Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh’s writings on this subject have been. Meditation, in one sense, can be a highly effective stress reduction technique. Many modern day psychologists are exploring new ways (or rediscovering old ways) of reducing the stress in our daily lives, as they have found much evidence that stress is a factor in almost every disease or disorder of mankind. Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh has contributed greatly to our knowledge of stress reduction techniques by translating information from many esoteric sources into modern language and concepts. By presenting material in this way, others are allowed to understand and evaluate the validity of this information for themselves. In this regard, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh is similar to other notable scholars who have increased our understanding of ourselves and the ways in which we function in this world. His contribution is unique in that he presents thoughts and ideas from so many cultural viewpoints. Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh is apparently in the final stages of sharing his wealth of knowledge with those around him, and those touched by his writings. His health has been of concern to those closest to him and they are understandably eager to keep such a great man in the United States. As a native American, I, too, am concerned that we may lose this unique man. I believe that the United States is one of the few countries in the world founded upon the assumption of equality of all human beings, without regard to race, culture, or religion. I urge you, as representatives of the people of our country, to act with understanding and fairness in the matter of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh's application for residency, and hope that you will allow this outstanding human being to remain in America. 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.)
