Testimonial letter from Harold K. Lonsdale

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 Harold K. Lonsdale. It is "Exhibit A-886" 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 one page.

BEND RESEARCH, INC.
July 20, 1983

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

This letter is written in support of the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. It is my understanding that the Bhagwan is now facing possible deportation from the United States. I have visited Rajneeshpuram personally and have discussed the activities there with a number of friends and colleagues from around the world. I am very favorably impressed with both the Bhagwan and his teachings. The town that he and his followers are building is undoubtedly the happiest place I have ever visited. In many respects, it is a model community, free of most of the negative values of most American towns. Anyone considering the deportation of the Bhagwan really must visit their town and observe the energy of the people there and note their accomplishments.

Thoreau taught us many years ago to respect those "who march to a different drummer," and the Bhagwan and his followers are clearly in this category. Their movement is certain to have an important and favorable impact on the way we live in America. If the Bhagwan were to be deported, it could well snuff out this important experiment before we have had a chance to measure its success. I understand that people with exceptional ability may seek permanent residency status under preference three, and I recommend that the Bhagwan be classified accordingly. I urge you to allow the Bhagwan to remain in the United States under this type of visa. If America, the land of freedom and opportunity, turns its back on this gentle and enlightened human being, we will be the poorer for it.

Sincerely,
[signed]
Harold K. Lonsdale
President
cc: Sheila Silverman
Patricia Gainsforth
64550 RESEARCH ROAD • BEND, OREGON 97701-8599, U.S.A. • TELEPHONE (503) 382-4100


(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.)