Testimonial letter from Henry L. Judy
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 Henry L. Judy. It is "Exhibit A-128" 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.
 HENRY L. JUDY Hotel Rajneesh TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: This letter is written in connection with the pending INS proceedings involving Bhagwan Rajneesh. The letter has been requested of me by the Rajneesh Ashram in Washington, D.C., but it is written freely and voluntarily. I am a graduate of Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. I obtained my undergraduate degree from the university in 1961 and my law degree in 1968. I have done graduaute work in history and economics and have attended Harvard Business School. I have served as an artillery officer in the U.S. Army and have been General Counsel of the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC). At present, I am a partner in a major Washington law firm and I specialize in corporate and financial institutions law. I first came to be aware of Rajneesh as a result of intensive and extensive reading in religion and philosophy, especially in the mystical traditions of East and West. These readings were motivated by a deeply felt personal search. I found his writings compelling and illuminating and read widely in them. I also heard many of the tapes and videotapes of his lectures and otherwise familiarized myself with his work. I consider Rajneesh to be a major force in the religious thought of our time. The clarity and depth of his teaching, combined with the vast range of his knowledge, are capable of revolutionizing the world view of those who come in contact with him. The Tantric "crazy wisdom" orientation of his teaching is particularly liberating, however disturbing it may be for some. In any case, that orientation arises from a venerable tradition, thousands of years old. I think it fair to say that exposure to the Rajneesh people has had a freeing and strengthening effect on me that informs every aspect of my life. I am not a Rajneesh sannyasin and will not be. That form is alien to me, as it is to many. However, it is a venerable form and should be allowed in a pluralistic society, it is clear to me that whatever one may think of the organizational form and structure that the Rajneesh "movement" takes, the person - Rajneesh - that moves through that form is a major force, both as a teacher and as a man of the arts. He is a polymath who can contribute enormously to the rich variety of our society. I would urge the INS to let him be tossed into the freely bubbling stew of American life. It is one of the glories of this nation that we are that open. 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.)
