Testimonial letter from James J. Whelan
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. James J. Whelan PhD. It is "Exhibit A-259" 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.
 Dr. James J. Whelan To Whom It May Concern, Over the past several months I have become aware of the fact that our federal government is questioning whether a religious teacher, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, should be allowed to remain in this country. As a fellow United States citizen, I am sure that you are interested in the quality of the American way of life. And it is for this reason that I am writing at this time. Working with people in the field of psychology has taught me invaluable lessons regarding the importance of all of us fulfilling not only our physical needs, but emotional and spiritual needs as well. Having graduated with a Ph.D. from a clinical psychology program approved by the American Psychological Association, I have worked with children, adolescents, and adults in family therapy, as well as group and individual psychotherapy. During the course of my work as a psychotherapist, I have also provided numerous workshops for parents with a focus on teaching children self-control. Throughout the course of my training and professional life, I have become aware that there are many factors which can contribute to a sense of personal well-being. I am very impressed by the effort that Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh has put into exploring ways for each individual to improve his or her life in the world of today. The teachings of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh cover a multitude of socially relevant areas, from Quantum Physics to prayer and personal issues that can come up during the course of everyday living. He has provided literally thousands of individuals with an opportunity to improve not only their spiritual life, but their ability to effectively cope with the market place as well. Furthermore, his presence in the United States has contributed millions of dollars to our nation’s economy. Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh embraces our nation’s investment in capitalism and the opportunity for each of us to have a better way of life. In conclusion, I urge that the federal government grant Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh permission to remain in the United States. His presence in the United States not only continues to generate the emotional and spiritual advancement of American citizens, but also greatly contributes to American economic, business, and cultural interests and ideals. 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.)
