Testimonial letter from Jean-Yves Leloup
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 Jean-Yves Leloup. It is "Exhibit A-66" 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 original letter, written in French, appears first, followed by its English translation. The image on the right in the text box links to a pdf file with the whole original letter, the translation and a notary statement attesting to the validity of the translation. It has 4 pages.
 Jean-Yves Leloup Je soussigné, Jean-Yves Leloup,
certifie que Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh ne peut être considéré que comme une personne d’exceptionnelle habilité pour transmettre le message religieux de toutes les grandes traditions de l’humanité dans leur expérience fondatrice. D’un point de vue psychologique et philosophique, le caractère libérateur de son Enseignement ne peut que contribuer à la paix et au bien-être de l’humanité. Le projet d’Oregon dans son esprit de respect pour l’environnement, par le travail désintéressé et efficace de ses nombreux disciples, peut servir de modèle pour l’avenir d’une civilisation menacée. Les Etats-Unips, cette "terre merveilleuse de liberté et de démocratie", ayant toujours pris la défense des libertés religieuses, ne peut qu’accorder un "d ' exceptional ability in science and art" à Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, et acceuillir dans la joie son message de paix et de transformation profonde de 1’homme . Fait à la Sainte Baume, le 24 juillet 1983. LE PLAN D'AUPS - 83640 SA1NT-ZACHAPJE translationJean-Yves Leloup I ,the undersigned, Jean-Yves Leloup,
certify that Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh can only be considered as a person of exceptional ability in transmitting the religious message of all the great traditions of humanity in their original experience. From a psychological and philosophical point of view, the liberating character of his teaching can only contribute to peace and the well-being of humanity. The project in Oregon in its spirit of respect for the environment, by the detached and effective work of his numerous disciples, can serve as a model for the future of a threatened civilization. The United States, this "marvelous land of freedom and democracy", having always taken the defense of religious freedom, can only accord an "of exceptional ability in science and art" to Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, and welcome in joy his message of peace and deep transformation of man. Done at Saint Baume, the 24th of July, 1983 Jean-Yves Leloup, o.p. [followed by an Oregon notary statement to the effect that a) the declarer is fluent in English and French and b) can verify that the translation is accurate; followed by one page of translation of Leloup's brochure regarding programmes he is involved in, plus an offer to translate more] |
(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.)
