Testimonial letter from John H. Crook
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 John H. Crook PhD. It is "Exhibit A-246" 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.
 Telephone Bristol 241 TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN Bhagwan Testimonial I have been asked to supply a testimonial to the effect that the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh is an outstanding religious teacher of our times and that his presence in any locality cannot be considered harmful. I am very willing to do this, having been familiar with the Followers' Organisation of Bhagwan for several years. Although I am not a member of his order I visited his headquarters in Poona and have seen his methods in action. Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh draws upon many Indian traditions in an attempt to provide an effective cure for the alienation which many individuals feel in our times. In particular, he draws upon the Vishavite tradition, which emphasises warm, expressive emotionality and a use of the body in exercises that clarify the mind. He has written innumerable religious books, some of them of an outstanding and original quality. His teachings are universally beneficial so long as they are understood by his followers and readers in their correct sense. His current silence means that his teaching is for the present complete and he is now acting as a supervisor during his transmission and development. As a practitioner of psychotherapy, etc., I have witnessed the beneficial effects on a number of my clients upon joining his order. I also make use of his psychophysical exercises and find them beneficial in sessions of group therapy. While I can understand that the size and impact of his organisation in a small community in a remote part of America may cause some local disturbance, I do not believe there is anything about this man or about his teaching which is intrinsically harmful. The problems in communal relationships are those of mutual adjustment. Prejudiced views against Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh have no foundation. Unlike some religious organisations which are highly corrosive and brain-washing in their effect, the Rajneesh order remains open, facilitative and restorative for most who join it. There is also no obligation to remain part of it. The success of his organisation is due basically to his emphasis on joyous experience in life. Yours sincerely, [signed by someone else, Anne Maria?] |
(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.)
