Testimonial letter from K Staub

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 K Staub. It is "Exhibit A-59" 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 German, 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 3 pages.

Schule für Soziale Arbeit Zürich 8002 Zürich Bederstrasse 115 01 20147 55 PC 80-8136 Zürich, den 15.7.1983 An den Gouverneuer des Staates Oregon U.S.A. Aufenthaltsgenehmigung für Bhagwan Shree Raj'neesh Sehr geehrter Herr Gouverneur mit Bedauern nehme ich davon Kenntnis, dass Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh immer noch keine definitive Aufenthaltserlaubnis erhalten hat. Als Theologe und Soziologe habe ich verschiedene seiner Schriften intensiv studiert und bin von ihrer Lebendigkeit und religiösen Originalität beeindruckt. Zusätzlich habe ich bei mehreren Synnyasins sehr gute Erfahrungen in Kursen über Bioenergetik und in Meditationskursen gemacht. Mein Gesamteindruck aufgrund meiner Erfahrungen in Zürich und München ist der folgende: In Bhagwahs Gemeinschaften wird eine für viele ungewohnte aber undoktrinäre, tolerante und echte Religiosität gelebt, die vielen dazu verhilft im Leben mehr Freude und Liebe zu finden und weiterzugeben . Ich ersuche Sie deshalb, Ihren Einfluss dafür geltend zu machen, dass Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh eine definitive Aufenthaltsgenehmigung erhält und sich damit für die Tradition der amerikanischen Religionsfreiheit auch in diesem Falle einzusetzen. Mit bestem Dank für Ihre Bemühungen [signed] K.Staub, Theologe und Soziologe translation SCHOOL FOR SOCIAL WORK ZURICH Zurich, July 15, 1983 To the State Governor of Oregon, USA Concerning: Residence permission for Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh Dear Sir, I am sorry to hear that Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh has not yet obtained a definitive residence permit. As a theologian and a sociologist I have intensely studied several of his scriptures and I am impressed by their aliveness and religious originality. In addition, I had some very good experiences with several sannyasins during groups in bioenergetics and courses in meditation. My general impression from my experiences in Zurich and Munich is as follows: In Bhagwan's communities a non-doctrinaire, tolerant and genuine religiousness is being lived which for many people may be uncommon but which helps many people to find and to share more joy and love in their life. I request you therefore to use your influence that Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh receives a definite residence permit and to stand up for the American tradition of religious freedom in this case, too. Thank you for your efforts. K. Staub, theologian and sociologist (signed) [followed by an Oregon notary statement to the effect that a) the declarer is fluent in English and German and b) can verify that the translation is accurate]

(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.)