Testimonial letter from Kay Moorsteen

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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 Kay Moorsteen. It is "Exhibit A-306" 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.

Kay Moorsteen
July 20, 1983

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

This is to urge that Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh be permitted to remain in. this country. He is a philosopher of exceptional ability and depth, a man highly educated in the religions, philosophies and psychologies of both East and West. A man of great compassion ana tolerance, he is clear-thinking, sophisticated, possesses a delightful sense of humor, and is an extraordinary teacher.

My own background is traditional: California born, B.A. in Economics Stanford 1945, M.A. in Communications Stanford 1961, certificate in Adult Counseling U.C.L.A. 1975, one-time consultant to the RAND Corporation, real estate investor, widow of a RAND economist, mother of three grown children, active in community health and cultural affairs in San Diego and La Jolla, where I now live.

I visited the Rajneesh ashram in Poona, India in 1980, and spent a week at the Oregon site in July of 1982, both times to visit my youngest daughter. I was very favorably impressed both times, and found it personally rewarding. The compound atmosphere was exceptionally healthy emotionally, with great emphasis on positive thinking and constructive behavior. The opportunity for the residents to participate both conceptually and physically in the building of a new self-sufficent town is unique and exciting.

Both in my counseling work and among friends ana acquaintances, I am too often struck with the high incidence of drug and alcohol dependency and of the debilitating deep depression. The teaching of Rajneesh is a tremendous counter-balance in these areas; I very much hope that we can keep him in the United States where he is an important influence against drugs and depression ana a leader towards a positive approach to living independent, responsible lives. He is one of the great philosophers and teachers of our era.

Yours sincerely,
[signed]
7420 Monte Vista Avenue / La Jolla, California 92037 / (714)454-9945


(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.)