Testimonial letter from Ma Amrit Sadhana (2)
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 Ma Amrit Sadhana. It is "Exhibit A-1064" 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 2 pages.
 Sadhana is also the author of another letter, written fifteen days earlier. There is enough commonality between the two letters to establish definitively that the same one person has written both letters, not two different people with the same name. There are 22 other such cases known. We may be amused by the illicit possibilities here but just as likely she was simply giving the organizers two letters to choose from. This second latter is much fuller and deeper than the first, making the possibility of improving her input as likely an explanation as any. See also Testimonial letters#duplication for more on this. Ma Amrit Sadhana TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN I am writing in support of my spiritual Master, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. I have been a disciple for three years, and each day is more abundant than the last. He gives spiritual direction in every area of my life at all times, whenever I am aware of it. He has exceptional ability in innumerable areas and has personally influenced my life in relationships, self-image, my attitude to life, my ability to actively celebrate my life beyond and during my work and career. My field is in Social Work (where I assist people in crisis and difficulties of all kinds, helping them to take responsibility for their own situation) and also my career in Dance Therapy and Movement Education (where I help people to become more aware of bodily tensions, of ways they are restricting their lives so that they relax, feel their energy and dance and celebrate life more, applying this to their ordinary activities). Bhagwan has helped me focus more clearly on my goals and taught me how I can reach people in a non-judgmental way; help them play a little more, enjoy and respect themselves more, and be grateful for this wonderful opportunity to love life and live it. He has helped me realise this, so from personal experience I can help others experience the joy of dancing, of expressing themselves without tension. They feel their joy, instead of focusing only on their misery, as is usually the case in the area of social work. I have been in His presence and done his meditations, and lived with other sannyasins continually over the last 3 years. My qualifications are in two professional areas. Firstly I have a Bachelor of Social Work degree from the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia (1974). I then was employed by the New South Wales Health Commission in the area of Crisis Intervention. Then in London for three years I was employed by the local government - the London Borough of Southwark, where I focused on working with people having numerous problems - families in crisis, juvenile delinquents, the handicapped, psychiatric rehabilitation, and the aged. I was a specialist in Conjoint Family Therapy and also was trained in Gestalt, Transactional Analysis, and Psychodrama techniques. In this field of Social Work, Bhagwan’s influence enhanced my own feelings about how I could most authentically assist people. With a non-judgmental attitude, seeing each as an individual, my focus is on people becoming totally responsible for their own life situation, and on maximising their potential so they can recognise how profoundly beautiful their life is. Most clients focus on their problems so, with Bhagwan’s direction, I could redirect their sight to enjoying and loving life while still recognising and accepting emotional dilemmas and helping them to cope with them. In my other profession, as Dance Therapist and Movement Educationalist, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh influenced me in going beyond the dancer, becoming lost in the dance itself - in the flow of momentum and gravity -natural forces that influence movement. I trained with the Natural Dance Workshop in London, England, and with the San Francisco Dancers Workshop, California, with Anna Halprin, a leading explorer in the field of Movement Education in America. I have led courses, workshops and given innumerable individual sessions and performances. My study was concerned with Movement without tension, allowing the natural flow of energy and joy to emerge in one’s daily use of the body in all applications. Bhagwan has spoken much about Dance, and his active meditations, his dancing sannyasins and all the celebrations allow for free expression of joy and love through dance. I have shared this with others through my work. I have also studied at the Rajneesh University in Rebalancing Body Work where the body is realigned to relax tensions and allow a more balanced and freer movement. As a result life is lived more fully and openly. The body is our temple, it needs to be nourished and celebrated, because from it we approach the rest of life. I had a traditional Jewish upbringing, my grandfather was an orthodox Rabbi in Australia, my father is an eminent physician, my mother is a potter. As a sannyasin I feel my whole life is religion, a beautiful meditation; no longer restricted only to holy days and meal times. Recently I took part in the second Annual World Celebration at Rajneeshpuram, which was a wonderful week of joy and excitement. Being in Bhagwan’s presence gives peace and love and a trust in silence and in the truth. I have experienced absolute gratefulness in being alive, the mystery of life, its changeability, its ups and downs, its wonder and magic, its dance and joy. Rajneeshpuram is the most wonderful place, full of laughter and energy where everyone is a friend - a sister and brother. Each is equal and loving each other in the truest sense: accepting and respecting everyone as individuals. In my career fields and in my life generally, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh is continually my guide and Beloved. Bhagwan is a genius in allowing and generating positive energy in every aspect of life; such a wonder is a crucial necessity in today's world. Love. |
(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.)
