Testimonial letter from Ma Anand Kevala
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 Anand Kevala (Mary Jane Sullivan). It is "Exhibit A-1672" 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.
 Ma Anand Kevala To Whom it May Concern: I rejoice as I am about to celebrate my 6th birthday as a Sannyasin -6 very special years with a man of exceptional ability in the arts and sciences, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. For many years I was a student of religion - 16 years in a Catholic school and 37 years as an active person in the Catholic religion. Religion has always been an integral part of my life. However, it was when I met Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh that religion became real in my life - at last I understood and God became meaningful in my life. The search of many years had ended. As a Rajneeshee, religion is central to my life. It no longer has a prose style to it; it is poetry - it is song - it is inner dance. I had struggled to live a religious life fully for many years and did it seriously. Since I have lived with the presence of Bhagwan, religion has become total, become not serious, but joyous. I have become grateful for each moment -joy and gratefulness have replaced seriousness and struggle. Bhagwan has taught me that prayer in the quality of what I do. My worship (formerly called work) is at Rajneeshpuram a beautiful and total experience. The worship (work) with love and enjoyment - the quality is transformed here. Bhagwan's silence and presence here at Rajneeshpuram is integral to my life as a Rajneeshee, as a religious person. As it became time to pursue a career, I chose the field of psychology as I felt it blended with the sense of myself as a religious person. I received an A.B., an M.Ed. and C.A.G.S. (advanced degree - Boston University) in the field of school psychology. During ten years of practice in the Boston area, I worked with the Coordination of clinics, schools and homes; designed a system-wide screening program for all incoming students; consulted and supervised doctoral students in the field; taught teachers in a 14 school system; did much individual and group counseling. I had studied and worked in a myriad of areas, with various professions in all aspects of psychology. I still felt something missing. At last - after working with a sannyasin, I was introduced to Bhagwan's vision of psychology and life. I felt a brand new insight - a new opening -the old questions no longer existed. It was a new way of being with people. To study this further, I went to Poona, India to participate in a Counselor Training Program. The program, conducted in the Buddhafield, in the presence of Bhagwan - transformed my life. The barriers to understanding the mind disappeared. Meditation and introspection changed my whole attitude toward helping people. I needed to know myself first before I could help others. I awakened a bit and I wanted to awaken more. I saw a light. I could only help others by filling myself with love and compassion. A new life began for me - thanks to the influence of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. The energy of Bhagwan's presence transformed my life through the Counselor Training Program in Poona. The energy of Bhagwan's presence in Rajneeshpuram continues to transform my life...makes my worship (work) more total and enjoyable than ever before in my life. As a Rajneeshee, living in the presence of an exceptional person in the arts and sciences - Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh - I live life... I live each moment in joy Sincerely yours, |
(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.)
