Testimonial letter from Ma Anand Valann
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 Valann (Valann S. Valdason). It is "Exhibit A-305" 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.
 HANBLECEYA To Whom it may concern: I am writing to express my extreme concern that Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh be allowed to remain in America and to be free to continue his insightful and comprehensive teachings, and to promote his vision of a planetary citizen dedicated to human rights, human growth and peace. My legal name is Valann S. Valdason. My sannyas name is Ma Anand Valann. I am currently living in San Diego, CA, completing my doctoral studies in Counseling Psychology at The Professional School for Psychological Studies, and employed as a Therapist and Research Director at Hanbleceya, a residentail treatment center for chronic schizophrenia. I have recently been employed as a Consultant and Trainer in Psychology and as co-owner of Abundant Earth, a natural foods wholesaling business. As I have been a sannyasin these past four years, I have been actively involved in Rajneesh Meditation Centers in Laguna Beach and San Diego, California, and have done counseling and training groups in association with the Center. Before becomming a sannyasin, I recieved my B.A. and M.A. degrees from the University of Washington and was employed as an Instructor in the Departmant of Speech Communication, and as a Counselor for Crisis Intervention on campus. I was the Departmental Representative for the Graduate and Professional Student Senate. 1 am currently a candidate for President of the Student Body at the Professional School. I was also employed for three years by the Seattle Public School District as a Supervisor and Human Relations Trainer for Desegregation Services. I have presented papers at regional and national conferences in Communications. I came to know of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh in 1977, through His books, taped lectures and techniques for meditation and psychological growth. I became associated with professionals who were disciples and began to utilize techiniques in my work as a trainer. I was particularly impressed with His wisdom and understanding in the area of international human rights and in the definition of persons within and beyond cultural boundaries. As I was working in 'busing' and Desegregation, I utilized this wisdom in my work, and found the insights invaluable. His disarming humor shows through His concern for all people, their foibles and charms, their heroism and their failings. Everyone was included equally - no one was exempt -He demonstrated dramatically the common themes of our humanity. As I came to know more of Rajneesh’s work, I began to recognize His exceptional ability to penetrate the nature of psychological functioning and to comment on cultural, social, sexual, scientific and technological aspects of our human strivings. I saw Him as a scientist, observing His students from all lands and backgrounds, and I saw Him respond to the widest range of human problems, treating all with respect and sensitivity. He was and is a Scientist of the human condition. His command of past and present knowledge is phenomenal. He integrates from His vast reading the wisdoms of psychology, of philosophy, of mysticism, of theoretical physics, of East and West, of poetry and science. His works will continue to become more and more valuable and His name ranks with the elite group of world class thinkers: Kafka, Abraham Maslow, Paul Tillish, Buckminster Fuller, Carl Jung, Martin Buber... Rajneesh's outpouring of work is profound contribution to the understanding of human consciousness. My personal decision to become a sannyasin was based on respect and love for this man so dedicated to world understanding, to the development of human persons and to the demystification of the psyche. The personal growth and counselor training programs at Rajneesh Centers continue to be among the best in the world, and provide a more comprehensive vision of psychotherapy and mental health than is available anywhere in the world. His contributions to Psychology are invaluable. I continue to be astonished at the vastness of His insight, and can only speak in superlatives of His wisdom relating to human nature, cultural norms, the impacts of science and technology, and the existential experiences of pain, grief, love and joy. Rajneesh engages intellect, emotion and and the internal wisdom of our being. Rajneesh is a valuable world resource and treasure. Sincerely, |
(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.)
