Testimonial letter from Ma Anand Yoganidra
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 Yoganidra. It is "Exhibit A-373" 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 Yoganidra TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN : These days more and more people come to Bhagwan as a continuation and a direct result of their own overflowing happiness. They see us sannyasins celebrating, living in tremendous unity and freedom and integrity. We work very hard and it is done out of love. We work for the same reason that birds sing - for no reason whatsoever but simply out of an overflow of love for existence. To someone whose heart is not open, this is treacle, this is something to ridicule. But as a sannyasin life is sweet. For a sannyasin growth never ends. And people recognize this and come. This is not to say that there are no rough spots. Bhagwan points the way to use the patience of self-awareness, watching one’s thoughts and listening to the inner voice, and He shows us how to experience trust. His religion is every second not an hour per week. I became a sannyasin before Bhagwan stopped talking but there was no change in my feeling of relatedness to Him when the morning discourses and evening talks stopped. Even before He entered this silent phase I had experienced the sublime heaven of just sitting with Him as He spoke and my mind was in silence, just sitting and receiving the perfume of His love, the music of His love which is beyond anything I can speak. I only use His words as a guideline for specific solutions to imagined difficulties, for comfort when I feel bruised. Basically I am here in His presence and that is enough, more than enough. If you have ever sat on a seashore and felt that exultant gratitude just to be alive, or been on a mountaintop and felt yourself full of life and utterly free - even momentarily - of all concerns, then you have had tastes of how Bhagwan and the climate emanating from Bhagwan makes me feel. And the potential is here to be perpetually, unspeakably ecstatic. He points the way, He is already what each one of us can be, and I in all my freedom recognize Him and have put aside all else to be with Him. For each one of His thousands upon thousands of sannyasins, each one is different as snowflakes or fingerprints, Bhagwan is the epitome of grace, wisdom, love. It is just like running into Jesus or Gautam Buddha only better as Bhagwan is here now not wedged between hundreds of years of translation and erring interpretation. Who, with hindsight, would deny Jesus His disciples or disciples their Jesus? Hindsight however is gilded in belated tolerance; it is a safe kind of goodwill. I want Bhagwan to be here in America where great visions can still come true. The best of the East has come west. To me this is very natural. I saw India and tried to adapt to it. I saw Bhagwan there, frail and ill. It is an old, tired, country and nothing much can happen there when one has to struggle to even imitate Western standards of living. I really hope that America will welcome Bhagwan and that the Judicial system will not compromise itself by excluding Him and the tremendous worth of His work. I feel that the family of man will always remember Bhagwan and that His religion will flower of itself all over the earth. And we will always know that Bhagwan knocked on America’s door. Let us for once create a happy story and let Bhagwan come in and make Himself at home. I feel strongly something Bhagwan said which has never left me. "Ecstacy is the only revolution." It is a personal experience which transcends personal experience. We must not lose the gift of Bhagwan. Our work with Bhagwan to create a city is a way to be together as His disciples, to keep ourselves busy as we grow angels out of dust, flowers out of mud. I feel the people are seeds who are flowering in Bhagwan’s garden. The land is reclaimed, people have a home and a livelihood and it is very lovely. I am very thankful to be a part of what Bhagwan is helping us to build - a community of love, but I am here to move myself into the total silence and peace and divinity of Bhagwan. Bhagwan, the community, the ultimate truth - this is my religion. I am sharing this experience of my religion as best I can with words, but I am aware that there are no reasons and no words. If you are asked why you love someone, in truth words always fall short. Sometimes you can see, you can feel but you cannot say. I feel that every person is an artist whose ultimate expression and creation is a total self. I see Bhagwan as the One whose work is complete and who is staying around now to invite others to find their unique, ultimate expression and creation. Freedom is the only atmosphere in which this melting transformation can occur and love is the only nourishment we need. A true religion is an alchemy. It is alive. I am someone who has found a true religion and I am very thankful. My autobiography and past religious search does not even interest me; it is an effort to even begin to remember, so I certainly won’t saddle anyone else with it. The focus is on Bhagwan who, by the way, has the most wonderful sense of humor. He can get anyone to laugh a belly laugh. 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.)
