Testimonial letter from Ma Deva Aziza
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 Deva Aziza. It is "Exhibit A-1821" 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.
 July 25, 1983 TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN The first time I sat in Satsang in silence with Bhagwan one year ago I knew I had found the next step for me in my journey. I am a college educated B.A. W.A. S.P. I have many family friends who are high ranking individuals, as I grew up in Scansdale, N.Y. and my father was a stockbroker in an exclusive firm which was located on Wall Street. I know some very special people including Nancy Kssinger, John Gardner, head of Common Cause and many others. I never believed in gurus etc. but I came to a point when I didn't know which direction to move in to continue my personal growth. I had been studying and travelling extensively in the Far East for about 4 years. I was studying sociology, languages and acupuncture which I practiced for two years in India and Indonesia. I was at a loss as to which direction to move in when I came back to the States, until I attended the First Annual World Celebration at Rajneeshpuram last summer. I realised then that Bhagwan was the only person that could continue to guide me in my growth. I never thought I could feel such love for anyone especially someone who hadn't spoken to me but his silence is so precious to me because I can feel him better than if he was cloaked in words. At this point I had heard so many people, especially men, talk such big words about how they had the answers, they knew what was happening, they were the one to listen to etc. etc. etc. So many words about how to do it, make it, prove it, and I couldn’t feel it from them and thus couldn’t believe them. Bhagwan is so refreshing because he's not preaching or trying to prove anything, that he knows the truth, the way. He says each person has their own way and they must discover it. He says it's the silence within that you must find -- go within and he shows us by being within, silent and not talking about it. He’s real. His silence helps me feel him, his being, to see who he really is . I love him and have never heard him speak. I cry in Darshan just because I can feel his love and our love and it is so precious to me in satsang, darshan and during work which we call worship and it is. It is the only worship I have found where real love and caring is happening. I think sometimes how lucky people are to have heard him but I know it is not so important because I feel just as close and as much love for him as many people here. I have felt his love and compassion so many times in his presence and just around the ranch. I live here and it is a priveledge to be in his presence. I have changed tremendously here to the point where all my non-sannyasin friends are astonished. Me too! Love is happening. This alone makes Bhagwan an exceptional person not to mention his intellectual prowess. I have read many, many books and never agreed totally with anyone but I can say yes totally to Bhagwan, his words, his person, his being. 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.)
