Testimonial letter from Ma Deva Mangalam
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 Mangalam. It is "Exhibit A-385" 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 one page.
 Ma Deva Mangalam TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN I am writing to you to speak about Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. This exceptional man, now residing in Rajneeshpuram, Oregon, is applying for permanent resident status in America. I was born and raised in California and am personally very excited to have a man of Bhagwan’s skills and qualifications applying to stay in this fair country. He would be a real gift to any country which he chose to grace with his presence. Bhagwan's prolific outflow of books and discourses (300-400 in all), alone qualifies him as a unique writer and thinker; far above average in this most critical time in our history. The love, intelligence and compassion with which he writes and speaks, bring to this country and to the world a gift of heart far above the ordinary. The demonstration of his intelligence and love here at the Ranch is a brilliant example of an ecologically balanced, economically sound, psychologically healthy city. Its citizens are well-educated, successful, hard working and happy. In my own professional work as a mental health worker in a psychiatric group home, my experiences of Bhagwan's meditations, writings, tapes, groups and especially my visits to the Ranch at Rajneeshpuram, are without doubt my most inspirational influences. When I leave the Ranch and return to work, I take back with me new understanding, compassion, and caring which directly affects my clients. I am more open, less judgemental. When I sit with Bhagwan in silence in Satsang meditation, a quietness, peace and joy opens in me, that affects every aspect of my life; my work, my family, my playtime. The quality of life at Rajneeshpuram, psychological and physical, well being, cleanliness, industriousness, peace and orderliness, lack of crime, make this city a model city for America - indeed for the world. Perhaps it sounds too good to be true, espcially in a day and age rife with war, crime, hunger and unhapiness. Mental illness affects one in ten, at least. All the more reason in a country devoted to religious freedom, to welcome a man and a city expressing and demonstrating what we all say we want: a community devoted to both the spirit and the earth, the psyche and the body. For me at least, Bagwan Shree Rajneesh, his work and his silence, has greatly enriched both my life and the lives of those I meet. I'm sure the same is true for many others who have come into contact with him. Thanks very much. |
(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.)
