Testimonial letter from Ma Deva Waduda (1)

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 Waduda. It is "Exhibit A-111" 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.

This is one of two letters written by Ma Deva Waduda. The other is at Waduda (2). The numbering is according to their appearance in Noles' collection, not chronological. In fact, Waduda's other letter was written more than two months earlier. This one was one of a focused group of letters written mostly in a short flurry in Sep 1983, from "important" members of the commune, in which all stated their religious titles or educational positions in "Rajneeshism", hoping to expedite Osho's residency application as a religious leader. Waduda's earlier letter did not mention her position as "a Siddha (Minister) of the religion of Rajneeshism", hence a new letter likely was requested for that campaign. It is not known why both her letters were kept, but likely only this one was submitted to the INS. See also Testimonial letters#duplication for more on this. These letters ran in a series from Exhibit A-97 to A-114, and were not actually letters but affidavits, all beginning with: "I, [name], being duly sworn, do depose and say as follows". The series included two other such "re-writes", from Ma Prem Divya and Sw Anand Maitreya. AFFIDAVIT OF MA DEVA WADUDA STATE OF OREGON ) COUNTY OF WASCO ) SS. I, Ma Deva Waduda, being duly sworn, do depose and say as follows: I write this Affidavit to express my professional opinion, as a minister of religion, that Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh is the most extraordinary religious teacher and leader in the world today. I make this judgment from my religious occupation, training and personal religious experiences. I am a Siddha (Minister) of the religion of Rajneeshism and was appointed to that position on June 16, 1983. I am presently the Director of the Insitute for Spiritual Science at Rajneesh International Meditation University, in central Oregon. I teach, offer religious and personal growth workshops, and am available to provide spiritual counseling to individuals based upon the religious teachings of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and my religious experiences. I have been a deeply religious person throughout my entire life. In college, at the University of Minnesota, I underwent a year of intensive formal religious studies. In 1977 I discovered Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. I began to read His religious books and to practice meditation techniques devised by Him. On December 24, 1977, I became a disciple of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. I continued my daily meditation and study of His religious teachings. After three years of intensive study, I was awarded a Doctorate in Meditation by Rajneesh International Meditation University in Poona, India. Since my initiation into neo-sannyas by Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, He has offered me profound guidance on many occasions. In recent years, I have received guidance from Him through His Personal Secretary. Living at Rancho Rajneesh with my husband and daughter, I witness Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh’s religious work daily. I see Him offer His blessings to disciples on His daily drive. In the past year, I have attended all the Satsangs and Darshans which He has led. At all these religious events, He showered His love on everyone present. There is a unique light and clarity in His being which has the remarkable effect of acting alchemically to produce higher states of consciousness in those around Him. I have seen this manifested in those I counsel and worship with at Rajneesh International Meditation University. I have seen growth and transformation in my own family. Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh is the inspiration and source of religious transformation in my life. This transformation and that of those who worship around me in His silent presence is unparalleled. In my years of religious study and search I have not witnessed a religious teacher or leader with such extraordinary abilities. Bhagwan’s presence in the United States is giving Americans the opportunity to reawaken the religious consciousness that has guided them so faithfully in the past. The foregoing is within my personal knowledge and if called as a witness, I could testify competently thereto. Dated : September 26, 1983 [signed] Ma Deva Waduda, M.A., M.M., D.M. (RIMU), Siddha [notary stuff]

(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.)