Testimonial letter from Ma Prem Anubodhi
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 Prem Anubodhi (Emily Spalding). It is "Exhibit A-837" 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.
 P.O. Box 1 TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN : Before telling you my experience of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, I wish to present a summary of my credentials and work background:
In the years of working with young people, ages 14 to 19, one of the conditions I was most aware of was the increasing sense of despair among my students. They felt hypocrisy was everywhere - among adults, in the government, from their parents - there was a loss of trust and a strong element of cynicism in their attitudes. My intention in teaching had always been along with academic accomplishment, to try to give the students a sense of their own worth and new ways of experiencing life. I burned out in the process. At that time, 1977, I first read one of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh's books and became a sannyasin. After being with Bhagwan for several months, I returned to the classroom with renewed energy and a strong love and hope for my students. Many of the students began listening to Bhagwan’s lecture tapes and doing some of the meditations. They were very excited because "somebody was finally saying it like it was," and they felt he understood them exactly, their problems, their hopes, their fears. During the course of that year I felt new strength and new insights constantly coming into the classroom, the students opened up, began to work harder (and enjoy it!), and there was a noticeable improvement in their grades and in their ability to take tests and examinations without so much fear. Several of the "problem” students were no longer problems and some of the unhappiest ones began to laugh and even be playful. When I left that year, I received many gifts from the students and most of the parents came to see me or wrote letters about the inspiration that year had been for them and their children. Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh is unique as a creative genius who has a deep knowledge of the heart of the matter. Almost every one of my students responded to his understanding and love and his teachings brought new light and hope into their lives. And five years later I still hear from and about the students who remember that year and who still ask about Bhagwan and are so happy that he is here with us. He has had an incredibly beautiful influence on my students and friends. 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.)
