Testimonial letter from Ma Prem Ira
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 Ira (Karen L. Polcyn MSSA). It is "Exhibit A-467" 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 Prem Ira TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN I, Ma Prem Ira, aka Karen L. Polcyn, attended Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, N.Y. 1970-1974 receiving a B.A. in psychology. I then attended the School of Applied Sciences of Case Western Reserve University - Cleveland, Ohio, from 1974-1976 receiving a M.S.S.A. (Masters in Social Service Administration). My training during my 2 years of graduate work included working 1 year in the social work department of the Cleveland V.A. Hospital, and 1 year in a child guidance clinic affiliated with a local school system working with children and their families. In the spring of 1976, I was introduced to a disciple of Bhagwan who introduced me to Bhagwan’s books and tapes. I travelled to India in September 1976, taking sannyas from Bhagwan Sept. 30, 1976. Throughout my stay in India, I attended His discourses and Darshans in which He answered several of my questions. Coming from a psychology - socialwork background, I was and still am constantly impressed by the wide range of subject matter Bhagwan covered in His daily discourses with great expertise and wisdom. I never came across any professor or any course in my academic career comparable to Bhagwan and His discourses. His understanding of man and the problems of modern living clarified many of the issues which were my concern in my field. It provided the missing link. During the past year I have seen the effects of Bhagwan’s silent presence in this community. My feeling is that his contribution is even more exceptional and more obvious than when He was speaking. In my field I came across many of the problems of modern day life resulting from social structure as it exists today. I saw the neuroses to which it leads modern man. Trying to work within this structure, I always felt the utter despair and frustration of trying to help individuals caught up in the system. I saw lives consumed with needless competition, lives devoid of love. At Rajneeshpuram one sees a radical difference. Competition, for example, is nonexistent here, so individuals grow in a natural, unneurotic manner to their full potential in an atmosphere of love and acceptance. For Bhagwan to remain in the U.S. offers this country such a unique and extraordinary opportunity. He is recognized worldwide as a religious teacher and spiritual leader. His presence in this country can only be beneficial. [signed] |
(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.)
