Testimonial letter from Ma Prem Karuna (American)
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 Karuna. It is "Exhibit A-101" 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 3 pages.
 AFFIDAVIT I, Ma Prem Karuna, do depose and swear as follows: I am an Acharya of Rajneeshism. I first saw Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh on May 1, 1976 at a religious discourse He gave at the Shree Rajneesh Ashram in Poona, India. In a meditation two days later it became clear to me that in Bhagwan I had found the spiritual guide and religious teacher I had been looking for throughout my life, and on May 5, 1976 I was given sannyas by Bhagwan. This was the beginning of my continually deepening relationship with Bhagwan. I had been interested in religion, philosophy and psychology since I was a child - reading, studying and researching widely in these fields. I was especially interested in the interface of religion and psychology, such as Abraham Maslow explores in his book Religious Values and Peak Experiences. I studied with Maslow and many other teachers who were leaders in their field. NO ONE compared to Bhagwan. I knew this the moment I saw Him, and over the years the depth and breadth of His teachings, wisdom, and love have confirmed this. In my opinion there is no doubt that Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh is the most learned, outstanding and developed human being on earth. I listened to Bhagwan’s discourses almost daily at the Shree Rajneesh Ashram in Poona for almost 5 years, practiced Bhagwan’s meditations and worked in the Ashram as Vice Chancellor of Rajneesh International Meditation University. I also participated and was trained in all the religious ceremonies of Rajneeshism. On March 22, 1981, I was appointed Acharya and empowered to perform birth, marriage and death ceremonies and to initiate people into neo-sannyas. As an Acharya I am also available to the community at all times. Since I have been a sannyasin Bhagwan has continually given me spiritual guidance in many forms. In the area of my work in Poona, He gave me guidance via His Secretary about the religious and spiritual aspects of Rajneesh International Meditation University, its program goals, about working with people with more love and effectiveness, and about the development of Rajneeshism. Since living at Rajneeshpuram, I have been present at the celebrations led by Bhagwan. The Second Annual World Celebration in July 1983 was an extraordinary religious event. I was deeply moved by the sight of 15,000 people from all over the world coming together to celebrate in the presence of their Master. For those of us who live here, the daily drive of Bhagwan affords a regular opportunity to celebrate in His presence. This brief communion with Him gives added inspiration and joy to me and on many days clearly affects the quality of my work/worship for the remainder of the day. Being in the presence of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh brings about the most amazing transformation in people, a transformation that I have never seen anywhere before. Speaking from my own experience, the people I work with and those who live around me, it is obvious that people in His presence are more trusting, open, loving, aware and spontaneous than otherwise; in effect, we are more responsible, more humorous, more creative, more devoted to a larger vision of the world. The transformation that happens leads people to a deeper sense of inner harmony and we are EXTREMELY BLESSED that He is among us now to make this transformation possible. For the past twenty years, I have studied the religious history of mankind; in my opinion, there has not been a major new force in religion since the time of Christ and Mohammed. Most religions have lost their vitality and meaning. I believe that Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh will bring a new religiousness to America. His presence and His teachings are the one thing that may make a significant difference to the United States and the problems that currently plague it, such as increasing poverty, crime, divorce, child abuse, corruption and natural disasters. In my opinion, no one on earth could possibly contribute to the United States in a more important way than Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. The foregoing is within my personal knowledge and if called as a witness I could testify competently thereto. Dated: September 26, 1983 |
(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.)
