Testimonial letter from Ma Prem Leena
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 Leena. It is "Exhibit A-1857" 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.
 Rt. 2 Box 136-A TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN This letter establishes my wholehearted support of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh's residency in America. I first became familiar with Bhagwan's work in 1976 on a visit to Poona, India. I had no idea, at that time, how deeply my association would transform my personal vision and experience. I spent six months in the Rajneesh Ashram. During this time I participated in a variety of therapies of different types including dehypnotherapy and encounter. These two groups represent totally different approaches; the former expanding deep into the subconscious to release old imageries of fear, resentment and pain so that a sense of personal balance and freedom can be regained. The latter is a more direct interpersonal method of learning to respond in the moment, authentically, to a variety of people and situation. These two approaches characterize aspects of Bhagwan's healing effect oh my life. Through my relationship with him in darshans, in listening to his discourse, participating in his meditation techniques and in living and working with other sannyasins, my sense of confidence and trust in my own inner resources grew immensely. Shortly before going to Poona in 1976 I completed a degree in Elementary Education (University of Texas) and spent a few months as a substitute teacher in the Austin Independent School District. Upon returning from India I resumed this work and found it much more rewarding; I simply had more energy and creativity to offer the children. The feedback I got from the shools confirmed this. The schools I visited requested me again and again. At this time I also began tutoring six children in reading; we formed strong bonds and their reading and writing progress was rapid. My husband and small son accompanied me on a second trip to Poona in 1979. I was amazed by the growth of the ashram. Under Bhagwan’s guidance, those ingenious people now made their own toiletries, clothing and food for thousands of visitors. Beautiful pottery, weaving and woodworking were being created. Once again I saw how Bhagwan's intelligence, his genius for cutting through to the core, had helped thousands of people utilize their minds and creative energies. He has continued to attract highly skilled and bright people whose abilities have been enhanced by his words and simply his positive presence. During this six month stay, I worked as a teacher in the ashram school. I saw a group of young people who were relaxed and joyous and therefore more receptive to ideas and all new experiences. Three and four year olds were eager to learn to read, boys and girls did what they were attracted to, without bothering about whether it was a "boy" or "girl" subject. Spending time with the kids re-affirmed my trust in the truth and practicality of Bhagwan’s message. The past two years have been specially significant. In 1981 I was employed as a Biofeed back therapist by a psychologist in Houston Texas. This working situation provided me with an opportunity to utilize everything I had experienced. I worked primarily with hospitalized chronic pain patients. Some of these people had undergone one or more back surgeries with no relief of symptoms. Often the pain had apparently little or no organic basis. I gathered many of Bhagwan's techniques of meditation and relaxation and discovered amazing resources in myself: caring, compassion and an ability to respond to people's different needs. My patients often improved enormously and were able to take techniques with them to use on their own. The response I received from my co-workers was very positive. It was enormously challenging work and I was able to move through it successfully when I allowed Bhagwan's tremendous love and awareness to come through me. He has helped me to recognise my own light. Such a person, who now in blissful silence, brought 15,000 loving considerate people together for the July celebration, can bring nothing but blessings to the country he lives in. America is the perfect place for his vision to flourish. His community in Oregon blossoms now in every sense; agriculturally and economically as well as culturally. It is a miraculous, joyful experiment in communal living. From a pragmatic, American point of view, the greatest thing about Bhagwan's vision is - IT WORKS! 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.)
