Testimonial letter from Ma Prem Sadhano
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 Sadhano. It is "Exhibit A-831" 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.
 Jesus Grove, TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN This letter is an opportunity for me to express my appreciation and to acknowledge Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. Over the last five years I have come to know that he is a rare being of exceptional ability, as a religious teacher and as a spiritual leader. His teachings and presence far exceed all other educational or growth experiences I have encountered. I graduated from Stanford University in Palo Alto California in 1972 with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and a minor in Psychology. I realized as an undergraduate that my involvement in the specialization of Maternal Child Nursing needed more academic proparation and research skills in order to practice with optimum accountability. I went directly to a Master of Science program at Colorado University in Denver and graduated in 1973. During my graduate studies I completed a multi-media presentation on the Socialization of sex roles which has for several years been shown to graduate nursing students in the department of continuing education at the University of California in San Francisco. In 1974 I completed a certification program at U.C.S.F. in Family Planning Nurse Practitioning. Upon completing this program I became part-time lecturer and clinical preceptor while working in private practise in San Francisco as Obstetrical-Gynecological Nurse Practitioner. After four years of continuous practice and university teaching I became increasingly aware that my professional practice, although economically profitable and academically stimulating, was lacking something integral to the healing process. Now that I had achieved professional credibility in the medical community and that the standard of my patient care was commensurate with all that nursing-medical science had to offer, I began to search in myself for what was missing. My inner search began with reading literature which lead me into group experience. Many of these groups utilized gestalt, Reichian therapy, along with body work, and eventually ending with meditation. I started with Transcendental Meditation which did not impress me. In 1976 I read some books on Zen which led me to Zazen on a regular practice. I have sat with Maizumi Roshi, Zen master to the Zen Center in Los Angeles and with Baker Roshi in Hauku, Maui. It wasn’t until 1978 when I was introduced to Dynamic Meditation and Kundalini Meditation, meditation techniques developed by Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, that I felt I was really able to drop down into a meditative space. In 1978 two of my seminar leaders at the Holistic Life University in San Francisco took sannyas in Poona and brought back lecture tapes and books from Bhagwan. It was then I felt that it was essential that I experience Bhagwan in person. I left for Poona, India, July 8, 1978. I participated in many therapy and meditation programs offered by the Rajneesh International Meditation University. In August 1978 I completed the Counselor Training Program. Each day I attended morning discourse, went to active meditation and after each group attended evening darshan with Bhagwan. During my two month stay in Poona it became obvious that to go back to the West and to continue my life as it was would have been a conscious decision not to grow. I returned to Poona in April of 1979 and stayed as a full time worker until July of 1981. My work with the ashram continued as a nurse practitioner. Morning started with a 1 1/2-2 hour discourse from Bhagwan. Every two weeks we would have our worker’s darshan and sit with Bhagwan while he gave sannyas and energy darshan. My basic feeling about these two years in Poona is one of immense gratitude. Never before have I felt so alive. The medical team I work with at Rajneeshpuram practice allopathic medicine with greater continuity and commitment to quality medical practice than I experienced at the factory-like clinics at the Universities. Never have I worked so total in maintaining professional excellence. After months of research and protocol preparation our Medical Clinic, Pythagoras, received permission from the Federal Drug Administration to begin investigational research on the Cervical Cap, a contraceptive method. Many other medical research projects are underway to help improve and maintain the high quality of our medical practice. Having been with Bhagwan and sannyasins for the last five years the part that was lacking, the part that kept nagging at me to look for what was missing in the healing process, has dissolved. My experience now is a feeling of wholeness. My approach to patient care is not only professional and scientific but also more loving. What I became aware of in traditional western medicine is that the emphasis in healing predominantly comes from the mind. Working with sannyasins has taught me that my services were most effective when my heart and feelings were also balanced with what my knowledgeable mind has been educated and trained to do. In the same way I find that my clients at Pythagoras are not only bringing me their problems but also their love and feelings. A nourishing hug or a moment of silence at the end of an examination fills all that was missing before and so it becomes that our work is not just work it is worship. Thank you Bhagwan. Love, |
(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.)
