Testimonial letter from Ma Prem Surati (2)
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 Surati (Maria Vega). It is "Exhibit A-1884" in the Noles collection.
The original letter was handwritten in Spanish. A text transcription can be seen below, followed by a text version of its translation, 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.
The image in the text box links to a pdf file with the original letter, the translation, and a notary statement attesting to the validity of the translation. It has 4 pages.
 Surati is also the author of another letter, an undated type-written letter. There is enough commonality between the two letters to establish definitively that the same one person has written both letters, not two different people with the same name. There are 22 other such cases known. We may be amused by the illicit possibilities here but just as likely she was simply giving the organizers two letters to choose from. See also Testimonial letters#duplication for more on this. There is no transcript as yet for the handwritten original. translationMa Prem Surati TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: I write in my capacity as disciple of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, and as a teacher of art and social psychology. I am 31 years old and for the past 12 years have dedicated myself in different ways, to the professional treatment of adolescents. I have always loved my work, but since my encounter with Bhagwan, I’ve been able to immerse myself profoundly in it, find myself in its practice and celebrate every moment of work. Specifically, the new vision for man and for young people, which Bhagwan has offered to the world, as well as the development of new concepts in education, where creative freedom is encouraged and permitted in all its expressions and at the same time a high level of consciousness and responsibility is established, has allowed me to obtain better results than those previously obtained - in myself as well as the young people in my care. I had always had access and interest in the different methods available for attaining perfection; but the presence of a living Master, His silent message, has placed me, as well as hundreds of thousands of others, in contact with my own truth. This will permit, briefly, a quantum leap in the consciousness of humanity. It is not necessary to clarify the importance which Jesus, Buddha and other enlightened beings have had in the development of man; in his path to God; but still it escapes part of the world to understand that the presence of Bhagwan, living, here among humanity, is a marvelous opportunity which God has permitted us to share. The presence of a Master, a religious leader who has developed and established while living, a religion based on joy, love and work and the understanding and experiencing of life in all its intensity, is another unique opportunity for any country where his fragrance can be felt. Wherever his commune is established will be produced, as is occurring, a notable increase in the general economy, and an impact on the cultural and social life. As a resident of Argentina, a poorly developed nation, I warn you of the socio-economic importance of His presence. His silent message places each individual in contact with his true meditation and work potential. For we, His disciples, His silence is our language. And to attend the festivals and participate in the work energy created around Bhagwan, is the most important time of the year. Upon departing from there, the force and attention to our own work/meditation and productivity grows intensely. His presence transforms any place and those of us who return to our countries take his silent message and meditation with us. 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.)
