Testimonial letter from Ma Prem Udbodhi (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 Udbodhi. It is "Exhibit A-692" 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.
 Udbodhi is also the author of another letter, written seven days earlier. 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. Rajneeshpuram Oregon To whom it may concern, I have a Bachelors degree in Liberal Arts with a specialization in Art, Drama and Recreation. My background includes performing, art and working with many different people. For many years I have loved the arts and wanted to share them with others. Ultimately, I was looking for a community that lived the philosophy that art was a part of every day life. At Rajneeshpuram this happens. Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh has enabled the creation of Rajneeshpuram. Dancing, vocal and other artistic training has given me much insight into the arts. I learned about Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh through books and his sannyasins, through their aliveness. I began doing his meditations and felt them to be the best preparations for the work I was doing and the life I was living. I have performed with the San Diego Repertory Theatre and a touring group associated with the California Ballet. 1 also worked with The Orange Company. The freshness and innovativeness was great, far beyond anything I had been involved in. One day we performed for 1600 children. Besides enjoying the show, they could participate singing songs, shaking a leg or making a funny face. With a master who encourages celebration, what to do but overflow with that love? I have seen many shows and been a part of many but this is the most ammazing ever. In July of this year we had The Second Annual World Celebration. 15,000 people gathered from all over the world to dance, sing and celebate in the presence of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. Something very full is here at Rajneeshpuram, flowering into a city. A city that celebrates, laughs and sings. The source of celebration is the silent prescence of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. Sincerly yours, |
(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.)
