Testimonial letter from Ma Prem Vanya
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 Vanya. It is "Exhibit A-443" 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.
 TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN; My name is Ma Prem Vanya and I am a member of the Rajneesh Neo-Sannyas International Commune. I am 34 years old and have been a secretary since 1965. My education includes High School and Commercial School. I became a legal secretary in 1970 with the lawfirm of Wolf, Block, Schorr & Solis-Cohen in Philadelphia where I was employed for about five years until I moved to the West Coast. I met sannyasins sometime in 1976 and learned about Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. I visited the San Diego Rajneesh Yoga Institute and began to meditate, read books, and listen to discourses by Bhagwan. I was extremely impressed and overjoyed to find someone who spoke the truth as He did and as I had never heard. He was clearly an exceptional individual with an intelligence and understanding of humanity that was extraordinary. I found that the meditation techniques devised by Bhagwan produced dramatic effects in my life and helped me to attain a definite noticeable clarity. I later discovered that the therapy and growth groups created by the sannyasins who had been living near Bhagwan in India also had a significant impact on my awareness and sensitivity. I had been involved in other kinds of growth groups, but these far surpassed the others in every respect. My effectiveness was increasing, my relationships more nourishing and my energy level dramatically increased. It was clear to me that Bhagwan was my Master and that this was my path and I became a sannyasin in March of 1977. I travelled to India in December, 1978 to meet Bhagwan and found myself in the presence of an extraordinary human being. His message and being was that of a Christ. He spoke of love -He spoke of meditation and of the untapped potential inside each of us -He told the truth about the mess the world is in and the stupidity of man and of the mechanisms that keep it that way - He said love and meditation were the way - Some people were offended, they didn’t want to hear it. Those who could hear the truth were grateful. I found it necessary for financial reasons to return to the West and returned to California to resume my profession. I enjoyed working at temporary legal assignments where I could help in emergency-type situations. I worked mostly in the San Francisco and Bay Area and found that because of my clarity and high-level of energy and effectiveness, I was sought after for my abilities. I discovered it was rare to find an eager, energetic worker. My mala and red clothing made no difference to my employers. Eventually, I moved to Berkeley, California and started a Rajneesh Meditation Center with the help of friends. I co-directed Pragit Rajneesh Meditation Center for about four months and enjoyed having a center to meditate where my friends and I could be together and also make Bhagwan’s teachings and meditations available to others. I moved to Rancho Rajneesh in March, 1982 and settled in Antelope the following month. Together as a community we have done very, very beautiful work in building a farming community and a city. Our accomplishments speak for themselves. The Big-Muddy Ranch has been transformed into a green oasis. Our work is our worship and is done with a high degree of excellence and quality and with love. This standard prevails in all areas of our living and is inspired completely and totally by the presence of Bhagwan. When He drives by each day my whole being dances with delight and I feel I can move mountains. His presence and love inspires me to strive for higher and higher standards and to be extraordinary as He is. As a community we are soaring and discovering new levels of energy and awareness and love is the basis. In summary, it is my opinion that the country that is blessed with the presence of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh is blessed beyond compare. Not since Jesus has walked the earth has a man like this existed. Not only is Bhagwan an extraordinary Master and teacher with a tremendous knowledge and understanding of humankind, but He has achieved the state of Christ consciousness where no words and needed - His presence is enough. America has been given a tremendous and rare opportunity and I sincerely hope we are capable of receiving what Bhagwan has to offer us. His blessings, |
(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.)
