Testimonial letter from Richard J. Myers
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 Richard J. Myers. It is "Exhibit A-1730" 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.
 UNIVERSITY of PENNSYLVANIA To Whom It May Concern: My profession as a university teacher of the history and sociology of science frequently leads me to questions that go far beyond the mere technology and science. Through my own research and through questions and concerns of my students I am increasingly forced to face issues that might be called metaphysical, even mystical, in nature. Science or a purely intellectual approach is insufficient to answer students’ concerns about their place in a very unbalanced world. I have sought throughout my career to find reasonable and satisfying answers to the many concerns associated with technology and science in our society, but that search has always yielded incomplete and, ultimately, unsatisfactory answers. When I first became aware of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh I greeted his writings with the skepticism most professional intellectuals display toward religion. But a responsive chord was struck—Rajneesh was onto something. He understands science as well as religion and sees the importance of each in our world. But even more, his life view is unifying and quite unlike that of other religious, political or other organizations or groups which are concerned with calling out the best in people. My skepticism was shattered and I had to admit, here was a truly exceptional and outstanding person. His discourses on everything from science to Jesus to love come from a place of true understanding and wisdom. I have found that I think and feel differently about my teaching and research after having been exposed to Rajneesh's teachings. The deeper understanding I have gained is shown in my teaching as I can see from my students' interest and response. What I find even more exceptional than just his teachings is the fact that his inspiration is manifested in the creation of a commune that is being built on principles of love as well as science and technology. The commune, Rajneeshpuram in Oregon, is a part of Rajneesh through his inspiration, yet he does not control it. It will exist whether he is there or not. It is not often that I, as a teacher, can point to a concrete manifestation of those illusive values love and cooperation. Not only students in the university, but people throughout our society, can relate to that. It is with deep concern that I find my own governement seemingly intent on denying this exceptional man his request for naturalization. I ask you to grant Rajneesh’s appeal and allow his to contribute his special gift to our nation and the world. 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.)
