Testimonial letter from Richard Miller
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 Miller. It is "Exhibit A-1172" 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.
 July 8, 1983 To Whom It May Concern, I am a 40 year old electrical engineer and business man from Salt Lake City. I received my B.S. in electrical engineering from Bradley University, Peoria, Illinois in 1965. I worked 5 years in manufactoring, electrical engineering in Chicago. When I came to Utah I became an electrical building contractor, and have done millions of dollars worth of work in the last 13 years. Also, I own what I have built up to be the largest locally owned garbage trucking company in the state of Utah. I have seen interested and reading all sorts of spiritual and religious and new thought literature and studying these movements (present and historical) for twenty years. Four years ago I began studying the works of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, and I find His clarity and insight, and His methods, meditation and others, touch my heart and soul much deeper than any other experience I have had with any other teaching. I find an extremely powerful spiritual connection through this man and I experience him as a spiritual leader, more than any one else in my world. Because of this spiritual connection I have visited His community in central Oregon. And in areas of my expertise I must report the inspiration I have seen. In the areas of building construction I find the exciting experiment there is pre-fab building. I hav seen factory built bathroom units, bedrooms and "quick frame" walll panels assembled into beautiful buildings in matters of just days. Their town, Rajneeshpuram, is totally transformed structurally, from month to month as I have made several visits. The electric power distribution system, water and sewer works are already adequate for projected expansion for years to come. This strikes such a contrast with the over stressed sewer treatment plants and increasing utility rates we are used to in Utah. The quality of motivation, planning and development is trely inspired in this experiment in living. Furthermore, I definitely feel qualified to comment on the solid waste disposal facilities in His community. There is a total separation and recycling system that has been in place from Yday one". Kitchen wast goes to the livestock, garbage is composted to improve the soil, cardboard, metals, cans and bottles are all recycled. Paper waste is properly landfilled with plans to fuel a steam plant with it. Toxic wastes and oils are collected and shipped for proper disposal. This experiment is truly a total system that respects the land, the ecology and mankind. And this is the first instance I have heard about in the United States where such a total system is in place and successfully operational. As a model for the future, this community is an invaluable experiment for the United States and the world to study. In these, and every other way, I have been able to comprehend Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh is truly a man of exceptional abilities and an extraordinary asset to any country. 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.)
