Testimonial letter from Shinichi Yoshifuku

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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 Shinichi Yoshifuku. It is "Exhibit A-538" 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.

C + F Communications, Inc.
3-44-8 Horinouchi
Suginami-ku, Tokyo 166
Japan
July 16, 1983

To whom it may concern

In this modern day with religion reduced to a mere pattern of behavior, bound and chained by dogma, culture and self-restraint, the very existence of such religious leaders as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh proves to be invaluable not only for the future of established religions but more importantly for the well-being of all mankind.

Speaking always from the source of all being, based on his own religious experiences and learning, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh forever reminds us of what really is at stake, and shows us that which has become fossilized over time. For this positive influence, many Buddhist followers and scholars of the Buddhist religion in Japan respect and value the work of this man.

As for myself, after finishing my studies at the Berkelee College of Music in Boston, I went on to study Indian philosphy at University of California Berkeley Graduate School. Since returning to Japan I have been involved in the translation of books such as BE HERE NOW (Baba Ram Dass), THE TAO OF PHYSICS (Fritjof Capra) and SPIRITUAL SUPERMARKET (Robert Greenfield).

In 1979, I with a number of other people of a similar mind began a group, C + F Communications, Inc., dedicated to introducing spiritual, ecological and holistic thought into Japan, through translation of literature, organizing of lectures and workshops and other forms of communication. Translation work done by members of C + F, besides myself, include STEPPING STONES (editors of "Rain"), A SILENT PULSE (George Leonard), STAR SEEKERS (Collin Wilson), JANUS (Arthur Koestler), RECALLED BY LIFE (Dr. Anthony Sattilaro, M. D.), etc.

Personally, I feel Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh points the direction in which to look in probing the reason for life, why we are here, alive on this planet. He may not be the key for everyone but his influence, his message can reach and help a great number of people. He invokes in us an insight into what we ourselves are, what society, culture and civilization really are.

Sincerely yours,
[signed]
Shinichi Yoshifuku
President
C + F Communications, Inc.
Shiun Mansion, 3-34-15 Narita-Higashi
Suginami-ku, Tokyo 166, Japan
[signed again]
[notary stuff]


(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.)