Testimonial letter from Sue McDevitt
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 Sue McDevitt. It is "Exhibit A-316" 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.
 SUE MCDEVITT To Whom It May Concern, I am writing this letter to acknowledge the exceptional ability of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and to underscore his dramatic and positive influence on my personal and professional life. I am a professional in the field of Civil Rights and have many years of experience as a community activist on behalf of Blacks, other minorities and women. In more recent years I have worked as an investigator of employment and housing discrimination cases for the State of California. I am currently writing educational materials for the State to promote compliance with fair housing laws. I feel fortunate to be in a profession which aligns so closely with my personal and social values. And I find that Bhagwan’s teachings not only support but also encourage me in my professional life. It is a source of tremendous inspiration for me to be part of a world-wide community of people in which everyone is respected for who they are and everyone has the opportunity to participate fully and equally in all aspects of meditation, work and play. It is truly an exceptional experience to be in a community where people of all ages, nationalities, and ethnic and religious backgrounds are living and working in harmony. I am especially grateful for the opportunities which Bhagwan gives women to experience our full potential without the hindrances of social roles and his instilling of confidence in our capacities to really be ourselves. In addition, my personal experiences in the Rajneesh Ashram in Poona, India, at Rajneeshpuram in Oregon and at the Chruch of Rajneeshism in Laguna Beach, California, have opened my eyes to the realization that people of all backgrounds can attain a higher sense of purpose and self realization by living together under the guidance of a living master. As a philosophy and religion major in college, I studied all of the world’s great religions and the contemporary religious movements in the U.S. of the 1960’s. I am familiar with the beautiful variety of religious expressions that have emerged throughout the history of humankind. In addition to my participation in the Church of Rajneeshism, I also practice zazen meditation at a Zen Buddhist temple in Los Angeles and have developed very close and meaningful relationships with members of that community as well as my own. The beauty of Bhagwan’s teaching is his appreciation for the essential truths of all the world’s great religions and enlightened masters and his encouragement to each of his disciples to discover our own way, our own path, our own expression of our true nature. It is with the deepest gratitude that I acknowledge Bhagwan’s influence on my own process of personal growth and maturity. Because of Bhagwan’s willingness to share his wisdom and compassion with all those who draw near to him, I feel increasingly capable of expressing my own wisdom and compassion in all aspects of my life—personal, professional and relating with others. I appreciate the opportunity to share my views with you. Very Truly 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.)
