Testimonial letter from Sven-Erik Åhström
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 Sven-Erik Åhström. It is "Exhibit A-150" 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.
 STOCKHOLMS LANS LANDSTING - To whom it may concern. To my great surprise I have heard that Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh has difficulties with his application for a visa to stay in the United States. I have always taken for granted that the USA has a welcoming attitude toward great people in our times, so long as they have no evaluations which are against the constitution, or in any way dangerous to the security of the country. To me, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh is certainly one of the most remarkable men of our times, by virtue of his wide knowledge, maturity and capability to teach his message and put it into practice. I have come to know him well by reading many of his books and also through the medium of my profession as a psychiatrist, I have come to know therapists who have studied and practised at Shree Rajneesh Ashram in Poona, India and Rajneeshpuram, Oregon. I have also had many patients who have, through my own or other recommendations, read Rajneesh’s books and participated in courses and meditations in different Rajneesh-centres which are established throughout the world and also here in Stockholm. I have been able to observe how the contact with Rajneesh has had a significance toward their recovery of mental health and working capacity. That such a man now lives, and is left open to continue his life’s mission within the borders of your country should be an asset of immeasurable significance, and is of course also to be regarded as a great mutual favour and honour. I know that many of my colleagues share the same opinion as myself in this matter. Regarding my capacity to express my opinion in this matter, I refer to my competence as a specialist in psychiatry; active in the profession for 35 years, also my position as a policlinical doctor, with status as chief (senior) physician, at Beckomberga, the biggest mental hospital in Stockholm. I also work at a hospital clinic which is connected to the Medical Faculty, Karolinska Institute, the University of Stockholm. Yours faithfully, |
(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.)
