Testimonial letter from Sw Anand Svadesh
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 Sw Anand Svadesh (Peter Matje). It is "Exhibit A-1158" 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.
 Swami Anand Svadesh To whom it may concern I received my BS in Industrial Design from the University of Cincinnati in 1968. In the same year I moved to Los Angeles, CA and worked as a design engineer in the area for twelve years. It was in 1978, while browsing in a bookstore, that I chanced to come across one of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh’s religious books. I was immediately struck by his crystal clarity and understanding in areas of interest to me. My world opened as I read from his books. With my work I began to be able to stand back more and view a new design concept with a greater perspective. Problems in the conceptual phase became apparent more easily and solutions were arrived at more quickly. Stated otherwise, my work became more enjoyable, more interesting and alive. His teachings showed me a way by which I can celebrate my life both in work and play. In 1981 I came to Rajneeshpuram, where I have been a resident since. Bhagwan teaches us to be whole; to be both spiritualists and materialists. In the field of design and engineering, we concern ourselves with the material world, and when we get lost in this world, our work suffers because it no longer nourishes that deeper part in us which we call spirit or soul. Understanding his teachings we see a way and when both the material and spiritual sides are nourished, it is reflected in our creativity; in our work. Bhagwan is a great asset to this country. Recognized as a great spiritual leader throughout the world, he is a man of great inspiration. His teachings nourish the spirit within us, and only when this spirit awakens will love come alive, will man grow, will this earth celebrate. He should be welcomed in this country. Swami Anand Svadesh |
(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.)
