Testimonial letter from Sw Anand Videh

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 Videh (Jack W. Lampl III). It is "Exhibit A-813" 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.

P.O. Box 10 Rajneeshpuram., OR 97741 To Whom it may concern. I am a graduate of Harvard University, class of 1973 where I received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Visual and Environmental studies. Prior to entering Harvard, I had received recognition in both the arts and sciences including scientific awards for my research in nuclear physics. In 1968 I received for the second year, an award from the Ford Foundation Future Scientists of America Program. Also a citation from the U.S. Navy and Air Force for my research. In addition, I was an accomplished classical pianist, appeared in professional dramatic productions and was apprenticed to a well known local sculptor. For years I have maintained an active involvement with Rajneesh communities and continue to marvel at the innovative and pioneering work that has been done by Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, and the social, scientific and artistic achievements encouraged by him. To live and work around him has been an experience more rewarding than any university. Bhagwan’s decision to become silent has had an important effect on his work and a profound impact on Rajneeshpuram. We have all made the transition from just listening to his words to actually living and experiencing them. His physical presence here in Oregon, on the daily automobile rides and especially during the religious celebrations, is the central core of the community's phenomenal harmony and creativity. A reminder to all, that he is here and available. Our inspiration and creativity has had some very tangible benefits. Many of the environmental and resource programs begun by us here are among the most ambitious in the State, if not the nation. Some examples: Sewage We've built the largest lagoons of their type in the State. They naturally treat waste water and are functioning better than other lagoons. Testing what we are doing may help the State Department of Environmental Quality to reevaluate the design criteria for this type of facility. For Buddha Grove we have had a sand filter designed to treat sewage which is the largest of its kind in the country. Compared to typical municipal treatment facilities the energy consumption is very low. The treated water will be suitable for a wide range of non-potable uses. The Department of Environmental Quality is studying this type of design through us. In both cases these facilities will allow us to beneficially reuse a large portion of our water. We are making a commitment to intelligent use of reousrces, in advance of actually needing to do it. Our experiments will be of much help to other communities, for all of America has water problems. Water Our groundwater investigations have provided new information about the water potential of Eastern Oregon. The fact that we have discovered so much water in an arid area gives new potential to this area. Watershed and Stream Reclamation Our program of reshaping, reseeding and checkdamming the creeks is the largest riparian reclamation program in the State. We have the blessing of many State agencies for this program, including Fish and Wildlife and the Division of State Lands. Our work has not only improved the natural wildlife habitat on the property, provided more and higher quality surface water to the property, but has also reduced the damage to the John Day river done by severe erosion from our property which happened before we came. Common agricultural and rangeland practices done before we came had created this condition. We are experimenting with other ways to use the land without consuming and destroying it. Garbage Our recycling program is possibly the most thorough in the State. Over 70% of the garbage thrown out is either used for animal feed, compost, resold as scrap or reused for construction. This percentage may be the highest in the State. The per capita garbage production is amongst the lowest, due to the high efficiency of communal living, the consciousness of waste management and intelligent purchasing policies. With so many budget cuts in State and Federal programs, we are doing lots of basic research that the government cannot do. The benefit of these projects is clearly seen in the interest generated beyond Rajneeshpuram itself. These are all experiments (among many others) that are being voluntarily undertaken because they are Bhagwan’s philosophy. A deteriorated piece of dried-out land has been made beautiful and productive - this is just Bhagwan's metaphor for unfulfilled potential in the individual's life. Given the time and support, this small experiment here can provide valuable experimental research and data to many fields. America is fortunate to have a man such as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh here. [signed] Jack W. Lampl III Swami Anand Videh [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.)