Testimonial letter from Sw Bodhiprem
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 Bodhiprem (Benjamin Shappiro). It is "Exhibit A-2262" 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 6 pages.
 Swami Bodhiprem TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN When a great teacher appears, only those few who are alert go to him. For other's it is a slow process, like water wearing away a rock. So it was with this writer. I have a Masters Degree in Social Work, and as my resume indicates I have accomplished much in my field. I have made a contribution to my profession about which I can take some pride. However, there comes a time when accomplishments, degrees and public acclaim do not fill a need. They are like nice clothes that have become worn, and eventually one has to throw them away. I did not know how ready I was until I heard of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. A book, "Only One Sky", lying dormant on my shelf for 3 years, once read, became an obsession. Who was this man who spoke so lucidly to my inner being. I, who had counselled people for years on the panoply of human problems now felt like a child before the wisdom of this man. Soon thereafter I resigned my job as a psychiatric social worker and went to India to see Bhagwan. I knew I wanted to sit at his feet and learn, and so in 1978 I became a disciple. I literally threw away my old clothes, my old name and after awhile my old attitudes. A great re-birthing had begun. It is a process that continues to this day. I was not alone in my search. There at the ashram in Poona, India were the intellectuals of the world. Doctors, Lawyers, Professors, Authors, the list of academicians was endless. Each day we would sit with him while he discoursed on a religious figure such as Buddha, Lao Tzu, Jesus, or answered disciples questions. Here was the teacher I was looking for. His grasp of psychology, which was my field, was nothing short of amazing, and his aplication to the realm of human problems, always in the most tender and loving way, made me re-evaluate the ways in which I had been treating my patients. In 1979 I again went to Poona and left in 1980 to return, via Europe, to America. While en route I heard that he had left India for New York in order to undergo medical treatment. We all knew that he was not well, and there were times, because of his illness, he did not come to discourse. Later he was invited to be a guest at the Big Muddy Ranch in Oregon, and in the meantime I was living in a commune in Southers California. In December 1981 I was invited to come to Rajneeshpuram. Since I have been here much has changed. Not only with the land, but with those who work the land. In everything that I see there is a touch of the divine- a sort of Godliness. Who or where this inspiration comes from cannot be doubted. In becoming a disciple of this great religious leader the best in each of us is called forth. Work becomes worship, prayer and dance. A celebration, to translate this esoteric experience is difficult, but call it religion in the marketplace. Not a go-to-Sunday-church religion, with bells ringing, and a sermon from a paid-to-preach minister, but an on-going, moment-by-moment experience of Godliness. This is also called meditation. Not a dream-like state, but a wide awakeness to all that is happening. This that I have tried to describe can only come from a source of someone who has transcended the mundane. His very presence exudes, manifests the divine. I have seen many festivals, attended by thousands upon thousands of worshippers, all proclaiming their love and devotion to their now silent master. Surely we have all known a time in our life when words utterly fail to communicate what it is we want to share and only the quintessential silence can speak for us. This is now Bhagwan’s message. There is much more one can say. I know I have not nearly touched the core, the essence of what Bhagwan is about. Possibly because it is so vast that this letter cannot contain it all. My love for Him is unequivocal, and from that space I have written this missive. His blessings, |
(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.)
