Testimonial letter from Sw Prem Yogen

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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 Prem Yogen (J. J. van der Laan). It is "Exhibit A-1242" 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 3 pages.

THE ASTRONOMICAL INSTITUTE AT UTRECHT
SPACE RESEARCH LABORATORY
UTRECHT, JULY 20, 1983
our ref.:   your ref.:

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN.

The undersigned, J.J. van der Laan (Swami Prem Yogen), wants to declare the submentioned points:

• It is my conviction that Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh is a Man with exceptional abilities, teaching and pointing mankind at its almost endless possibilities of being now and here, one in harmony with ourselves and whole the universe around us, being freedoms in ourselves. In His daily discources during many years. He talked on really all aspects of human live and existence from a complete new vision. As an experiment in proof of this, a complete new selfsupported city grows in Rajneeshpuram/Oregon, solely by His presence there.

• As well it is my conviction that Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh has a great influence on parts of the Dutch people, which can be concluded from the many articles in weekly's and the ever increasing number of His translated books.

• How Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh crossed my live.

Being interested in nature, geology, astronomy, evolution in general, "the things behind", and seeking via names like McLuhan, Tofler, Maslow, Rogers, Le Boyer, and Ferguson to discover "this", I was deeply moved by the radiation of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh as it came to me by the second book of the well-known psychiatrist Jan Foudraine (Swami Deva Amrito): "Origional Face", and the many books and tapes from Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh Himself. For me it was a feeling of recognition such as He united this all (of which I had and have experienced only a small part) in one "space": the integration of "live, love, laugh" with work and science (the East and the West that need each other), only by applying meditation. Within some months the feeling became clear that Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and His commune in Poona/India gives me the first real opportunity to see and accept myself, which are the first steps needed to a real transformation and evolution of this human world. This "conviction" was the more striking,

- because

because of the harmony between the rational and the emotional arguments .

I could not lose this opportunity to experience "This",and in May 1980 I went to Him and His Ashram in Poona for three months.

• During the following three years I became fully alive to His vast importance and ability to me and all people desiring the truth and real freedom.

• Curriculum Vitae:

- Born: Jan. 12, 1938 Bilthoven, Netherlands;
- 1958 Examination Gymnasium-Beta (Dutch High School);
- 4 years Physics and Astronomy at the University of Utrecht, Netherlands;
- Joined in 1963 the Space Research Laboratory/Physics Dept. of taht University, doing a variety of jobs, preparing myself in high technology system engineering (detection systems for astronomical research);
- In 1970 design and engineering of all plant facilities of the new Space Res. Lab. (100 p.), and up to now the rebuild to up to date facilities;
- From 1981 department coordinator in the matrix organisation of the same laboratory, and project manager for some of the smaller projects and specially contract research projects in cooperation with the industry.

[signed]
J.J. van der Laan
(Swami Prem Yogen)
Pr. Willem de Zwijgerlaan 5
3991 BP HOUTEN, NETHERLANDS
BENELUXLAAN 21 - 3527 HS • UTRECHT • THE NETHERLANDS • TELEPHONE (030) 93 71 45 • TELEX 47224
[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.)