Testimonial letter from Sw Shantideva
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 Shantideva. It is "Exhibit A-1359" 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 93 TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN If you were to stop everything you are preoccupied with for a moment or two, close the eyes, and silently observe, the mind doesn't stop, yet who is this silent observer, this "I" who sits there listening to the sounds and the mind. Given a little thought and it is apparent that this a hig question, a fathomless questions, with no apparent answer. Who am I who loves, hates, is kind, sometimes mean, is happy, and sometimes sad, who laughs and cries, who is sometimes brave, sometimes afraid etc. ec. Where do all these thoughts and emotions that pattern my life come from? Taking a closer look and by and by bringing more understanding and awareness of oneself and others is one of the pillars of Bhagwan's remarkable teachings; teachings which have radically reshaped my (and others') approach to life since I first was introduced to Bhagwan and his meditations through literature and taped discourses given to me by a friend. Becoming part of the commune in his presence has totally changed my life; now it has positive direction and meaning. Before, life has always been somewhat of a struggle, in a cold world ridden with unemployment, rapidly rising costs, hate, mistrust, violence; always a striving to get ahead to maintain a secure life. Here is a grand experiment happening, never undertaken before. A community of positively inspired people, loving, caring, sharing, working and laughting together to transform an arid semi-desert into a green and fertile land - an expression of the inner richness which is happening thru' the teachings and presence of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. Here is a place free of tension and the struggle that competitiveness breeds throughout the world. Rather, there is an attitude of working with and in cooperation with each person here, because we are all working for the same goal, and not for each for his own personal goal and gain. I am a carpenter by trade, this was a subject I’ve enjoyed since my school days, yet working professionally was never totally satisfying, it was as tho' something was always lacking, and this remained true even when I was working independently. I have since learned that what it was, was creativity and total involvement in the work. Now I have a whole new understanding of the word creativity -which before I thought only belonged to doing great works, in my line of work, high quality furniture, cabinets, etc. Of course, to make a good living, most of my work involved construction, shopfitting etc., stuff one would not generally consider "creative," However, now I see oven cleaning and floor sweeping and other such seemingly mundane daily chores, can be creative because it's not just "what" one is doing, but most important "how" one is doing it. The quality one puts into something is determined by ones attitude. Here the attitude is of trust and love for our Master, which reflects through our approach to life in the love we put into the work and share together. This was missing for me before in my life and work. Now everything 1 do is out of love and enjoyment. The Master merely acts as a mirror. Through openining our hearts to the Master, we open our hearts to life. Bhagwan need say nothing any longer, for his presence is enough inspiration for his people to live his vision. In one word, this vision is 'love.' A loving society - something remarkable amidst this desert like world of violence, hate, wars, etc.: where else can so much work be completed, as has been in the last 3 months here, and with so much enjoyment, free of tension. The terminology for work has actually become worship, just to clarify the distinction between working out of love and working out of necessity and unwillingness. Please carefully and sincerely consider Bhagwan's application for resident status in the US and try to realize the privilege for any country to be graced with the presence of such a man. A man who represents a bold new experiment in an approach to life (new at least to this day and age), an inspiration to an ever-increasing number of people. The foundations of the US were laid in the true pioneering spirit, and such people of the calibre of Bhagwan can only add to the richness of its heritage. The quality of love and understanding does not limit itself to any one field or aspect of life, rather it permeates everything and enhances everything it touches. Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh is a rare man and a rare gift to the world, at a time when world destruction is not such a far-away fantasy. There is no time for discrimination, religious or otherwise, till now there has been too much already in the name of this God and that God - all foolishness! America is privileged with the title "Land of the Free; Home of the Brave." Let's wake up to what's here on our shores. The sooner the better. Yours sincerely |
(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.)
