Testimonial letters

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This page is the central ("master") page for an amazing collection of letters from people all over the world attesting to Osho's superlative qualities as a religious teacher. Most were from sannyasins but an impressive subset were from non-sannyasins, writing in their professional capacities as academics or even some officials of nominally "competing" religions, from Catholic priests to Zen teachers. The letters were used to help with Osho's attempt to get permanent resident status in the US at the time of the Oregon ranch.

the story

Osho arrived in the US Jun 1 1981 and stayed in "Kip's Castle", part of Chidvilas Rajneesh Meditation Center, Montclair, in New Jersey. The Ranch was purchased in early Jul but Osho did not move there until Aug 31. (Source for dates in this account is Roshani's Chronology of Events Relating to Rajneeshpuram, Oregon (source document), unless otherwise noted.)

He first arrived on a visitor's visa. On Oct 23 1981, he applied for an extension of that until Mar 1 1982, based on the need for medical treatment. On Nov 24 1981 he applied for permanent US resident status as a religious leader and teacher.

After Osho's visitor visa expired in Jun 1982, he was allowed to stay in the country while his religious leader status was being considered. The decision came on Dec 21 1982; the US Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) denied Osho's application for permanent resident status. He was given one month to launch an appeal, or else be deported.

Two days later, Osho's lawyers announced they would appeal the INS' decision within 15 days, contesting every aspect. They said that the INS was looking for reasons to reject Osho's applications, noting especially the rudeness and hostility of INS officials at their Dec 22 press conference.

On Jan 5 1983, sannyasins filed their appeal in the INS' regional office in Minneapolis, mentioning five specific grounds:
1. Osho met all requirements as a religious leader
2. the INS misinterpreted and misapplied relevant statutes
3. the INS overstepped their authority in defining a religious worker, eg in saying that Osho could not teach or lead if he was in public silence
4. the INS failed to provide Osho's attorneys with various findings, so they were unable to respond
5. the INS acted arbitrarily and out of prejudice, discriminating on the basis of their own religious beliefs and limited understanding.

the letters

That filing was followed by months of legal wrangling, jostling and jockeying for position. It is not clear when in this process the idea arose and was implemented to collect the testimonial letters but, judging from the letters' dates, it was likely in early Jul of 1983.

And they came thick and fast. Over 2700 letters were sent or forwarded to the INS from all over the world. The letters were kept by Osho's immigration lawyer, Jeffrey Noles of Portland, who eventually ^[when?] donated them to the Oregon Historical Society, based in Portland.

The letters are only a small part of Noles' collection, comprising one box plus most of a second box of documents out of seven boxes in all. A correspondent contacted the OHS and, as of Mar 2022, has obtained and shared pdfs of images of all of the letters with the wiki. We will index them here, and link them eventually to individual pages with the image and a searchable text version. Later we will try to get the same for the other files in Noles' collection

Information on the whole Noles collection can be found at this page. "Series A", also called "Exhibit A", of that collection, by far the largest section, contains "documents used in the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh immigration case that were organized into folders based on the subject. Documents were used as evidence in an attempt to argue his importance and fame all over the world as a religious figure. Includes photocopies of letters, examples of published works, materials from various Rajneesh organizations and information about his religious beliefs and activities both in India and the United States. Includes a few color brochures and an introductory pamphlet". The section dealing with the letters is:

Subseries 1: Letters "attesting to His exceptional ability and international acclaim"
Individual letters of support from all over the world for Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh to gain citizenship in the United States.

The wiki is grateful to the OHS for making access available for these documents.

Testimonial letters listed in the tables below will be presented in two categories, non-sannyasins and sannyasins, each sortable by any criterion by clicking on the column headers. The "notes" column is a bit of a catchall containing various possible bits of information for which separate columns were deemed excessive. In that column, "hand" denotes handwritten letters, a language indicates the original language of the letter if not English, with both that version and a translation available, and "question" denotes authors whose status as sannyasin/non is ambiguous. Uploading the letter images and creating searchable text versions will take some time but will be automated as much as possible after a smooth system is set up. Patience please ....

non-sannyasins

Non-sannyasins who wrote letters in support of Osho as a religious leader or teacher were mostly professionals in various academic fields and religious officials. Their offerings were solicited mainly by people who knew them, as sannyasins come from a multitude of professional backgrounds. Sorting criterion for the non-sannyasins is their surname, usually but not always their last name, depending on their culture of origin.

name	position	date	exhibit #	notes
Douglas V Steere	professor philosophy, Haverford College, Haverford PA	1983-07-16	A-1
Peter M Kuntz	scholar law & theology, Princeton University	1983-07-21	A-2
Daniel Matt	professor Judaic studies, Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley CA	1983-07-20	A-3	hand
Douglas K Huneke	pastor, Westminster United Presbyterian Church, Tiburon CA	1983-07-13	A-4
Mitsuo Aoki	Dept of Religion, University of Hawaii	1983-07-12	A-5
Kazuyoshi Kino	research and mission work in Buddhism, Vice President, Hosen Gakuen Junior College, Tokyo	1983-07-14	A-6
Frederick Partington	Anglican priest, head of Counseling Courses, Middlesex Polytechnic, UK	1983-07-18	A-7
Joseph H Gelberman	rabbi, Tree of Life Synagogue, NYC	1983-07-26	A-8
Michael Ziegler	rabbi, Piedmont CA	1983-07-20	A-9
Ulrike Eichhoff	protestant vicar (F), Nörten-Hardenberg, Germany	undated	A-10	hand
Gregorio	Archimandrite of Turin (Russian Patriarchal Church), Italy	1983-07-18	A-11	Italian
(illegible)	National President of the Venerable Permanent Counsel, Orthodox Church of Italy in Florence	1983-07-10	A-13
Dr. Gabriel Looser	Dr of Theology, Catholic hospital ministry, Bern, Switzerland	1983-07-15	A-14	German
Diane Mintz	MA rabbinic literature and education, Kensington CA	1983-07-20	A-15
Reuho Yamada	head priest of Choshoji Temple, Beppu Japan	1983-07-15	A-16
Klaus Bieger	Protestant theologian, Kiel, Germany	1983-07-20	A-18
Revd. Dr. Chad Varah	Prebendary of St Paul's Cathedral, London	1983-08-04	A-19
RC Gordon-McCutchan, PhD	professor American religious history, University of California, Santa Barbara	1983-07-23	A-21
Felicitas D Goodman, PhD	professor (ret'd) anthropology and linguistics, Denison University, Granville OH	1983-07-27	A-22
Rabbi Elihu Kestenbaum	Orthodox rabbi	1983-07-19	A-23
Ronald H D'Angelo	Catholic priest + certified psychoanalyst	1983-07-26	A-24
Rev Frank Stribling	minister of Sanctuary of Light Church, San Antonio TX	1983-07-15	A-25
Rev JC Whight	Anglican priest, Australia	1983-07-22	A-28
Ronald O Clarke	professor religious studies, Oregon State University	1983-07-26	A-29
Ted A Nordquist, Fil.dr.	researcher history of religion, Uppsala University Sweden	1983-07-15	A-32
DJ Michalka	psychologist, Perth, Australia	1983-07-18	A-33	hand
Robert John Egan	Jesuit priest, teacher, philosophy, theology, Jesuit School of Theology, Berkeley CA	1983-07-18	A-37
Kathryn J Raban	theology, "special needs" teacher, Loughborough UK	1983-07-16	A-40	hand
Dr Hermann Steinkamp	Dean of theology, Münster University, Germany	1983-07-20	A-42
Dr Agnete Kutar	PhD, lecturer Indology, Free University of Berlin, Germany	1983-07-25	A-43
Zen Master Seung Sahn	Korean Zen master, Providence RI	1983-07-20	A-45
Alfred Bloom	professor religion University of Hawaii	1983-07-16	A-46
Rev Terry Cole-Whittaker	minister (live + TV), motivational speaker, author, San Diego CA	1983-07-15	A-48
Dr Jim Garrison	writer, director, East-West Reach, London	1983-07-18	A-50
Rev Thomas D Cammack	Community Caring Project, San Francisco	1983-07-19	A-51
Masanori Oe	translator Tibetan Buddhism, Yamanashi-ken Japan	1983-07-21	A-52
Masaaki Monju	temple master Jitokuin, Kyoto Japan	1983-07-14	A-53
Koku Nishimura	Second Patriarch, Tani School, Fuke Zen Sect, Kumamoto-shi Japan	1983-07-19	A-54
Jorgen Thorndal Larsen	philosophy - religion - science intersection, Copenhagen	undated	A-55
MC Blackden	teacher religion and theology	1983-07-21	A-56
K Staub	theology, sociology, School for Social Work, Vienna	1983-07-15	A-59	German
Sister Ann McNeil	Tibetan Buddhist nun aka Ani Lobsang Dolma, Berkeley CA	1983-07-20	A-60
Rev James A Gattuso	founder, Center of New Thought, Philosophy Church and Education Society, Akron OH	1983-07-17	A-61
A Durwood Foster	professor Christian Theology, Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley CA	1983-07-15	A-63
Rev Richard Douglas Cain	chaplain Churchill College, Cambridge UK	1983-07-20	A-65
Jean-Yves Leloup	doctorates in theology, philosophy and psychology, professor École de théologie, Toulouse FR	1983-07-24	A-66	French

sannyasins

The letters from sannyasins often cite their prior religious history in order to illustrate Osho's teaching and how it has profoundly improved their lives and understanding of religion. Links will lead to their letters, not their personal pages, which may not exist. The sorting criterion for the name columns is the name they are most likely to have been known or be recognized by, usually their last name. In cases where only a legal name is given (asterisked), sorting criterion will be their first name.

Note that there is a small subgroup here, denoted by "question" in the "notes" column, whose status vis-a-vis sannyas is unclear. These few cases have not declared their status one way or another but do not indicate a "position" of authority or expertise and write in more devotional or "sannyas-metaphysical" terms. They have been deemed sannyasins for now.

name	background	date	exhibit #	notes
Sw Deva Paritosh	Catholic monk --> psychotherapist	1983-07-14	A-12
Sw Deva Siddhartha	philosophy, theology, Catholic priest	1983-07-16	A-17
Ma Prem Samadhi	theology and psychology	1983-07-20	A-20
Ma Prem Hamido	Catholic nun, secular teacher	1983-07-19	A-26
Eva-Maria Debes *	religion teacher	1983-07-17	A-27	German
Sw Devananda	stock trader --> metaphysics, religious studies	1983-07-28	A-30
Sw Prem Gayano	psychology of religion	1983-07-19	A-31
Sw Deva Ojas	Catholic monk, priest --> adult education	1983-07-18	A-34
Ma Deva Pyari	teacher of German and religion	1983-07-18	A-35	hand
Robert Lazeres *	Carmelite monk, philosophy	1983-07-23	A-36
Ülo Johannes Luuka *	protestant priest --> professor social work	1983-07-17	A-38
Sw Antar Dhiren	protestant minister, BA theology	1983-08-22	A-39
Sw Veet Sangharsh	Lutheran minister --> Quakers + Zen studies	1983-07-21	A-41
Ma Sambodhi	radio + TV talk shows, screenwriter --> minister	1983-07-20	A-44
Ursel-Renata Krüsi *	theology --> psychotherapy	1983-07-19	A-47	German
Sabine Hindelang *	theology, history of Lutheranism	1983-07-20	A-49
Sw Bodhimitra	teacher, minister, United Church of Religious Science	undated	A-57
Sw Dhyan Herbert	professor, science of art and semiotics, Institute for Sacred Art, Vienna	1983-07-17	A-58	German
Sw Anand Alok	immigrant from China to US, math, ethics, theology, counseling, minister	1983-07-19	A-62
Sw Anand Kamalesh	Jesuit --> clinical psychologist	1983-07-18	A-64