Testimonial letters: Difference between revisions

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| data-sort-value="Vanonni" | [[Testimonial letter from Gianni Vanonni | Gianni Vanonni ]] || researcher, Interdisciplinary Research Center, University of Florence, IT || 1983-07-23 || data-sort-value="0082" |A-82 || hand, <br>Italian
| data-sort-value="Vanonni" | [[Testimonial letter from Gianni Vanonni | Gianni Vanonni ]] || researcher, Interdisciplinary Research Center, University of Florence, IT || 1983-07-23 || data-sort-value="0082" |A-82 || hand, <br>Italian
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| data-sort-value="Ellwood" | [[Testimonial letter from Robert S Ellwood | Robert S Ellwood ]] || professor Oriental studies, University of Southern California, Los Angeles || 1983-07-19 || data-sort-value="0083" |A-83 ||  
| data-sort-value="Ellwood" | [[Testimonial letter from Robert S Ellwood | Robert S Ellwood ]] || professor Oriental studies, University of Southern California, Los Angeles || 1983-07-19 || data-sort-value="0083" |A-83 || [[#enclosures|enclosure]]
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| colspan="5"| Ellwood's letter encloses two pages from a bio of [[wikipedia:Ramana Maharshi|Ramana Maharshi]] to illustrate the concept of teaching in silence
|-
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| data-sort-value="Martin" | [[Testimonial letter from Prof Dr theol Gerhard Marcel Martin | Prof Dr theol Gerhard Marcel Martin ]] || professor practical theology, University of Marburg, Marburg DE || 1983-07-22 || data-sort-value="0084" |A-84 ||  
| data-sort-value="Martin" | [[Testimonial letter from Prof Dr theol Gerhard Marcel Martin | Prof Dr theol Gerhard Marcel Martin ]] || professor practical theology, University of Marburg, Marburg DE || 1983-07-22 || data-sort-value="0084" |A-84 ||  
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| data-sort-value="Abelson" | [[Testimonial letter from Roger Abelson | Roger Abelson ]] || executive director, National Jewish Chamber of Commerce, San Francisco CA || 1983-07-10 || data-sort-value="0088" |A-88 ||  
| data-sort-value="Abelson" | [[Testimonial letter from Roger Abelson | Roger Abelson ]] || executive director, National Jewish Chamber of Commerce, San Francisco CA || 1983-07-10 || data-sort-value="0088" |A-88 ||  
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| data-sort-value="Choquette" | [[Testimonial letter from Diane Choquette | Diane Choquette ]] || head of New Religious Movements research, Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley CA || 1983-07-19 || data-sort-value="0089" |A-89 ||
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| data-sort-value="Hills" | [[Testimonial letter from Rev Ken H Hills | Rev Ken H Hills ]] || priest, Church of England, Birmingham UK || 1983-07-29 || data-sort-value="0090" |A-90 ||
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| data-sort-value="Voisin" | [[Testimonial letter from Carol Voisin | Carol Voisin ]] || president, Berkeley Area Interfaith Council, Berkeley CA || 1983-07-20 || data-sort-value="0091" |A-91 ||
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| data-sort-value="Shinkai" | [[Testimonial letter from Shinkai Tanaka | Shinkai Tanaka ]] || Zen temple master, Kameoka-shi Japan || 1983-07-12 || data-sort-value="0092" |A-92 ||
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| data-sort-value="Sun Bear" | [[Testimonial letter from Sun Bear | Sun Bear ]] || Medicine Chief, Bear Tribe Medicine Society, Spokane WA || 1983-08-02 || data-sort-value="0093" |A-93 ||
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| data-sort-value="Sugawara" | [[Testimonial letter from Kou Sugawara | Kou Sugawara ]] || head priest Goseiji Temple Foundation, Japan || undated || data-sort-value="0094" |A-94 ||


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===footnotes===
====enclosures====
[[image:uc5.jpg|50px]] At this time, we are not sure how to treat enclosures, if at all. For now brief descriptions can go here. All enclosures will in any case appear with their letters on the individual letter pages.
[[Testimonial letter from Robert S Ellwood|Robert Ellwood's letter]] (exhibit # A-83) encloses two pages from a bio of [[wikipedia:Ramana Maharshi|Ramana Maharshi]] to illustrate the concept of teaching in silence.


[[Category:Testimonial letters| ]]
[[Category:Testimonial letters| ]]

Revision as of 08:49, 23 April 2022

Under constructionUnder construction

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
Christopher F Mooney professor religious studies, Fairfield University, Fairfield CT 1983-08-11 A-71
Herbert Dale Long professor religious studies, San Francisco Theological Seminary, San Anselmo CA 1983-07-13 A-72
Robert Aitken Zen master, Diamond Sangha, Honolulu HI 1983-07-22 A-73
Drs Jan Bergers Catholic priest, educator, Baak NL 1983-07-16 A-74
Lorraine Thomas lecturer psychology, religious studies, runs mental health clinic, Palmerston North NZ 1983-08-22 A-76
Margareta Skog researcher Stockholm Institute of the Sociology of Religion, Stockholm SE 1983-07-21 A-77
prof Vittorio Giavotto president, Centro Ghe-Pel-Ling, Milano IT 1983-07-18 A-78
Dr Hans-Jürgen Greschat professor history of religions University of Marburg, Marburg DE 1983-07-19 A-79
David Thomas Kyle PhD college teacher philosophy and religion, writer, counselor, Woodside CA 1983-08-01 A-80
Gianni Vanonni researcher, Interdisciplinary Research Center, University of Florence, IT 1983-07-23 A-82 hand,
Italian
Robert S Ellwood professor Oriental studies, University of Southern California, Los Angeles 1983-07-19 A-83 enclosure
Prof Dr theol Gerhard Marcel Martin professor practical theology, University of Marburg, Marburg DE 1983-07-22 A-84
Leonard A Voegtle, AMS Provincial Superior, Marist Brothers (a Catholic order), Wheeling WV 1983-07-15 A-85
Dr Warren J Stagg, ND, DD, PhD associated with HELP Unlimited inc (non-profit religious, scientific and educational foundation) Hollywood CA 1983-07-14 A-86
(illegible x3) three officials of the Lama Tzong Khapa Institute, Pomaia IT 1983-07-27 A-87
Roger Abelson executive director, National Jewish Chamber of Commerce, San Francisco CA 1983-07-10 A-88
Diane Choquette head of New Religious Movements research, Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley CA 1983-07-19 A-89
Rev Ken H Hills priest, Church of England, Birmingham UK 1983-07-29 A-90
Carol Voisin president, Berkeley Area Interfaith Council, Berkeley CA 1983-07-20 A-91
Shinkai Tanaka Zen temple master, Kameoka-shi Japan 1983-07-12 A-92
Sun Bear Medicine Chief, Bear Tribe Medicine Society, Spokane WA 1983-08-02 A-93
Kou Sugawara head priest Goseiji Temple Foundation, Japan undated A-94


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, do not indicate a "position" of authority or expertise and write in more devotional, flowery 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
CPA van Esch studied theology and philosophy, Ubbergen NL 1983-07-17 A-67 question
Jörg Marxen church counselor --> clinical psychologist, Braunschweig DE 1983-07-23 A-68 question
Ma Deva Anurago minister Dutch Reformed Church --> journalist 1983-07-16 A-69
Christiane van der Spieren teacher of Catholic religion, Mechelen BE undated A-70 question
Michael Leger * Christian missionary --> ecology 1983-07-23 A-75
Ma Deva Sadhana philosophy, comparative religion 1983-07-23 A-81 hand

footnotes

enclosures

At this time, we are not sure how to treat enclosures, if at all. For now brief descriptions can go here. All enclosures will in any case appear with their letters on the individual letter pages.

Robert Ellwood's letter (exhibit # A-83) encloses two pages from a bio of Ramana Maharshi to illustrate the concept of teaching in silence.