Bhagwan Shree Rashneesh

Yea, it's really amazing.  Brings back a lot of memories from that time but I never knew anyone that was involved with them.

Sheela is a real piece of work.

I saw a Dead show sometime circa 1985 and Bob Weir opened the show by asking the audience “By show of hands, how many people think think Bhagwan Shree Rashneesh is a victim of persecution “ or something to that effect. That was pretty odd, I thought.

The Neeshies used to come into town to chill when the desert heat got too much for them. They tried to solicit money and new residents for their city. They didn't get much of either.

I like how they imported homeless derelicts from around the country to boost their numbers for local elections and then shipped them back when the elections were over.

I know a few older attorneys who worked on the land use fights with the group and my partners uncle actually ran off to Oregon from Philly to join them.

I knew a couple of them, after everything went down and Osho had passed away.  One was a guy who would crash at my boyfriend's house when he was in town to visit his mom in federal prison .  He was young but grew up with the group in OR and Poona, which is where the group ended up.  The other was a super nice and quiet lady who lives in Marin.  From what I understand the people in the group maintained friendships and community and there are quite a few in Mill Valley.  Some are still followers although I can't say whether the folks I know are still believers or just run in those circles.

There were a ton of them who passed through or lived here (Santa Cruz) in the early 80's.  I worked at a backpack shop downtown at the time and we would see them a lot.  Of course they could only wear items that were in a certain color spectrum (oranges and reds, but it seemed to be somewhat loosely interpreted), so we made sure to have a lot of selection in those colors.  One item that evoked a big emotional response in their ranks were purple daypacks... we must have sold a couple hundred of those alone as word spread through their community.

And we got to somewhat know the ones who were repeat customers, and they were sweet and very easy going.  And I don't remember them ever being preachy or trying to proselytize. 

Of course we used to joke about him having a jet and fleet of Rolls Royces, and no one was too surprised when news came about the criminal charges.  Having experienced a mini-cult myself, I did feel bad for his victims.  And I seem to remember the Goodwill being swamped with orange and red clothing (but not purple daypacks!).

"and then shipped them back when the elections were over."

They actually shipped them back before the election after the county clerk denied their right to register to vote (which does appear to have been a stretch of the law).  It seems to me that if they had been a bit more aware of public relations that they would have been able to continue their experiment.  But there's enough blame to go around on all sides as far as I can tell.

Just watched the last episode and not to give any spoilers but Sheela does have a bit of redemption.

They were before my time in the PNW.  The perception growing up back East was they were a little violent.  

I  had some positive interactions with Sri Satchidananda's devotees from Yogaville, Virginia when I lived in Charlottesville.  They lived pretty authentically, taking care of themselves, raising produce and beekeeping.  They live about 30 miles south of Charlottesville, where things get more conservative, but established themselves as good neighbors by starting a volunteer fire department.

Satchidananda gave the invocation at Woodstock, and was the first Indian guru to start a commune in the U.S.  Yogaville doesn't get the  attention of Rajneeshpuram, perhaps because they have avoided notoriety.  

I worked at their health food store when I was in Charlottesville, and they always struck me as people who were walking the walk.

The Rajneesh?  I'm not so sure.

>>>>It seems to me that if they had been a bit more aware of public relations that they would have been able to continue their experiment

That would be a bit of an understatement.  There were a lot of otherwise intelligent and capable professional types in that group.   Instead of buying yet another Rolls Royce for guru dude, they could have hired a PR consultant or at least be a little more neighborly. 

That being said, the idea of buying up land with your friends, incorporating yourself into a bona fide municipality, and electing yourself mayor, police chief, etc. always had a certain appeal.

There were times when Eugene was awash in people wearing red, orange and burgundy. People on their way to Rajneeshpuram (sp?) and then those leaving. I was acquainted with some of them and they all seemed to be nice. It was a colorful time in Oregon.

Had a friend who was a follower.  Changed his name to something he said translated to Swami Orgasmic Unity.

PZ Bonus Fact.  There was a Zoner with the same actual, full name (One those Zoners who posted with his real, full name who was not Jeff Duke.) as this friend.

Lily had a friend who was a follower and abandoned her family to follow him.

Both of these folks were fairly efftup before donning the maroon outfits.

I had a friend change his name too (Tom to Atasa),  while I've always been one to challenge and ridicule institutions (gvmt / org religion, etc),  I figured I'd be nice and read a lengthy paper written by the Bhagwan (or however you spell his freaking name, lol).

It was actually pretty good, well thought out, articulate, and a completely fresh point of view, so I could see why my friend liked it.  It essentially said that the more politicians you had, the more prisoners you had (larger prison population).  Made total sense and was actually really good reading...  that must have been 30 years ago when they were out near Antelope Oregon (great rockhounding country).  Needless to say, I'm not religious, so it was just an interesting read to me...   no devotion to words or ideas here, just enjoyed a fresh take on things...   

Other than that one paper, I thought they were all nuttier than Squirrel shit!   

He was definitely brilliant, read the Wiki page about him.  He took a lot of ideas from other philosophies and blended them into his own unique brand which obviously appealed to a lot of people (and does to this day).  There's a lot to admire about his basic belief system, and most of the regular followers do come across as well meaning and sincere.  A lot of it also comes across as downright creepy but that's always my reaction to any type of "cult" consciousness. 

MAGA?

Here is the basic belief system of those folks:

"Never obey anyone's command unless it is coming from within you also.

There is no God other than life itself.

Truth is within you, do not search for it elsewhere.

Love is prayer.

To become a nothingness is the door to truth. Nothingness itself is the means, the goal and attainment.

Life is now and here.

Live wakefully.

Do not swim—float.

Die each moment so that you can be new each moment.

Do not search. That which is, is. Stop and see."

Some of this sounds good on paper, but the stuff about not searching and not obeying commands seems to run counter to how the whole cult was actually run. 

They definitely skirt the drug issue in the documentary.

>>>>>There's a lot to admire about his basic belief system,

Believed in owning lots of Rolls-Royces.

"Believed in owning lots of Rolls-Royces."

Not one of the aspects that I was referring to.

If you remember the cover band Living Earth from Philly the keyboardist was a follower.most recently I had seen he played with keystone revisited.