Wild Wild Country - The story of Osho
When a controversial guru builds a utopian city in the Oregon desert, it causes a massive conflict with local ranchers. This docuseries chronicles the conflict, which leads to the first bioterror attack in the United States and a massive case of illegal wiretapping. It is a pivotal, but largely forgotten, time in American cultural history that tested the country's tolerance for the separation of church and state.
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I thoroughly enjoyed this series on Netflix and it has stayed with me for days afterwards - it was very moving. Osho had all the right ideas - all the right foundations to create a wonderful paradise - but like so many organisations that use sexuality at its core, trouble started very quickly and long before they ever made it to the USA. Scroll down to read more about a spiritual group from India who have struggled, but survived and received numerous UN Peace Prizes for their work.
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Wild Wild Country | Official Trailer CLICK HERE
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Wild Wild Country, a docuseries from producers Mark and Jay Duplass, tells a story of a "New Age sex cult" that attempted to take over an Oregon town with poison, fire, and manipulation. (At least, according to one perspective on the community at the center of this doc series.) The true story of the community of Rajneeshpuram is one little discussed in American history — but fascinating all the same.
This piece of American history actually begins in India. Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh was an Indian guru who preached open sexuality. He spent the '70s recruiting followers, called "neo-sannyasins," into his spiritual teachings. In 1981, following conflict with the ruling party in India and traditional religious groups (and one assassination attempt by a Hindu fundamentalist), Rajneesh relocated to Oregon, where he planned to open his own commune with 2,000 of his followers. He named the 100-square-mile ranch, which was just outside the town of Antelope, Oregon, Rancho Rajneesh. Their commune was known as Rajneeshpuram — a supposedly "utopian" society.
Rajneesh's followers lived on the ranch and worked for free. They worshipped Rajneesh. They dressed in bright, orange-red robes. To say that they stood out amongst the conservative Oregonians was an understatement. However, the real problems arose when Rajneesh's second-in-command, Ma Anand Sheela, began to expand the ranch, despite Oregon laws that restricted what could be built — and how many could be housed — on the property.
Ma Anand Sheela & Osho is happier times
An extensive 2011 article series from The Oregonian's Les Zaitz detailed the more destructive behaviors of the members of the commune. Per Zaitz' report, Sheela attempted to turn Rancho Rajneesh into its very own city, but was met with intense pushback from the local government, environmental group, and even citizens intolerant of this new organization. In 1983, a hotel owned by the Rajneesh was bombed. Sheela and Rajneesh concluded that the only way to secure their new home's expansion, and the safety of their followers, was to control the government.
Though Sheela and Rajneesh were not always on the same page (he warned his followers that she was "jealous" and could hurt those close to him), she was given a great deal of power within the ranch.
A small group, headed by Sheela, went to poison grocery stores in The Dalles — a city with an open county seat — with salmonella in order to help sway a local election in the commune's favor. (The commune made their own food, thus would not be susceptible to the salmonella poisoning, which could keep residents of The Dalles from the voting booths.) Ultimately, the plan failed.
The group also bussed in homeless people from around the country, promising alcohol, food, and shelter, in order to rig local elections.
In a more aggressive measure, the group allegedly poisoned Wasco County commissioner Bill Hulse by offering him contaminated water on a hot day. He was taken to the hospital, where he stayed for four days. Afterwards, he publicly stated that the sannyasins poisoned him.
The sannyasins, on the orders of Sheela and Rajneesh, took the poisoning one step further by contaminating restaurants in The Dalles. Many fell ill. When the group was fined for illegally wiring tents in preparation for a festival, they poisoned city officials as well.
Sheela, meanwhile, became extra paranoid, and made sure that any members who protested her leadership choices were forced out of the ranch.
Those choices included burning down the office of Dan Durow, the Wasco County planner who halted the ranch's expansion, per Zaitz' Oregonian series. Ultimately, the office suffered only minor fire and water damage.
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According to Zaitz' account, the last big move by Sheela and her small faction within Rajneeshpuram involved straight-up assassination plans. While multiple people were targeted outside of Rajneeshpuram, only Rajneesh's doctor, Swami Devaraj, came close to death. Sheela had told her followers that Devaraj was a threat to the guru, and thus must be killed. He nearly died after one of Sheela's followers injected him with a dose of adrenaline.
Not long after the attempted murder of Devaraj, Sheela quit her post at the ranch following pushback from the other sannyasins. It opened the floodgates for other members of the commune to come forward and admit their own criminal activities. Rajneesh told them to be honest with authorities. Rajneesh himself was eventually deported from the United States. He died in India in 1990. Sheela served prison time, then moved to Switzerland.
The gritty details, of course, are all available for viewing in Wild, Wild Country. It's certainly a tale that needs to be seen to be believed.
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- NOT RELATED TO OSHO IN ANY WAY -
One of the worlds largest spiritual organisations is the group below. Not related to Osho in any way - and has numerous UN Peace Prizes for work undertaken globally.
The Brahma Kumaris are a religious movement that originated in Hyderabad, Sindh, during the 1930s The Brahma Kumaris (Sanskrit: ब्रह्माकुमारी, "Daughters of Brahma" movement was founded by Lekhraj Kripalani. The organisation is affiliated with the United Nations and is known for the prominent role that women play in the movement.
It teaches a form of meditation that focuses on identity as souls, as opposed to bodies. They believe that all souls are intrinsically good and that God is the source of all goodness.
The organisation teaches to transcend labels associated with the body, such as race, nationality, religion, and gender, and it aspires to establish a global culture based on what it calls "soul-consciousness".
In 2008, the movement claimed to have more than 825,000 regular students, with over 8,500 centres in 100 countries
To read more - click on the link below.
This is the BK's venue just outside Oxford. There are hundreds of others all over the world.
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