Hi there

This made very interesting listening. I think you can still hear it (until Sunday) on the 'Listen Again' facility on BBC Radio 4:

[www.bbc.co.uk]

and scroll down to the letter 'R'.

It seems that (with the exception of Tim) the other people seemed to be still pretty caught up in the whole Rajneesh mindset (and culty mindet). I felt quite annoyed at the interviewer for seeming to 'go along' with what the people were saying, not stepping in and challenging them (my dad was/is Rajneesh, so I guess I have a very visceral reaction to the whole subject).

But perhaps the programme is more subtle than I originally felt, and exposes the self justification of these people to a t.

I don't know, what do you make of it? I'd be curious to know.

Sorry, I should have said that the programme is called 'The Reunion'.

Quote
starry
Hi ry visceral reaction to the whole subject).

But perhaps the programme is more subtle than I originally felt, and exposes the self justification of these people to a t.

I don't know, what do you make of it? I'd be curious to know.

I don't know if I can stand to listen to any more Rajneesh apologia as I live in a area full of those still in denial. However, was the "Tim" the same Tim who wrote the Rajneesh book "My Life In Orange"? That is an excellent book and a must read for anybody interested in the Rajneesh phenomenon. It always amazes me how many apologists for that guy there STILL are, who like to just say "all that bad stuff? Oh, that was just Ma Sheela?"

Yeah, right.

Yes, it was the same Tim, and I really must read his book. He sounds like an interesting chap, and I felt that what he was saying in the 'Reunion' was completely overlooked/dismissed by the others.

I'm finding it quite hard to get to grips with the Rajneesh thing. There seem to be so few people who are speaking out about this (apart from here, and I'm so glad I've found this board). Why is it that more people aren't speaking out?

Starry,

I think that you've raised a very interesting and relevant question about the relative silence surrounding the subject of sannyas. With the exception of apologists like Anne Geraghty (mother of Tim Guest (author of [i:804eab283c]'My life in Orange[/i:804eab283c]), centre/group leader and cliical psychologist) & Co. and a few authors worldwide, there is what seems like a veil of secrecy over the subject.

It is a very complex subject and few seem willing to deal with the conflicting concepts and emotions involved in trying to make sense of it.

However, thousands of ex-sannyasins are attempting to recover from the Thought Reform imposed on them over many years and, at the same time, trying to survive in a world, which over many years they were conditioned to fear, hate and reject.

It seems that sannyasins (including ex) have a over-inflated sense of loyalty to a system that ultimately betrayed, exploited, abused and then spat them out without a thought for how they would survive in the very world that they'd rejected years earlier. How many organisations (especially spiritual!!!) that benefited from the free labour of dedicated live-in 'workers' for years on end would unceremoniously release them back into the world with only the value of a return ticket to whereever they came from before entering the commune??

Regenerate

Thanks so much for replying to this too.

I remember being really struck, when I first started trying to find more information about this group and their doings, there seemed to be so little out there. And [i:062600497a]so much [/i:062600497a]of it was written by people that obviously still really believed in it all. I was really confused, I almost started doubting my own perceptions and conclusions. It's so reassuring to hear your own thoughts and experiences.

[i:062600497a]Why[/i:062600497a] is there this veil of secrecy? Is it because a lot of what they did was just so shocking and screwed up so many people's lives so badly? But aren't there other cults out there like this? They seem to get the coverage...was this one worse, more insidious? Did it push things that much further? I don't know...

I've found a book on Amazon, I'm going to see if I can get it fom our Local library. It's by Lewis F. Carter, [i:062600497a]Charisma and Control in Rajneeshpuram[/i:062600497a]. Sounds very interesting.
I don't know...