A remarkable and amazing story. It's interesting to see how hate was met with hate, anger with anger, violence with violence, and the whole thing came tumbling down. Antelope residents got their town back, but it wasn't the same anymore.
Compare this story to the story of Fairfield, Iowa where many of the same kind of emotions and devotion were present, in this case toward Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, founder of Maharishi University of Management that was once Parsons College. The difference was that in Fairfield, the "Ru's" (short for "gurus") as the TM people were called, met hate with love, anger with acceptance, and chose to participate with the original Fairfield residents in creating a better community. As a result, the violence and hatred that was present in the early days in Fairfield has disappeared. The Mayor is a "Ru" who has served nine terms and been re-elected by both non-TMers as well as devoted TM practitioners.
For whatever reasons, Osho did not culture that quality of love and acceptance among his followers and so Rajneeshpuram became a Christian country club for teenagers rather than a monument to the power of his teachings.
Seems to me there's a lesson there for all of us. How will we choose to respond to those who criticize us or oppose us?
Compare this story to the story of Fairfield, Iowa where many of the same kind of emotions and devotion were present, in this case toward Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, founder of Maharishi University of Management that was once Parsons College. The difference was that in Fairfield, the "Ru's" (short for "gurus") as the TM people were called, met hate with love, anger with acceptance, and chose to participate with the original Fairfield residents in creating a better community. As a result, the violence and hatred that was present in the early days in Fairfield has disappeared. The Mayor is a "Ru" who has served nine terms and been re-elected by both non-TMers as well as devoted TM practitioners.
For whatever reasons, Osho did not culture that quality of love and acceptance among his followers and so Rajneeshpuram became a Christian country club for teenagers rather than a monument to the power of his teachings.
Seems to me there's a lesson there for all of us. How will we choose to respond to those who criticize us or oppose us?