When the Big Muddy Ranch in central Oregon became Rajneeshpuram, I visited there regularly. At first I was welcomed by warm and happy people, eager to show me their gardens and agriculture. I was impressed. My only reservation was the lack of children and the impermanence of the buildings. Still I believed it was a place of goodwill and interesting ideas. In the following years there was a tension about the place. It became evident that there was a pretty stringent class structure with a very few haves and a whole lot of over-worked have-nots. When the poisonings occurred I saw the results from the other side, as I was dating a county judge at the time.What happened here? I think a lot of well meaning people couldn't bear to realize that they were in pirates' hands.
Years later I found an old LP of Shri Rajneesh talking. I played it on the air in the middle of the night. It was hilariously wise. Among his sayings: Don't just do something. Stand there.
Things could have turned out differently.
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