The flight, from the ranch,
occurred on October 28, 1985; Rajneesh did not arrive back in Oregon until
November 7 or 8th, 1985; ten - eleven days later.
I am speculating, not because I really know
anything, but, because it makes sense, that the reason for the long delay was
the authorities wanted to make sure he understood what incarceration would be
like.
At the ranch, Rajneesh was
treated like a god. He was the center of
attention, and everyone worshipped him.
He could do no wrong.
His every desire was met, he had
Rolls Royces to drive, he had expensive clothes and jewelry to wear, anything he
wanted was given to him. Not only was he
living a life of luxury, but the whole commune centered on him; he was the
reason for its existence.
Now, he was in the custody of
the Federal Government and his life was about to take a 180 degree turn.
There are three ways of
transporting prisoners; smaller vehicles like cars or vans, a bus or by
plane. If they use the vans or busses,
most prisoner transporting goes from point A to point B with several stops along
the way, so that point B becomes point Z.
In the process they drive during
the day, stopping at a jail or prison where the prisoners stay locked up
overnight.
Along the way they stop at
facilities, release some prisoners as they are picked up by local agencies, and
they take others onto the vehicle to transport them down the line to the
location, and the authorities, where they committed their crimes. It is a less expensive way to move prisoners
since each agency doesn’t have to take time to go long distances to get
prisoners.
It isn’t done for all
prisoners. Sometimes it is critical that
a person be transported as quickly as possible and/or the agency that is
investigating the crime wants their officers to take custody of the prisoner at
the place of arrest, for interrogation purposes.
But, for the rest, the prisoner
transport system works just fine even though it takes time; it isn’t just a
leisurely jaunt across the continent.
The prisoner is cuffed and often
wearing leg irons to make it more difficult for them to escape. They aren’t stopping at rest stops and they
are taking a scenic route. The prisoners
have no say in who their companions are in the vehicle.
They may be a non-violent felon
sitting next to a murder – the only thing they have in common is they committed
a crime, have been caught and now are going back.
They may make several stops,
each day, along the way. Instead of a
few hours, or a couple of days to go cross-country, it can take several days,
even a week or more.
I understand that Rajneesh was
transported on such a bus, if so that would explain the time between the arrest
and the arrival in Portland.
Now, if the transport was up to me, I would
have wanted to give him a good taste of prison life, but make sure he wouldn’t
be injured – they didn’t need a martyr for the followers – and safety for any
prisoner is always a concern. I would
surround him with agents acting as prisoners.
He would be treated like a
prisoner, not a god. He would have to
deal with criminal elements, he would have to stay in a cramped cell, he would
have to eat bland food. He would have to
take his showers and other personal hygiene activity in the company of several
men.
He would have no privacy. His every movement would be monitored and he
could not control his activities. He
would even have to ask permission to visit the toilet – with no privacy.
He would have no control over
anything. He would be without the
support and adoration of his followers.
He would be just one prisoner,
among many, one face in a crowd.
It would be an education like he
had never experienced and was not prepared to endure.
They could give him a good feel
for what it would be like, but he would be in no danger.
Not saying that is what they did, but it is
what I would have done.
However, in my mind, it was a
good possibility as within a few days of his arrival in Portland he pled guilty;
he was fined and was allowed to immediately leave the country.
The investigation and interviews
continued for several weeks.
People made deals and gave up
information that was helpful to the agencies.
Other people, not involved in any of the crimes, came forward with their
statements as to what they had observed over the years.
No automatic weapons had been
found, but there was a report, from one of the followers, that the Rajneesh had
obtained some illegally. They had been
dumped in a pond on the property. The
pond was small, but deep enough to require scuba gear.
One of our deputies was a diver
and he, along with another deputy – from Jefferson County as I remember – were
assigned to search the pond.
The pond was stagnant, full of
green scum. The two men searched for a
couple of hours but were never able to find anything.
Both deputies became very sick
from the contaminated water and had to be off work for a few days. Danger wasn’t only to come from a loaded gun
in the hands of an angry security officer.
The results of the investigation
would be felt and more interviews would be conducted for several years; as would
the impact on the county and the Sheriff’s Office.
Many of the followers left the
area and moved on to other communities.
Some remained loyal to the Rajneesh commune and even today, 30 years
later, they are reading and sharing his works.
Some remained in the area. They moved into The Dalles and other
communities around us. They have
integrated into the communities and most of us have no idea of their background
with Rajneesh – it isn’t important to know.
They are productive citizens and
contribute to the general welfare of the communities, some still follow his
teachings, others have moved on.
They should be able to live in
peace – these people had no idea of what their leaders did until they found out
later; they were not part of Sheila's grand scheme.
Hebrews 2:6-8 But one
in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him?
or the son of man that thou visitest him?
7 Thou madest him a little
lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set
him over the works of thy hands:
8
Thou hast put all things in
subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he
left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put
under him.
The world tells us that man is
in charge of his own destiny. That God
doesn’t matter – either He is a non-entity or man has evolved to the point that
what God wants is no longer important.
Man is at the top of the food
chain – he arose from the cells and became THE most important thing on the
planet because, he evolved to a higher level than any other being on the
planet.
But God created man, and He
created man after His image AND He gave man the responsibility of taking care of
all things that He created. (Gen 1:27 - 30)
Yet, we are a little lower than
the angels. AND despite our place in
God’s creation, we failed, because Adam, failed.
Because of that sin, we have a
lifespan that is counted in years, not ages.
Because of that sin, the world
is in terrible condition and seems to be getting worse by the day – if not the
hour.
To the world, our value is
limited. In the scheme of things most of
us will not be remembered past the next couple of generations. Our names are written in various places, but
we are just another person that was born, lived on the earth and died.
Oh, there are those with special
gifts that have risen above the norm – some for the good of mankind and some for
the destruction of man. But the rest of
us are like the fish in the sea, uncounted and only existing, no self-purpose,
just existing to be food for other animals, or fertilizer for plants.
AND that is what the world would
have us believe. We are only special in
what we have done if it adheres to the value the world places on us.
But God created man in his own image, in the
image of God created he him; male and female created he them. (Gen
1:27)
We are special
to Him. He loves us, despite our
sins. He wants to have the communication
with us that we are designed to have with Him.
The world looks
at the value of man that gives preference to wealth, power, authority over
others. The world shows man as
successful if he has great material wealth; has the power to make ‘things
happen’ that ordinary individuals could not; the world values a man that has
authority, either by virtue of birth – such as Kings – or appointment by someone
with higher authority – or election.
The trappings
these positions give show how powerful that person is; expensive cars, homes,
clothes – material things that prove the worth of the person in
society.
In all of that,
man forgets that he doesn’t begin to have the wealth, power or authority of
God. What the world values, God isn’t
concerned about.
He loves us as
an individual. Our worldly status means
nothing to Him, only our heart.
Hebrew 2:16-18 For verily he took not
on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of
Abraham.
17 Wherefore in all things
it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful
and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for
the sins of the people.
18 For in that he himself
hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are
tempted.
Jesus came to earth as a baby
born by Mary and raised by regular people who went about their daily lives,
living.
Joseph was a carpenter that
provided for his family. The family was
Jewish and abided by the Jewish laws and traditions.
Jesus came from a life in heaven
with all things obedient to Him to the life of a common person.
He could have been born to one
of the leaders of the Jewish community, but He didn’t.
He was a person who grew up
around children His age. He was a person
who worked as people around Him worked.
Who gave reverence to God as the people around Him gave.
He was subject to the
temptations that those around Him were subjected to – but He didn’t sin – He
chose to follow God’s plan for His life.
Because He came as that baby, we
can relate to Him as one of us.
He gave up privilege so that we
could see He cared enough to learn about us.
He gave up privilege so that we
could understand that God’s values are different from the Worlds’.
He gave up privilege He can be
our High Priest.
He gave up privilege to He could
be a surrogate for our sins, so He could take upon Himself the sins of the
world.
He gave up privilege because we
are His special creation; He loves us and wants us to be the child He created in
Adam.
No matter what we are going
through, the challenges that we face, we have God. He cared enough for man to create him in His
image, to breath the breathe of life in him rather than speak man into existence
as He did the rest of His creation.
We are not the same as the fish
in the sea, we are God’s special creation.
He cared enough for us that He
gave His only Begotten Son that we shall have eternal life with Him.
God doesn’t have to love man; He
has chosen to love man.
The
question: What is man, that thou
art mindful of him? or the son of man that thou visitest
him?
We are His
children and He wants the best for us.
Later, Art :-)
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