Any thoughts on Wild Wild Country, the new Netflix documentary series about the Rajneeshees cult (also sometimes called sannyasins) who spent four years living in the Oregon countryside in the early 1980s?
There’s Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, a spiritual guru. There are the followers themselves, most of them white, middle class, and college educated. But the actual villain and most compelling character of this story is a refreshing surprise. It’s Bhagwan’s right hand, his personal secretary who eventually showed how far a person granted an absurd amount of power will go to keep it. Here’s everything you need to know about the fearless (and ruthless) Ma Anand Sheela.
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sbarrkum
I am 3/4ths Sri Lankan (Jaffna) Tamil, 1/8th Sinhalese and 1/8th Irish; a proper mutt.
Maternal: Grandfather a Govt Surveyor married my grandmother of Sinhalese/Irish descent from the deep south, in the early 1900’s. They lived in the deep South, are generally considered Sinhalese and look Eurasian (common among upper class Sinhalese). They were Anglicans (Church of England), became Evangelical Christians (AOG) in 1940's, and built the first Evangelical church in the South.
Paternal: Sri Lanka (Jaffna Tamil). Paternal ancestors converted to Catholicism during Portuguese rule (1500's), went back to being Hindu and then became Methodists (and Anglicans) around 1850 (ggfather). They were Administrators and translators to the British, poets and writers in Tamil and English. Grandfathers sister was the first female Tamil novelist of modern times
I was brought up as an Evangelical even attending Bible study till about the age of 13. Agnostic and later atheist.
I studied in Sinhala, did a Bachelor in Chemistry and Physics in Sri Lanka. Then did Oceanography graduate stuff and research in the US.
I am about 60 years old, no kids, widower. Sri Lankan citizen (no dual) and been back in SL since 2012. Live in small village near a National Park, run a very small budget guest house and try to do some agriculture that can survive the Elephants, monkeys and wild boar incursions.
I am not really anonymous, a little digging and you can find my identity.
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Saw this 6 episode mini-series. My only critique is that they didn’t describe Osho or what Osho said. If they added this thirteen minute audio to “Wild Wild Country”, it would greatly enhance the production:
http://dai.ly/x3hnem5
Kabir, can you listen to this? This is an excellent summary of Arya culture (or eastern philosophy or Sanathana Dharma, Indic civilization or whatever other phrase someone prefers). This is where Ferdinand de Saussure, structuralists and post modernist drew inspiration; although I believed they lacked the intuitive intelligence to understand their own theories.
I would be very curious to hear everyone’s thoughts on this thirteen minute video. Not that it is original. People have been saying the same or similar things again and again for many thousands of years.