Letter: No sex, no god, just good sense

ELIZABETH Puttick (First-Hand, 31 July) helps to give a fuller picture of Bhagwan Shree Ragneesh but fails to address essentials. I too was involved with Bhagwan, eventually becoming a 'sannyasin'. Unlike many, I had no desire to worship him as a god; I didn't care for the mass dancing; I didn't get much of the free sex that is often referred to; and I loathed the evident paranoid streak running through the hierarchy. What I did find was a teacher whose words made sense of all the basic issues of life, one whose presence touched me deeply. All religious movements have their dark sides and all men their shadows - even enlightened masters. But there must be thousands like me who found in Bhagwan an energy which radically and irreversibly altered their lives.

When the hoo-ha is over, a time will perhaps come when Bhagwan's life and work can be seen in a better perspective.

Professor Ralph Rowbottom

Bath, Somserset