Rajneesh Movement

The Rajneesh Movement was a spiritual and communal organization founded around Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (1931-1990), who later adopted the name Osho. Beginning in the 1970s in India, the movement combined elements of Eastern mysticism, Western psychology, and sexual liberation, attracting thousands of followers known as "sannyasins" or "Rajneeshees."

In 1981, Rajneesh moved to Oregon where his followers established Rajneeshpuram, a commune built on a 64,000-acre ranch in Wasco County. The community grew to house several thousand residents and operated as an incorporated city, featuring its own police force, fire department, and municipal services. The commune generated significant controversy with local residents and government officials over land use, immigration issues, and the group's political activities.

The movement's leadership, particularly Rajneesh's personal secretary Ma Anand Sheela (Sheela Silverman), engaged in increasingly criminal behavior to maintain control and protect the commune from external threats. In 1984, commune members carried out the first and largest bioterrorism attack in U.S. history, deliberately contaminating salad bars in The Dalles, Oregon, with salmonella bacteria to suppress voter turnout in local elections.

Additional criminal activities included immigration fraud through fake marriages, electronic surveillance of commune members and outsiders, attempted murder, arson, and the stockpiling of weapons. Federal investigations revealed the extent of the criminal enterprise, leading to arrests and prosecutions of key leaders, including Sheela and other inner-circle members.

In 1985, Rajneesh was arrested on immigration charges and ultimately agreed to leave the United States permanently as part of a plea agreement. The commune collapsed shortly thereafter, with most residents departing and the property being sold. Rajneesh returned to India, where he continued teaching until his death in 1990, by which time he had adopted the name Osho.

The Rajneeshpuram experiment became a landmark case study in cult behavior, criminal conspiracy, and domestic terrorism. The events were later documented in the Netflix series "Wild Wild Country" and numerous books and academic studies examining the intersection of religious movements, criminal behavior, and government response.