Editing Rajneesh (section)

=== United States and the Oregon commune: 1981–1985 ===
{{Further|Rajneeshpuram}}

====Arrival in the United States====
In 1981, the increased tensions{{clarify|date=April 2025}} around the Pune ashram, along with criticism of its activities and threatened punitive action by Indian authorities, provided an impetus for the ashram to consider the establishment of a new commune in the United States.<ref>{{harvnb|Wallis|1986|p=}}, reprinted in {{harvnb|Aveling|1999|p=147}}</ref><ref name="Lewis124">{{harvnb|Goldman|2004|p=124}}</ref><ref>''Guru in Cowboy Country'', in: ''Asia Week'', 29 July 1983, pp. 26–36</ref> According to [[Susan J. Palmer]], the move to the United States was a plan from Sheela.<ref>{{harvnb|Palmer|1988|p=127}}, reprinted in{{harvnb|Aveling|1999|p=377}}</ref> Sheela and Rajneesh had discussed the idea of establishing a new commune in the US in late 1980, although he did not agree to travel there until May 1981.<ref name=Gordon94>{{harvnb|Gordon|1987|pp=93–94}}</ref> On 1 June that year he travelled to the United States on a tourist visa, ostensibly for medical purposes, and spent several months at a Rajneeshee retreat centre located at [[Kip's Castle Park, New Jersey|Kip's Castle]] in [[Montclair, New Jersey]].<ref name="America" /><ref name="NYT160981">{{Cite news|last=Geist |first=William E. |title=Cult in Castle Troubling Montclair |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=16 September 1981 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/09/16/nyregion/cult-in-castle-troubling-montclair.html |access-date=27 November 2008 |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120423054925/http://www.nytimes.com/1981/09/16/nyregion/cult-in-castle-troubling-montclair.html |archive-date=23 April 2012 }}</ref> He had been diagnosed with a [[prolapsed disc]] in early 1981 and treated by several doctors, including [[James Cyriax]], a [[St. Thomas' Hospital]] musculoskeletal physician and expert in epidural injections flown in from London.<ref name=Gordon94 /><ref name=Meredith308309 /><ref name="FF1-86">{{harvnb|FitzGerald|1986a|p=86}}</ref> Rajneesh's previous secretary, Laxmi, reported to [[Frances FitzGerald (journalist)|Frances FitzGerald]] that "she had failed to find a property in India adequate to Rajneesh's needs, and thus, when the medical emergency came, the initiative had passed to Sheela".<ref name="FF1-86" /> A public statement by Sheela indicated that Rajneesh was in grave danger if he remained in India, but would receive appropriate medical treatment in America if he needed surgery.<ref name=Gordon94 /><ref name=Meredith308309>{{harvnb|Meredith|1988|pp=308–309}}</ref><ref name="JMF22">{{harvnb|Fox|2002|p=22}}</ref> Despite the stated serious nature of the situation, Rajneesh never sought outside medical treatment during his time in the United States, leading the [[Immigration and Naturalization Service]] to contend that he had a preconceived intent to remain there.<ref name="FF1-86" /> Years later, Rajneesh pleaded guilty to immigration fraud, while maintaining his innocence of the charges that he made false statements on his initial visa application about his alleged intention to remain in the US when he came from India.<ref group="nb">"His lawyers, however, were already negotiating with the United States Attorney's office and, on 14 November he returned to Portland and pleaded guilty to two felonies; making false statements to the immigration authorities in 1981 and concealing his intent to reside in the United States." ({{harvnb|FitzGerald|1986b|p=111}})</ref><ref group="nb">"The Bhagwan may also soon need his voice to defend himself on charges he lied on his original temporary-visa application: if the immigration service proves he never intended to leave, the Bhagwan could be deported." (''Newsweek'', [https://web.archive.org/web/20090710170848/http://www.nealkarlen.com/newsweek/bhagwan.shtml Bhagwan's Realm:] The Oregon cult with the leader with 90 golden Rolls-Royces, 3 December 1984, United States Edition, National Affairs Pg. 34, 1915 words, Neal Karlen with Pamela Abramson in Rajneeshpuram.)</ref><ref group="nb">"Facing 35 counts of conspiring to violate immigration laws, the guru admitted two charges: lying about his reasons for settling in the U.S. and arranging sham marriages to help foreign disciples join him." (American Notes, ''Time'', Monday, November 1985, available [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1050625-2,00.html here] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090709072745/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1050625-2,00.html |date=9 July 2009 }})</ref>

====Establishing Rajneeshpuram====
On 13 June 1981, Sheela's husband, John Shelfer, signed a purchase contract to buy property in [[Oregon]] for [[United States dollar|US$]]5.75&nbsp;million, and a few days later assigned the property to the US foundation. The property was a {{convert|64229|acre|km2|-1|adj=on}} ranch, previously known as "The Big Muddy Ranch" and located across two counties ([[Wasco County, Oregon|Wasco]] and [[Jefferson County, Oregon|Jefferson]]).<ref name=Carter133>{{harvnb|Carter|1990|p=133}}</ref> It was renamed "Rancho Rajneesh" and Rajneesh moved there on 29 August.<ref name=Carter136138>{{harvnb|Carter|1990|pp=136–138}}</ref> Initial local community reactions ranged from hostility to tolerance, depending on distance from the ranch.<ref>{{harvnb|Abbott|1990|p=79}}</ref> The press reported, and another study found, that the development met almost immediately with intense local, state, and federal opposition from the government, press, and citizenry. Within months a series of legal battles ensued, principally over land use.<ref name="CL339341" /> Within a year of arriving, Rajneesh and his followers had become embroiled in a series of legal battles with their neighbours, the principal conflict relating to land use.<ref name="CL339341"/> The commune [[leadership]] was uncompromising and behaved impatiently in dealing with the locals.<ref name=Abbot78 /> They were also insistent upon having demands met, and engaged in implicitly threatening and directly confrontational behaviour.<ref name=Abbot78 /> Whatever the true intention, the repeated changes in their stated plans looked to many like conscious deception.<ref name=Abbot78>{{harvnb|Abbott|1990|p=78}}</ref>

In May 1982 the residents of Rancho Rajneesh voted to incorporate it as the city of [[Rajneeshpuram, Oregon|Rajneeshpuram]].<ref name="CL339341">{{harvnb|Latkin|1992|p=}}, reprinted in {{harvnb|Aveling|1999|pp=339–341}}</ref> The conflict with local residents escalated, with increasingly bitter hostility on both sides, and over the following years, the commune was subject to constant and coordinated pressures from various coalitions of Oregon residents.<ref name="CL339341"/><ref name="CNR215">{{harvnb|Carter|1987|p=}}, reprinted in {{harvnb|Aveling|1999|p=215}}</ref> [[1000 Friends of Oregon]] immediately commenced and then prosecuted over the next six years numerous court and administrative actions to void the incorporation and cause buildings and improvement to be removed.<ref name="CL339341" /><ref name=bend>{{cite web | url = https://www.scribd.com/doc/301352730/Grote-25-Dec-81-Bnd-Bull | title = 1000 Friends Challenges Rajneeshpuram Incorporation | publisher = Bend Bulletin | access-date = 6 March 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160307115032/https://www.scribd.com/doc/301352730/Grote-25-Dec-81-Bnd-Bull | archive-date = 7 March 2016 | url-status=live | df = dmy-all }}</ref><ref name="CNR215"/> 1000 Friends publicly called for the city to be "dismantled". A 1000 Friends Attorney stated that if 1000 Friends won, the Foundation would be "forced to remove their sewer system and tear down many of the buildings.<ref name = marshall>{{cite journal |last= Sullivan |first= Edward|title= The Quiet Revolution Goes West: The Oregon Planning Program 1961–2011 |journal= Marshall Law Review |publisher= Marshall University|volume= 45 |pages= 362–364}}</ref><ref name="Abbot78"/> At one point, the commune imported large numbers of homeless people from various US cities in a failed attempt to affect the outcome of an election, before releasing them into surrounding towns and leaving some to the State of Oregon to return to their home cities at the state's expense.<ref name=Zaitz4>(15 April 2011) Les Zaitz. [https://web.archive.org/web/20110419014650/http://www.oregonlive.com/rajneesh/index.ssf/2011/04/part_four_paranoia_takes_hold.html Rajneeshee leaders see enemies everywhere as questions compound&nbsp;– Part 4 of 5], ''[[The Oregonian]]''. Retrieved 10 July 2011.</ref><ref name=Zaitz5 /> In March 1982, local residents formed a group called Citizens for Constitutional Cities to oppose the Ranch development.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Fearing 'religious cities' group forms to monitor activities of commune |last=Hortsch |first=Dan |date=18 March 1982 |work=The Oregonian}}</ref> An initiative petition was filed that would order the governor {{"'}}to contain, control and remove' the threat of invasion by an 'alien cult{{'"}}.<ref name = bend />

The Oregon legislature passed several bills that sought to slow or stop the development and the City of Rajneeshpuram—including HB 3080, which stopped distribution of revenue sharing funds for any city whose legal status had been challenged. Rajneeshpuram was the only city impacted.<ref name=shay>{{cite news  | url = https://www.scribd.com/doc/301342590/Shay-TL-1985-Rjprm-Abuse-of-Power  | title = Rajneeshpuram and the Abuse of Power  | author = Theodore Shay  | publisher = Scout Creek Press  | access-date = 6 March 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160307115939/https://www.scribd.com/doc/301342590/Shay-TL-1985-Rjprm-Abuse-of-Power  | archive-date = 7 March 2016 | url-status=live  | df = dmy-all  }}</ref> The [[Governor of Oregon]], [[Vic Atiyeh]], stated in 1982 that since their neighbors did not like them, they should leave Oregon.<ref name=church>{{cite web| url = https://www.scribd.com/doc/301353732/Church-13-Mar-1982-Oregonian| title = Atiyeh Picks Antelopers over Interlopers| publisher = Bend Bulletin| access-date = 6 March 2016| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160307114001/https://www.scribd.com/doc/301353732/Church-13-Mar-1982-Oregonian| archive-date = 7 March 2016| url-status=live| df = dmy-all}}</ref> In May 1982, [[United States Senate|United States Senator]] [[Mark Hatfield]] called the INS in Portland. An INS memo stated that the Senator was "very concerned" about how this "religious cult" is "endangering the way of life for a small agricultural town ... and is a threat to public safety".<ref name="FF1-89">{{harvnb|FitzGerald|1986a|p=89}}</ref> Such actions "often do have influence on immigration decisions". In 1983 the [[Oregon Attorney General]] filed a lawsuit seeking to declare the City void because of an alleged violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution. The Court found that the City property was owned and controlled by the Foundation, and entered judgement for the State.<ref name=Zaitz1 /> The court disregarded the controlling US constitutional cases requiring that a violation be redressed by the "least intrusive means" necessary to correct the violation, which it had earlier cited. The city was forced to "acquiesce" in the decision, as part of a settlement of Rajneesh's immigration case.<ref name = Richardson>{{cite book | last= Richardson |first= James T. |date= 2004 |title= Regulating Religion, Case Studies from Around the Globe|page= 486 }}</ref>

[[File:Osho Drive By.jpg|thumb|Rajneesh greeted by sannyasins on one of his daily "drive-bys" in Rajneeshpuram, circa 1982]]
While the various legal battles ensued Rajneesh remained behind the scenes, having withdrawn from a public facing role in what commune leadership referred to as a period of "silence." During this time, which lasted until November 1984, in lieu of Rajneesh speaking publicly, videos of his discourses were played to commune audiences.<ref name="America" /> His time was allegedly spent mostly in seclusion and he communicated only with a few key disciples, including Ma Anand Sheela and his caretaker girlfriend Ma Yoga Vivek (Christine Woolf).<ref name="America">{{harvnb|Mistlberger|2010|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=C6nUWy4UYocC&pg=PA88 88]}}</ref> He lived in a [[Mobile home|trailer]] next to a covered swimming pool and other amenities. At this time he did not lecture and interacted with followers via a [[Rolls-Royce (car)|Rolls-Royce]] 'drive-by' ceremony.<ref name="JMF26" /> He also gained public notoriety for amassing a large collection of Rolls-Royce cars, eventually numbering 93 vehicles.<ref>{{harvnb|Palmer|1988|p=128}}, reprinted in {{harvnb|Aveling|1999|p=380}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=14 May 2011 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/15/us/15bcintel.html|title=The Bay Citizen: Red Rock Island |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=10 July 2011 |first=Hank |last=Pellissier |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161116231633/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/15/us/15bcintel.html?_r=1 |archive-date=16 November 2016 }}</ref> In 1981 he had given Sheela limited [[power of attorney]], removing any remaining limits the following year.<ref name="SJP378">{{harvnb|Palmer|1988|p=127}}, reprinted in {{harvnb|Aveling|1999|p=378}}</ref> In 1983, Sheela announced that he would henceforth speak only with her.<ref name="FF1-94">{{harvnb|FitzGerald|1986a|p=94}}</ref> He later said that she kept him in ignorance.<ref name="SJP378" /> Many sannyasins expressed doubts about whether Sheela properly represented Rajneesh and many dissidents left Rajneeshpuram in protest of its autocratic leadership.<ref name="FF1-93">{{harvnb|FitzGerald|1986a|p=93}}</ref> Resident sannyasins without US citizenship experienced visa difficulties that some tried to overcome by marriages of convenience.<ref name="JMF25">{{harvnb|Fox|2002|p=25}}</ref> Commune administrators tried to resolve Rajneesh's own difficulty in this respect by declaring him the head of a religion, "Rajneeshism".<ref name="JMF26">{{harvnb|Fox|2002|p=26}}</ref><ref name="Mullan135">{{harvnb|Mullan|1983|p=135}}</ref>

During the Oregon years there was an increased emphasis on Rajneesh's prediction that the world might be destroyed by [[Nuclear warfare|nuclear war]] or other disasters in the 1990s.<ref name="Wallis156">{{harvnb|Wallis|1986|p=}}, reprinted in {{harvnb|Aveling|1999|p=156}}</ref> Rajneesh had said as early as 1964 that "the third and last war is now on the way" and frequently spoke of the need to create a "new humanity" to avoid global suicide.<ref name="Wallis157" /> This now became the basis for a new exclusivity, and a 1983 article in the Rajneesh Foundation Newsletter, announcing that "Rajneeshism is creating a Noah's Ark of consciousness&nbsp;... I say to you that except this there is no other way", increased the sense of urgency in building the Oregon commune.<ref name="Wallis157" /> In March 1984, Sheela announced that Rajneesh had predicted the death of two-thirds of humanity from AIDS.<ref name="Wallis157">{{harvnb|Wallis|1986|p=}}, reprinted in {{harvnb|Aveling|1999|p=157}}</ref><ref name="JSG131">{{harvnb|Gordon|1987|p=131}}</ref> Sannyasins were required to wear rubber gloves and [[condom]]s if they had sex, and to refrain from kissing, measures widely represented in the press as an extreme over-reaction since condoms were not usually recommended for [[AIDS#Prevention|AIDS prevention]] because AIDS was considered a homosexual disease at that stage.<ref>{{harvnb|Palmer|1988|p=129}}, reprinted in {{harvnb|Aveling|1999|p=382}}</ref><ref name="RP155-158">{{harvnb|Palmer|Sharma|1993|pp=155–158}}</ref> During his residence in Rajneeshpuram, Rajneesh also dictated three books under the influence of [[nitrous oxide]] administered to him by his private dentist: ''Glimpses of a Golden Childhood'', ''Notes of a Madman'' and ''Books I Have Loved''.<ref>{{harvnb|Shunyo|1993|p=74}}</ref> Sheela later stated that Rajneesh took sixty milligrams of [[valium]] each day and was addicted to [[nitrous oxide]].<ref name=Spiegel>{{cite news|work=Sri Prakash Von Sinha |date=9 December 1985 |url=http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-13515651.html |title=Ich denke nie an die Zukunft |access-date=10 July 2011 |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120202041230/http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-13515651.html |archive-date=2 February 2012 |language=de}}</ref><ref name=Storr59>{{harvnb|Storr|1996|p=59}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=4 November 1985|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CO&s_site=charlotte&p_multi=CO&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB6BFB58F61E687&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM|title=Rajneesh, Ex-secretary attack each other on TV|newspaper=[[The Charlotte Observer]]|access-date=10 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121015081536/http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CO&s_site=charlotte&p_multi=CO&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB6BFB58F61E687&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM|archive-date=15 October 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> Rajneesh denied these charges when questioned about them by journalists.<ref name=Spiegel /><ref>Osho: ''The Last Testament'', Vol. 4, Chapter 19 (transcript of an interview with German magazine, ''[[Der Spiegel]]'')</ref>

At the peak of the Rajneeshpuram era, Rajneesh, assisted by a sophisticated legal and business infrastructure, had created a corporate machine consisting of various front companies and subsidiaries.<ref name="urban179">{{Harvnb|Urban|2005|p=179}}</ref> At this time, the three main identifiable entities within his organisation were: the Ranch Church, or Rajneesh International Foundation (RIF); the Rajneesh Investment Corporation (RIC), through which the RIF was managed; and the Rajneesh Neo-Sannyasin International Commune (RNSIC). The umbrella organisation that oversaw all investment activities was Rajneesh Services International Ltd., a company incorporated in the UK but based in [[Zürich]]. There were also smaller organisations, such as Rajneesh Travel Corp, Rajneesh Community Holdings, and the Rajneesh Modern Car Collection Trust, whose sole purpose was to deal with the acquisition and rental of Rolls-Royces.<ref name="urban180">{{Harvnb|Urban|2005|p=180}}</ref><ref name="WRIGHT141-146">{{harvnb|Wright|1985|pp=141–146}}</ref>

==== 1984 bioterror attack ====
{{Further|1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack}}
[[File:Osho Rajneesh.jpg|thumb|Rajneesh in 1983|left]]
Rajneesh had coached Sheela in using media coverage to her advantage and during his period of public silence he privately stated that when Sheela spoke, she was speaking on his behalf.<ref name=Zaitz1 /> He had also supported her when disputes about her behaviour arose within the commune leadership, but in early 1984, as tension amongst the inner circle peaked, a private meeting was convened with Sheela and his personal house staff.<ref name=Zaitz1 /> According to the testimony of Rajneesh's dentist, Swami Devageet (Charles Harvey Newman),<ref name=DevageetTest>[https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/73832-03-swami-devageet-testimony.html#document/p33/a14388 Transcript] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117085409/https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/73832-03-swami-devageet-testimony.html#document/p33/a14388 |date=17 January 2013 }} of state grand jury testimony of the guru's dentist about life inside the guru's home and dealings with Sheela. Contributed by: Ed Madrid, The Oregonian.</ref> she was admonished during a meeting, with Rajneesh declaring that his house, and not hers, was the centre of the commune.<ref name=Zaitz1 /> Devageet claimed Rajneesh warned that Sheela's jealousy of anyone close to him would inevitably make them a target.<ref name=Zaitz1>{{cite news|work=[[The Oregonian]] |date=14 April 2011 |url=http://www.oregonlive.com/rajneesh/index.ssf/2011/04/part_one_it_was_worse_than_we.html |title=5 years after Rajneeshee commune collapsed, truth spills out&nbsp;– Part 1 of 5 |publisher=Oregon Live |access-date=10 July 2011 |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120423142622/http://www.oregonlive.com/rajneesh/index.ssf/2011/04/part_one_it_was_worse_than_we.html |archive-date=23 April 2012 }}</ref>

Several months later, on 30 October 1984, he ended his period of public silence, announcing that it was time to "speak his own truths".<ref name="JMF27">{{harvnb|Fox|2002|p=27}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Carter|1990|p=209}}</ref> On 19 December,<!-- 1984--> Rajneesh was asked if organisation was necessary for a religion to survive.<ref name=":1" /> Disciples present during the talk remember Rajneesh stating that "I will not leave you under a fascist regime".<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite book|last=Foreman|first=Juliet|title=Bhagwan: The Buddha for the Future|publisher=Rebel Publishing House GmbH|year=1988|isbn=9783907757185|location=Cologne, Germany|pages=413–415}}</ref><ref name="DevageetTest" /> According to the testimony of Rajneesh's dentist, Swami Devageet, this statement seemed directly aimed at Sheela – or to be directly against the present organisational structure.<ref name="DevageetTest" /> The next day, sannyasins usually responsible for the editing and transcribing of the talks into book form were told by the management that the tapes of the discourse had been irreparably damaged by technical trouble and were unavailable.<ref name="DevageetTest" /><ref name=":3">{{Cite book|last=Foreman|first=Juliet|title=Bhagwan:The Buddha for the Future|publisher=Rebel Publishing House GmbH|year=1988|isbn=9783907757185|location=Cologne, Germany|pages=413–416}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite book|last=Subhuti|first=Anand|title=My Dance with a Madman|publisher=Diamond Pocket Books Pvt Ltd|year=2014|isbn=9789350835173|location=India|pages=99}}</ref><ref name=":1" /> After rumours that Sheela had suppressed the discourse grew, Sheela created a transcription of the talk, which was reproduced in The Rajneesh Times.<ref name="DevageetTest" /><ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4" /> All suggestions that Rajneeshpuram itself had become a fascist state and Sheela was, in the words of Ma Prem Sangeet, "[[Adolf Hitler|Hitler]] in a red dress", had been deleted.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" />

Rajneesh spoke almost daily, except for a three-month gap between April and July 1985.<ref name=":1" />
In July, he resumed daily public discourses; on 16 September, a few days after Sheela and her entire management team had suddenly left the commune for Europe, Rajneesh held a press conference in which he labelled Sheela and her associates a "gang of fascists".<ref name="FF2-108" /> He accused them of having committed serious crimes, most dating back to 1984, and invited the authorities to investigate.<ref name="FF2-108" />

The alleged crimes, which he claimed were committed without his knowledge, included attempted murder of his personal physician, poisoning of public officials, [[wiretapping]] and [[bugging]] within the commune and his residence, and a [[1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack|bioterror attack]] that sickened 751 citizens of [[The Dalles, Oregon|The Dalles]] using ''[[Salmonella]]'' to influence [[Wasco County, Oregon|county]] elections.<ref name="FF2-108">{{harvnb|FitzGerald|1986b|p=108}}</ref> While his allegations were initially greeted with scepticism by outside observers,<ref name="nytimesroiled">{{cite news|last=Martin |first=Douglas |title=Guru's Commune Roiled As Key Leader Departs |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=22 September 1985 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/09/22/us/guru-s-commune-roiled-as-key-leader-departs.html |access-date=15 March 2008 |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140106122031/http://www.nytimes.com/1985/09/22/us/guru-s-commune-roiled-as-key-leader-departs.html |archive-date=6 January 2014 }}</ref> the subsequent investigation by U.S. authorities confirmed these accusations and resulted in the conviction of Sheela and several of her lieutenants.<ref name="LFC233238" />
On 30 September 1985, Rajneesh denied that he was a religious teacher.<ref name="sc85">{{Cite news
| title = Guru's arrest not imminent
| agency = Associated Press
| newspaper = Spokane Chronicle
| location = Washington
| date = 2 October 1985
| page = D6
| url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=9_pLAAAAIBAJ&sjid=tfkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7015%2C441056
 }}</ref> His disciples burned 5,000 copies of the book ''Rajneeshism: An Introduction to Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and His Religion'', a 78-page compilation of his teachings that defined "Rajneeshism" as "a religionless religion".<ref>{{cite book|title = Rajneeshism: An Introduction to Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and His Religion|date = June 1983|publisher = Rajneesh Foundation International|isbn = 0-88050-699-7|editor = Academy of Rajneeshism}}</ref><ref name="sc85" /><ref name="tl85">{{Cite news
| title = Rajneesh renouncing his cult's religion
| author = Sally Carpenter Hale, Associated Press
| newspaper = [[The Ledger]]
| date = 1 October 1985
| page = 8A
 }}</ref> He said he ordered the book-burning to rid the sect of the last traces of the influence of Sheela, whose robes were also "added to the bonfire".<ref name="sc85" />

The salmonella attack is considered the first confirmed instance of chemical or biological terrorism to have occurred in the United States.<ref>{{harvnb|Carus|2002|p=50}}</ref> Rajneesh stated that because he was in silence and isolation, meeting only with Sheela, he was unaware of the crimes committed by the Rajneeshpuram leadership until Sheela and her "gang" left and sannyasins came forward to inform him.<ref name="UM118">{{harvnb|Mehta|1993|p=118}}</ref> A number of commentators have stated that they believe that Sheela was being used as a convenient scapegoat.<ref name="UM118" /><ref name="TLS205">{{harvnb|Aveling|1994|p=205}}</ref><ref name="FF2-109">{{harvnb|FitzGerald|1986b|p=109}}</ref> Others have pointed to the fact that although Sheela had bugged Rajneesh's living quarters and made her tapes available to the U.S. authorities as part of her own plea bargain, no evidence has ever come to light that Rajneesh had any part in her crimes.<ref>{{harvnb|Aveling|1999|p=17}}</ref><ref name="JMF50">{{harvnb|Fox|2002|p=50}}</ref><ref name="JSG210">{{harvnb|Gordon|1987|p=210}}</ref> It was, however, reported that Charles Turner, [[David Frohnmayer]], and other law enforcement officials, who had surveyed affidavits never released publicly and who listened to hundreds of hours of tape recordings, insinuated to him that Rajneesh was guilty of more crimes than those for which he was eventually prosecuted.<ref name=Gordon210241>{{harvnb|Gordon|1987|pp=210, 241}}</ref> Frohnmayer asserted that Rajneesh's philosophy was not "disapproving of poisoning" and that he felt he and Sheela had been "genuinely evil".<ref name=Gordon210241 />

Nonetheless, U.S. Attorney Turner and [[Oregon Attorney General]] Frohnmeyer acknowledged that "they had little evidence of (Rajneesh) being involved in any of the criminal activities that unfolded at the ranch".<ref name = dalles1>{{cite news |author=King, Elroy |title=Plea bargain said best deal possible |newspaper= Dalles Chronicle |date= 23 July 1985}}</ref> According to court testimony by Ma Ava (Ava Avalos), a prominent disciple, Sheela played associates a tape recording of a meeting she had with Rajneesh about the "need to kill people" to strengthen wavering sannyasins' resolve in participating in her murderous plots, but it was difficult to hear, so Sheela produced a transcript of the tape. "She came back to the meeting and ... began to play the tape. It was a little hard to hear what he was saying. ... But Param Bodhi, assisted her, and went and transcribed it. And the gist of Bhagwan's response, yes, it was going to be necessary to kill people to stay in Oregon. And that actually killing people wasn't such a bad thing. And actually Hitler was a great man, although he could not say that publicly because nobody would understand that. Hitler had great vision."<ref name=Zaitz5>Les Zaitz. [https://web.archive.org/web/20110419004032/http://www.oregonlive.com/rajneesh/index.ssf/2011/04/part_five_utopian_dreams_die_i.html "Rajneeshees' Utopian dreams collapse as talks turn to murder&nbsp;– Part 5 of 5"], ''[[The Oregonian]]'', 14 April 2011.</ref><ref>{{citation|url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Criminal_trial_testimony_of_Rajneesh_member_Ava_Avalos.pdf|date=May 1990|title=Ava Avalos' court testimony|author=United States District Court for the District of Oregon|access-date=3 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180907045639/https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Criminal_trial_testimony_of_Rajneesh_member_Ava_Avalos.pdf|archive-date=7 September 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Rajneesh's personal attorney Philip Niren Toelkes, wrote in 2021 that, "As is fully supported in the testimony of Ava Avalos, an admitted co-conspirator, Sheela presented Osho with a general question about whether people would have to die if the Community was attacked and used his general response that it would perhaps be necessary. Sheela then took an edited recording and 'transcript' of the recording, prepared under her control, back to a meeting to justify her planned criminal actions and overcome the reservations of her co-conspirators."<ref>{{Cite web|title=1.1 Toelkes Declaration {{!}} PDF|url=https://www.scribd.com/document/518006058/1-1-Toelkes-Declaration|access-date=30 July 2021|website=Scribd|language=en}}</ref> Ava Avalos also said in her testimony to the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] investigators that "Sheela informed them that Bhagwan was not to know what was going on, and that if Bhagwan were to ask them about anything that would occur, 'they would have to lie to Bhagwan'."<ref name="AVA AVALOS">{{Cite web |url=https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/73830-01-ava-avalos-fbi-statement.html |title=Statement to investigators: Ava Avalos |access-date=30 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130819141428/https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/73830-01-ava-avalos-fbi-statement.html |archive-date=19 August 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Sheela initiated attempts to murder Rajneesh's caretaker and girlfriend, Ma Yoga Vivek, and his personal physician, Swami Devaraj (George Meredith), because she thought that they were a threat to Rajneesh. She had secretly recorded a conversation between Devaraj and Rajneesh "in which the doctor agreed to obtain drugs the guru wanted to ensure a peaceful death if he decided to take his own life".<ref name=Zaitz5 /> When asked if he was targeted because of a plan to give the guru euthanasia in a 2018 interview with ‘The Cut’, Rajneesh's doctor denied this and claimed that "She attacked his household and everybody in it and found any excuse she could to do that. She constantly hated the fact that we had access to Osho. We were a constant threat to her total monopoly on power. "<ref>{{Cite web|last=Silman|first=Anna|date=24 April 2018|title=Bhagwan's Doctor Gives His Take on Wild Wild Country|url=https://www.thecut.com/2018/04/bhagwans-doctor-gives-his-take-on-wild-wild-country.html|access-date=18 December 2021|website=The Cut|language=en-us}}</ref>

On 23 October 1985, a federal grand jury indicted Rajneesh and several other disciples with conspiracy to evade immigration laws.<ref name="FF2-110">{{harvnb|FitzGerald|1986b|p=110}}</ref> The indictment was returned [[in camera]], but word was leaked to Rajneesh's lawyer.<ref name="FF2-110" /> Negotiations to allow Rajneesh to surrender to authorities in Portland if a warrant were issued failed.<ref name="FF2-110" /><ref name="LFC232">{{harvnb|Carter|1990|p=232}}</ref> Rumours of a [[Oregon Military Department|national guard]] takeover and a planned violent arrest of Rajneesh led to tension and fears of shooting.<ref name="PalSha52">{{harvnb|Palmer|Sharma|1993|p=52}}</ref> On the strength of Sheela's tape recordings, authorities later said they believed that there had been a plan that sannyasin women and children would have been asked to create a [[human shield]] if authorities tried to arrest Rajneesh at the commune.<ref name="Gordon210241" /> On 28&nbsp;October<!-- 1985-->, Rajneesh and a small number of sannyasins accompanying him were arrested aboard two rented [[Learjet]]s in [[North Carolina]] at [[Charlotte Douglas International Airport]];<ref name=miavice>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=X1lWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=MO8DAAAAIBAJ&pg=6935%2C8084467 |work=Spokesman-Review |location=Spokane, Washington |agency=Associated Press |title=Guru's pilots played 'Miami Vice' |date=29 October 1985 |page=A8}}</ref> according to federal authorities the group was en route to [[Bermuda]] to avoid prosecution.<ref name=ergjld>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=yOZVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=c-EDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5322%2C7203778 |work=Eugene Register-Guard |location=Oregon |agency=Associated Press |title=Rajneesh jailed on immigration charges |date=29 October 1985 |page=1A}}</ref><ref name=ranarr>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=X1lWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=MO8DAAAAIBAJ&pg=3424%2C8075560 |work=Spokesman-Review |location=Spokane, Washington |agency=The Associated Press |last=Carpenter Hale |first=Sally |title=Rajneesh anticipated arrest |date=29 October 1985 |page=A6}}</ref><ref name=lmtadplif>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=iWtfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=6i4MAAAAIBAJ&pg=3980%2C4266378 |work=Lewiston Morning Tribune |location=Idaho |agency=Associated Press |title=Baghwan adapting to life in jail |date=31 October 1985 |page=2A}}</ref><ref name=okcty>{{Cite news
| title = Transfer delayed&nbsp;– Rajneesh to stay for another night in Oklahoma City
| agency = The Associated Press
| newspaper = Spokane Chronicle
| location= Washington
| date = 5 November 1985
| page = A2
| url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Kf5LAAAAIBAJ&sjid=tvkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4198%2C571451
}}</ref> Cash amounting to $58,000, as well as 35 watches and bracelets worth a combined $1&nbsp;million, were found on the aircraft.<ref name="PalSha52" /><ref>{{harvnb|Carter|1990|pp=232, 233, 238}}</ref><ref name="FF2-111">{{harvnb|FitzGerald|1986b|p=111}}</ref> Rajneesh had by all accounts been informed neither of the impending arrest nor the reason for the journey.<ref name="LFC232" /> Officials took the full ten days legally available to transfer him from North Carolina to Portland for [[arraignment]],<ref name="LFC234-235">{{harvnb|Carter|1990|pp=234–235}}</ref> which included three nights near [[Oklahoma City]].<ref name=okcty/><ref name=dliokl>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=cQ8pAAAAIBAJ&sjid=EOEDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6671%2C1340956 |work=Eugene Register-Guard |location=Oregon |agency=Associated Press |title=Rajneesh delayed in Oklahoma |date=6 November 1985 |page=5A}}</ref><ref name=arrvor>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=cw8pAAAAIBAJ&sjid=EOEDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6038%2C1786911 |work=Eugene Register-Guard |location=Oregon |agency=Associated Press |title=Guru arrives in Oregon |date=8 November 1985 |page=1A}}</ref>

In Portland on 8 November before [[United States District Court for the District of Oregon|U.S. District Court]] Judge [[Edward Leavy]], Rajneesh<!--initially--> pleaded "not guilty" to all 34 charges, was released on $500,000 bail, and returned to the commune at Rajneeshpuram.<ref name=pginnp>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=YWcPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=pYYDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3668%2C1036636 |work=The Bulletin |location=Bend, Oregon |agency=UPI |last=Gillins |first=Peter |title=Guru enters innocent plea |date=8 November 1985 |page=A1}}</ref><ref name=bailrj>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=dA8pAAAAIBAJ&sjid=EOEDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6212%2C1994563 |work=Eugene Register-Guard |location=Oregon |agency=Associated Press |title=Guru freed on $500,000 bond |date=9 November 1985 |page=1A}}</ref><ref name=trundt>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=dA8pAAAAIBAJ&sjid=EOEDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6791%2C2492012 |work=Eugene Register-Guard |location=Oregon |agency=Associated Press |title=Disciples say guru tired, underweight |date=10 November 1985 |page=7A}}</ref><ref name=seclun>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=lo9TAAAAIBAJ&sjid=pYYDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5063%2C1375717 |work=The Bulletin |location=Bend, Oregon |agency=UPI |title=Rajneesh in seclusion at commune |date=10 November 1985 |page=A1}}</ref> On&nbsp;the advice of his lawyers, he later entered an "[[Alford plea]]"—a type of [[guilty plea]] through which a suspect does not admit guilt, but does concede there is enough evidence to convict him—to one count of having a concealed intent to remain permanently in the U.S. at the time of his original visa application in 1981 and one count of having conspired to have sannyasins enter into a [[sham marriage]] to acquire U.S. residency.<ref name="JSG201">{{harvnb|Gordon|1987|pp=199–201}}</ref> Under the deal his lawyers made with the U.S. Attorney's office he was given a ten-year suspended sentence, five years' probation, and a $400,000 penalty in fines and prosecution costs and agreed to leave the United States, not returning for at least five years without the permission of the [[United States Attorney General|U.S. Attorney General]].<ref name=Latkin342>{{harvnb|Latkin|1992|p=}}, reprinted in{{harvnb|Aveling|1999|p=342}}</ref><ref name="LFC233238">{{harvnb|Carter|1990|pp=233–238}}</ref><ref name="FF2-111" /><ref>{{Cite news|title=Around the Nation; Guru's Disciples to Sell Some Commune Assets |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=16 November 1985 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/11/16/us/around-the-nation-guru-s-disciples-to-sell-some-commune-assets.html |access-date=9 November 2008 |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150524170632/http://www.nytimes.com/1985/11/16/us/around-the-nation-guru-s-disciples-to-sell-some-commune-assets.html |archive-date=24 May 2015 }}</ref>

As to "preconceived intent", at the time of the investigation and prosecution, federal court appellate cases and the INS regulations permitted "dual intent", a desire to stay, but a willingness to comply with the law if denied permanent residence. Further, the relevant intent is that of the employer, not the employee.<ref name = immigration>{{cite journal |last= Bell |first= Steven |year= 1986 |title= Recent Judicial, Legislative and Administrative Developments Relating to Immigration and Nationality Law |journal= Immigr. & Nat'lity L. Rev. |publisher= Immigration & Nationality |pages= xiii–xiv, xxxi }}</ref> Given the public nature of Rajneesh's arrival and stay, and the aggressive scrutiny by the INS, Rajneesh would appear to have had to be willing to leave the U.S. if denied benefits. The government nonetheless prosecuted him based on preconceived intent. As to arranging a marriage, the government only claimed that Rajneesh told someone who lived in his house that they should marry to stay.<ref name = immigration /> Such encouragement appears to constitute [[incitement]], a crime in the United States, but not a [[conspiracy (criminal)|conspiracy]], which requires the formation of a plan and acts in furtherance.{{citation needed|date=April 2023}}