Portland Observer, July 27, 1983, Section I, Page 9
Farmers cuts rates
on auto insurance
for drivers between
30 and 60
Lifestyles: Batting for Bhagwan
W e have rales 301. under standard rates lor drivers
between the ages ol 30 and 60
There’s a good reason lor this. Farmers knows
that these drivers tend to be safer and more
careful on the highway. You're the drivers who
have tewer accidents. That's why Farmers created
our 30/60 package auto policy. II you qualify,
you could save substantially on your premiums
Farmers Insurance Croup is working constantly
to keep the costs of insurance down, and the
amount of protection up And this 30 60 pack­
age auto policy is one way w e do it W hy not
call me? i
FARMERS
to fr M l Jenkins
4726 N Wilkems Avenue
Porti end, Oregon 97217
15031 249 2986
Sannyaalnafr Swami Arnand Oava Prabodh. Ma Pram Surup. and thalr daughter Sohani.
(Photo: Richard J. Brown)
by Nathaniel Scott
W hy
your phone bill
While local rates will rise, long distance
rates should go down—for two reasons:
The good news.
First, because long distance rates will no
longer subsidize local service to the extent they
have in the past. (In fact, all subsidies from
long distance will be eliminated by 1988.)
Second, because there will be more com­
panies supplying long distance to select from.
As a result, long distance rates are expec­
ted to decline over time.
As this occurs, the FCC estimates those
customers who make more than five 8-minute
calls a month will actually save money on
their monthly bills.
It’s a bit complicated, we realize. And the
courts and regulatory agencies are still working out many of the details. But
one thing won’t change:
Pacific Northwest Bell will continue to provide you with the superior
telephone service you expect from us.
There’s more news.
There are more changes coming. Some big, some small. But you can be
sure we’ll keep you informed every step
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Rajneeshei is what we hear — at
least in Portland, if not throughout
the state o f Oregon, the people
wearing those red, pink and purple
garments with necklaces ("m a las")
around their necks are called Raj-
neeshes: followers o f the Bhagwan
Shree Rajneeth. But two followers
o f the Bhagwan strenuously de­
nounce the Rajneeth terminology.
They ask that the record be set
straight and that they be addressed
as “ Sannyasins — Neo-Sannya-
s in t." They are 24-year-old Swami
Anand Deva Prabodh, his 25-year-
old common-law wife M a Prem
Surup,
with
their
six-year-old
daughter Sohani.
They came to
Oregon from New York C ity for the
Rajncesh festival which was recently
held at Rajneeshpuram.
Prabodh claims the media, here in
Oregon, dreamed up the Rajncesh
terminology when the organization
took up residence on the Big M u d ­
dy.
Another popular lie, he claims, is
the misconception about wordly
goods: "Y o u don’t have to give up
your worldly possessions to be a
Sannyasin," he said. " W e are not
followers o f the Bhagwan." By way
o f clarification, he offered, there
are some followers (o f the Bhag­
wan) who "volun tarily" give up
their worldly possessions, buy the
Bhagwan
his umpteenth
Rolls
Royce and live on the ranch, R a j­
neeshpuram — the "com m une" —
as followers o f the Bhagwan. The
difference being, he said, " I am a
Sannyasin who works outside as
well as inside the organization. I am
here to get my own thing started."
His choice of words, "outside as
well as inside," needs to be qualified
because his reference is to talking
about the teachings of the Bhagwan
— not actual physical labor —
whatever the dimension, because,
according to him, you can’ t straddle
the fence. You either live "c o m ­
mune” style, which can and fre­
quently does require members to
work 12 hours a day, or you live the
life o f a Sannyasin, totally indepen­
dent. Those who live "com m une"
style, he said, have their every need
met; it is an exchange o f goods for
services. Prabodh became a member
approximately two and a half years
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Pacific Northwest Bell
ago
M a Prem Surup became a San­
nyasin in 1971. She was living in
New York C ity with her one-year-
old daughter; a single parent who
didn't know what to do. " I t seems
that he (the Bhagwan) enters into a
lot o f people's lives when they are at
a crossroads," she said.
They feel that, other than how
they are obtaining their "spiritual
satisfaction," their lives are not that
much different from most other
Americans. " I want to make lots o f
m oney," said M a Prem Surup with
a smile.
M a Prem Surup has a degree in
nursing, a B.S., hut she is " in to hol­
istic medicine now ."
In addition to her B.S. in nursing,
he, Prabodh, has an associate de­
gree with emphasis in accounting
and communication. He is articu­
late and knowledgable in the fields
o f world history, astronomy, astrol­
ogy. eastern religions and biblical
history. It is uncertain whether or
not they are the type o f people you
would expect to ascribe to the Bhag-
wan's requirements of those who
wish to be his followers. These, ac­
cording to M a Prem Surup, are:
wearing the colors (red, pink and
purple), wearing a mala (a necklace
o f beads which has a cameo with the
Bhagwan's picture on the front and
back sides), getting a new name or
retaining your own (depending on
the Bhagwan’s wishes), and doing
one o f the different techniques —
"m editations" — consistently. She
said some o f the main meditations
are Dynamic, Kundalini, Nadabrah-
ma and Nataraj. One meditation,
called a " M a la M ed itatio n ," she
said, consists o f looking at the pic­
ture on the mala, the Bhagwan. for
45 minutes. She added, " I t ’s an eso­
teric th in g ."
Prabodh speaks o f living in other
limes and they both believe in rein­
carnation, although his belief is
more profound than hers. A sensi­
tive person with keen eyesight, he
laid to rest the myth that all of
Rajneeshland is love and goodness.
According to Prabodh, the organ­
ization "is made up o f the super-
rich, the rich, and ordinary peo­
ple.” There are Ihe eccentric, the
ones lavishing the Bhagwan with
gifts, and the ones whose prejudices
arise out o f culture differences, he
said.
He said he became agitated about
all the gifts o f cars ihe Bhagwan was
receiving, because all around him
there was so much suffering. “ |But]
I was in New York City and didn't
know what was going on. It both­
ered m e ," he said. "A s a black man
I don’t know if I can ever he totally
satisfied. M y struggle is.
with
America, A frica, the w o rld ."
Their attraction to Sannyasin and
Ihe Bhagwan is hard to discern. She
somes " fro m a rebellious fam ily .”
She speaks proudly of her ancestry
— about how even during slavery
some (through devious means) be­
came educated. Her father, James
Holland, divorced her mother when
she was two years old, and "is or
was the Deputy M ayor o f G ary, In ­
d ia n a ." Nevertheless, the attrac­
tion, she said, "is spiritual. It's
about being connected with your in­
ner self. I just feel something for
this person (the Bhagwan],” she
said. " I can’ t explain it ."
According to Prabodh, iwo very
important things need to be clari­
fied. One: you can denounce (he
teachings of the Bhagwan without
fear o f reprisal; and two: followers
o f the Bhagwan are accepted and
not ridiculed in places like New
York C ity and Washington, D .C .
butch coorc
H e i r D e s ig n F o r M e n G W o m e n
1410 N E
B ro a d w a y . P o r tla n d , O re c ,o n
R S 4 -1 M 7
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