https://www.dailykos.com/news/MaAnandSheela News Community Action Copyright 2005 - Steal what you want Mon, 27 Jan 2020 04:15:06 +0000 Mon, 27 Jan 2020 04:15:06 +0000 Daily Kos rss@dailykos.com (Daily Kos) Daily Kos rss@dailykos.com (Daily Kos) https://www.dailykos.com/story/2018/4/13/1756978/-Remarkable-Documentary-Wild-Wild-Country-tells-us-things-we-didn-t-know-we-wanted-to-know <p>I have finished watching the Netflix documentary "Wild Wild Country".  It is an account of the movement centred on the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, especially detailing the entire series of events of their creation of the city Rajneesh Puram in rural Oregon, and the essential destruction of the nearby village of Antelope.</p> <p>Unlike many documentaries about controversial or dramatic events, there is no narrator to interpret things for the viewer.  All the voices are those of participa<span>nts, including Ma Anand Sheela (Bhagwan's "personal secretary" and the effective head of the group until near the end), the group's principal attorney, various group members, as well as residents and elected officials of Antelope, Oregon, and law enforcement personnel at the local, State and Federal level.  There is extensive broadcast news footage, and print journalism images.</span></p> <div> <p>The participants narrate events and describe their attitudes and feelings as they were at each stage of the drama.  We see many persons evolve and change, for better or worse, and others remain largely unchanged.  All the major parties to the drama are allowed to make their own case.  </p> <p>For those who have been involved with organizations that can be described as "cults", whether from the inside or the outside, there are many hauntingly familiar elements.  The contrasting heights and depths of human nobility and stupidity are often arresting.</p> <p>I had no idea what Sheela's fate was, heretofore; the entire affair dropped out of the news cycle back in 1985.  Her present-day perspectives are both enlightening and chilling.  The story of "release" by the Australian woman who carried out the unsuccessful attempt to assassinate Bhagwan's physician was riveting.</p> <p>Highly recommended.</p> </div> rss@dailykos.com (Shebardigan) BhagwanShreeRajneesh MaAnandSheela RajneeshPuram Review WildWildCountry _1756978 Sat, 14 Apr 2018 03:56:17 +0000