Both of them are carrying some of these Rajneesh people from Oregon.
He is transporting bad guys.
Hardened criminals.
If he deviates any from his route of flight,
you got to let the president know he's got an open line to security.
Okay.
The search is on throughout the Northwest tonight
for Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh.
It became fairly common knowledge out there
that the immigration service was about to execute, uh, warrants for their arrest.
Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh,
easily the most controversial figure in Oregon,
is in the middle of a controversy tonight that he's not controlling.
Once we heard he was in the air and was running,
your adrenaline takes over.
And it was just a matter of getting him--
finding and getting him and putting him in handcuffs.
The Coast Guard and FAA have been tracking the two jets
since they left Rajneeshpuram about 5:30 this evening.
We got on phones
and started trying to get hold of the plane to tell them to turn around.
Somehow, federal agencies were blocking communication to the airplane.
We attempted for over four hours to communicate with the plane,
but no call was coming back.
I spent the evening listening to the news
and getting periodic updates from the U.S. attorney on his progress.
Frohnmayer said he wanted to brief these high level officials
from the White House and Justice Department.
This is a fortunate break, uh...
but one that was, in some ways, predictable.
At least it was not unexpected that he might try to fly.
We contacted the FAA to be informed.
We were able to establish the fact that they were heading to Bermuda,
and Bermuda was selected for one reason only, maybe two.
It's nice and sunny.
And secondly, he was un-extraditable from Bermuda.
He would have successfully escaped, uh, prosecution.
It was an interesting evening.
Uh, I don't think any of us knew how that would end.
One plane was going to refuel in Pueblo, Colorado,
and the other was going to refuel in Salt Lake.
We found out that there was a significant chance they were going to Charlotte.
Rumors of a pending arrest intensified
at the central Oregon ranch
after a Chicago Tribune reporter saw Bhagwan and some disciples
leave the ranch on Learjets.
This was shortly before 5:30 p.m.
It was a little bit like the low speed chase for OJ Simpson.
It just didn't seem like there was a plausible ending to that episode.
So I got down on the floor and looked at a map
to find out how many airports were in the vicinity of Charlotte.
Special Agent LaDage was able to contact another agent
and they took up positions at the Charlotte airport.
I was at home on a telephone talking to agents who were on the ground.
They were expecting that these people in the plane might be heavily armed
and by the time the customs agents and the Charlotte police arrived,
they had every bit as much firepower as the Rajneeshees.
They staked out a position and secured themselves...
and instructed the tower to tell the planes when they landed
to come down to the place that they had staked out.
Not for long.
But the planes didn't do that.
Two Learjets carrying Rajneesh and ten of his followers
landed at the Charlotte airport at 2:00 a.m.
The U.S. Marshal Ray Abrams, U.S. Customs agents,
local and airport police were waiting for the guru.
The planes proceeded to, one then another, to Butler aviation,
and so the agents had to race down the tarmac.
And they got the jump on the planes.
They surrounded them, pulled out their weapons,
told the pilots to put their hands on the glass.
We were approached by many vehicles
and these people started piling out of these vehicles
with high-powered weapons and started pointing these weapons at us.
Cops everywhere, people with shotguns, sawed-off shotguns, handguns...
telling the people to get out of planes and put their hands up on their head.
I just put my hands up in the cockpit, you know?
And at that time I figured, "I think we're in some kind of trouble."
The agents were able to bring everybody off the plane without a shot being fired.
Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh was hiding behind the seat,
and I think Ron Taylor found him behind the seat...
uh...
and was able to encourage him to deplane.
Rajneesh is presently in custody
of the United States Marshals Service in Charlotte, North Carolina.
We were sitting watching TV
in the holiday apartment that we had in the Black Forest.
We were watching footage of Bhagwan walking across the tarmac
in North Carolina in chains.
We couldn't believe it.
With $55,000 in cash, guns, boxes of jewelry, and his throne,
the Bhagwan and a handful of his followers fled the ranch commune.
They got as far as Charlotte, North Carolina,
where U.S. Marshals arrested Rajneesh and 12 of his friends.
At the same time, the doorbell rang in the holiday apartment where we were.
Suddenly, our pension got raided
by FBI and German secret police.
The police officers informed us that they had arrest warrants
for Ma Anand Sheela, Ma Shanti Bhadra, and Ma Prem Puja.
The charge was attempted murder of Bhagwan's physician.
My knees went out from under me.
Two FBI agents began going through Sheela's personal effects,
gathering evidence as they waited for her extradition to the United States.
Charges against Sheela and two of her compatriots
for attempted murder, conspiracy to commit a murder, and assault.
The American authorities have indicated they'll move rapidly
to get both the Bhagwan and Sheela back to Oregon to face charges...
a reunion neither of them wants.
Okay, I just have this one thing to say.
All I can say at this time is that Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh is in custody
on a federal indictment in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Uh, the United States Attorney for this district, Charles Turner,
seeks to have him removed to this district
uh, to prosecute him pursuant to that indictment.
The indictment is sealed.
It will remain sealed until further order of the court.
- That's all I have. - Can you tell us the charges?
No, I can't.
How many other people are named on the indictment?
Had he been informed of the indictment?
Is he arrested because of the charges on the indictment or for illegal flight?
He's arrested for the charges on the indictment. I'm sorry that's all.
Was he informed of those charges? Was he aware--
Sorry that's all I have.
Watch your mic. Watch your mic.
What's the next step?
We'll proceed.
We'll consider our available options and take what legal steps are available.
When will you start working on it?
Now.
I went to Charlotte.
There was a little bit of a circus atmosphere there.
There were songs on the radio about the Bhagwan was captured in Charlotte.
There were T-shirts being sold outside the courthouse.
Big seller, the hot pink there. Everybody likes that one.
Rajneesh will spend the next couple of days
in a jail in Charlotte,
where people suddenly find his name at the top of the news.
I think his wealth is really something else.
It just blows my mind that somebody can have 90 Rolls Royces.
Isn't that how many he has?
And two Learjets. That's really impressive.
It's a free country. I don't know.
If he's breaking the law, I guess they should do something.
If he's not, I suppose they should leave him alone.
Inside the Mecklenburg County Jail,
one of the offices looks like a flower shop.
These flowers have been streaming in here since the Bhagwan arrived.
Some have even been sent to the sheriff
by Bhagwan followers who appreciate the kind of care he's been getting here.
Bhagwan is held in a third floor medical unit
with half a dozen others behind this door.
Jailers say he moves about very little...
and, to deal with the noise of jail, is using a set of earplugs.
He gets vegetarian food and medical care from 24-hour nurses in his cellblock.
Bhagwan's a very good prisoner.
He's been very patient with us
and he's been very cordial to all our treatment and everything.
He's a somewhat unusual prisoner for you?
Very unusual.
He's one of the, I guess, biggest we ever had.
I actually was the only one
who could go in and talk to him who was a Sannyasin,
because I was his lawyer.
So I went in and spent hours with him every day.
I mean here's this man who is the most amazing presence on the planet.
And he's in jail.
He's in jail.
And I need to get him out.
It's my job.
This is not normally the way we see you dressed.
Is it awkward or embarrassing for you?
It is absolutely awkward and embarrassing
because I'm absolutely innocent. I have not done any crime.
I will first fight and finish the case
because I still see that the American Constitution
is one of the most valuable constitutions in the world.
And it will support me and my commune.
So I'm certain that I will win it.
So there I am in the lawyer's interview room
with him sitting on a chair and me sitting on the floor.
He was...
He was unchained.
He was just the same as when he was sitting in front of 10,000 people
when he was sitting there in prison dungarees.
And I would just sit there and feel his presence and be renewed...
uh...
and then go out and get back at it.
Last week, the Bhagwan was indicted for immigration fraud.
Authorities say he lied about his intention to remain here permanently
and arranged sham marriages so followers could stay too.
He was charged with a technical immigration violation, marriage fraud.
In the indictment, almost everything was about Sheela,
almost nothing about Osho.
But that's all they had.
That's all they had.
If he had not been a guru and he was just some guy,
they would have put up a decent bail and let him go.
If the religious leader is guilty of all of the charges against him,
he faces a 175 years in prison and up to $350,000 in fines.
The fact of it is the charges that were brought against him
are almost never criminally prosecuted.
To seek to hold him in jail pending these charges
is statistically almost unprecedented.
Um...
What we are dealing with is a political situation.
We have a man who has now been charged with multiple crimes,
fled the United States, abandoning all his followers by the way,
he was aware of the charge
and was getting out the United States before he got caught.
The best precaution was to detain him, return him to Oregon,
and begin to deal with the prosecution there.
That's what we're preparing for.
What do you think was the strength of your case?
Well, the strength of our case clearly was the fact
that three days after a sealed indictment was returned by the grand jury,
he leaves the ranch for the first time in four years
and flies across country in the middle of the night.
We were anticipating a vigorous trial,
and we had more evidence than we needed.
I was arrested, and we were brought to the nearest prison.
All three were housed in the same room.
Me,
Puja,
and Shanti Bhadra.
There were so many journalists around this prison.
These German police guys were pulling out photos of me
and I had to autograph them.
It was bizarre.
The moment the German authorities had left the room, the handcuffs went on.
The leg chains went on.
The German police handed us over
to American authorities to take us to America.
Shanti Bhadra arrived on a commercial airlines flight from Chicago,
and she'll spend the night at the Downtown Justice Center.
Also due in tonight, Anand Sheela, Bhagwan's former personal secretary.
By the time she arrived at a dark and foggy Portland airport,
she was handcuffed,
but still managed to smile for the crowd of photographers clustered above.
All right.
- I'll see you back in just a little bit. - Okay. Take care.
- Okay. - Bye-bye.
This is the best lawyer in Portland.
Jon, she seemed to be smiling a lot today.
Do you really think she's enjoying being back in the public eye?
Well, you saw the smile on her face as she went into the courthouse today.
Nobody could be happy being in Sheela's situation.
Prosecutors have brought her back to Oregon
because they think they'll have her staying here in prison for years to come.
Heavy security surrounded the arrival in The Dalles
of 38-year-old Ma Anand Puja and 40-year-old Shanti Bhadra.
They were arraigned in Wasco County Circuit Court on attempted murder charges.
Good morning.
- Thanks. - Very pretty.
Did I tell you I was going to be wearing tennies?
By the time I sat down with Sheela, she was in federal custody
and agents brought her and we spent an afternoon together.
I was struck by how small and unimposing she was
because she'd been a pretty big figure
in Oregon at the time and frankly in my life.
Um...
And she was completely forthcoming,
answered all of my questions.
I believe she answered them with complete honesty
and with not the slightest trace of shame or regret
or, uh, anything reflecting remorse.
Um...
I left thinking this is a, um...
This is a person with no empathy.
Frankly, I'm convinced the leadership of this group
really believed they were above the law,
that they could move faster than our law
and that they could run circles around us using our laws or breaking our laws.
Uh... There was an arrogance about it that's almost breathtaking.
Much of what happened is monstrous,
and if Sheela had spent the rest of her life in jail,
that wouldn't have seemed like an excessive sentence.
No back-up?
Okay, man, back-up.
So, he's in jail in Charlotte.
We were told he's going to go from Charlotte on the next plane to Portland.
Rajneesh's zigzag trip back to Oregon began here Monday night
at the same airport where he and six of his followers
were arrested October 28th.
Bhagwan was put aboard a U.S. Marshal's jet.
Rajneesh left Charlotte, North Carolina yesterday afternoon
stopping in Missouri before flying off to Oklahoma City.
Apparently officials now say he is spending another night
in Oklahoma City at an undisclosed location.
He spent Tuesday and Wednesday nights
at the El Reno Correction Institution.
His third jail in just nine days.
Where next for Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh?
As you said all week long,
It's been something of a cat and mouse game
between federal marshals and reporters
as the U.S. Marshals have been deliberately vague
about the exact time and place of his arrival.
They take as long as legally possible
taking him from facility to facility, bussing him around.
What it gave them the opportunity to do is drag him around the country for two weeks.
I think it's a tragedy for this country...
that this innocent and beautiful man...
is being held in this country's prisons.
You know, this country is not that far from the Wild West, right?
So they use every tool they have
to try and coerce accused to give up.
They often refuse voluntary surrender so they can get their perp walk.
They like to arrest and then put the person in the cuffs
and make them walk through this barrage of lights to make them look guilty.
Well, to see a man who's never hurt anyone
shackled like a psychopathic killer...
shows me that the United States government is terrified of this man.
They persist in their belief that Bhagwan
is being wrongly treated and is becoming physically ill.
Spokeswoman Prem Isabel called the case, "government sponsored kidnapping."
All I'm concerned is with Bhagwan's health.
I don't want the man to die in jail.
That anyone could treat a man with such grace and such beauty in that way,
I just don't understand it.
Uh... He is by no means being given any special consideration
or any red carpet treatment so to speak.
I think our assumption was he probably wouldn't like that bus ride.
He probably wouldn't like his roommates.
He was subsequently put in a cell with an individual
who was diagnosed as having contagious herpes.
Herpes.
I think this is outrageous.
Charges of mistreatment.
Three strip searches allegedly performed by local corrections officers.
At 6:30 this morning,
Bhagwan was put back on the Marshal's plane.
From Tucson, it was onto Vandenberg Air Force Base.
From there, it was a mid-afternoon stop in Sacramento.
Each time that they told him that he was going to go somewhere,
they told him that he was going to Portland.
And each time, it turned out not to be true.
Richard, I understand the U.S. Marshal is telling us
that the plane has now landed at Boeing Field in Seattle.
That happened just a few minutes ago.
Our information is that Bhagwan will be transferred
from that bigger airplane to a smaller one
which will in fact bring him here to the Portland air base.
Between the time that he was arrested in Charlotte
and he got back to Portland,
I think it was almost three weeks.
And as a result of that environment...
he was ready to surrender.
Sheela, Bhagwan's former personal secretary,
back in Oregon to face charges of attempted murder,
first degree assault and conspiracy to commit murder.
This time there was no entourage of Rajneeshee supporters.
Sheela came to the U.S. Courthouse in Portland under heavy guard,
virtually surrounded by federal marshals.
State authorities say
she tried to poison two Wasco County commissioners
and tried to burn down the Wasco County Planning Office.
I thought if Sheela did all of this,
it would be possible for her to testify against Osho...
avoid prosecution herself...
and that Osho could be subject to criminal prosecution.
It was never a thought in my mind to barter against Bhagwan
or barter with anybody
so that... I can avoid my misery.
You cannot betray people for their own freedom.
And some major developments tonight.
Ma Anand Sheela appeared in federal court today to plead guilty.
Sheela arrived this morning to plead guilty
to charges ranging from mass poisonings to wiretappings.
Sheela will serve the four-and-one-half-year prison sentence,
pay fines totaling $469,000
and agree to leave the U.S. after she is released.
Ma Shanti Bhadra, another former commune leader,
pleaded guilty to attempted murder of the doctor.
She'll serve ten years in prison.
It was decided
that Sheela and I would serve our sentences in a federal prison.
The authorities felt it was better for my safety not to be in Oregon.
And so I, too, was sent to the federal prison.
It didn't get any better, I'm afraid.
I truly believed that I'd been locked into a mental asylum.
People were screaming, banging on the tin doors.
It was pandemonium.
Through all of that, my son Peter still lived in Rajneeshpuram.
And when I was in prison, Peter came to visit me.
That changed me.
Because of all that had happened around Rajneeshpuram,
because of Bhagwan's attacks, Peter asked me what had happened.
The abandonment, it was just awful for him...
and very painful for me to sit behind glass,
to see the confusion and the pain in my son's eyes.
That was when the first seed began to stir,
the seed that would take me away from Bhagwan.
It was the beginning of a very long journey...
of breaking the spell.
Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh will get his day in court.
Richard Draper listened as the lawyers argued over trial dates
in the Rajneesh case, now before a federal judge.
And, Richard, was today's hearing a preview of things to come?
Oh, very much so, Mark.
Legally, it promises to be a tangled web made for lawyers.
After Osho got back to Portland...
myself and the rest of the lawyers involved with his immigration case
came out to talk to him.
And I said, "These other men are experts in this area of the law.
Why don't we hear from them?"
And all of them basically said the same things.
"You know this is one of the weakest cases I've ever seen.
I don't think I've ever seen a case with this is little evidence
that they've decided to prosecute."
And Osho looked at me and said, "Niren, what do you think?"
And I said...
"Number one, if you fight this,
you'll have to spend about six weeks in a federal court room every day, all day.
And then you'll win.
But even after you win, if the United States government
is prepared to do all of this
to get you and to get this community,
they're not going to stop.
They will keep coming after you until they get you.
And so I recommend that you let us negotiate a deal and that you leave."
And Osho sat back as he always does.
Sat for a few minutes and looked off.
And then he said, "If they will fight this--
If they would fight this fairly, I would go to the Supreme Court.
But my body cannot sustain.
My body cannot take the things that it has--
The things that it has been subjected to.
Uh...
Make a deal and I will leave."
In a dramatic turnaround today,
Bhagwan came to Portland this afternoon and went straight to the U.S. Courthouse.
He was accompanied by his team of four lawyers.
In those days, court artists drew pictures.
There was a very strong presence in that room of a dark aura.
The Rajneeshees who had packed the court room were sending that right up my spine.
That courtroom artist, who when it was over,
had told me that the eeriness that she felt in that courtroom
was only akin to one other experience she had
where she was present with the Ayatollah Khomeini.
A lot of surprises in this local news day today.
The biggest one occurred just a couple of hours ago
in federal court here in Portland.
Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh pleading guilty to immigration fraud charges
and agreeing to leave the country.
Well, Mike and Shirley, a remarkable scene
here at the federal courthouse.
U.S. Attorney Charles Turner still being interviewed by reporters here
following the plea agreement.
A hearing this afternoon before Judge Edward Levy.
Bhagwan said, quote, "I never want to return to the United States again."
Now we're trying to get closer to the U.S. Attorney Charles Turner,
who is still making a statement regarding the conclusion
of this hearing this afternoon. We'll see if we can get closer.
Can you tell us again? We missed this.
- You guys got to be kidding. - Yeah. I'm serious.
I was very pleased about the disposition of this case
because I felt it was clearly within the public interest.
It vindicated the investigation conducted by this office
and it is a public concession of guilt by Rajneesh.
There are certainly members of the public
who really wanted to see this go to a full-blown trial.
Well, the defendant can't--
We can't make a defendant go to trial who wants to plead guilty.
All off these fellows
have been involved in this operation for at least four years,
and this is a very satisfying and successful conclusion to that process.
Kathy, I'd like to ask Mr. Turner a question. Is he still there?
- Yes. - Okay.
Mr. Turner, let me ask you this.
If you got what you wanted, the Bhagwan's leaving the country,
why didn't you just let him leave in the first place,
a couple of weeks ago that Sunday night?
Well, that's not the way our system works.
Somebody who had come here and committed the nature of the crimes
that were committed by Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh--
To let him leave the country as a fugitive and to abdicate our responsibilities
simply would be inconsistent with our oath of office.
We simply could not do that.
Uh... I would never have permitted that.
The laws on our books are enacted
in a democratic process everyone participates in.
There's not an exception in those statutes that says you don't have to do that
if you're smart enough to get away before you get caught.
And the citizens of this state needed to see
that the government was going to hold him accountable
like we would everybody else.
That's far enough. Give him some space, please.
Who are you?
- Please, give him some space. - Who are you, lady?
And that night, he got on a jet and left the United States.
None of his Sannyasins will tell us where he's headed.
There are probably about ten or 12 Sannyasins on the plane.
They've loaded the plane with various pieces of luggage and boxes.
Before he got on the plane, he waved,
put his hands together in the traditional sign and smiled,
and then turned and got on the plane.
We don't know at this point where the plane is headed.
All we suspect is that the Bhagwan is reportedly leaving the country.
I thought there was going to have to be some acceptance from both sides
and that's where we were headed.
But then I got up one morning and it had all blown up and it was leaving.
- A big relief finally to get rid of them. - I guess it was just a relief.
- Just-- - Yeah. That's over.
I'm elated about it. I really am.
I'm glad that he's gone. I hope he never returns.
And I hope all these people go right with him.
When I heard about it, all I could do was heave a sigh of relief.
We're tired.
That's the best thing that could have happened.
I think it's great.
I hope the whole camp or whatever, town of Rajneeshpuram is, uh--
Uh, just packs up and leaves for all I care. I don't like them.
He was scaring a lot of people.
And he was being dishonest and he finally admitted his dishonesty
and stuck his tail between his legs and took off.
I think it's time and I think it's happening at a very appropriate time,
Thanksgiving.
And we are very grateful.
I thoroughly believe that there was a divine hand behind all this.
I don't think America has a place for these people.
They are starting to leave, a few at a time.
Cars packed with belongings,
destinations uncertain.
How do you feel about leaving?
- Are you going to miss this place? - Uh...
I'm missing him already.
It was very abrupt. Quick.
Freaking out.
So you think people panic at first, huh?
Yeah, I mean, if your whole roots get cut off...
It's tough.
Good luck to you.
His followers were told the ranch will be shut down.
Huh-uh. Forget it. I'm staying till the end, man.
I'm not going, no fucking way, until this place is legally sold
and everybody is saying "Okay, let's go, gang!"
That's it. Otherwise I'm going nowhere. I'm staying.
I'm staying until everybody is ready to go.
On the bus was Spencer Williams,
who left the streets of Washington D.C. for Rajneeshpuram about a year ago.
Man, I'm gonna miss this place.
I'm gonna miss the people here, too.
Mm, damn. Love it.
I was still the mayor, and I was basically left in charge
to unwind the legal as best that I could.
We sort of reached a critical mass.
There was so much stress
because I was trying to fight all of these battles
without the resources we had had.
Simply that it's over here...
that Bhagwan's leaving.
Um... The impact of the legal attacks on this community
by the state and federal government
have produced a situation where it is no longer viable
economically or emotionally or spiritually or sensible to continue.
And Isabel and I went up to a cabin in the mountains.
Isabel told me that she needed to go.
I, myself, since Bhagwan left,
I didn't think that we were going to continue this place, you know?
People, we're not fighters.
We're staying in a piece of land where we're unwelcome.
So I said, "Okay! I'll go with you."
And we left. And that's how it went.
At the ranch, I had an experience of being loved and accepted totally.
Totally.
For the first time in my life.
I'll tell you... that's worth having.
I had deep grief.
I felt misunderstood.
I felt...
I felt like, "What just happened?"
You know, I mean, we were so busy fighting it
that, you know, it was only then that I actually had a moment to reflect.
And because we were so raw, you know, it was just like such an explosion.
You know, to walk away from the garden...
and the houses...
and to walk away from the lakes that we built...
I remember...
everyone was in a good mood always...
and a lot of laughing.
And to recognize what an incredible gift it was to be alive on this earth...
You know, it was a town.
We actually did, in the end, build this incredible city that was truly joyous.
It was real people living real lives.
And literally, in the middle of the winter,
to drive away and know that this, too, was going to become a ghost town...
It was just an amazingly surreal moment...
with profound implications for really the whole course of my life.
Come on. Everybody, look at the camera.
Yeah.
All right.
Meanwhile, in the small town of Antelope,
old-time residents are watching their departures
with a mixture of relief and elation.
For the past few years, Antelope has been the city of Rajneesh.
And now many of the Rajneesh welcoming signs are painted over.
The town is Antelope again.
Probably 'cause they just figured people would rip them off.
In Antelope, this was a day of tearing down
and a day of building up.
Well, I think everybody was pretty elated, you know, when it all fell apart.
People felt like they'd finally gotten their town back...
which they did.
- Son of a gun. - Okay, you're live in two.
- Phil, get over here. - Come on, Phil.
Get in here.
We were all ready to celebrate.
- My gosh, you know, he was... - Yeah.
- Get rid of him. - We were gonna have a big party.
It's even hard when you live here to realize it is really true.
It just is going to take a while for us to realize how fantastic all this is.
More than 40 supporters from The Dalles
made the pilgrimage to observe the new government take office.
And I will support the constitution of the United States of America.
Several years ago, we would never have dreamed
that anything could happen to a little community such as this.
But we can't live in the past.
Well, this whole thing that we endured with the Rajneeshees,
it's-- It's similar to a football or basketball game.
Somebody's going to lose, somebody is going to win.
When it's all over and done with, uh, the season's over...
the champion is crowned.
Of course we won.
Just outside the post office
is a flag pole and a little statue of an antelope.
It was donated to the community
for standing up under this pressure that we endured.
The quotation from Edmund Burke,
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."
It will serve as a constant reminder
that now that we have Antelope back, we should remember that we almost lost it.
And I look forward to the day that I don't remember the Rajneesh at all
until I come in and see that flagpole.
For me, you miss some of the excitement.
For some reason, I don't know why,
but I sure love the fight!
Antelope, it was never the same.
Well, you know so many people had left
that you weren't going back to what you were before.
It's just not together anymore.
Not a little community like it was.
Cafe and the store are closed.
You know, there was a school here until all that brouhaha.
You know, time marches on.
It was an extremely unpleasant part of my life.
And I just would like it to be over with and not to have to talk about it anymore.
And I don't want for people to meet me
and say, "Oh, yes, I remember your name," or "Oh, were you involved with them?"
I don't think that they're worth that, either.
No.
This is your first interview.
Your chance to say something to Oregonians.
Now are you daring me?
I'm daring you to look at the camera--
Are you daring me to do this?
I'm just asking, you know, after a year down here,
looking back on all of what happened, looking back on all of that.
- Today, looking back on that experience. - Okay. I say to all Oregonians...
that you did not understand Bhagwan,
nor did you understand his teaching, nor did you understand Sheela.
You have missed out on Rajneeshee, their business, their intelligence...
and their very special ability of celebration and laughter.
I laugh more at you
than Oregonians who say that we are happy that Sheela is in prison.
No.
Are you sorry about anything that happened in Oregon,
the people that did get sick,
the people that did get hurt by all of this? Do you have any remorse?
People get sick all over the world on daily basis.
Why should I feel remorse?
I feel bad that Oregonian made the same mistake.
They made it in treating blacks, American Indians, Mormons, Catholics
and any other minorities they have treated up till now.
That I felt bad for.
But, hey, I never claimed to change humanity.
I still don't.
I don't have much to say about my time in prison.
Bear in mind, I have paid full penalty...
what was charged to me under American legal system.
In Switzerland, in Europe, people are not considered criminal
once they have paid their dues and are crime-free.
Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh announced he planned to live in India.
Reception yesterday at the New Delhi airport
indicates Bhagwan still has followers in India.
Bhagwan told his followers, "If they can harass me, they can harass you."
Bhagwan called Rajneeshpuram a beautiful experiment that failed.
He ended up back in India.
And after he got back to Poona, then people started going back to India again.
So I went to India because I still wanted to be around him
and it was still a great place to be.
At some point he said, "I'm not him.
I'm not this Bhagwan person. I'm not anybody."
And then people wrote to him and said, "We got to call you something!"
You know, "Prince?"
And one of the suggestions was the name "Osho."
Osho is from the Japanese.
It's an honorarium.
You would speak to your teacher, your master as Osho.
He'd always been frail,
but he was like almost transparent, his skin, you know?
Almost like he wasn't there.
He stopped speaking again.
So he was no longer giving discourses.
He would come out...
greet people...
and he would move across the podium
while staying facing forward to the people there, blessing them.
And that time I was sitting about three rows back
and he was wavering a little bit.
And at one time I could actually see his toe was over the edge of the podium.
And I was just willing him to stay alive,
trying to give my life energy to him.
Osho!
And the next day...
everybody was called together into the Buddha Hall.
Yesterday morning, I noticed that Osho was obviously leaving his body.
We sat on the bed and he gave us his final words.
He said, "I leave you my dream."
He then lay back quietly and we sat with him while I held his pulse.
Slowly it faded.
When I could hardly feel it, I said to him, "Osho, I think this is it."
He just nodded gently and closed his eyes for the last time.
His body was brought into the... Buddha Hall...
and placed up on the podium.
Osho!
There are many other things that he said that we'll let you know,
but for now let me just say to you
that, in death, he was just as you would have expected, incredible.
And then it was taken from there to the burning ghats.
Huge procession with people carrying his body.
And I was standing there, uh... watching his body burn.
Such a gift... he was.
Such a gift.
When I heard that Bhagwan, now known as Osho, had died...
I was strangely indifferent.
That was something behind me.
I'd been in prison and now I was coming home.
I was 43 years old, but I was a child.
My parents opened their arms to me...
just held me...
and took me home with them.
Not very long after,
I started running a juice bar in Germany called the Saftladen.
I met my husband George in this juice bar.
And slowly, slowly I began to get back to planet Earth.
At the same time, outside Germany,
there was still an international arrest warrant hanging over my head.
The case to murder Mr. Turner remained open.
The prosecution alleged that the women
plotted to kill Oregon's former U.S. Attorney, Charles Turner.
If found guilty, the women could be given a life sentence in a U.S. jail.
But also at that time,
I had a stability I had never had before.
I was free from prosecution in America as long as I could stay in Germany.
And one day...
in the middle of the night, the phone rang.
It was my daughter-in-law.
"Jane," she said. "Peter is in hospital."
I was hearing for the first time that my son had a brain tumor...
and that he might die.
I was in absolute shock.
But the arrest warrant meant I could not travel to Australia to go to my dying son.
I had to travel to America.
I had to throw myself at the mercy of the court
without any guarantees whatsoever.
I wanted to be free to be able to go to my children at a time like this.
George and I went to the airport in Frankfurt
and boarded a plane for Portland.
We walked together to the federal courthouse.
It was raining that morning.
I was very, very focused.
The court had the discretion of sentencing me to life imprisonment,
but I knew that this was what had to be done.
As proceedings began,
first the prosecutor spoke
and asked that the judge sentence me appropriately.
Then it was my turn to speak.
I felt compelled to stand to what I had done.
I read my statement.
And then the moment had come for sentencing.
Judge Marsh said that sometimes justice is stronger than mercy
and that's okay.
But sometimes mercy overrules justice.
And we have such a case before us today.
And therefore, he was sentencing me to time served.
I was free.
And through my tears,
I could see that everybody in the courtroom was happy for me.
FBI agents came up to me, shook my hand,
and said "Congratulations, Mrs. Stork. You deserve it."
I wasn't a criminal in that moment.
I was a free woman with a son who was dying...
and that brought everybody together...
in a very human way.
Even today when I think about it...
Yeah, it brings tears to my eyes.
It was the most incredible experience
to become aware that they were a lot of people around me that day
who were glad that I could go to my son and be with him when he died.
After prison, I had to get back on my feet.
I had to find way to survive.
When I left Bhagwan, I left the Sannyasin community also.
I left hypocrisy.
It is time that Bhagwan's Sannyasins open their eyes...
and look at the reality of what had happened to Bhagwan.
Bhagwan didn't have a natural death.
This doctor, who had written death certificate...
felt it was with overdose.
About nine months ago, Osho formed the inner circle...
a group of Sannyasins now numbering 20.
The inner circle would be his successor.
These are the same people who were drugging him...
and the same people who are looting him for his riches.
It was your responsibility to take care of Bhagwan.
At least in my time, he was safe.
But Sannyasin community is my past.
In spite of what world thinks, I have come out with upper hand.
I work with schizophrenia to dements,
from Parkinson's to Alzheimer,
and young and old dements.
I didn't want old people rejected.
What have I learned from Bhagwan?
How can I implement his teachings in my daily life?
This commune...
This is what I have learned from Bhagwan.
We eat together.
We sing, dance...
sleep in this house in comfort together.
They can become old in my house and remain till the last moment.
It is a wonderful way...
of saying thank you to existence.
We, as Sannyasins,
should light the consciousness of people around the world.
You could see Osho's vision come to fruition.
There are still communities devoted to him and his teachings.
South America...
Europe...
and Asia.
His publishing is growing dramatically now.
It's published in like 50 languages.
Like 1,000 new book contracts in the last year.
There are young people flocking to Poona today...
to go and learn about his meditations...
and dance in Buddha Hall.
There is a full day program of meditations available here,
all day, every day, from morning till night.
So, his work, his teachings will live on.
It all smells like a gimmick to me.
You know, I just think it's a fleece from day one.
I thought he was an old con man.
They were sitting there in India
and they saw all these rich young Europeans
tripping around, looking for God.
And they figured out these people have got a lot of money,
so they set up shop and created Bhagwan...
and found out that it was pretty easy to fleece them.
People want to believe. They want to belong.
They want to think, you know,
me having sex all day long is going to really send me to heaven.
Anyway, that's my opinion.
After the Rajneeshees left, this guy Dennis Washington--
He's a billionaire developer from Montana.
He bought the ranch and he ended up gifting the thing to Young Life.
It's a Christian youth organization.
They call them camps. It's more like a resort to me.
We went from free sex, the Rajneeshees, to no sex, Young Life.
They're very much abstinence-oriented for their young people.
It's kind of like a cult too.
They're not perfect.
But they're much better neighbors than the Rajneeshees.
They're not waving AK-47's in your face.
They trade on people's fear.
And they do that by defining a group that they can fear and hate.
And then they totally misrepresent who you are.
I think the United States has failed.
The United States has failed to recognize the most beautiful man I've ever seen.
I think the United States has failed to recognize the contribution
that he had to offer to this country and to the world.
I think it's a tragedy.
From the legal political side of it,
I am the only one who really knows it in the depth that it can be shared, you know?
It is somewhat difficult and painful
to talk about what happened to Osho in the United States.
Obviously I loved him very much
and I was committed to the community.
And we were committed to working really hard
to manifest his vision of the transformation of the planet.
Before he died...
I was told, "Osho wants to talk to you."
So I went in...
and he said, "Clear my name in America by writing a book
and telling the truth about what happened."
And...
it's taken a long time and it's had some twists and turns,
but that's what I'm doing, is finishing that book now.
So what I would say to people is try to go on the journey.
The truth lies within.
He remains the master of masters.
Start the journey.
It'll change your life.
Bhagwan used to tell stories of the Zen master
who, seeing that his disciple was ready for enlightenment,
struck him with a stick and killed him.
But in the moment before his death, he became enlightened.
And I ask myself again and again,
"Did I miss the blow from the master?
Did I run away...
and not wait for that blow that would bring me enlightenment?"
It took me many, many years before I was free of this suspicion...
that I had somehow failed.
As I'm saying this, I have the picture of a grub in a cocoon.
If you've ever watched a butterfly come out of its cocoon,
it's a long difficult process,
squeezing and moving
and the cocoon is clinging to the moth's body
until it manages that last... wriggle,
that last push and it's out.
Just what's it like now? Do you look at it differently?
One thing I'm really conscious of today is how important family is.
My parents stuck by me. They loved me no matter what.
My husband stood by me,
and my children showed remarkable courage and strength to come through all of that
to be the very wonderful adults that they turned out to be.
I have to live with myself.
And this living with myself, I must look inside me.
Who am I?
What am I?
Why am I?
It is not good and bad, right and wrong, black and white.
Of course, I don't know when I die I come in Hell or Heaven.
But it doesn't matter.
Wherever I come, I will create my own paradise.
I love my power.
Why not?
Bhagwan has taught me strength.
And you think I'm going to waste my strength away?
I would like to say...
Sannyasin community,
you are negating the whole experiment of Oregon
by cutting it out from Bhagwan's biography.
His lifetime dream was a new commune.
And we created this beautiful community that we lived in for years.
Don't kill him by concentrating...
and feeling ashamed of... this scandal.
Don't forget every one of us was part of that scandal.
Finished?
Ah!
I thought it would never come to an end in my life!
We definitely all need a drink.
Okay.