Wild Wild Country: Love, Spirituality and Crime

Una serie documental de gran éxito recuerda el caso del movimiento místico Rajneesh que, tras un mensaje de espiritualidad y armonía, escondía una turbia red de corrupción y crimen. Una de las protagonistas de esta historia nos cuenta su versión de los hechos.

Bandera UK
Sarah Davison

Speaker (UK accent)

Actualizado a

Disciples (sannyasins) of Osho

Escucha este articulo

Imprimir

In 1983, a group of people wearing red settled down in Wasco County, a rural region in Oregon in the United States. What began as a ranch on dry land soon became a self-sufficient and prosperous community. Ninety miles away from the nearest city, a settlement calling itself Rajneeshpuram grew, with restaurants, a shopping mall and even an airstrip established there. Its founder was an Indian guru named Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, who, with the help of his personal secretary, Ma Anand Sheela, put into practice his desire to build a society where respect, solidarity and peace reigned. Unfortunately, their idealistic plan was already sparking tensions with neighbouring towns, and among its own community members. 

DOCUDRAMA

Netflix documentary series Wild Wild Country describes the rise and fall of Rajneeshpuram. From the early days, Bhagwan and his followers – called ‘Sannyasins’ – faced the rejection of locals. Crimes were committed, such as a salmonella attack, in an attempt to sway a local election, homeless people were recruited for voting purposes, among other irregular practices. 

INVESTIGATION

As tensions mounted, the FBI began investigating the commune. Meanwhile, Sheela’s behaviour became more extreme: she was accused of stealing fifty-five million dollars, and ordering the killing of Bhagwan’s personal physician. Once the most influential woman in the commune, Sheela had to run away to Germany, where she was arrested. 

AN EMPIRE

After spending thirty-nine months in prison, Sheela moved to Switzerland and married a homosexual man to obtain Swiss nationality. In the meantime, Bhagwan continued building an empire based on his persona. He published over six hundred books on spiritual themes, and owned a fleet of nearly a hundred Rolls-Royces, and countless watches worth several million dollars. Bhagwan died in 1990, but to this day there are centers in his name and his books are best-sellers all over the world.

An Eye on Britain: English Satire
GETTY IMAGES

Culture

An Eye on Britain: English Satire

La prensa escrita no vive su mejor época, pero esta revista satírica no ha dejado de mejorar sus ventas, gracias a su feroz independencia y a su visión mordaz sobre los tiempos que corren. Este es el secreto de su éxito.

Victor Ll. Blackburn

More in Explore

TODAY’S TOP STORIES

A Short Story: Frost Fair

Fiction

A Short Story: Frost Fair

El espectáculo del Támesis helado transforma Londres en un escenario único, donde una historia de amistad inicialmente maravillosa se convierte rápidamente en una pesadilla.

Rachel Roberts

Suscríbete y mejora tu inglés por solo 1€/mes ¡Es el momento! Mejora tu nivel de inglés con un método sencillo que se adapta a ti. Cancela cuando quieras.