Philip Niren Toelke, also known as Swami Prem Nasrin, was Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh’s personal attorney after he arrived in the United States. After law school, Manatt, a fast-growing U.S. law firm, recruited Toelke.
As the second senior litigator, he represented clients such as Jack Kent Cooke, Linda Ronstadt and Shaun Cassidy.
But he never felt like he truly belonged anywhere until a friend of his took him to India to meet Rajneesh, also known as Osho. That was where Toelke found his place.
“(Working with Osho) was the greatest gift you could possibly imagine,” Toelke said during a speech on the UI campus Wednesday . “Like if someone introduced you to a beautiful, rich, intelligent, loving woman who fell in love with you and you fell in love with her, but in a different way … he had a quality, a presence, a love like I’d never experienced.”
Philip Nasrin Toelkes spoke out on his experience in Rajneeshpuram Wednesday night on the University of Idaho campus.
Eventually, Osho returned to India, some of Osho’s friends were arrested and Rajneeshpuram became a ghost town. Netflix released a documentary series on the community 17 miles away from Antelope, Oregen, called “Wild, Wild Country.”
Wednesday night, Toelke explained the history behind the founding of Rajneeshpuram and gave the audience a feel for the culture of the community. Throughout the lecture, Toelke explained the ways in which United States law weaved into the story of Rajneeshpuram.
Significant examples of the importance of law in his story included the controversy surrounding Osho’s visa, the attempts to establish Rajneeshpuram as an official city, and Sheela’s efforts to manipulate Rajneeshees into criminal behavior.
“What happened to Rajneeshpuram was a tragedy for America,” Toelke said. “It desperately needed and still needs a spiritual transformation beyond religion, but instead of accepting it, they broke their own laws to destroy it.”
The significance of Toelke’s lecture extended beyond simply informing people about what happened to Rajneeshpuram. Toelke communicated how dangerous the tendency that people have to panic in the face of the unknown can be, especially when the unknown is meant to be positive.
Victor Gomez, a Hindu activist who attended the event, connected to this sentiment.
“I have a guru, a master, who has undergone most of the scrutiny of society, of government, of the same tactics used against Osho,” Gomez said in an interview after. “It just goes to show the persistence of authentic masters who wish to liberate humanity instead of enslave humanity with fear and greed.”
Toelke feels strongly about sharing his experience with Rajneeshpuram because he wants to help humanity move forward.
“The human species is destroying the planet’s ability to sustain itself, destroying air, water, resources… the ice caps are melting but rich people say it’s not happening,” said Toelke. “Osho said we need to move from our heads to our hearts because love and acceptance happens in the heart.”
Toelke hopes that through sharing his story, he will be able to guide the world away from this self destruction. Toelke runs transformational workshops and is writing a book about Rajneeshpuram.
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article misspelled Philip Niren Toelke’s name.