A Surprise Life

This book is different from any other I've read by or about Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. Susan writes from inside her own heart and mind, about the commune (India and Oregon), her life there, her difficulties and joys, the people she knew and worked with, and most of all, her very own thoughts and feelings through it all. The book is a joy to read, exactly like letters from an old friend.

I've read many books about Bhagwan, including "The Awakened One", "Bhagwan: The Most Godless..", "Forever Is Not Long Enough", "My Dance With A Madman", "My Life In Orange", and "The Luminous Rebel". Susan's book gives the clearest view of Bhagwan's ashram and the people who surrounded their beloved Bhagwan. The last chapters, detailing Sheela's psychosis and the death of the Oregon ashram, were heartbreaking to say the least. When I finished this finely detailed book, I felt I had experienced it all myself.

In fact, this book was so personal to me that I attempted to locate Susan M. Clare online, just as I would attempt to locate an old friend. I wanted to write her, thank her, and ask just one question: What Happened To Sheela - Where Is Sheela?

The spiritual journey of Susan M. Clare began in Poona I and ended ten years later with the mind-boggling commune experiment in Oregon. She describes her life-changing experiences, in which she gained profound insights, such as: "Courage is related to what you're afraid of" (page 22), "I don't have to passively follow the formulas laid down for me by countless generations, by societies, by institutions, by tradition" (page 46), "Mind is unwilling to accept that some things are simply incomprehensible" (page 117), "Mainstream society doesn't allow for the uninhibited expression of joy" (page 156).

In the course of her experiences on the Ranch she tried hard to keep a fair view of how the struggle between sannyasins and the Oregonians began and escalated later. Basically, the story is about her personal struggle between mind and heart, between her view of justice and surrender to the master. The description of her struggle is honest and sincere. Eventually she took refuge to the mind and dropped sannyas.

Susan Clare sometimes goes deep into intellectual explorations as you may find them in a scientific treatise. Except for a few high-profile leaders, such as Sheela, she changed the names of her fellow sannyasins, which is rather strange in the sannyas world, as is her usage of the word "sannyasin" without the plural "s" when referring to a number of sannyasins.

All in all, I would recommend the book as another piece of the huge mosaic representing the colorful lives of all sannyasins.

Susan Clare tells the people's history of the Rajneeshee movement. Her tale is that of thousands who went to Poona, India, and The Ranch in Oregon, USA, in the seventies and eighties, to try something different. Those who believed there might be a better way to be in the world by opting out fill these pages. These are the ones who climbed to the mountain top in community and went down with the ship. For orange folk it is their unwritten memoir, a chance to relive those crazy times, to connect the flashbacks. For their friends and relatives, Clare gives the prompts, the jumping off points: Tell me about.... For those who missed this attempt at creating heaven on earth, here is your chance to go beyond the headlines to see what all the fuss was about.

Clare's story is indeed a surprise read because right from the beginning of her story she captures you, the reader and pulls you along, as if you're inside her psyche, on her incredible journey from a sheltered beginning in Brooklyn to a wild ride through India and the US with an Indian Master. I was captivated from the start and didn't want it to end. I look forward to the sequel with great anticipation.