Why Did You Go to India at Seventeen?

Growing up in the notorious commune of Rajneeshpuram, and haunted by abandonment and addiction, a woman’s spontaneous awakening reveals that every wound was a doorway to remembering who she truly is.

Today’s episode featured Anonymous. If you’d like to reach out to her, you can email her at RosesLifeBook@gmail.com. 

To learn more about the Rajneeshee movement and the events at Rajneeshpuram, check out the Rajneesh Artifacts and Ephemera Collection in the Oregon archives, which includes documents and memorabilia from the commune’s time in Oregon Archives West. The Oregon Historical Quarterly’s retrospective article Revisiting Rajneeshpuram offers a sharp, scholarly review of the commune’s rise and fall Oregon Historical Society. For the bioterror episode tied to the group, the CDC’s official report A Large Community Outbreak of Salmonellosis Caused by Intentional Contamination remains the definitive source CDC Stacks. Finally, Netflix’s Wild Wild Country has made the story accessible and vivid, combining interviews, archival footage, and local perspectives en.wikipedia.org+1.

Producers: Whit Missildine, Andrew Waits, Aviva Lipkowitz

Content/Trigger Warnings: Child abandonment, Emotional neglect, Parental alcoholism, Drug use and addiction (heroin), Homelessness, Prostitution, Domestic abuse / emotional abuse, Narcissistic relationship dynamics, Spiritual / psychological crisis, Religious cult involvement, explicit language

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Intro Music: “Sleep Paralysis” - Scott Velasquez

Music Bed: Ambient Themes

Services

If you or someone you know is struggling with the effects of trauma or mental illness, please refer to the following resources:

National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: Text or Call 988 

National Alliance on Mental Illness: 1-800-950-6264

National Sexual Assault Hotline (RAINN): 1-800-656-HOPE (4673)

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