Wild Wild Country (Season 1)
I picked up this controversial, mystery of events that allegedly involves God, spirituality, sex, and crime all in one place, at the recommendation of a friend. The series includes a man who called himself God, his unmatched following around the world, and a scandal of thousands of millions of dollars. Can anything else on the face of the Earth be more intriguing? I guess not. This is an 8-episode documentary series with real-life footage and interviews of some of the people who were present in the heat of the moment at the time including Maa Anand Sheela, the secretary of Osho, and the mastermind behind all his empire. This woman is phenomenal, and I have really become a fan.
The story starts in India with the up rise of Bhagwan Rajneesh (later known as Osho) and the establishment of his Ashram in Poona. His name spread across the world and more and more disciples started flooding into his shrine majority being from the west carrying their vast reserves of dollars and euros. As the followers grew, there was a need for a larger place and that is when the desert of Oregon in the US was chosen. This is when Sheela enters the scene and single-handedly executes the plan to build this city of ‘Rajneeshpuram’ in the desert. The scale at which this city is built with its own dam, airport, etc. is marvelous. Someone at the beginning of the series said if there is a book written about this it may sound like fiction. And that is exactly what I was thinking about as I continued to watch more episodes. How one man and the faith his people had in him can move mountains and create a reality that is unbelievable. Osho is believed to have had 90 Rolls Royce and 2 private jets. Can you imagine?
The storm in the desert comes when the locals of Oregon are not happy about their new neighbors and there is born a conflict of the same old argument of natives and foreigners. I personally did not like how the locals responded and out rightly rejected the rajneeshi’s without giving them a chance. The mastermind Sheela then comes up with several schemes to save her community and their livelihood. The best part about this series is that everyone has been given a chance to speak their own story and the producers have done a great job of throwing light on all sides. I still feel that the Rajneeshis were not completely at fault and the Govt. did make some false allegations on them like that of poisoning the city. Anyhow, like with any minority, the Govt. forever remains powerful and can satisfy its own agenda. The same happened to Rajneeshpuram as the creators ultimately fled and the city was left abandoned.
Even after such a dramatic turn of events, Bhagwan’s followers followed him back to India. Such was his charisma and influence. Honestly, I do not fully comprehend how a man like that existed on Earth and feel missed out. I sure wish I were born in those times so I could experience his magic in this life. Anyhow, the sheer magnitude of his disciples, their deep faith, and the outrageous sums of money and scandal involved making this series a DEFINITE DEFINITE WATCH. Highly recommended !
Disclaimer: The above review solely illustrates the views of the writer.