Into the Archives: The Little Cult That Could – Part One.

I’m happy to present Into the Archives: The Little Cult That Could – Part One.

I’m going to be honest with you all. I have done a lot of research for the Into the Archives series. What starts out as simple shower thoughts ends up with me hunched over my laptop at 3am on a Saturday, desperately searching online for some sort of obscure document or decades-old news article. I have read articles about extremists from all over the world, throughout history, plotting to exact their revenge using biological weapons. I sip large cups of coffee in my study whilst reading up on the most efficient way to disperse minute virus particles through building ventilation systems. Hmmm, do you think that I may be on some sort of…list?

But nothing really compares to the story of the Rajneeshees. What started out as a healthy curiosity for a seemingly run-of-the-mill 1980s cult, evolved into a feverish obsession to read everything I could get my hands on. I am not exaggerating when I say I spent months wrapped up in this story. The Rajneeshees has all the elements of a classic cult tale: An Eastern spiritual guru travels to the Western world where he becomes a God-like figure to both celebrities and Harvard graduates alike. And then comes the bit about using beaver carcasses to poison a town’s water supply, and suddenly you’re in uncharted territory.

The thing that fascinates me the most about the Rajneeshees is the cult’s evolution from wacky hippies into amateur bioterrorists. No one thought the smiling people in red robes toiling in the fields would become agents of chaos, least of all the American government. The Rajneeshees is a story of desperation, greed, and betrayal. I have tried my best to capture its essence for you, and I hope I’ve done it justice.


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