TAKE A LOOK AT 10 FACTS ABOUT THE LIFE AND TIMES OF OSHO'S AIDE MA ANAND SHEELA
Ma Anand Sheela, a controversial figure linked with one of the greatest bioterror attacks in America, was the spokesperson for the commune created by cult leader Bhagwan Rajneesh aka Osho. Rajneesh gained global fame and attempted to set up a utopian city in the middle of Oregon between 1981 to 1985, but few knew about the facts of Sheela's life and her role in the commune.
Her journey to Rajneeshpuram in America and later deportation to West Germany before settling in Switzerland has been full of scandals and intrigue. Here are 10 of the lesser-known facts about the life of Ma Sheela Anand.
1. How she met Bhagwan Rajneesh and why she left him?
Sheela was introduced to Rajneesh when she visited him with her parents as a 16-year-old. She spoke about it in the 2018 documentary titled Wild Wild Country where she mentioned visiting Rajneesh's apartment with her father and instantly feeling devoted to him. However, Sheela ended up leaving the man she was devoted to. "It was bound to happen, wasn't it? It's like needing a doctor when you are sick. When people are not sick, where is the need for a doctor? I had had enough of him," she told India Today in an exclusive interview. "I was in love with him all these years but things just crystallized over that time," she added.
2. Orchestrating the 1984 bioterror attack
Sheela, who lives in Switzerland as of 2024, was named as one of the chief architects of the largest bioterror attack in American history where 751 people fell victim to salmonella infection though no one lost their lives. Years later as part of a documentary titled Searching For Sheela, she denied having a part in the bioterrorism. "No, I did not do it. I would not do it. I am my parents’ daughter who had learned the correct values of life,” she spoke in the documentary.
3. Accused of wire tapping conversations at the commune
After Sheela parted ways with Bhagwan Rajneesh, the FBI investigated for months and confiscated hundreds of tapes and cassettes. After the bioterror attack when she fled to Europe, Sheela was accused of arson, wiretapping, attempted murder, and mass poisonings. In 1985, she pled guilty to wire-tapping the ashram in Rajneeshpuram.
4. Views on new groups who overtook Rajneeshpuram
Speaking about new members who took over Rajneeshpuram, Sheela told India Today, "That Hollywood group is a bunch of rich southern Californians who sit around all day and sip coffee." She added, "Under them, Rajneeshpuram is headed for disaster. My management of the place was superb. But do these people have that kind of competence? Will they be able to make wise investments and generate revenues? We ran it like professionals, like a successful business enterprise. To me, things in Oregon look pretty grim."
5. Sentenced to 20 years in federal prison
Sheela pled guilty to attempted murder for her part in the 1984 Oregon bioterror attack and she was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison in 1986. However, she was released on account of good behavior after serving 29 months of jail time. Sheela also had to pay a fine of $470,000. “I have served my time gracefully and now people should leave the thing,” she once said, per GQ. “Why are people punished? People are punished because once they have served their sentencing the account is zero-zero. In my case, it is not zero-zero. The world would like to try me again and again and again and send me to prison. Now we have to move on."
6. Started her own company
Sheela went on to start her own company called Sheela Birnstiel GMBH which is a corporation that functions as a hotel management consultancy, as per GQ. "We are somewhere in West Germany and there are 25 of us, including five children." she told India Today.
7. Charged with stealing millions from the commune
After Sheela and her followers fled to Germany, they were accused of the theft of $55 million of the organization's funds. But she later told India Today, "I had nothing to do with the missing money. In any case, the new financial advisor of the Rajneesh commune has now retracted these accusations and has stated that no money was missing. I have stolen nothing and if the $55 million was indeed missing, it must have been blown on the fleet of Rolls Royces, planes, watches, and expensive jewelry bought for the Bhagwan."
8. Wrote multiple books
After the death of Osho, Sheela penned down her experiences as a follower of Rajneesh in 1996. The memoir was originally written in German and was later translated into English. The title was Don't Kill Him!: The Story of My Life With Bhagwan Rajneesh and another book published in 2021 was titled. By My Own Rules: My Story in My Own Words.
9. Was married thrice
Sheela had married an American citizen named Marc Harris Silverman who moved with her to India to learn about spiritual studies, as per Vogue India. After his death in 1980, she got married for the second time to another American named John Joseph Shelfer. The couple got married in an on-flight ceremony while traveling to Mumbai. After Shelfer's death, she married a Swiss citizen named Urs Brinstiel who died due to AIDS in 1992. Sheela later gave an interview to the outlet and said that she wouldn't recommend marriage to younger generations. “No marriage. Maintain your freedom and learn to live with yourself. But I had the best married relationship because there was basic freedom in us. You were allowed to be yourselves and have other relationships if need be,” she said.
10. Life in Switzerland
After parting ways with Osho, Sheela settled down in a village near Basel in Switzerland, per GQ. She also runs two nursing homes in Matrusaden and Bapusaden. Sheela said that she was inspired by her parents to serve others so she brought these nursing homes to provide shelter to elderlies who suffer from mental illness. “It is the love of my parents that I have received that must be shared with people. They were my inspiration to create nursing homes," she told Vogue India in an interview.