Copy of an important document

To all to whom it may concern

“My last will is my present work and my sacrifices constitute my living Gospel”  Maha Chohan Koot Hoomi Lal Singh

Barcelona, the 4th of July, 1966

Miss Ann S. Petluck
UNHCR Deputy Regional Representative
New York City UN Headquarters

Dear Miss Petluck,

Much obliged for your most kind and understanding letter dated June 16. Now I feel like the UN is doing something.

Quite true, the World Church Service is rather busy, and there is hope that they will end up with a solution.

Nevertheless, according to developments, I fear we are going to the rocks. I have two interviews with Mr. Molina, and it appears that my personal belongings, files, archives, library, which includes the entire collection of documents and works of the World Congress of Religions since 1912, as well as my bunch research material as archeologist, ethnologist and historian, my typewriters, photographic implements and what not are to be considered as a separate matter, not as my means of work and the prolongation of my personality, and my intellectual property. For the first time in my whole life I am hearing of such a thing, and when I was forced out of Cuba manu military, what was left of my belongings or Museum – for the communists helped themselves as best they could during my forced detention – was sent to four different countries, and none raised the slightest objection or forced me to pay the least custom duty on such items.

Now it appears that the Customs in America have their saying in such matters. Does not the UN Human Charter of Human Rights guaranty the private property of individuals? Does not the Refugee status include the protection to the intellectual property of those poor victims in human inhumanity?

They are making me feel like a tremendous criminal, who hoards fantastic treasures yet loves like Christ to go on starving and being a maltreated exile and refugee. They are certainly beginning to make me wonder if I should be at all alive. If any scrap of paper of rag of parchment snatched from the early silence of prehistory, or important private letter signed with a fabulously important personality is to be considered marketable against my will, expertly evaluated or equated as mercantile object on the assumption that the law of probability may yet make me forget that I am merely a scholar and student of life, my life shall become soon quite impossible, as I may need all the game warriors of Vietnam to protect me from robbers. If the idea is to place a price tag on my files, original studies and prehistoric clues – which possibly I alone can decipher or interpret, then I may be richer than Uncle Sam, the Vatican and the Kremlin all put together, and in such an event there would not be enough gold at Fort Knox to pay Custom duties, taxes and what not.  – I can see a whole army of FBI agents snooping around to see if I trade my idea or sell my photostatic copies of the sphinx and the moon, or something like that. And anyone may just imagine the years it would take the Customs agents to go through some four tons of files, archives, research notes, scientific papers, private mail of all the great religious bodies as well as my own, seeking for priced clues or items, or marketable atoms, escalading even through my thoughts trends in order to discover the meaning of some ancient Sanskrit or Chinese parchments. What a job. This would, of course, force me also to spend my time with those busy gentlemen intent on making a rich man out of me when I couldn´t be able or even willing to pay a simple five dollar bill as excise, franchise or thought tax. I am deeply concerned, and even wondering whether they are trying really to help this poor exile and refugee.

My belongings are now strewn in four different countries. As far as I know, as I have not seen most of it during the past four years due to my wandering unwillingly around the world as an unwanted, homeless refugee, exile or that, it is heaps of junk. The communists have helped themselves during my confinement, and I wonder if they were gentlemen enough to live anything valuable. Anyway, nothing that I possess has really any meaning without my coordination travail. Even the compiled archives depend on my intellectual explanations, on my intellectual touch.

It would certainly be a good one on me, again, if I were granted a permanent residence in America, thus putting an end to my excruciating ordeal as an homeless and roaming refugee, but deprived of my private belongings. Of course I have two alternatives, in sound analysis. One is to let the Customs Officers appraise all my belongings to the very last shred of thought, prying into my private life and marketing my thoughts, my vocation and my inspirations. This would force me to set up forthwith an Auction block, so as to pay the staggering sums of money as custom duties. Or I would have to set up an Office on the sites to gather the necessary wealth (either millions or billions, God only knows what custom duties can believe that my things are worth) which I would have to beg to the entire world by means of public appeals. The other alternative, naturally, would be to prevent this unseeming mercenary escalading into my mystic and scholarly soul – by keeping my private belongings, Museum, files, archives and all as far away as possible, and never think of having this intellectual and thinking and sentimental portion of my being anywhere near America.

There is no possible to know where my work and my Museum begins or ends in my present personality. It would be impossible, therefore, to begin excavating or carving into my cosmos. I do not mean to minimize the abilities of American savants, but I have the impression that concepts and inspirations have not yet been found to be splittable, fusionable or fissionable. Even then, I still think that I would prefer to continue enjoying the natural integrity and integrality of my personality as it is. Without my private belongings, I’d be like a perfect zombie, or robot, and I don’t think this is ideal man of tomorrow that the UN or America wants to make out of refugees, exiles and apatrids. Or is it?

I am willing to sign a document guaranteeing that I shall never try to smuggle in my private affairs, Museum, archives, library and what not into the United States of America. But then, considering the complications this would entail, I am already wondering if the Refugee Bureau should not contemplate a better solution to my ever sized case. I may manage to have my private belongings, papers, books, research data, etc on the border, and live (reside) nearby within America, so thus I might envisage to catch up with my work, my thoughts and my inspirations by simply indulging in a small stride. But it could be so much simpler if I could find a country where culture is loved enough to the extent of not placing a price tag on my discoveries, studies, papers, drawings, etc. I’d prefer a country that considers and treats me respectably, without trying to make a fabulously rich person out of me, when I don’t own any wealth. But I think this is preposterous to force me into business when I am merely a cenobitic mystic and scholar. Besides, they seem to forget that neither myself nor my Museum of private belongings are for sale.

May I add that I have travelled all around the world during the past 45 years, with a good part of my Museum or private belongings, because they constitute a portion of my personality and my means of work and expression, and never I ever been charged customs duties or any sort of tax. How else could fare, if I need the Museum in order to illustrate my lectures. Goodness gracious, I am thinking that this very letter I am writing to you at present, in its original scribbled form, may be appraised by the US Custom´s officers as worth a fortune, and I fail to realize how on this war-weary planet I am to pay the corresponding duties on these suddenly fabulously valuable scraps of paper. May we don´t know it, but it might prove most profitable to get through the Customs treatments so as to know exactly what we are worth? Well I’ll do my best not to sneeze in my trunks, for in case this does a miracle more increasing the worth of my private belongings.

Well, maybe these people are just kidding, after all. But I still hope I won´t have to part with some portions of myself, or be forced to catch with myself through some magic or acrobatic ways that can be easily imagined. Still, we must contemplate a more reasonable solution. What would the communists in Cuba say if they know of all the difficulties I am meeting with in the paradises of christian democracy since I was yanked out of their own hell.

It’s always nice hearing from you, and I trust I am not too much of a bore.

As a final note. I wish to remind that in Cuba we had a IegaIIy incorporated UNIVERSAL CULTURAL, HUMANIST, RELIGIOUS AND SPIRITUAL ALLIANCE FOR MODERN TIMES a Spiritual-Scientific Synthesis University, the Grand Spiritual Sanctuary of the Americas, and the World Socio-Cultural Travel Club, besides the World Museum of the Living History of Mankind (aII my archives, files, PaneI exhibits which illustrated my lectures throughout the world). AII this work depended on me and was part and parcel of my personality. It is natural that I should seek to continue my work. I am what I do and what I think. One needs only to go my files in the different departments of the UN since 1958 and before to take stock of my travail and seize up the projections of my personality. And, my work being exclusively educational, cultural, religious and spiritual, I have never been charged a single farthing in Cuba or in any other country for being what I am or for going around lecturing with my Museum.- Needless to say, this situation is becoming utterly intolerable to me. I am exceeded by suffering and I am revolting against this human inhumanity which is going exerted upon me. It is about time the UN really solved my problem.

It is not exactly human either to withstand so much suffering for so long, and I sincerely believe that I am Iosing my time waiting for the UN to take care of my case. Regardless of the results of the present endeavors of the World Church Service, why not start something truly practical and of immediate results? If my problem can be solved only partially with the granting of the Permanent Residence in America (God Bless America, in spite of all) but with no facilities whatever for my cultural stature and status or for my religious universality and spiritual dignity, then why not seek a solution to this problem elsewhere?  I don´t mind having a split personality, to say the least, if I can have my work bench in a safe place, where nobody will be constantly snooping around to see if I have valuable things or taxable items. As a matter of fact I can be a respectable resident of a country, and go to work in another one when I feel like doing so. I wouldn´t mind in the least having my laboratory, Museum and world gathering ground by the Kilimanjaro in Africa, or by some river nook in any South Sea island (Fiji, Papua, Samos, Ponapor, etc.) or an island of the Galapagos group. I truly need peace, quiet, and a truly natural surroundings. Of all these places mentioned, the Galapagos seems to me the more enticing, so I now request that you make my proposition to the UN 0fficial Delegation of Equator in this respect.

On my part I am writing to the government of Equator directly, referring to the statement to you. All I ask is the enjoyment of permanent residence in the Galapagos, with the official grant of a Portion of land for my purposes. I would immediately sail there with all the archives, files, library, Museum, etc., and establish a Headquarter. My own residence would be the U.S.A., but I would go there a number of months each year to work, and to hold University gatherings, or World Congresses of religions, brotherhoods and cultural entities. I would of course establish a University, a Spiritual Sanctuary and a great Tourist Center as I had established in Cuba before the unfortunate advent of communism. Due to the special predicament I am being placed, I would naturally make a word appeal for funds to develop the just mentioned plan. With my present possibilities I feel quite certain that I can raise enough enthusiasm throughout the world to establish in this heavenly spot of the Pacific a real Cultural, Religious and Spiritual center devoid of whatever bigotry or sectarianism.

Please remain well aware of the fact that I am really earnest, and I want the right to live somewhere, anywhere, with my own cultural standard without seeing my thoughts, inspirations or scientific discoveries being taxed, franchised or revenued. If this is not possible in the civilized world I´ll gladly retire to places or primitive islands where the natives respect culture and practice human brotherhoods as well as peacefulness. If there are primates on the Galapagos islots I think this would be an ideal set up for me and my scientific colleagues to adopt them, educate them and strive to imitate Prometheus by creating a humanity of own liking. I don´t think the UN or America would hold it against me if I “happened” to be successful. Furthermore, in this manner all problems about my residence in America would be definitely erased. Equator, on the other hand, would gain considerably by our Tourist Center, which would soon develop into one of the world´s rendez-vouz of culture, natural life and paradisiacal climate.

With this new outlook I believe that we are getting somewhere. I trust you will attend to this matter without delay. But for God´s sake, let us do SOMETHING REAL, PRACTICAL, EFFECTIVE. I´ll accept any small out-of-the way island, any uncharted mountain, any inhospitable desert hole, any tiny reef with a bunch of coconut trees, so long as I can rest my human countenance peacefully and dignity. I shall appeal to different governments again, so you may hear from them in due course of time. I am simply tired of vain promises and futile hopes.

Pretty soon I shall have my temporary visa again out of term, so I will be forced to get hold of my toothbrush and typewriter once more, and repeat the brutal ritual of boarding planes and ships in quest of proud wonderlands of inhumanity where they care to admit me for 30 or 60 days, progressively escalading the latitudes of this silly planet. Or shall I be forced to call on the communists, kiss their bloody flag and feign blissful love for their idiotic monstrosities, begging them to treat me humanely. What a propaganda for them if they come to learn about my ordeals after getting away from the Cuban communist hell, while I famish for a genuine democratic haven or truly religious mien.

My words cannot be those of comfort. I am sore sight because I suffer all the purulences of human inhumanity. So kindly have forbearance for me. I only want you and the world to know what it is to be an exile, refugee, or persecuted soul whose only crime is to have believed too much in human democracy and in the goodness of confessedly “God-inspired” people.

Trusting to hear from you in the very near future, I wish to remain,

Most sincerely,

Pr. OM Lind

Apartado Postal 126
Barcelona, Spain