a guru from india, bhagwan sri rajneesh, started the farming commune in 1981. after two years and $30 million, the 64,000-acre organic farming and meditation compound had its own post office, school, hospital, and shopping mall, with housing for over 1,000 followers. >> there were doctors and lawyers and accountants who've given up everything to drive tractors and plant potatoes and have, you know, daily chants. >> in 1982 the rajneeshis took over the nearby town of antelope and with it the majority of seats on the city council and school board, which horrified long-time residents of the small town. before the outbreak, the rajneeshis had set their sights on control of the larger town of the dalles and had put up their own slate of candidates running in the november election. in the absence of a scientific explanation, some thought the rajneeshis might have intentionally poisoned the community in some way. >> so there was suspicion, but there was no evidence. >> why would they do this? and the other thought was maybe it was somebody, some hothead trying to incr