Divyam Aat

Divyam Aat de Kwant passed away in the Holten nursing home where he had lived for the last few years. A former board member of the Friends of Osho Foundation in the Netherlands, we remember him fondly as someone who was touched by Osho after a life-long and sincere search which began in a strict orthodox Reformed milieu. In the interview (in Dutch) on the Friends of Osho website (vrienden-van-osho.nl), Aat describes it as: “I come from a hell and damnation milieu…”

Koen Bugter, the journalist who interviewed him for Friends of Osho, writes: “Aat was a journalist who worked for newspapers and magazines, and for many years appeared on radio programmes for the Organisation of Hindu Media (OHM), a place where I also worked for several years as a freelancer. To me, he was a fine person who could look at wisdom in a universal way and knew how to share it lightheartedly.

“Aat, thank you for your inspiration, friendship and team spirit. Thanks to you I have come to meet many beautiful people.”

Aat was a well-versed man and could express himself quite well in writing, i.e. in Hoe Osho in mijn leven kwam (How Osho came into my life) (more on vrienden-van-osho.nl), Divyam Aat writes:

“My drive to take sannyas comes from a bit of desperation. Desperation due to the failure of finding enlightenment and failure in finding peace in meditation. I just couldn’t manage to get into that infinite silent space people were talking about.”

And: “Reading about Osho’s approach to meditation, among others, was an eye-opener for me. You can meditate all you want, but you will continue to face your restlessness, anger and thoughts which flood you like a tsunami. Many will have to move, or shout out that turmoil first.”

Thanks go to Srajan

Aat is the author of

• Twee dingen.. Joop den Uyl geportretteerd door tijdgenoten (1981) (goodreads.com)
• Keergang en Andere Toekomstvisies van Nederlandse Politici en Journalisten (1982)
• Space City (1982)
• Inleiding: Keergang en Andere Toekomstvisies (1982)
• Anekdotes over Joseph Luns (1984)

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