Divinya Times - January/February 2021

Editorial

A new approach to live my life

It's never too late for a new beginning

Discovering the New Humanity

Spirituality is ability

The New Human in me

Becoming a sustainable human

Morning Ceremony: How we greet each

new day as a new beginning in Divinya

Recipe: Hot ginger lemon tea

Course Program 2021

This Edition:

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joyful greetings from

the divinya community!

A new year has started and lies glittering ahead of us like freshly fallen

snow. What will it bring? What can we hope for? Particularly last year, due

to the pandemic, there was a lot of turbulence in the collective energy

field, a lot of fear, uncertainty, doubt and desperation. Now is the time to

transcend these experiences, so that we can go further. In Divinya we

have taken this auspicious moment at the beginning of the new year to

reflect about the experiences we underwent in the past and what we

learned from them. We asked ourselves: What kind of change are we

deeply longing for ourselves and for humanity?

Our beloved Master Guruji Sri Vast, who is the source of Divinya’s

inspiration, has been pointing out that there is a great cosmic shift taking

place at the moment and that we are moving from a rather defined, goal

oriented and self-centered era towards a new space which is more open,

more inclusive and more collective-oriented. This cosmic shift can support

us to evolve further and to expand ourselves. In Divinya we see this as a

great opportunity for the whole of humanity for a new beginning. It is

time to dream for a whole new world for everyone.

DIVINYA TIMES PAGE 1

DEAR SOUL S,

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This Divinya Times edition intends to explore this exhilarating topic of a new

beginning for humanity. Some of our community members share in their articles

their personal stories of how coming to Divinya has brought a new beginning to

their lives. Other articles make the daring attempt to sketch out what we actually

mean when we speak about the 'New Humanity'. We hope that our passion and

enthusiasm will shine through our words, and that they may inspire you to take

part in this beautiful dream and to enter together into a new Era for humanity –

an ecologically sustainable, enlightened Era - ‘The Divine Age’.

We believe that when we move collectively in this direction, we will discover the

New Humanity. In Divinya we don’t want to just hope for this change to happen

some day in the distant future. But the change that we long to see in the world,

should begin with us. When we wish to see more love in the world, then that

means we want to express our love towards one another. When we wish to see

more peace in the world, then that means we want to bring peace into our hearts

and radiate it. When we want to see more beauty in the world, then we create

beauty around us. We don’t want to be busy thinking about how wrong the world

is, we want to be busy creating the world that we want to live in. Through our

thoughts, words and actions and the way we experience this life, we are creating a

new beginning.

2021 is inviting us to open our hearts and to see things beyond our own

boundaries. That means including more people into our lives than only a small

circle of family and friends. We want to share our love with everyone who happens

to be in front of us. And we want to go even further, beyond our human boundary,

including in our love and care all life and all beings with whom we share this

experience of existence.

"To bring a better world,

we have to dream it.

Within every one of us

the new world needs to arise.

The more you dream,

the more your dream

becomes your reality.

Dream not only for you,

but for the whole humanity.

An impersonal dream,

an infinite dream,

'Wow! If all human beings

lived like this!'

A new dream, a New Humanity,

a new co-existence.

When more and more people start

to dream for that,

this dream will be reflected

in our actions,

in our language

and in our thinking.

All together we will begin

to create a new reality -

the New Humanity."

- Guruji Sri Vast

In our Morning Ceremony we start every day with listening to an inspiring quote by our

spiritual Master Guruji Sri Vast. If you would like to receive a quote each morning via email

or whatsapp, you can send us a message to info@divinya.org

I came to Divinya three months ago. I had dreamed for so long of living in a

community and having company on my spiritual path, that it was very surprising

for me to observe my difficulties in fully entering at first the togetherness here. I

was a bit skeptical, because this way of living and following the teachings of a

living Master was very strange to me. Curiosity, the inner knowing that I am here

for a reason and a longing I could not define made me stay.

Expressing love through caring and sharing has been a big breakthrough for me.

It is actually very contagious. Every time I receive small gifts of care and

encouragement, this energy moves through me, vibrates in every cell of my body

and wants to be expressed multiple times again. And when I am being attentive,

when I am able to help someone, every time I can serve, even every time I clean,

my whole body is nourished in a way food could never do. That is probably how

God expresses itself though me. Sometimes I really feel like an instrument of love.

I can feel my boundaries expanding and that I am letting more people into my

heart. Divinya’s nurturing ground of kindness, caring, sharing, trust and Sister-

and Brotherhood feels so good in me.

a new approach to live my life

Lena

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I also observe that I am more able to relate and connect to nature. Hugging a

person is one color, but when I hug a tree, I experience the whole color-palette.

My heart is aching and I feel so open, so empty, clear and still, and yet fully filled

with life. I feel so free. Once I deeply recognized that I am never "alone", my body

suddenly didn't feel scared anymore when walking outside in the dark. It feels like

I am surrounded by something deeply known and very soothing. I used to

"ground" myself with all kinds of esoteric means, but here I came to know about

way more powerful methods: The wind can blow away all my worries, and when I

feel spaced-out I just need to lie down on the ground, touch the soil, the grass,

the fallen leaves and gently listen to the heartbeat of the Earth.

What I have discovered is that the stories I hold about myself and my life are

functioning like a grey cloud covering my light. This light is always there, but not

always visible to me. More and more I can deeply feel that I am a cosmic being,

sacred and pure. A natural being living on a beautiful, magical planet. I am not

even just someone who is made to enjoy this Earth but one that is fully part of the

whole creation. In this light my problems, repeatedly spinning stories, seem so

small, so unimportant, so light and easy, almost invisible. I am learning to not

think about my body as something that has to be optimized, but as a divine vessel

providing me with the opportunity to feel continuously flowing peace, love and

joy.

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"Why do you go to Divinya?", was a question I replied with "Because I want to find

myself". Now I would answer, "Because I want to meet myself". I interpreted the

deep longing inside of me as a need to find my "Somebodyness". In Divinya I

learned that I do not need to hold any idea or image about who I am, I do not

need to identify or describe myself. I don’t need to fit into any box.

One night I was gazing into the sky, my face was lit by the moonlight and I was

surrounded by bright shining stars. “I really missed to look at the night sky”, I

thought, and started to cry because a missing puzzle piece finally found its place.

In this moment I knew deep down that I have touched the core of what I am

longing for. Something calls me to come home to what I already am. I’m longing

to meet the light, longing to bathe in peace, to meet my natural state of being.

This state that feels so effortless, so simple, so natural. I wish to become ever more

aware and to more and more let go of all the layers that limit me from being.

I am deeply grateful to be here. It’s extreme luck - or maybe good karma - to have

found an environment of so much love, light and spiritual thirst. I thought that

spending time in Divinya was just a holiday in my busy life, but it became a new

and true approach to live my life. It became a new beginning for me.

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Question: Johanna, you and your husband Walter are at present in the

community. How does it feel living in Divinya?

For us it is a present from heaven that we can be here! Living here, that’s a new

beginning.

What is so wonderful for me here is that I can participate! I am never bored. I help

in the kitchen, I prepare the salads and the vegetables for the cooking. In the

afternoons I do sewing, I also help with the ironing of the laundry. It is nice to be

useful. I am pleased that I can help with something I know. I have even already

helped in the construction! I found it funny, I liked it. I think you can do everything

at any age, if you do it carefully. And people laugh a lot! There is a freedom here.

Question: When you were young you and Walter lived and worked for several

years in the hospital of Albert Schweitzer in Lambaréné in Central Africa. How

does your life in Divinya compare to the life you had there? Are there any

similarities in what you learned from Albert Schweitzer and what you are

learning now here at Divinya?

It's never too late

for a new beginning

Interview with

Johanna

Question: What new things are you learning here?

There are so many new things to learn for me here, and that is what makes it so

fantastic! It brings you alive! There is still room in my head. I still want to learn! I

always had that. Of course now we are older and that makes some things a bit

more difficult. For instance, the songs – I need the song book, I cannot remember

them anymore by heart. Also the Satsangs – I just can’t get everything anymore.

But whatever I understand, even if it’s only one or two sentences, I take notes and

that is important to me. I have to think about it a lot; I get it in my mind; and

when I go for a walk, I try to transfer it and I ask myself: “How can I do it in

practice?”

The non-religious spirituality here in Divinya, that for me is so fine, so good. This is

a similarity I see with Albert Schweitzer. He never asked which church you

belonged to. I never knew about the others. But for him Jesus was very important

and he followed Jesus without the church, just the love, and the love for the

person next to you. He taught me that even if they have Leprosy you treat them

exactly the same as the others. You have to love them like the others. He also

loved the animals and plants. ‘The reverence for life’ - that was his big sentence.

For all life; not to destroy life, but to bring it up to a higher level. This is all very

similar here.

Another similarity is that the people in Lambaréné were also very devoted.

Devotion came not because of money, but it was love. We didn’t receive any

money there. Money is not important for us at all. It is the pleasure to do

something useful. And this is also why we feel so at home here, both of us.

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For example, one thing I want to learn very much is what Guruji says about

negative thoughts: “Don’t let them come up. Transform them into a positive way

of thinking”. Every time it happens to me, I think of it and I try. That’s the new way

of learning I have here. I didn’t have that so much before. Before, when negative

thoughts came, they were turning around in my head for days, or at night they

came suddenly and then I couldn’t sleep. Now, when negative thoughts,

especially related to my childhood, are coming, I think: “Do I have to react?” Guruji

says “When people hurt you, don’t give back.” In early years, I reacted easily, I had

a lot of fire, I got angry, not outside, but inside. That is also the reason why I left

Holland. There was a family reason which had to do with my father. And now

Guruji taught me, “Be thankful to your father.” And suddenly, for the first time in

my life I can say, “If I hadn’t had this father, I wouldn’t have left Holland, I wouldn’t

have gone to South Africa, I wouldn’t have worked as a midwife in Africa, I

wouldn’t have met Walter. Thank you, father!” For the first time somebody told me

I had to be thankful. If I wouldn’t have left Holland, then I would still be in that

small family clan, where you have to work and go to church and things like that.

And I liberated myself, and I thought, “I am going to find the God for me and not

the God that I was told about.” That was my way.

Everything is perfect. And nowhere I would have the possibility to learn more. To

learn also more about myself. I never had time to think about “who is me?” Now

more and more I think about it. There are so many beautiful things still to learn!

Yesterday for example Guruji shared about a person who left her body, and was in

her last breath singing a song. I thought that’s so beautiful! I have lived my life, so

I am not afraid to go, but there is still so much I can learn.

Discovering the New Humanity for me means expanding our view of what we

perceive as ourselves. Normally, we perceive ourselves as separate beings

living this life next to each other. We limit ourselves in our bodies. Yes, we

have separate bodies, but what if that doesn't mean that I am only existing in

my body and you in yours? In Divinya I am given a space to see through the

game that our seemingly separate 'me' is playing, to uncover its mechanisms

and to rediscover the unlimited me. In Divinya I am given the beautiful

opportunity to break with habits and thought patterns of mine which hold up

the illusion of separation. I have the chance to discover a broader sense of me.

By meeting you, I am meeting myself, manifested in another form.

We have the possibility of meeting ourselves in all bodies, in all people, in all

plants, in all creation. The New Human has realized its boundless state. Then

all separation dissolves. All fights dissolve. I realize the me in you, the me in

this moment, the me in everything that I sense. The question whether I should

empty the dishwasher or whether it is your turn, dissolves. I simply do what

needs to be done, I am available for life.

Naturally we take care of whatever we are sensing. Naturally we take care of

each other. Naturally we take care of the world. We are one with life. A life

without opposite. We become nothing but mere existence experiencing itself

through different bodies. A totally new reality arises, a new way of living. The

New Humanity is born.

Discovering the

New Humanity

Hannah

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By meeting you,

I am meeting myself, manifested in

another form.

If someone had asked me about community living two years ago, I would have

said "I'll never live in a community. And I will probably never stop eating meat." I

never had a wish to live in a community, I was never even considering it. I was

enjoying my “regular” way of life in Croatia.

For many years of my adult life I had been interested in spirituality, in exploring

myself beyond this physical realm. But spirituality had been more like an

additional spice in my daily life, like an important hobby. Reading about it, taking

courses about it and applying new learned knowledge in “regular life" to get what

I wanted from it. Then, two years ago, my girlfriend and I went on a “spiritual trip”

to India.

On the third day of our trip we stumbled upon an open Satsang with Guruji Sri

Vast. We were inspired by the teachings and decided to stay longer in the ashram.

With each passing day, we were realizing more and more that life can be lived

differently. We were realizing that spirituality is not only a nice handy tool to

"manage life" better, but that spirituality can be lived everyday as a first priority.

We felt that there was so much more depth within us which had been waiting for

us to be ready to explore. It became clear to me that if I really

wanted to explore who 'I am' - as I had been claiming for

such a long time - that this was the moment to

question what “regular life” actually means.

This was a step into the unknown which I had to

take, which was inevitable. This was a rare and

auspicious opportunity to give life the ultimate

dosage of meaning.

This was the time for a new beginning.

Our spiritual tourism was over, our tourist

approach to life was over.

One month later we found ourselves living

in the Divinya community in Sweden.

Since then spirituality has become a

part of every moment, of every

interaction. I understand now

that spirituality is the ability

to respond, to practically

engage in anything that

.

Spirituality is Ability

Tomi

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pops up in front of me, instead

of justifying my inability with a

comforting story.

Spirituality is ability!

I can see now that there is a

divine potential in everyone. I

am realizing that every

moment and every situation

has the potential to bring

peace, bliss, beauty and clarity

to me, to invoke divine qualities

and make them physical. I am

realizing that the obstacle to

really live that potential is the

idea of “me”. That my identities

can influence my senses, play

with my perception and

interfere with my ability to see

reality clearly, much more than

I could have ever imagined.

I am realizing that true

transformation lies in

dissolving, not in becoming.

In these two years I have learned that the ability to relate to people can be

broadened beyond the regular concepts of family, friends, nation or religion. I

have realized that any idea of separation, from a human being in front of me or

from a task in front of me, is self-inflicted. I don’t need to create opposition

towards anything, I can include everything and everyone in my life.

I have also become aware how bumpy the road to self-realization can be, how

many obstacles and hidden traps there are. How our ego can be resistant to

change. How it can be tricky and persuasive in defending itself from dissolving

and preventing me from transforming my old patterns.

In these two years, many meanings have changed their shape. The meaning of the

word “regular” has changed its shape hundreds of times: regular life, regular

perspective, regular way of relating, regular approach to everyday situations…

Today, living with a Master and the community seems very regular.

Today, I know how privileged I am to have this opportunity.

Today, this is the only road that makes sense to me.

For me, Divinya is a living example of how life can be lived together and how we

can relate with each other in a very pure way. Without the past cultural

conditionings of gender, nationality and religion, without a specific reason but

with the same vision and dedication. A commitment to live in freedom and attain

oneness.

Living in Divinya I have realized that in order to live in harmony, there is an inner

work that needs to take place, personal imprints and desires can transform and

shift towards the common good. Being here, I have started thinking “us” instead

of “I”.

Each day in Divinya gifts us with the opportunity to express our love: From

preparing the tea for the Morning Ceremony, to arranging the breakfast table;

from building our community extension to working in the garden. I believe that

this joy of creating together and participating in the life can be the foundation for

a new society.

The New Human in me wants to rediscover its connection with nature. I want to

be fulfilled by the freshness of the wind on my face, the silence of the snow, the

glow of the moon. This joy makes me want to nurture and sustain what is created.

I can feel this newness inside, a sensation of deep love and respect for all beings -

an urge to take care of this life, to take care of those around me, to take care of

the nature. Like a mother wanting to embrace her child, I am embracing

everything and everyone in this warmth.

the new human in me

Serena

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I have always had big dreams for this world. I was dreaming that human beings would

treat each other better, that everybody would finally come to live in harmony and

peace. Living at Divinya I came to realize that as an individual, I am not separated

from the whole and that my individual experience contributes to what the whole

humanity’s experience looks like. It made me reflect on what I am contributing. Does

my presence on this Earth influence the bigger picture in a positive way?

I am realizing how much power there lies in the way we live. The concept of

‘sustainability’ has gained a whole new dimension for me. Of course one part is to

change one’s life-style. In Divinya we move towards sustaining ourselves with food

from our garden, bringing as much independence as possible from food produced in

different parts of the world. But ‘sustainability’ goes so much further here: In the end

it is about bringing forth the ‘sustainable human’ – a human who has balanced

emotions, therefore has balanced needs and thus liberates the world from their need

to over-consume. For example, the more we let go of restlessness and enjoy what is in

front of us right now, the more our need to travel dissolves.

Living at Divinya inspires me to fill myself with an overflowing love, so that naturally I

don’t want to take care of only myself anymore, but I want to include other people and

living beings, too. This year I want to steer all my thoughts, words and actions towards

becoming a sustainable human. I wish that the need to create anything just for myself

disappears, and that I am just here to serve humanity and planet Earth; that the

separation I used to feel from the whole dissolves, and that I see the oneness of myself

with all the beings and our planet; that my dream to become a new human, a

sustainable human, comes true.

Becoming a sustainable human

Veerle

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“

Sustainability goes so

much further in Divinya:

In the end it is all about

bringing forth the

‘sustainable human’ –

a human who has balanced

emotions, therefore has balanced

needs and thus liberates

the world from

their need to over-consume.

At first it was not easy for me to get up so early in the

morning and it took me quite some time to realize how

beneficial it really is. Today I feel so blessed to initiate

each day with this nourishment for my heart and soul.

On the way to the meditation hall I breathe in the fresh

morning air, I enjoy the moon, the stars and the

mystical darkness around me. The sacred and tranquil

ceremony helps me a lot to be more conscious of

myself. The warm ginger lemon tea naturally awakes all

my senses. It reminds me to use all the senses I am

gifted with to live in the present. I also love to sing our

songs joyfully with everyone. Sometimes I sing full of

tears because I am so touched by it. Happiness may

come, gratitude may come, sorrow may come,

commitment may come, peace may come, all kinds of

emotions can happen in that magical 30 minutes. I just

allow myself to be. Let the songs and the teachings to

penetrate my heart and resonate with my soul.

Shanti

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morning

ceremony

Every small detail in Divinya has its function and purpose to support the process of

self-transformation and realizing the cosmic human in us. This is also true for our daily

time schedule and the way we greet every new day.

In Divinya we start the day early in the morning at 4:30am. This gives us the chance to

align ourselves with the cosmic rhythm of nature and to shift our body clock and our

physical and emotional calendar, so that we can experience a totally new perspective

on life. We come together for the Morning Ceremony, which is a very beautiful, sacred

time when we sing together, listen to an inspiring quote of Guruji Sri Vast to bring

along with us for the day, and enjoy a cup of hot ginger lemon tea with all our senses.

By consciously feeling the warmth of the tea, smelling its fragrance and tasting its

flavor, we become aware how gifted we are to be able to experience this life with all

our senses.

It is a very precious time for me to reflect and contemplate, to be grateful for

everything around me without taking it for granted, to remind me again and again of

the vision of my life and the reason why I am here. In a way, attending the Morning

Ceremony is a daily pilgrimage for my soul.

DIVINYA TIMES PAGE 18

how we greet each new day

as a new beginning in Divinya

hot ginger

lemon tea

out of 1/4 of a lemon. Once the water is boiling add the ginger and cover the pot. Turn

off the stove and let the ginger stand in the water for at least 5 minutes. Before

drinking, pour in the lemon juice. You may place 1/2 teaspoon of honey (or, as a vegan

option, maple syrup) into the cup and pour the ginger lemon tea over it before

serving. Enjoy while it is warm.

The Ginger Lemon Tea is also a wonderful way to warm up on cold winter days.

This year we have been enjoying so

much a magical winter time in

Divinya! We went together for

walks through our snowy, mystical

forest, had wild snowball fights,

danced on the ice of our lake and

laughed a lot when we slid down

the hill in groups of three to six.

For 1 liter:

100 gram ginger

1/4 lemon

Bring one liter of water to boil.

Meanwhile peel the ginger

and cut it in 5-6 cm thin slices

lengthwise. Squeeze the juice

DIVINYA TIMES PAGE 19

Welcome to Divinya’s unique program Ecology & Spirituality. It offers profound learning

possibilities for transformative life changes. This residential program gives the unique

opportunity to have a living experience within the spiritual community of Divinya. It is

designed to bring a deeper understanding of life, key answers to the quest of a

sustainable future for all and an understanding of how to practically take part in the shift

in consciousness towards a new, ecological and divine era.

The aim of the program is finding one’s passion and function in this life and learning the

practical skills to create the life which one wants to live. It is an invitation to explore a

harmonious coexistence on this planet and to find a deeper spiritual connection with

oneself, with others and with nature – widening one's perspective towards the realization

of one's highest human potential.

course program 2021

Learning for Life! 

Welcome to join our 1-year Ecology & Spirituality Course.

- Center for Evolutionary Consciousness

The path of the Sustainable Yogi

The program covers a diverse range of

topics such as eco-spirituality, horticulture,

ecological building, yoga, sacred music,

natural health, ayurveda, cosmology, eco-

psychology. There is the possibility to focus

on a main field of interest:

Sustainable Horticulture

Participants find a wonderful opportunity

to learn everything about the ecological

cultivation of vegetables, fruits and flowers,

throughout the whole process from seed

to market. The learning includes

permaculture theory and a lot of hands-on

experience in our garden, orchard and

farm.

All course participants share the daily life

experience with the Divinya community and

engage in its daily rhythm of Morning

Ceremony, yoga, seva (karma yoga), study

circles and much more. One important

community focus is the self-motivated quest

for personal transformation. Teachings and

inquiries include topics related to the

triangular relationship of the human, nature

and cosmos, as well as understanding social

and cultural patterns and conditionings.

for more information:

www.divinya.org/ecology-and-spirituality

Ecological Building

Participants are involved in all the stages of

constructing and gain extensive hands-on

experience on ecological building.

The learning includes such as sacred

geometry, human psychology in regard to

architecture, sustainable materials,

sustainable technologies in energy and

resource management.