Divinya Times - January/February 2021 : simplebooklet.com

joyful greetings from the divinya community!A new year has started and lies glittering ahead of us like freshly fallensnow. What will it bring? What can we hope for? Particularly last year, dueto the pandemic, there was a lot of turbulence in the collective energyfield, a lot of fear, uncertainty, doubt and desperation. Now is the time totranscend these experiences, so that we can go further. In Divinya wehave taken this auspicious moment at the beginning of the new year toreflect about the experiences we underwent in the past and what welearned from them. We asked ourselves: What kind of change are wedeeply longing for ourselves and for humanity?Our beloved Master Guruji Sri Vast, who is the source of Divinya’sinspiration, has been pointing out that there is a great cosmic shift takingplace at the moment and that we are moving from a rather defined, goaloriented and self-centered era towards a new space which is more open,more inclusive and more collective-oriented. This cosmic shift can supportus to evolve further and to expand ourselves. In Divinya we see this as agreat opportunity for the whole of humanity for a new beginning. It istime to dream for a whole new world for everyone.DIVINYA TIMES PAGE 1DEAR SOUL S,

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DIVINYA TIMES PAGE 2This Divinya Times edition intends to explore this exhilarating topic of a newbeginning for humanity. Some of our community members share in their articlestheir personal stories of how coming to Divinya has brought a new beginning totheir lives. Other articles make the daring attempt to sketch out what we actuallymean when we speak about the 'New Humanity'. We hope that our passion andenthusiasm will shine through our words, and that they may inspire you to takepart 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 theNew Humanity. In Divinya we don’t want to just hope for this change to happensome 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 thatmeans we want to express our love towards one another. When we wish to seemore peace in the world, then that means we want to bring peace into our heartsand radiate it. When we want to see more beauty in the world, then we createbeauty around us. We don’t want to be busy thinking about how wrong the worldis, we want to be busy creating the world that we want to live in. Through ourthoughts, words and actions and the way we experience this life, we are creating anew beginning.2021 is inviting us to open our hearts and to see things beyond our ownboundaries. That means including more people into our lives than only a smallcircle of family and friends. We want to share our love with everyone who happensto 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 thisexperience of existence.

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"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 VastIn our Morning Ceremony we start every day with listening to an inspiring quote by ourspiritual Master Guruji Sri Vast. If you would like to receive a quote each morning via emailor whatsapp, you can send us a message to info@divinya.org

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I came to Divinya three months ago. I had dreamed for so long of living in acommunity and having company on my spiritual path, that it was very surprisingfor me to observe my difficulties in fully entering at first the togetherness here. Iwas a bit skeptical, because this way of living and following the teachings of aliving Master was very strange to me. Curiosity, the inner knowing that I am herefor 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 andencouragement, this energy moves through me, vibrates in every cell of my bodyand 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 howGod 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 myheart. 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 LenaDIVINYA TIMES PAGE 4

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I also observe that I am more able to relate and connect to nature. Hugging aperson 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 filledwith life. I feel so free. Once I deeply recognized that I am never "alone", my bodysuddenly didn't feel scared anymore when walking outside in the dark. It feels likeI 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 aboutway more powerful methods: The wind can blow away all my worries, and when Ifeel 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 arefunctioning like a grey cloud covering my light. This light is always there, but notalways 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 noteven just someone who is made to enjoy this Earth but one that is fully part of thewhole creation. In this light my problems, repeatedly spinning stories, seem sosmall, so unimportant, so light and easy, almost invisible. I am learning to notthink about my body as something that has to be optimized, but as a divine vesselproviding me with the opportunity to feel continuously flowing peace, love andjoy.DIVINYA TIMES PAGE 5

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"Why do you go to Divinya?", was a question I replied with "Because I want to findmyself". Now I would answer, "Because I want to meet myself". I interpreted thedeep longing inside of me as a need to find my "Somebodyness". In Divinya Ilearned that I do not need to hold any idea or image about who I am, I do notneed 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 wassurrounded by bright shining stars. “I really missed to look at the night sky”, Ithought, 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 amlonging for. Something calls me to come home to what I already am. I’m longingto 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 moreaware 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 havefound an environment of so much love, light and spiritual thirst. I thought thatspending time in Divinya was just a holiday in my busy life, but it became a newand true approach to live my life. It became a new beginning for me.DIVINYA TIMES PAGE 6

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Question: Johanna, you and your husband Walter are at present in thecommunity. 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 newbeginning. What is so wonderful for me here is that I can participate! I am never bored. I helpin the kitchen, I prepare the salads and the vegetables for the cooking. In theafternoons I do sewing, I also help with the ironing of the laundry. It is nice to beuseful. I am pleased that I can help with something I know. I have even alreadyhelped in the construction! I found it funny, I liked it. I think you can do everythingat 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 severalyears in the hospital of Albert Schweitzer in Lambaréné in Central Africa. Howdoes your life in Divinya compare to the life you had there? Are there anysimilarities in what you learned from Albert Schweitzer and what you arelearning now here at Divinya? It's never too latefor a new beginningInterview withJohanna

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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 sofantastic! It brings you alive! There is still room in my head. I still want to learn! Ialways had that. Of course now we are older and that makes some things a bitmore difficult. For instance, the songs – I need the song book, I cannot rememberthem 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 andthat is important to me. I have to think about it a lot; I get it in my mind; andwhen I go for a walk, I try to transfer it and I ask myself: “How can I do it inpractice?”The non-religious spirituality here in Divinya, that for me is so fine, so good. This isa similarity I see with Albert Schweitzer. He never asked which church youbelonged to. I never knew about the others. But for him Jesus was very importantand he followed Jesus without the church, just the love, and the love for theperson next to you. He taught me that even if they have Leprosy you treat themexactly the same as the others. You have to love them like the others. He alsoloved 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 verysimilar 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 anymoney there. Money is not important for us at all. It is the pleasure to dosomething useful. And this is also why we feel so at home here, both of us.DIVINYA TIMES PAGE 8

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For example, one thing I want to learn very much is what Guruji says aboutnegative thoughts: “Don’t let them come up. Transform them into a positive wayof thinking”. Every time it happens to me, I think of it and I try. That’s the new wayof learning I have here. I didn’t have that so much before. Before, when negativethoughts came, they were turning around in my head for days, or at night theycame 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?” Gurujisays “When people hurt you, don’t give back.” In early years, I reacted easily, I hada lot of fire, I got angry, not outside, but inside. That is also the reason why I leftHolland. There was a family reason which had to do with my father. And nowGuruji taught me, “Be thankful to your father.” And suddenly, for the first time inmy life I can say, “If I hadn’t had this father, I wouldn’t have left Holland, I wouldn’thave gone to South Africa, I wouldn’t have worked as a midwife in Africa, Iwouldn’t have met Walter. Thank you, father!” For the first time somebody told meI had to be thankful. If I wouldn’t have left Holland, then I would still be in thatsmall 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 notthe God that I was told about.” That was my way.Everything is perfect. And nowhere I would have the possibility to learn more. Tolearn also more about myself. I never had time to think about “who is me?” Nowmore 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 inher last breath singing a song. I thought that’s so beautiful! I have lived my life, soI am not afraid to go, but there is still so much I can learn.

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Discovering the New Humanity for me means expanding our view of what weperceive as ourselves. Normally, we perceive ourselves as separate beingsliving this life next to each other. We limit ourselves in our bodies. Yes, wehave separate bodies, but what if that doesn't mean that I am only existing inmy body and you in yours? In Divinya I am given a space to see through thegame that our seemingly separate 'me' is playing, to uncover its mechanismsand to rediscover the unlimited me. In Divinya I am given the beautifulopportunity to break with habits and thought patterns of mine which hold upthe 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 allplants, in all creation. The New Human has realized its boundless state. Thenall separation dissolves. All fights dissolve. I realize the me in you, the me inthis moment, the me in everything that I sense. The question whether I shouldempty the dishwasher or whether it is your turn, dissolves. I simply do whatneeds to be done, I am available for life.Naturally we take care of whatever we are sensing. Naturally we take care ofeach other. Naturally we take care of the world. We are one with life. A lifewithout opposite. We become nothing but mere existence experiencing itselfthrough different bodies. A totally new reality arises, a new way of living. TheNew Humanity is born.Discovering the New HumanityHannahDIVINYA TIMES PAGE 10

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If someone had asked me about community living two years ago, I would havesaid "I'll never live in a community. And I will probably never stop eating meat." Inever had a wish to live in a community, I was never even considering it. I wasenjoying my “regular” way of life in Croatia. For many years of my adult life I had been interested in spirituality, in exploringmyself beyond this physical realm. But spirituality had been more like anadditional spice in my daily life, like an important hobby. Reading about it, takingcourses about it and applying new learned knowledge in “regular life" to get whatI 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 SriVast. 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 liveddifferently. 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 AbilityTomiDIVINYA TIMES PAGE 12

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pops up in front of me, insteadof justifying my inability with acomforting story.Spirituality is ability!I can see now that there is adivine potential in everyone. Iam realizing that everymoment and every situationhas the potential to bringpeace, bliss, beauty and clarityto me, to invoke divine qualitiesand make them physical. I amrealizing that the obstacle toreally live that potential is theidea of “me”. That my identitiescan influence my senses, playwith my perception andinterfere with my ability to seereality clearly, much more thanI could have ever imagined.I am realizing that truetransformation lies indissolving, not in becoming. In these two years I have learned that the ability to relate to people can bebroadened beyond the regular concepts of family, friends, nation or religion. Ihave realized that any idea of separation, from a human being in front of me orfrom a task in front of me, is self-inflicted. I don’t need to create oppositiontowards anything, I can include everything and everyone in my life.I have also become aware how bumpy the road to self-realization can be, howmany obstacles and hidden traps there are. How our ego can be resistant tochange. How it can be tricky and persuasive in defending itself from dissolvingand preventing me from transforming my old patterns.In these two years, many meanings have changed their shape. The meaning of theword “regular” has changed its shape hundreds of times: regular life, regularperspective, 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.

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For me, Divinya is a living example of how life can be lived together and how wecan relate with each other in a very pure way. Without the past culturalconditionings of gender, nationality and religion, without a specific reason butwith the same vision and dedication. A commitment to live in freedom and attainoneness. Living in Divinya I have realized that in order to live in harmony, there is an innerwork that needs to take place, personal imprints and desires can transform andshift towards the common good. Being here, I have started thinking “us” insteadof “I”.Each day in Divinya gifts us with the opportunity to express our love: Frompreparing the tea for the Morning Ceremony, to arranging the breakfast table;from building our community extension to working in the garden. I believe thatthis joy of creating together and participating in the life can be the foundation fora new society.The New Human in me wants to rediscover its connection with nature. I want tobe fulfilled by the freshness of the wind on my face, the silence of the snow, theglow 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 ofthe nature. Like a mother wanting to embrace her child, I am embracingeverything and everyone in this warmth.the new human in meSerenaDIVINYA TIMES PAGE 14

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I have always had big dreams for this world. I was dreaming that human beings wouldtreat each other better, that everybody would finally come to live in harmony andpeace. Living at Divinya I came to realize that as an individual, I am not separatedfrom the whole and that my individual experience contributes to what the wholehumanity’s experience looks like. It made me reflect on what I am contributing. Doesmy 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 tochange one’s life-style. In Divinya we move towards sustaining ourselves with foodfrom our garden, bringing as much independence as possible from food produced indifferent parts of the world. But ‘sustainability’ goes so much further here: In the endit is about bringing forth the ‘sustainable human’ – a human who has balancedemotions, therefore has balanced needs and thus liberates the world from their needto over-consume. For example, the more we let go of restlessness and enjoy what is infront 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 Idon’t want to take care of only myself anymore, but I want to include other people andliving beings, too. This year I want to steer all my thoughts, words and actions towardsbecoming a sustainable human. I wish that the need to create anything just for myselfdisappears, and that I am just here to serve humanity and planet Earth; that theseparation I used to feel from the whole dissolves, and that I see the oneness of myselfwith all the beings and our planet; that my dream to become a new human, asustainable human, comes true. Becoming a sustainable humanVeerleDIVINYA TIMES PAGE 16

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At first it was not easy for me to get up so early in themorning and it took me quite some time to realize howbeneficial it really is. Today I feel so blessed to initiateeach day with this nourishment for my heart and soul.On the way to the meditation hall I breathe in the freshmorning air, I enjoy the moon, the stars and themystical darkness around me. The sacred and tranquilceremony helps me a lot to be more conscious ofmyself. The warm ginger lemon tea naturally awakes allmy senses. It reminds me to use all the senses I amgifted with to live in the present. I also love to sing oursongs joyfully with everyone. Sometimes I sing full oftears because I am so touched by it. Happiness maycome, gratitude may come, sorrow may come,commitment may come, peace may come, all kinds ofemotions can happen in that magical 30 minutes. I justallow myself to be. Let the songs and the teachings topenetrate my heart and resonate with my soul.ShantiPAGE 9morning ceremony Every small detail in Divinya has its function and purpose to support the process ofself-transformation and realizing the cosmic human in us. This is also true for our dailytime 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 toalign ourselves with the cosmic rhythm of nature and to shift our body clock and ourphysical and emotional calendar, so that we can experience a totally new perspectiveon life. We come together for the Morning Ceremony, which is a very beautiful, sacredtime when we sing together, listen to an inspiring quote of Guruji Sri Vast to bringalong 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 itsflavor, we become aware how gifted we are to be able to experience this life with allour senses.It is a very precious time for me to reflect and contemplate, to be grateful foreverything around me without taking it for granted, to remind me again and again ofthe vision of my life and the reason why I am here. In a way, attending the MorningCeremony is a daily pilgrimage for my soul.DIVINYA TIMES PAGE 18how we greet each new day as a new beginning in Divinya

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hot ginger lemon teaout of 1/4 of a lemon. Once the water is boiling add the ginger and cover the pot. Turnoff the stove and let the ginger stand in the water for at least 5 minutes. Beforedrinking, pour in the lemon juice. You may place 1/2 teaspoon of honey (or, as a veganoption, maple syrup) into the cup and pour the ginger lemon tea over it beforeserving. 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 somuch a magical winter time inDivinya! We went together forwalks through our snowy, mysticalforest, had wild snowball fights,danced on the ice of our lake andlaughed a lot when we slid downthe hill in groups of three to six. For 1 liter:100 gram ginger1/4 lemonBring one liter of water to boil.Meanwhile peel the gingerand cut it in 5-6 cm thin sliceslengthwise. Squeeze the juice DIVINYA TIMES PAGE 19

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Welcome to Divinya’s unique program Ecology & Spirituality. It offers profound learningpossibilities for transformative life changes. This residential program gives the uniqueopportunity to have a living experience within the spiritual community of Divinya. It isdesigned to bring a deeper understanding of life, key answers to the quest of asustainable future for all and an understanding of how to practically take part in the shiftin 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 thepractical skills to create the life which one wants to live. It is an invitation to explore aharmonious coexistence on this planet and to find a deeper spiritual connection withoneself, with others and with nature – widening one's perspective towards the realizationof one's highest human potential.course program 2021Learning for Life! Welcome to join our 1-year Ecology & Spirituality Course.- Center for Evolutionary ConsciousnessThe path of the Sustainable Yogi

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The program covers a diverse range oftopics such as eco-spirituality, horticulture,ecological building, yoga, sacred music,natural health, ayurveda, cosmology, eco-psychology. There is the possibility to focuson a main field of interest: Sustainable HorticultureParticipants find a wonderful opportunityto learn everything about the ecologicalcultivation of vegetables, fruits and flowers,throughout the whole process from seedto market. The learning includespermaculture theory and a lot of hands-onexperience in our garden, orchard andfarm.All course participants share the daily lifeexperience with the Divinya community andengage in its daily rhythm of MorningCeremony, yoga, seva (karma yoga), studycircles and much more. One importantcommunity focus is the self-motivated questfor personal transformation. Teachings andinquiries include topics related to thetriangular relationship of the human, natureand cosmos, as well as understanding socialand cultural patterns and conditionings.for more information:www.divinya.org/ecology-and-spiritualityEcological BuildingParticipants are involved in all the stages ofconstructing and gain extensive hands-onexperience on ecological building. The learning includes such as sacredgeometry, human psychology in regard toarchitecture, sustainable materials,sustainable technologies in energy andresource management.

Divinya Times - January/February 2021

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