Divyam Aat

(17 October 1943 – 13 November 2024)

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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