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A deva in theosophy and the New Age movement refers to any of the spiritual forces or beings behind nature. The origin of the word "deva" comes from Sanskrit. According to Theosophist Charles Webster Leadbeater, devas represent a separate evolution from that of humanity. The concept of devas as nature spirits was further developed in the writings of Theosophist Geoffrey Hodson. It is believed that there are numerous different types of devas with a population in the millions performing different functions on Earth to help the ecology function better. It is asserted they can be observed by those whose third eyes have been activated.
In addition, it is believed by Theosophists that there are millions of devas living inside the Sun, the indwelling solar deity of which Theosophists call the Solar Logos—these devas are called solar angels or sometimes solar devas or solar spirits. Sometimes, it is believed, they visit Earth and can be observed, like other devas, by humans whose third eyes have been activated. Theosophists believe that there are also devas living inside all the other stars besides Sol; these are called stellar angels.
In the Findhorn material, the term refers to archetypal spiritual intelligences behind species. In other words, the group soul of a species.
Some New Age sources use the term as a generic term to designate any being regarded as being composed of etheric matter--elementals, nature spirits (including the various types of nature spirits such as fairies, ondines, etc.). The pre-New Age etymology of the term is described in the article Deva (Hinduism).
References
- ^ Hodson, Geoffrey, Kingdom of the Gods. 1952. ISBN 0-7661-8134-0
- Leadbeater, C.W A Textbook of Theosophy. 1912.
- Powell, A.E. The Solar System: A Complete Outline of the Theosophical Scheme of Evolution. London:1930. The Theosophical Publishing House. See the chart on page 44 called "The Evolution of Life"--this lifewave chart shows the various life forms that evolving souls inhabit as they reincarnate. The solar spirits living inside the Sun are shown at the top of the chart as the most advanced life forms in our Solar System.
Further reading
- Hodson, Geoffrey, Kingdom of the Gods. 1952. ISBN 0-7661-8134-0 Contains color pictures of what Devas supposedly look like when observed by the third eye — their appearance is reputedly like colored flames about the size of a human being. Paintings of some of the devas claimed to have been seen by Hodson from his book Kingdom of the Gods
External links
- Image of a typical deva as claimed to have been observed by Geoffrey Hodson and other Theosophists with their third eyes—this particular deva is colored gold and purple, but it has been claimed by Theosophists that the various types of devas may appear in any combination of colors when observed by clairvoyant sight
- Another picture of a deva from Geoffrey Hodson’s book Kingdom of the Gods
