I have now come to the last topic I wish to cover in my series on Good and Evil. To date, I have discussed who or what Black Magicians and Demons are and I have also spoken of a series of ever-increasing levels of consciousness that guide us through our own evolutionary path. The take-home from this ladder of escalating consciousness is that whenever we think we have reached the top, that top answers to a higher ‘top’ and so on. Coming back to Earth and our mundane lives, we humans have been guided by an intrepid band of illuminated souls that go by the name of the Hierarchy. They are divided into levels of consciousness themselves as well as the functions they perform. The three key ‘offices of state’, if you wish to think of them in this manner, are the Manu, the Bodhisattva and the Maha Chohan. To put that into common speak, the Progenitor of Humanity, the World Teacher and the Lord of Civilisations.
Standing alongside this illustrious band of helpers stands another whole stream of consciousness that has its own evolutionary structure. It is, however, inextricably linked to our own world, our own evolution and the overall development of our solar system. Today I wish to give due time and credit to our ‘brothers in arms’
The Deva Hierarchy
We do not known much about this particular evolutionary stream, but we have been given clues. They appear in our mythologies and even in our fantasies. So what do we know? As I have said on numerous occasions, devas are on a parallel evolutionary path to humans. Like us they have gone through the three preceding states of consciousness, Primary, Secondary and Tertiary. On entering the Quaternary level of consciousness they have also been through the preceding stages of developing their subtle bodies at the mineral, plant and animal level. Like us, they dwell in the 4th Kingdom of Nature and like us, they continue to expand their consciousness all the way back to Plane-1. Let’s get to know them a little bit better.
According to esoteric literature, there are approximately 200,000 billion deva monads associated with the evolutionary cycles of our planet. This number compare to the 60 billion monads that comprise the Human stream of evolution. It is interesting to note that the Bible contains 200 direct references to angels. Now you know from my presentations, I am very fond of angels, especially my own guardian angel. So, here I am getting all cosy with a completely parallel stream of evolution. If you talk to most esotericists, they are liable to wax lyrical about their guides, but they very rarely talk about the single most import ‘other’ monad in their lives. Their very ‘twin flame’, their Solar Angel. In fact, all 13 of them. To understand what I am talking about here, you know where to go and look.
Anyway, getting back to our friends the angels in the Bible, the Christian Church recognises nine orders of angelic hosts. These are the Seraphim, the Cherubim, the Thrones, the Dominions, the Virtues, the Powers, the Principalities and finally, we come down to the Archangels and Angels. Look at some of the names just listed and then go and look at the words of the Lord’s Prayer. Do you spot something? Of this rank of nine grades of angels, seven belong to our Solar System and the Seraphim and Cherubim are cosmic. In other words, the last two exist beyond the Cosmic Physical Plane.
We do not just have to confine ourselves to the Christian notions of this life stream. Eastern religious texts talk of Yakshas. They are considered ‘speedy ghosts’. There are Rakshasas and Pisakas, which are considered to be demons. Then you have the Gandharvas and Kinnaras, who are the celestial musicians. The Apsarases are celestial dancers and the Asuras are guardian angels. You can not have been near a Hindu temple and not met a Nagas, a Sarapas and the Mahoragas. They are all snake deities. Last but not least, there are the Suparnas and Garudas, who are the bird deities. Many of these angels are Nature Spirits. Nature Spirits should be considered a level below Devas. A stepping stone in their own evolution and therefore not accounted for in the 200 billion figure I quoted earlier, although this may not be the case. It should also be noted that the eastern terms quoted are not directly equivalent to the ones we find in western literature.
What do we know so far? Well, there are certainly a lot of devas to contend with and they have not exactly hidden themselves away. They appear in our mythology, both in the East and the West. As with any body of knowledge, there are conflicting view about the nature of devas. There is a common misconception that devas have no free will. It is assumed that they blindly follow the ‘Will of God’. There is debate within esoteric schools on this matter. Let Hylozoics come to the rescue on this matter. Herein lies the value of Hylozoics. Rather than accepting any given statement, the Hylozoician goes back to first principles and examines the information presented and asks, ‘how does this conform to the Laws of Life and the Laws of Nature’? Armed with those two questions let me start by saying that every Quaternary monad, from the Mineral Kingdom upwards, has free will. Stop and let that sink in. Below quaternary, there is no free will. That is why we can not excuse our behaviour on the bad habits of Elemental Essences. They may fill our subtle envelopes will all sorts of mischief, but we activate them to do and be what they are. No excuses anymore, please.
The higher devas are willing to carry out their duties in accordance with the DIVINE PLAN because they choose to do so, not because they are some kind of automaton. When you get to the lower devas, things get a little bit more blurry, just like with us Humans. Lower devas are more instinctual, behaving more like obedient dogs, but they still have free will. So what do these devas look like? Well, from the literature I have read, a typical ‘heavenly deva’, i.e., one from the Mental Plane, looks like a giant humanoid. To view one, would be to see a brightly shining sphere of golden fire. Wow! They are supposed to be 100 metres high and about 150 metres across, so about the size of my ego. This size is not fixed. It can range from smaller to up to 2 miles in diameter. That would challenge your field of vision. When you look at any deva, they tend of have a higher proportion of mental matter in their aura. This makes the aura look all the more striking. When a deva is thinking, their thought appear as flashes of iridescent rainbow-coloured lights. I certainly would not like to be standing next to one on a bad day.
A description is given to us in the Book of Revelations (10:1). It refers to a deva that you could expect to meet on the Mental Plane (47).
“Then I saw another nightly angel coming down from Heaven.”
“He was robed in a cloud (aura), with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the Sun, his legs we like fiery pillars”.
I guess there would be no need to shave those legs then. But you get the general idea. These beings are awesome when just on the mental level. To give you a point of reference, your guardian angel is a whole level of consciousness higher on the 46th plane of matter. Try to imagine what you would witness if you happened to bump into a Solar Angel.
Let’s get down to brass tacks now. Two interrelated management systems operate within the deva evolutionary pathway. There is:
- Horizontal Division – This relates to the seven planes of the Solar System.
- Vertical Division – This relates to the energies of the seven Rays.
Horizontal Division – Solar System
If you look at the diagram, you see the name of seven individuals. They are the Deva Rajas. The word ‘raja’ means king. We are looking at the entire solar system and these seven devas preside over the seven planes of matter. They are also the commanders in chief of all the other devas that operate on those plans of matter. As all matter on these planes are overseen by these rulers of each plane, they must also control or have some influence over the storing of the Akashic Records. If there is an imprint left of all activity that has ever occurred on a particular plane, it has to be stored in matter. If the devas are the controllers of matter, they have to have an input in these vital records. If they do, then they may also be involved in the administering of karma that flows from the balancing of these records. How this fits in with the Lords of Karma, I do not know.
Anyway, let’s look at their names and the planes of matter they control.
43. Shiva: is in charge of the Monadic plane. Shiva is known as the destroyer among many other attributes linked to this name. Previously, we discussed how the Manu, who also works from the Monadic plane, is responsible for controlling geological perturbations on this planet. So in in some way, the 1st Ray and the 43rd Plane of Matter are linked.
44. Vishnu: is the name of the deva in charge of the 44th Plane of Matter. We are looking at the second member of the Hindu Holy Trinity. If you remember back to my earliest presentations, I talked about the Hindu Holy Trinity and how these beings could be linked to the Greek Logi of creation. What we are seeing on the Cosmic Physical Plane is a repetition of this trinity. Vishnu is linked to the 2nd Ray and the Consciousness aspect of the Holy Trinity.
45. Brahma: is the name of the deva controlling the 45th Plane of Matter. In the Trinity, Brahma represents the Matter aspect and in ray-terms, the 3rd Ray of Active Intelligence. These three Maha Devas comprise the 3rd Triad, the aspect known by the Gnostics as the ‘Father’. It should however be noted that in the triadic structures, the 45th plane is split between the 3rd and the 2nd triads.
46. Indra: is the deva in charge of the 46th Plane of Matter. This plane is the start of the 5th Kingdom and is linked to the 4th Ray of Harmony through Conflict. This plane is where the monad begins its evolution into the expansion of its consciousness. It enters into unity with other monads and for this reason this plane is called the Unity Plane.
47. Agni: is the deva in charge of the 47th Plane of Matter. This plane, like the 45th, is split between two triads. In this case, the 2nd and 1st triads. We have now entered the realms of Humanity. For this reason, this deva works closely with the Hierarchy to create conditions that are optimal for the development of all life streams passing through the 4th Kingdom of Nature. Agni rules over the Mental Plane, our heaven. The Mental Plane is linked to the 5th Ray of Science.
48. Varuna: is in change of the 48th Plane of Matter. Now we are on really familiar territory. This is our beloved plane of fantasies and illusions. This is where we come to know the pairs of opposites and where we collect and discharge those pesky emotional Elemental Essences. The Emotional Plane resonates to the 6th Ray of Devotion, as well as fanaticism. This must be a very exciting plane of matter to be in charge of.
49. Kshiti: is the deva in charge of the last of the Cosmic Physical Sub-Planes, the 49th. This is our playground and our living hell. This is where the 7th Ray burns most brightly. The ray of Order and Ceremonial Magic.
Horizontal Division – Planets
The second diagram shows another matrix of energy-matter, this time showing the planes of influences of the ‘Guardians of the Four Directions’. Think of them as a lesser version of the Devarajas. They exclusively preside over the fours world of Earth. Their job is to manage the Building Devas. These devas build and manage our subtle bodies, as well as the construction of our etheric templates and physical bodies. These devas are also in charge of the molecular memories, aka the Akashic Records, of their respective worlds. They play a major role in the administration of human karma, so it is advisable not to annoy them.
Their names are:
46. Dhritasashtra – who is the head deva of the Unity World. He also goes by the title of Lord of Air and Regent of the East. Very fancy.
47. Virupaksha – who is the head of the Mental World and is also known as the Lord of Fire and Regent of the West. Sounds rather like the witches in the Wizard of Oz.
48. Virudhaka – who is the deva of the Emotional World and the Lord of Water and the Regent of the South.
49. Vaishravana – who may be last but certainly is not least. This deva runs that Physical World and a thankless task that is. Vaishravana also holds the title of Lord of the Earth and the Regent of the North.
To visualise the sphere of influences of these Guardians, look at the image of our planet and the worlds that surround it. I have always described this as the subtle body of our Planetary Logos and indeed it is. But a body is made from matter and matter is controlled and governed by devas. We have a similar team that looks after each of us, however they do not have such grand titles and they look far more harassed.
Vertical Division – Solar System
The first diagram of the Devarajas shows a vertical division as well as interlaces through the horizontal planes of matter, controlled by each Maha Deva. Listed here are the Seven Planetary Spirits, the angels of the Seven Rays we have been discussing. In previous presentations we have talked about the Chohans that work with the Rays. It must be remembered that the rays are comprised of matter that streams down from the SOURCE through all planes of matter. For this reason, it is the devic stream that directly guides these rays. It is the Human stream that uses the rays to achieve desired objectives.
In Biblical literature, the Planetary Spirits are known as the ‘Seven Spirits before the The Throne’. Another name for them is the Seven Spirits of God. Their function is to distribute the life-giving energies of the Seven Rays through out the Solar System. These devas don’t manufacture this ray-energy. It is our Sun that receives these seven types of atomic energy-matter from other stars in our Seven-System Confederation. Our Solar Logos may be our local-area god, but the source of energy that maintains this deity comes from across the galaxy, quite literally. Think of our physical Sun as a light bulb, not a nuclear reactor. There is no nuclear fission or fusion going on in the Sun. It receives all seven rays as a plasma jets of energy-matter from its big cousins in the Federation.
Once these seven atomic energies are received into our Solar System, they are transformed into 42 molecular energies. By now, you should know why this is, if not, you have some homework to do. How these seven ray energies move around our Solar System is fascinating. The primary group of rays, 1, 2 and 3, circulate around the whole Solar System. Rays 4, 5, 6 and 7 can be considered a secondary group. They are distributed directly to the planets, each of which represents a ray.
Vertical Division – Planetary
In the diagram of the Devarajas, you see a list of seven planets. They are known as the Sacred Planets. Notice our candidate is not on the list. This is because our planetary logos is not evolved enough yet. Hardly surprising, as we are its functioning ‘brain cells’. These seven sacred planets take these four ray energies and circulate it between themselves. In this way each planet affects all others in the Solar System. It is from here that we get our notions of how planets effect us astrologically.
The transfer of these ray energies cause energy cycles that vary in intensity and duration. The way they interact has a complementary or antagonistic effect on each other and consequently us as well. These energies affect our lives considerably but they work like clockwork, so are predictable. Hence the ability to cast a horoscope.
Not all humans take astrology seriously, but I assure you that the Hierarchy do. They are master astrologers and they utilise these energy rays to further Humanity’s development. Unfortunately, modern astrology has no real inkling of the existence or effects of the seven rays and their diffraction patterns. If they did, astrology would be a science and not an art.
On the diagram of the Guardians of the Four Directions, the Seven Archangels are the deva equivalent of the Planetary Hierarchy. They are the seven highest devas of the planet and are at the same consciousness level of the three Maha Chohans. This means that they reside in their 43:1 atoms as well. They preside over seven similar departments of deva evolution as the Planetary Hierarch do for us humans.
So that is it, the end of the series on Good and Evil. I have just scratched the surface of the deva hierarchies and how we interact with them. In the next presentation, I wish to finally start to take about the Laws of Life. I have referred to them often enough, so it is time to get down and describe what exactly they are.