Today, we are going to review our Mental World as a destination. After the emotional plane phase of our after-death life, we transition to the mental plane, known as the heaven-world or Devachan. This realm, called Devachan by Theosophists, is also referred to as Devasthan in Sanskrit, Svarga by Hindus, Sukhavati by Buddhists, and Heaven by followers of Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam. Devachan is a world of thought, and those in this state are known as devachani.
The term “Devachan” is etymologically inaccurate and thus misleading. However, it has become firmly established in Theosophical terminology and will be used throughout these presentations for the sake of consistency. At least it is less cumbersome than using “heaven-world”.
The term “devachan” is described in older books as a specially guarded part of the mental plane, where all sorrow and evil are excluded by the action of the great spiritual Intelligences who oversee human evolution. It is a blissful resting place for humanity, where we peacefully assimilate the fruits of our physical life.
In reality, however, Devachan is not a reserved part of the mental plane. Instead, each person, as we will see shortly, isolates themselves in their own shell and, therefore, does not participate in the life of the mental plane at all. They do not move about freely and interact with people as they do on the emotional plane.
Another way to understand the artificial guardianship of devachan, the realm that surrounds each individual there, comes from the fact that all of the emotional matter has been cleared away and is no longer present. As a result, the individual has no means of communicating or responding to anything in the lower worlds. For all practical purposes, those lower worlds do not exist for them. Therefore, the opportunity for a returning monad to communicate with Earth-bound souls no longer exists. If the average time for someone to inhabit the Emotional World is approximately 25 years, then how can you possibly be communicating with Julius Caesar? The question has already been answered in previous presentations.
The final separation of the mental envelope from the emotional does not involve any pain or suffering. In fact, it is impossible for the ordinary person to realise its nature. They would simply feel themselves sinking gently into a delightful sleep.
There is, however, typically a period of blank unconsciousness, similar to the period that usually follows physical death. This period can vary widely, and the person gradually awakens from it.
It seems that this period of unconsciousness is a phase of gestation, similar to prenatal physical life. It is necessary for developing the devachanic monad for life in Mental World. Part of this period is spent in the emotional permanent atom absorbing everything that needs to be carried forward for the future, while another part is focused on energising the matter of the mental envelope for its future independent existence. Remember, although most monads currently are focused in their 48:1 permanent atom, that is not where they are conscious.
When a person awakens again after the “second death”, a Gnostic phrase if there ever was one, their first sense is one of indescribable bliss and vitality. It is a feeling of such immense joy in living that they desire nothing more than just to live. This kind of bliss is essential to life in all the higher worlds of the system. Even emotional life offers possibilities of happiness far greater than anything we can experience in physical life, but heaven life surpasses the emotional life in bliss. In each higher world, the same experience is repeated, with each world surpassing the previous one. This is true not only of the feeling of bliss but also of wisdom and breadth of view. The heaven life is so much fuller and wider than the emotional life that no comparison between them is possible.
When the sleeper awakens in devachan, they are greeted by the most delicate hues as their eyes open. The air feels like music and colour, and their whole being is filled with light and harmony. Through the golden haze, the faces of those they loved on Earth appear, etherealised into expressions of their noblest and loveliest emotions, untouched by the troubles and passions of the lower worlds. No one can adequately describe the bliss of awakening into the heaven-world.
The intense feeling of joy is the primary feature of life in heaven. It’s not just that evil and sorrow are impossible in that world or that every creature is happy there. It’s a world where every being, just by being there, experiences the highest spiritual bliss they are capable of. It’s a world where the power of fulfilling their hopes and dreams is only limited by their ability to dream and aspire.
This sense of the overwhelming presence of universal joy never leaves a person in devachan. Nothing on earth is like it, and nothing can imagine it. The tremendous spiritual vitality of this celestial world is indescribable.
Efforts have been made to depict the heavenly realm, but they all fall short because it is inherently indescribable in physical terms. Therefore, Buddhist and Hindu seers mention trees made of gold and silver bearing jewelled fruits. Similarly, the Jewish scribe, drawing from his experiences in a splendid city, described streets made of gold and silver. Modern Theosophical writers use comparisons from the colours of the sunset and the wonders of the sea and sky. Each of them endeavours to capture the truth, which is too magnificent for words, by using similes familiar to their thoughts.
The individual’s position in the Mental World is quite different from that in the Emotional World. In the Emotional World, they are using an envelope to which they are thoroughly accustomed, having been in the habit of using it during sleep. However, the mental vehicle is something they have never used before, and it is far from being fully developed. As a result, it largely prevents them from seeing the world around them rather than enabling them to see it.
During a person’s purgatorial life on the emotional plane, the lower part of their nature burns away. What remains are their higher and more refined thoughts, as well as the noble and unselfish aspirations they held during their earthly life.
In the emotional realm, a person may experience a relatively pleasant yet limited life; alternatively, they may undergo considerable suffering in that purgatorial existence. However, in devachan, the individual only experiences the results of their thoughts and feelings that have been entirely unselfish. Therefore, the devachanic life can only be blissful.
As a Master has said, devachan “is the land where there are no tears, no sighs, where there is neither marrying nor giving in marriage, and where the just realise their full perfection.”
The thoughts that surround the devachani create a kind of protective barrier. This allows the person to connect with certain types of vibrations in this refined realm. These thoughts act as the means by which the person can access the vast resources of the heavenly world. They also act as windows through which the person can witness the splendour and beauty of the heavenly world, and through which they can receive responses from external forces.
Every person who has matured must have experienced some touch of selfless emotion at least once in their life. This pure feeling will act as a window for them now. It would be a mistake to consider this framework of thought as a limitation. Its purpose is not to cut a person off from the influences of the plane but rather to enable them to respond to those influences that they are capable of understanding. As we will explore in a future discussion, the mental plane is a reflection of the Divine Mind, a vast repository from which individuals in the state of enlightenment can draw in accordance with the strength of their own thoughts and aspirations formed during their physical and emotional life. So think positively, or you are going to have a very boring existence in Devachan.
In the heavenly realm of the causal envelope, these limitations – if we may call them that for the moment – no longer exist. However, we are not concerned with that higher world in this series.
Each person can access the heavenly realm and perceive only as much of it as they have prepared themselves to receive through their previous efforts. As the Eastern analogy states, each person brings their own cup; some cups are large and some are small. However, regardless of size, every cup is filled to its fullest capacity; the ocean of joy is more than sufficient for everyone.
An average person is generally not capable of great activity in the Mental World. Their mindset is mainly receptive, and their understanding of anything beyond their own thoughts is very limited. Since their thoughts and aspirations are limited to certain areas, they cannot easily form new ones. As a result, they can’t benefit much from the powerful forces and angelic beings in the Mental World, even though some of these readily respond to some of humanity’s aspirations. This should be a good incentive to move your focus from the 48:1 permanent atom to the 47:4 permanent molecule as soon as possible. That is going to take some work, though.
A person who focuses mainly on material things during their life on earth will have only a few opportunities to connect with the world they find themselves in. On the other hand, someone whose interests lie in art, music, or philosophy will find abundant enjoyment and endless opportunities for learning. The extent to which they can benefit depends solely on their own power of perception.