Let us continue our discussion with how we can experience life in Devachan based on the experiences we built up during our Earth life. The way in which Humanity’s vision is determined and limited by the windows through which it must look can best be studied by taking an actual example. Let’s take the theme of music. A person who has no music in their soul has no window at all in that direction. However, a person who has a musical window is in the presence of a stupendous power. The extent to which they are able to respond will be determined by three factors. Using the analogy of glass in a window, we can call these three factors: 1) the size of the glass, 2) its colour, and 3) the quality of its material. If, while on earth, the person could only appreciate one class of music, they will now be limited to that extent. Their ideas of music may also be coloured, allowing only certain vibrations of music, or they may be of such poor quality as to distort and darken everything that reaches them. That dooms the devotees of Heavy Metal.
Assuming that a person’s window is in a good location, they will receive three distinct sets of impressions through it.
First, they will perceive the music as representing the organised movement of the forces of the celestial plane. The poetic concept of the “music of the spheres” has truth in it, as all movements and actions on these higher planes create harmonies of sound and colour. Every thought, whether their own or that of others, is expressed in a beautiful yet indescribable sequence of ever-changing chords, akin to the sound of a thousand Aeolian harps. The musical expression of the vibrant life of the celestial realm serves as a backdrop to all their other experiences.
Second, on the mental plane, a specific group of devas or angels is dedicated to music, known as Gandharvas in Hinduism. Individuals fond of music will likely attract their attention and come into contact with them and the music they create. Through this interaction, one can gain new insights and musical expressions, broadening their understanding and appreciation of music. As a result, one can emerge from this experience with a richer understanding and appreciation of music than before.
Third, the person will listen with keen appreciation to the music made by their fellow inhabitants in the heaven world.
Many great composers reside there, creating music far greater than any they knew on Earth. Much of the inspiration for earthly musicians is a faint echo of the music on the mental plane, which they have only dimly sensed.
The experience of a person who was a painter would be similar. They would have three possibilities: (1) They would perceive the natural order of the plane expressing itself in colour as well as sound; (2) They would perceive the colour language of the devas, an order of beings who communicate with one another by flashings of splendid colour; and (3) They would perceive the colour creations of great artists on the mental plane.
The same opportunities, with suitable adjustments, are available to a person in devachan in all other areas of art or thought, allowing for an infinite amount of enjoyment and learning.
When considering the interaction between a person in devachan and the thought-image they create of their friend, two factors should be considered:
- The level of development of the person themselves
2. The level of development of the friend.
If the person themself is undeveloped, the image they make of their friend will be imperfect, with many of the higher qualities of the friend not being represented. Consequently, the monad of the friend may be able to make but little use of the image, as there is nothing through which they can express some of their qualities.
However, even at the worst, the expression of a friend through an image is much fuller and more satisfying than it ever was in physical life. In our earthly existence, our perception of our friends is always incomplete; our understanding of them is often flawed, and our connection with them is imperfect. Even when we believe we truly know our friend in their entirety, only a part of them is manifested in physical form; there is much more to them beyond what we can perceive.
In reality, if we could see someone with our minds instead of our eyes, they would appear quite different and not be the same person we thought we knew.
If your friends are underdeveloped, even if you create a good image of them, they may need more personal development to live up to it. This is unlikely to happen unless you have unreasonably idealised an unworthy person. Even then, in the afterlife, your friend would be better able to live up to your idealised image of them than they were during their physical life. Therefore, the joy of the person in the afterlife is not diminished in any way.
While a person can imagine hundreds of qualities for someone, they cannot suddenly develop or express a quality that they have not developed just because someone else has imagined it. This is why it’s extremely beneficial to create images of those individuals, such as the Masters, who are capable of surpassing even the highest conception that the lower mind can form of them. In the case of a Master, a person is tapping into a depth of love and power that their mental abilities can never fully comprehend.
Every friend is reached by affection, and their response to an image made of them is immediate. Even the weakest image is easier for a person to connect with on a mental level than on a physical level.
If the friend is still alive in the physical world, they will be completely unaware in their physical consciousness that their true self, or monad, is experiencing an additional manifestation. However, this doesn’t change the fact that the manifestation is more real and closer to their true self than the one on the physical plane, which is all that most of us can currently perceive.
All these considerations lead to the conclusion that a person who is widely loved and has many true friends will have numerous thought images in the devachan of their friends. As a result, they will undergo spiritual evolution much more rapidly than an ordinary person. This outcome is a result of the karma generated by their development of the qualities that make them so lovable.
The student will now understand why the personality we know on the physical plane does not communicate with its friends in Devachan. However, the real person, the monad, does communicate through the thought-image created on the mental plane.
The principle can be illustrated more clearly with a practical example. Imagine a mother with narrow religious beliefs passes away, leaving behind a beloved daughter. If the daughter later embraces broader religious perspectives, the mother might continue to perceive her as holding orthodox views. She would only be able to understand her daughter’s thoughts in terms of orthodox ideas and would not be able to fully comprehend her daughter’s new, broader religious beliefs.
As long as the daughter’s monad benefitted from what the mother’s personality had learned, the daughter would tend to expand and improve upon the mother’s understanding, while staying within the mother’s accustomed beliefs. They would not feel any disagreement between them, and they would not avoid religious topics.
The considerations mentioned above are relevant for an individual of average development. However, for a more advanced individual who is already conscious within the causal envelope, they would consciously immerse themselves in the thought-image provided by a friend in devachan, treating it as an additional mental envelope, and would work through it with a specific intention. If this advanced individual were to gain additional knowledge, they could then intentionally communicate this knowledge to their friend. This is how the Masters work with their students who enter the heavenly state, and they are able to transform their characters greatly. By creating an image of a Master, a person can significantly benefit from the influence that the Master can impart into them and can also receive specific teaching and assistance.
Two friends may understand each other more deeply at the mental level after they have passed away because, in the afterlife, they are no longer limited by their physical bodies. Instead, they are able to connect on a purely mental level. If a person in devachan only knows one aspect of their friend during physical life, then in the afterlife, their friend will only be able to express that particular aspect. However, they can express that aspect of themselves more fully and satisfactorily than before. The expression is more complete than what the person in Devachan was able to perceive on the physical plane.
We have already observed that an ordinary person in Devachan lives within their own thoughts, completely isolated from the rest of the world, including the mental and lower planes. Despite being separated from the full potential of the mental world, they are entirely unaware of any limitations on their activities or emotions. In fact, they are filled with bliss to the maximum extent of their capacity, believing that the joy they are experiencing is unsurpassable.
The person has enclosed themselves within certain limits, yet they are completely unaware of those limits. Within them, they have everything they could possibly desire or imagine. They have surrounded themselves with images of their friends, and through those images, they are actually in closer contact with their friends than they have ever been on any other level.
In the upcoming presentation, we will explore how our mental framework serves as a barrier and also as our abode during our time in the devachan.