Deva

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Deva (Devanagari: देव) is the Sanskrit word for deity (female devī). Derived from the root div, "to shine or become bright," a deva is a “shining one.”

H. P. Blavatsky defined it as follows:

Deva (Sk.). A god, a “resplendent” deity. Deva-Deus, from the root div “to shine”. A Deva is a celestial being—whether good, bad, or indifferent. Devas inhabit “the three worlds”, which are the three planes above us. There are 33 groups or 330 millions of them.[1]

In one of The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett the Master K.H. says that there are two classes of devas or Dhyāni-Chohans: the "Rupa-devas" (with "form" or objective) and the "Arupa-devas" ("formless" or subjective). They both were men in previous manvantaras.[2]

Additional resources

https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/devas

Articles

  • Devic Consciousness by Dora Kunz. Reprinted from "Devic Consciousness." Quest 97. 4 (Fall 2009): 152-153.

Notes

  1. Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, The Theosophical Glossary (Krotona, CA: Theosophical Publishing House, 1973), 98.
  2. Vicente Hao Chin, Jr., The Mahatma Letters to A.P. Sinnett in chronological sequence No. 68 (Quezon City: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 196.