The Summerland is the name given by

Theosophists Theosophy is a religion established in the United States during the late 19th century. It was founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and draws its teachings predominantly from Blavatsky's writings. Categorized by scholars of religion a ...

Wicca Wicca () is a modern Pagan religion. Scholars of religion categorise it as both a new religious movement and as part of the occultist stream of Western esotericism. It was developed in England during the first half of the 20th century and was ...

ns and other

contemporary pagan Modern paganism, also known as contemporary paganism and neopaganism, is a term for a religion or family of religions influenced by the various Paganism, historical pre-Christian beliefs of pre-modern peoples in Europe and adjacent areas of No ...

religions to their conceptualization of an

afterlife The afterlife (also referred to as life after death) is a purported existence in which the essential part of an individual's identity or their stream of consciousness continues to live after the death of their physical body. The surviving ess ...

History of the concept

Emanuel Swedenborg Emanuel Swedenborg (, ; born Emanuel Swedberg; 29 March 1772) was a Swedish pluralistic-Christian theologian, scientist, philosopher and mystic. He became best known for his book on the afterlife, ''Heaven and Hell'' (1758). Swedenborg had ...

(1688–1772) inspired

Andrew Jackson Davis Andrew Jackson Davis (August 11, 1826January 13, 1910) was an American Spiritualist, born in Blooming Grove, New York. Early years Davis had little education. In 1843 he heard lectures in Poughkeepsie on animal magnetism, the precursor of hypn ...

(1826–1910), in his major work ''The Great Harmonia'', to say that Summerland is the pinnacle of human spiritual achievement in the afterlife; that is, it is the highest level, or 'sphere', of the afterlife we can hope to enter.

C.W. Leadbeater Charles Webster Leadbeater (; 16 February 1854 – 1 March 1934) was a member of the Theosophical Society, Co-Freemasonry, author on occult subjects and co-initiator with J. I. Wedgwood of the Liberal Catholic Church. Originally a pri ...

, a Theosophist, also taught that those who were good in their previous earthly

incarnation Incarnation literally means ''embodied in flesh'' or ''taking on flesh''. It refers to the conception and the embodiment of a deity or spirit in some earthly form or the appearance of a god as a human. If capitalized, it is the union of divinit ...

went to a place called Summerland between incarnations.Leadbeater, C.W ''A Textbook of Theosophy'' 1912

Theosophy

Theosophy Theosophy is a religion established in the United States during the late 19th century. It was founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and draws its teachings predominantly from Blavatsky's writings. Categorized by scholars of religion a ...

, the term "Summerland" is used without the definite article "the". Summerland, also called the

Astral plane The astral plane, also called the astral realm or the astral world, is a plane of existence postulated by classical, medieval, oriental, and esoteric philosophies and mystery religions.G.R.S.Mead, ''The Doctrine of the Subtle Body in Western Tra ...

Heaven, is depicted as where

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

s who have been good in their previous lives go between incarnations. Theosophists believe the Summerlands are maintained by hosts of planetary angels serving

Sanat Kumara According to the post-1900 publications of theosophy, Sanat Kumara is an "Advanced Being" at the Cosmic level of initiation who is regarded as the "Lord" or "Regent" of Earth and of humanity. He is thought to be the head of the Spiritual H ...

, the

Nordic alien In ufology, Nordic aliens are fictional humanoid extraterrestrials purported to come from the Pleiades who resemble Nordic race, Nordic-Scandinavians. Professed contactees describe them as being six to seven feet tall (about two meters) with long b ...

from

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...

who Theosophists believe is the governing

deity A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greate ...

of Earth and leader of the Spiritual Hierarchy of Earth. Sanat Kumara is believed to rule over our planet from the floating city of

Shamballa In Tibetan Buddhist tradition, Shambhala ( sa, शम्भल ',''Śambhala'', also ''Sambhala'', is the name of a town between the Rathaprā and Ganges rivers, identified by some with Sambhal in Uttar Pradesh. In the Puranas, it is named as t ...

, believed by Theosophists to exist on the etheric plane (a plane between the

physical plane In esoteric cosmology, a plane is conceived as a subtle state, level, or region of reality, each plane corresponding to some type, kind, or category of being. The concept may be found in religious and esoteric teachings—''e.g.'' Vedanta (Ad ...

and the astral plane), about five miles (8 km) above the

Gobi Desert The Gobi Desert (Chinese: 戈壁 (沙漠), Mongolian: Говь (ᠭᠣᠪᠢ)) () is a large desert or brushland region in East Asia, and is the sixth largest desert in the world. Geography The Gobi measures from southwest to northeast an ...

. Theosophists also believe there is another higher level of heaven called

Devachan Devachan (compound word; Sanskrit 'deva', gods, and the Tibetan word 'chan' Wylie: 'can', possessing, having, subject to) is the "dwelling of the gods" according to the original teachings of Theosophy as formulated by H.P. Blavatsky. Theosophy '' ...

, also called the Mental plane Heaven, which some but not all souls reach between incarnations — only those souls that are more highly developed spiritually reach this level, i.e., those souls that are at the first, second, and third levels of initiation. The final permanent eternal afterlife heaven to which Theosophists believe most people will go millions or billions of years in the future, after our cycle of reincarnations in this

Round Round or rounds may refer to: Mathematics and science * The contour of a closed curve or surface with no sharp corners, such as an ellipse, circle, rounded rectangle, cant, or sphere * Rounding, the shortening of a number to reduce the number ...

is over, is called

Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...

, and is located beyond this physical

Cosmos The cosmos (, ) is another name for the Universe. Using the word ''cosmos'' implies viewing the universe as a complex and orderly system or entity. The cosmos, and understandings of the reasons for its existence and significance, are studied in ...

. In order to attain Nirvana, it is necessary to have attained the fourth level of initiation or higher, meaning one is an ''

arhat In Buddhism, an ''arhat'' (Sanskrit: अर्हत्) or ''arahant'' (Pali: अरहन्त्, 𑀅𑀭𑀳𑀦𑁆𑀢𑁆) is one who has gained insight into the true nature of existence and has achieved ''Nirvana'' and liberated ...

'' and thus no longer needs to reincarnate.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Summerland, The Afterlife places Conceptions of heaven Theosophical philosophical concepts Wicca Wiccan terminology

History of the concept

Theosophy

See also

References