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 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 ...

as formulated by

H.P. Blavatsky Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, uk, Олена Петрівна Блаватська, Olena Petrivna Blavatska (; – 8 May 1891), often known as Madame Blavatsky, was a Russian mystic and author who co-founded the Theosophical Society in 1875 ...

Theosophy

''Devachan'' is regarded as the place where most souls go after death where desires are gratified, corresponding to the

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...

belief in Heaven. However, Devachan is a temporary, intermediate state of being before the soul's eventual rebirth into the physical world.

According to C.W. Leadbeater

C.W. Leadbeater located the "Devachan" on the mental plane many miles far above the surface of Earth. While those souls at the zeroth level of initiation (the vast majority of the inhabitants of Earth) go to Summerland (located on 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 ...

only a few miles above the surface of Earth) when they die, those who have reached the first, second, or third levels of initiation go to Devachan when they die. The final Heaven where souls at the fourth level of initiation (those souls who have become

arhats 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 no longer need to reincarnate) is called

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

. When reaching the fourth level of initiation, one can become a pratyekabuddha and enter Nirvana right away, or become a

buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in L ...

bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva ( ; sa, 𑀩𑁄𑀥𑀺𑀲𑀢𑁆𑀢𑁆𑀯 (Brahmī), translit=bodhisattva, label=Sanskrit) or bodhisatva is a person who is on the path towards bodhi ('awakening') or Buddhahood. In the Early Buddhist schools ...

and teach others before entering. One can also choose to become a

Master Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...

in the Spiritual Hierarchy upon reaching the fourth level of initiation—then one's entrance into Nirvana is delayed for millions, billions, or trillions of years until one has completed climbing the ladder of initiation by completing one's tasks as a Master in the Spiritual Hierarchy.

Anthroposophy

From the perspective of

anthroposophy Anthroposophy is a spiritualist movement founded in the early 20th century by the esotericist Rudolf Steiner that postulates the existence of an objective, intellectually comprehensible spiritual world, accessible to human experience. Follower ...

Rudolf Steiner Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner (27 or 25 February 1861 – 30 March 1925) was an Austrian occultist, social reformer, architect, esotericist, and claimed clairvoyant. Steiner gained initial recognition at the end of the nineteenth century as ...

asserts that the Lower Devachan (or the Heavenly World) and Higher Devachan (or the World of Reason) are two "supersensible" realms, above the

astral realm The astral plane, also called the astral realm or the astral world, is a Plane (esotericism), plane of existence postulated by classical, medieval, oriental, and esotericism, esoteric philosophies and Mystery cult, mystery religions.G.R.S.Mead, ' ...

, associated with

emotions Emotions are mental states brought on by neurophysiological changes, variously associated with thoughts, feelings, behavioral responses, and a degree of pleasure or displeasure. There is currently no scientific consensus on a definition. ...

and will impulse, respectively. In comparison, the mental realm is associated with

thought In their most common sense, the terms thought and thinking refer to conscious cognitive processes that can happen independently of sensory stimulation. Their most paradigmatic forms are judging, reasoning, concept formation, problem solving, an ...

References

External links

The Blavatsky Archives

Theosophy Library Online
Theosophy {{Occult-stub