Question: What are the devas? Do they follow the evolution of man, and do they help the evolution of man?
Sri Chinmoy: The devas are the cosmic gods. We were speaking before about the guardian angels, who are also deities. The cosmic gods, however, are higher than the ordinary gods or angels. They do not take human incarnation, but they do bless, protect, encourage and inspire human beings here on earth. It is through their inspiration and their encouragement, through their blessings and concern, that man gets a faster and higher evolution. The devas themselves will not attach themselves to a human soul or enter into a human incarnation, but they do help us and guide us from above. They themselves do not walk on our path or run towards our Goal, but they do push us towards it.The devas or cosmic gods are not evolving beings. Human beings evolve and evolve and evolve. We are constantly growing beyond ourselves. Our very humanity will be transcended ultimately. The gods, however, are not evolving. They do not want our ultimate Goal; they are satisfied with the consciousness that they have. They are divine, full of divine Light and Delight; they are very pure and very luminous. They are divine instruments of Knowledge and Power. Right now, needless to say, they have more than we have, but, believe it or not, a day will come when we will become fully realised and remain constantly in union with the Supreme. At that time, we will actually have gone beyond them, and will not need their help, and they will not be able to affect us or influence us.
Right now the cosmic gods help man with their love, their concern and their joy. But you may be surprised to hear that a time comes when the cosmic gods actually stand in our way. When we no longer need their help and have the capacity to go to the Highest, to the Absolute Supreme, they do not want us to go beyond them. It is like a father and son: the father helps the son who is a student. The boy studies and studies. When the father sees that the son is going beyond him, if the father is narrow-minded or jealous, he may find some reason to stop giving the son money to continue his studies. But if the father is large-hearted, he says, “I did not achieve what my son can achieve. I do not have the education that he is going to have. But let him have it. Let him go beyond me. Let him surpass me.” If the father is noble, he feels this and does this.
Some of the cosmic gods, unfortunately, stand in our way at the last moment before our self-realisation, at the last milestone of our journey. At the beginning of our journey they push us and pull us, saying, “Go, go towards the Goal!” But when we are about to reach the Goal and we no longer need their help, they stand in our way. In the beginning, though, they do help us considerably in our spiritual life.
Here I am telling you the absolute truth. Otherwise, people will be under the impression that the cosmic gods help us all the time. No, they help us for many, many incarnations, for hundreds of incarnations. But when we are about to merge into the Highest, they do not help. Why? They do not like us to go beyond their jurisdiction. Every conscious being in this whole universe and beyond it, except the Supreme, cherishes his own sovereignty, and guards his own realm. Every authority on earth and in Heaven is gratified by the devotion of his subjects, and does not like to see them go to another authority. It is, on a very subtle level, the old problem of separativity, or we could even say “ego”, but on a very high level. Still, it is there. That is why we have to forgive the cosmic gods. First of all, very few souls ever do get as far as their plane of consciousness. And if they stand in the way at that very high realm, it is only because they fear to lose the worship of that great seeker. It is like a parent who does not want his child to leave home because the parent will lose his influence over the child whom he loves, to whom he is attached.
But as I said, the cosmic gods are not evolving. They want to remain where they are, and they prefer to have their devotees remain where they are. But they do help us for hundreds of lives, and many, many souls would be nowhere if it were not for the compassion of the cosmic gods. They save human beings from disaster, ruin and many, many catastrophes, including death. They are responsible for most of the higher ideas and ideals that human beings get in their inspired moments. In their own way they are great and divine instruments of the Supreme.
