Angels-New Age Devas

Partially because of the association of some devas with the forces
of nature, the term deva was adopted in nineteenth-century Theosophy
to denote the class of spiritual beings believed to have formed and
to control the manifest world. Theosophists further assert that the
devas of the East correspond with the angels of the West but have
many more functions.In particular, devas oversee natural forces
and are responsible for building up forms on
inner planes as well as on the physical plane.
According to this theory, there are two distinct
lines of spiritual evolution, one going from the
mineral, through the animal, to the human and
beyond; the other going from elemental spirits,
through fairies, to angels (devas) and beyond.
Beings in the devic line are responsible for creating
forms, which allows other beings to
evolve spiritually. In the words of one of the
founders of Findhorn:
[Devas constitute] a whole hierarchy of
beings, from the earthiest gnome to the
highest archangel, and are a sister evolution
to the human on earth. The devas hold the
archetypal pattern and plan for all forms
around us, and they direct the energy needed
for materializing them. The physical bodies
of minerals, vegetables, animals and
humans are all energy brought into form
through the work of the devic kingdom.
(The Findhorn Garden, p. 58)
In the theosophical view, everything is ultimately spirit, and it is
only through devic activity that the physical world of our everyday
experience is created. William Bloom, a contemporary metaphysical
writer, explains this view by drawing an analogy to atomic theory: all
material objects are composed of minute electrically charged particles
in motion. Bloom asserts that:
Devic essence bridges between the constantly moving electric
charges to produce the matter we can see and touch. . . .
Without devic essence there would be no coherence to manifest
life—just an ocean of unconnected electric charges. All
form is a mixture of, a relationship between, devic essence
and atomic electric charges. (Devas, Fairies and Angels, p. 3)
In other words, beings in the devic lifestream—beings from elementals
to archangels—provide both a pattern and an active, constituting
activity for matter that allows diverse forms to manifest as tangible
material objects. These patterns include everything from plants
and mountains to the bodies of animals and human beings. Thus both
lines of spiritual evolution—that from the mineral to the human and
beyond, and that from elemental spirits to devas and beyond—“are interdependent in the structure of all manifest life. Their relationship
is interwoven and patterned from an extremely deep level of creation”
(Bloom, p. 5).
That devic activity takes place all around us without our awareness
is explained in terms of differing rates of vibration: devas are normally
invisible to us because they exist at a higher, imperceptible rate
of vibration—like the high-pitched sounds of a dog whistle that cannot
be heard by human ears.
The Findhorn community in northern Scotland became well
known in New Age and metaphysical circles as a result of its members
participation in a vegetable garden experiment in which they
attempted to cooperate with the nature devas in creating the garden.
Communicating with these spirits in a mediumistic (Spiritualistic)
fashion, they claimed to receive gardening advice from the devas that
allowed them to grow gigantic vegetables in an environment that otherwise
was not particularly hospitable to gardening.
Findhorn attracted such attention that it left an indelible impression
on many people’s perceptions of devas. In particular, the emphasis
on nature devas caused many to overlook the importance of other
kinds of devas, such as those who were said to function as guardian
angels for both human beings and collectivities (e.g., the devas of
nations or ethnic groups).