The devas: The beings called by the Hindus devas are elsewhere spoken of as angels, sons of God etc. They belong to an evolution distinct from that of humanity, an evolution in which they may be regarded as a kingdom above humanity.
The bodies of devas are more fluidic than those of men, they are capable of far greater expansion and contraction, and have a certain fiery quality which is clearly distinguishable from that of an ordinary human being.
The three lower great divisions of the devas are — (1) Kamadevas, whose lowest body is the astral (Kama is a Sanskrit word meaning desire), (2) Rupadevas, whose lowest body is the lower mental (Rupa is a Sanskrit word meaning form) and, (3) Arupdevas, whose
lowest body is the higher mental or causal (Arupa is a Sanskrit word meaning formless).
For Rupadevas and Arupadevas to manifest on the astral plane is as rare as for an astral entity to materialise on the physical plane. Above these classes are four other great divisions, and above and beyond the deva kingdom are the great hosts of planetary spirits.
We are concerned here principally with the kamadevas.
The general average goodness among them is much higher than among us, for all that is evil has long ago been eliminated from them. It is desirable to mention here the four Devarajas. These four have passed through an evolution which is certainly not anything corresponding to our humanity. They are spoken of as the regents of the earth, the angles of the four cardinal points, or the chatur Maharajas.
They rule not over the devas, but over the four elements of earth, water, air and fire, with their indwelling nature spirits and essences. References to them are made in the symbology of many religions, and they are always held in high reverence as the protectors of mankind.
They are the agents of man’s karma during his earth life, and they thus play an extremely important part in human destiny.
The great karmic deities of the cosmos, named Lipika, weigh the deeds of each personality when the final separation of the principles takes place at the end of its astral life, and give, as it were, the mould of an etheric double or blue print, exactly suitable to its karma for the individual’s next birth.
However, it is the devarajas, who, having command of the elements of which that etheric double must be composed, arrange their proportion so as to fulfil accurately the intention of the Lipika.
Also all through life they constantly counterbalance the changes introduced into man’s condition by his own free will and that of those around him, so that Karma may be accurately and justly worked out.
All the higher nature-spirits and hosts of artificial elementals act as their agents in their stupendous work, but all the threads are in their own hands and they assume the whole responsibility.
They seldom manifest on the astral plane, but when they do they are certainly the most remarkable of its non-human inhabitants.
The article is taken from the book Life Beyond Death by Anil Sharma