Three Worlds and Devalokas

Samsara (in Sanskrit) refers to the cycle of reincarnation or rebirth in Hinduism,

is derived from "to flow together," to go or pass through states, to wander.
According to the philosophy, one's karmic "account balance" at the time of death
is inherited via the state at which a person is reborn. During the course of each
worldly life, actions committed (for good or ill) determine the future destiny of
each being in the process of becoming (evolution or devolution). At life’s end the
underlying volitional impulses (samskaras) thus accrued and developed are
carried and transmitted in a consciousness structure the soul which, after an
intermediate period forms the basis for a new biological structure that will result
in rebirth and a new life.

We speak of one world but the Vedic literatures describe three intertwined
dimensions of existence, triloka, the physical world, the world of our ancestors
and the light-filled world of the Gods as the primary hierarchical division of the
cosmos. The First World is the Bhuloka "Earth world," the physical plane
universe; the Second World is Antarlok, "Inner or in-between world," the
subtle or astral plane or mental plane of existence in which the devas, angels and
spirits live and this plane is also referred to as devaloka or deva loka; and the
Third World is the causal plane Shivaloka, "World of Shiva," and of the Gods
and highly evolved souls, also called Karanaloka which is the spiritual universe
of the Mahadevas, "great shining beings," the Hindu Gods.

In Hinduism Devaloka or deva loka are usually described as places of eternal

light and goodness, similar to the concept of Heaven. Vedic literature also refers
to such homes of the gods by other name, including Svarga, each differing in
non-fundamental aspects. To Hindus, Devaloka is a plane of blissful existence
that can be reached as soon as one is sufficiently attuned to light and good.
However, to become even better and to learn more, one must return to a life on
Earth, until all the learning possibilities here have been exhausted. Then, any
other lives become unnecessary and liberation (moksha) is achieved. When that
happens, the practitioner can even reach higher planes, Third World, such as
Vaikuntha and Shivaloka (Kailasa), places of union with Vishnu and Shiva.

The three-world cosmology is readily found in Hindu scriptures; in the major

Upanishads of the Vedas we find numerous citations, with interesting variations.
Verse 1.5.17 of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad states, "Now, there are, verily,
three worlds, the world of men (Manushyaloka), the world of the fathers
(Pitriloka) and the world of the Gods (Devaloka)..." Later, verse 6.2.15 refers to
the two higher worlds as the Devaloka and the Brahmaloka. The Katha
Upanishad, verse 2.3.8, omitting the world of men, lists the Pitriloka, the
Gandharvaloka (world of genies or elementals) and the Brahmaloka (world of
God). Another perspective of three worlds is offered in the Prashna Upanishad
3.8, which lists the world of good (Punyaloka), the world of evil (Papaloka) and
the world of men (Manushyaloka).
Scriptures offer several other cosmological perspectives, most importantly seven
upper worlds (sapta urdhvaloka) and seven lower worlds (sapta adholoka),
which correspond to the 14 chakras and make up the "world-egg of God," the
universe, called Brahmanda. The seven upper worlds are Bhuloka (the First
World),and Bhuvarloka, Svarloka, Maharloka together comprise the Second
World, and Janaloka, Tapoloka and Satyaloka comprise the causal plane, the
Third World. The seven lower worlds, collectively known as Naraka or Pataala,
are (from highest to lowest) Put, Avichi, Samhata, Tamisra, Rijisha,
Kudmala and Kakola. From the Saiva Agamic perspective of the 36 tattvas, the
pure sphere, shuddha maya - the first five tattvas - is subdivided into 33 planes
of existence. The "pureimpure" realm, shuddhashuddha maya - the seven tattvas
from maya tattva to purusha - contains 27 planes of existence. The ashuddha
("impure") realm - of 24 tattvas - has 56 planes of existence.

What Is the Nature of the Physical Plane Bhuloka?

The physical plane, or Bhuloka, is the world of material substance in which
phenomena are perceived by the five senses. It is the most limited of worlds, the
least permanent and the most subject to change. The material world is where we
have our experiences, manufacture karma and fulfill the desires and duties of life
in a physical body. It is in the Bhuloka that consciousness is limited, that
awareness of the other two worlds is not always remembered. It is the external
plane, made of gross matter, which is really just energy. The world is remarkable
in its unending variety and enthralling novelty. Mystics call it the unfoldment of
prakriti, primal nature, and liken it to a bubble on the ocean's surface. It arises,
lives and bursts to return to the source. This physical world, though necessary to
our evolution, is the embodiment of impermanence, of constant change. It is
mystically subjective, not objective. It is dense but not solid. It is sentient, even
sacred. It is rocks and rainbows, liquid, gas and conflagration, all held in a setting
of space. The Vedas affirm, "The knower, the author of time, the possessor of
qualities and all knowledge, it is He who envelopes the universe. Controlled by
Him, this work of creation unfolds itself-that which is regarded as earth, water,
fire, air and ether."

What Is the Nature of the Subtle Plane, Devaloka?

The subtle plane, or Antarloka, is the mental-emotional sphere that we function
in through thought and feeling and reside in fully during sleep and after death. It
is the astral world that exists within the physical plane. The astral plane is for
the most part exactly duplicated in the physical plane, though it is of a more
intense rate of vibration. Beings in the higher Antarloka are trained in
technology, the arts and increments of culture to take up bodies in the Bhuloka,
to improve and enhance conditions within it. It is in this more advanced realm
that new inventions are invented, new species created, ideas unfolded, futures
envisioned, environments balanced, scientists trained and artists taught finesse.
We function constantly, though perhaps not consciously, in this subtle plane by
our every thought and emotion. Here, during sleep and after death, we meet
others who are sleeping or who have died. We attend inner-plane schools, there
to advance our knowledge. The Antarloka spans the spectrum of consciousness
from the hellish Naraka regions beginning at the pataala chakra within the feet,
to the heavenly realm of divine love in the vishuddha chakra within the throat.
The Vedas recount, "Now, there are, of a truth, three worlds: the world of men,
the world of the fathers, and the world of the Gods. The world of the Gods is
verily the best of worlds."

What Is the Nature of the Causal Plane, Shivaloka?

The causal plane, or Shivaloka, pulsates at the core of being, deep within the
subtle plane. It is the super conscious world where the Gods and highly evolved
souls live and can be accessed through yoga and temple worship. The causal
plane is the world of light and blessedness, the highest of heavenly regions,
extolled in the scriptures of all faiths. It is the foundation of existence, the source
of visions, the point of conception, the apex of creation. The causal plane is the
abode of Lord Shiva and His entourage of Mahadevas and other highly evolved
souls who exist in their own self-effulgent form-radiant bodies of centillions of
quantum light particles. Even for embodied souls, this refined realm is not
distant, but exists within man. It is ever-present, ever-available as the clear
white light that illumines the mind, accessed within the throat and cranial
chakras-vishuddha, ajna and sahasrara-in the sublime practices of yoga and
temple worship. It is in the causal plane that the mature soul, enshrouded of the
physical body's strong instinctive pulls and astral body's harsh intellectual
stranglehold, resides fully conscious in its self-effulgent form. The Sivaloka is the
natural refuge of all souls. The Vedas intone, "Where men move at will, in the
threefold sphere, in the third heaven of heavens, where are realms full of light, in
that radiant world make me immortal."

Life in the Inner Worlds

The Inner world is quite blissful from the perspective of someone who has
reached a higher stage of maturity, and life on the inner planes for him is more
blissful. For some it may be a time of communicating with those on the Earth,
learning how to channel messages to them. This sojourn in the in-between is
similar to sleep, which is an earned time of rest for the physical body. Within the
inner worlds, there are realms far more subtle than the astral plane. Advanced
souls residing on the astral plane are able to access those higher worlds at will,
there to learn from and receive blessings from great devas. For most, in order to
do this, the astral body would not "die," but simply be left behind temporarily.
Similarly, here on the physical plane, you can go into meditation and get
"beamed up" into the higher world from your purusha (Earthly) body. Your
physical body and astral body are temporarily left behind. However, there are
beings in the inner world who reside fully in these higher planes in their mental
body, having dropped off their lower astral body long ago. But the law is that
after death you won't be able to go any higher in the inner worlds than the level
you had attained in a physical birth, because it is only in physical birth that all
twenty-one chakras are available. In physical birth, the lowest ones become
attainable, and the highest become attainable as well. Whatever your attainment
on Earth is, you carry that with you into the astral worlds unchanged. Whatever
your accomplishments are of living in the gamut of the chakras, lower or higher,
you can't go lower and you can't go higher in the inner planes. That is why you
need a physical birth.

According to Vedic literature, occasionally a great soul will know before his grand
departure, his death, that he will not be reincarnating again. In this case the
astral body has to be totally absorbed by the causal body while he is alive in his
physical body. That means all the lower chakras have to be closed off. When this
has occurred, the soul body takes over the physical body and there is very little
astral body present, just a shell. Eliminating the astral body and the chakras it is
attached to is accomplished through yoga and tapas in a physical birth. This is a
process that goes on in the First World. Through dharma and following the
principles of Saivism, they are to be slowly closed off and systematically put to
rest. The nature of the chakras is what makes one individual different from
another, other than the personal vibratory rate.

Creating on The Astral Plane

The astral plane is within this world as its etheric counterpart, and when you drop
off the physical body, you are in it. You are in it now but are not aware of it as
yet. It is a world just like this one. Because the astral plane is of a higher rate of
vibration, or a more intense rate of vibration, prana flows within it a little freer
and faster. We have everything there that we have on the physical plane.
However, things there are manifested by the mind quickly, whereas on the
physical plane they are created more slowly. This is because the physical body
needs the muladhara chakra in order to function, and this brings us into a
different dimension of time. The first chakra is not so dominant on the astral
plane. On the astral plane, we see other people -- other people that have died
and do not have a physical body and therefore, it is a more populated plane than
this Earth. We do not usually remember our astral experiences, because the
astral brain and the physical brain are of two different rates of vibration.