Angels, Demons and all the Hosts

ANGELS, DEMONS AND ALL THE HOSTS OF HEAVEN AND EARTH
M. M. NINAN
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worlds that were the homes of many sorts of beings. This cosmos was thought to be one of a
succession of universes coming into and going out of existence through infinite time.
There are three substances of realms or dimensions to the cosmos: dhatus. The Tridhātu
are:
• Ārūpyadhātu, the formless realm;
• Rūpadhātu, the realm of form; and
• Kāmadhātu, the realm of desire.
A world is not a location but a dimension of existence of beings. The world is sustained by
their karma and if the beings in a world all die or disappear, the world disappears too. In a
sense these three realms coexist and interpenetrate each othe in various combinations.
Ārūpyadhātu, the formless realm consists of four worlds.
”Sphere of neither perception nor non-perception".
"Sphere of Nothingness" ( "lacking anything").
"Sphere of Infinite Consciousness".
"Sphere of Infinite Space".
Rūpadhātu, the realm of form
Rūpadhātu, the realm of form is the first of the physical world. Yet the beings have bodies
that are made up of subtle matter that they cannot be seen by others. But the Devas (Angles,
gods) in this realm can sometimes put on gross physical forms when they want to go
down to the Physical worlds to interact with them. Because their senses are different and
limited, the beings of the Form realm are not subject to the extremes of pleasure and pain, or
governed by desires for things pleasing to the senses, as the beings of the Kāmadhātu are.
The bodies of Form realm beings do not have sexual distinctions.
The devas appears to correspond roughly to the Angels of the Judeo-Christian world.
Thus there are four levels of dhyānas each of them subdivided into further planes, three for
each of the four dhyānas and five for the Śuddhāvāsa devas, for a total of seventeen planes.
The four levels are:
1. Śuddhāvāsa with five worlds
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