Life Units – Pitrs, Kinnaras, Gandharvas, Yakshas, Devas (Angels) & Siddhas Explained – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

The subtle consciousness has many layers to it. The spirit is one, yet spirit is not one. There are many layers to the spirit. The whole universe is permeated by spirit, by Brahman, yet in different degrees.

A stone has one unit of life. Stones have life, and stones have gender. There are male stones and there are female stones. The ancient people of every culture knew this. Stones do have one unit of life. Water has two units of life, and when there is fire there is three units of life. In the air, there are four units of life and space has five units of life. Trees have got six units of life, animals have got seven units of life, human beings have got eight units of life, so they are called ashta vasu. And Genius… Super human beings, or geniuses have blossomed into nine units of life. Those are people who do an extra-ordinary job. It need not be all positive, like Hitler. Someone who does things which are inhuman, in both senses, have got more units of life, nine units of life. Then humans can develop between nine to sixteen units of life.

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When we die we become more powerful, in some way. We go between nine and ten units of life. This is strange, but true. That’s why ancestors are worshipped. The moment this body drops, the spirit becomes free and it has more access there are no walls, no doors and nobody can stop them and the spirit moves around freely. Bound in the body you have only eight units, you can only reach out to some. When you are nine units you have little more power. But if you die then you have access to the ninth and tenth unit, so you get more access in the planet. That’s why people who are dead have the capacity to bless you. They have more life than you because their spirit, which is freed from the limited body, can know, can cognize and can bless you. You can feel their presence They can grant you some boons, not all. To whatever extent they are powerful, that much they can bestow blessings on you.

That’s one of the reasons that bodies are buried behind the church. To make that place more powerful. So, ancestors have got one step more power. In Sanskrit, they are called pitrus. There is one spirit which is one grade higher than the pitrus.

Kinnaras – are those souls who are behind big social-work or political set-ups, etc.

Gandharva – souls are behind every successful artist. A great musician is not an individual person who is singing. Through him there is a spirit called a gandharva, and gandharvas bring you great fame. And they bring joy and happiness to the population. But they make the person very miserable. See, Michael Jackson. I think that he’s brought joy to so many people, but his personal life is so miserable. Michael Jackson is one example, but there are plenty of musicians and great celebrities. Beethoven & all of them you see. You take the history and look into them The only musicians that were happy were the ones who found a path the ones who had a Guru. If they find a Guru, if they have a path, they are liberated. Other than that they will be famous. They will bring joy to others. But in their personal life they will be miserable. Then, from the Gandharva level is the yaksha level, an other grade of souls.

Yakshas – bring lots of wealth very wealthy people are blessed by Yakshas Here again, Yakshas can bring comfort but they don’t give the joy or happiness from their progeny. They are not satisfied with their own children. Or their children’s behaviour Or their children’s career Or something to do with their progeny makes them miserable. They don’t know happiness from the progeny. If it happens in one generation, it will definitely not be so in the next generation. Within the 3 generations they will be miserable. Again, if they walk on a spiritual path, this is avoided. These are yaksha souls Every city has a Yaksha. New York has a yaksha, Los Angeles has a yaksha. Yaksha is the collective spirit of a place And there are so many yakshas. Beyond the Yakshas, one more level are the Devas Also called Angels.

Devas (Angels) – They are in between Yakshas and Siddhas. The perfected beings = siddhas There are 33 types of Devas And our body is governed by the Devas Devas are also called gods and goddesses. Deva means gods and goddesses. It is not the God but gods and goddesses. An aspect of the divinity. The spirit which loves diversity expresses itself in diverse forms. These diverse forms of that one spirit are devas.

Another example is one white light, when it breaks up through a prism, so many colours emit, seven major colours But then so many shades and mixtures of those seven colours gives you a multitude of colours In the same way, from the Yaksha, a step higher is Devas and Devatas and Devis. So many different types of Devi, Devatas are there. So many types of spirits. You can call them angels. All only benevolent. And there are various qualities which are expressed in us that are part of the Devas. Brilliance is a Deva in you. Compassion is the blessing of a Deva. If you are happy, that is the blessing of a Deva Or the quality of a Deva getting manifested in you.

So the yakshas, then devas and then siddhas.

Siddha – is a perfected human being who has gone deep in meditation. Siddha, Guru – that is the level. They are kept a step above the devas. That’s why in puja, when anything happens, first Guru is honoured and then devatas. Gurubhyo Namaha – it starts from there. This is the tradition: Guru and deva, yaksha, gandharava, kinnara, pitrus and human being. There are these many levels of spirits.