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SUTRAS
THE KEY TO THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE
109
SUTRA 21 HAYRuutsafergaar our || 29 | Bhava pratyayo avadhir deva narakanam (21) In the inhabitants of celestial and nether regions48 extrasensory perception (avadhi) is inborn. (21)
The inhabitants of regions with celestial character (devas) are beings, who by their own activities and desires attracted a type of positive karma that caused their embodiment in these regions. The bodies and life-circumstances of devas support their deep desire for happiness, unrestricted movement, health, supernatural abilities, stressfree communication, freedom from sorrow, fear etc. Since the 'celestial' regions are inhabited by beings of similar disposition, these desires can be satisfied without being disturbed by beings with different objectives in life.49
48 The Tattvarthasutra distinguishes four classes of beings:
1 - devas - beings residing in regions of celestial character 2 - narakas - beings residing in regions of hellish character 3 - human beings
4 - animals and plants. For someone born and raised in the Western cultural environment this division - and specially the first two classes - may promptly be relegated to the area of religious fable or to a rather sir higher instance of merit and punishment.
Yet this type of mystical context is not meant here. The statement refers to the comprehensive classification of life-forms that is described in great detail in chapter 3,4 and 5 of the Tattvarthasutra.
Western science - which presently influences most of our ideas of life - is not interested in these areas, does not examine them and there
fore cannot seriously state anything about them. 49 In spite of all their - from the human point of view - extraordinary
abilities, devas are not free from karma. Negative karma that might oppose the life-circumstances of devas has only receded into its latent
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