Devachan is the state of consciousness into which the Ego goes after death of the body. In response to a quiry about this state, H.P. Blavatsky answers:
"To realize the conditions of spiritual existence of any sort it is necessary to get above the plane of merely physical perceptions. One cannot see the things of the spirit with the eyes of the flesh, and one cannot successfully appreciate subjective phenomena by help only of those fully appreciate subjective phenomena by help only of those intellectual reflections which appertain to the physical senses. "How can a conscious existence without activity or pursuit be one of satisfaction or enjoyment?" It would only emphasize the mistaken idea which this questions embodies if one were to ask instead, "how can a conscious existence without athletic sports and hunting be one of enjoyment?" The cravings of man's animal or even human nature are not permanent in their character. The demands of the mind are different from those of the body. In physical life an ever-recurring desire for change impresses our imagination with the idea that there can be no continuity of contentment, without variety of occupation and amusement. To realize completely the way in which a single vein of spiritual consciousness may continue for considerable periods of time to engage the attention - of a spiritual entity, is probably posssible only for persons who already in life have developed certain inner faculties, dormant in mankind at large. But meanwhile our present correspondent may perhaps derive some satisfaction from the fact - as explained in recent essays on the subject - that one sort of variety is developed in Devachan to a very high degree; viz. the variety which naturally grows out of the simple themes set in vibration during life. Immense growths, for example, of knowledge itself are possible in Devachan, for the spiritual entity which has begun the "pursuit" of such knowledge during life. Nothing can happen to a spirit in Devachan, the keynote of which has not been struck during life; the conditions of a subjective existence are such that the importation of quite external impulses and alien thoughts is impossible. But the seed of thought once sown, the current of thoughts once set going (the metaphor may freely be varied to suit any taste), and then its developments in Devachan may be infinite, for the sixth sense there and the sixth principle are our instructors; and in such society there can be no isolation, as physical humanity understands the term. The spiritual ego in fact, under the tuition of his own sixth principle, need be in no fear of being dull, and would be as likely to sigh for a doll's house or a box of ninepins as for the harps and palm leaves of the mediaeval Heaven." Katinka Hesselink.Net
RUDOLF STEINER
"Everyone who tells the truth actually promotes the evolution of humanity and everyone who lies, obstructs it.
Therefore there is this occult law: Seen with the eyes of Spirit, A LIE IS A MURDER.
Not only does it kill an astral form, but it is also self-murder.
Everyone who lies places obstacles along his own path.
Such effects are to be observed everywhere in the spiritual world.
The clairvoyant sees that EVERYTHING A MAN THINKS, FEELS AND EXPERIENCES has its effect in the ASTRAL WORLD.
A man's disposition, temperament, enduring qualities of character, thoughts that are not merely transient—all this streams continually not only into the astral world but into the world of Devachan as well.
A man with a happy disposition is a source, a centre, of certain processes in Devachan; a man who is hypocritical has the effect of multiplying the essences and substances associated with hypocrisy in human character.
Thus Spiritual Science shows us that we do not live as isolated beings but that OUR THOUGHTS continually produce forms which cast shadows in the world of Devachan and permeate it with all kinds of substances and essences.
The four regions of Devachan-the “Continental,” the “Oceanic,” the “Atmospheric” and the region of original “Inspirations” are influenced all the time by the thoughts, feelings and sensations of human beings." [RUDOLF STEINER, 30 May 1907, Munich The Law of Destiny VI. The Law of Destiny]
See Also