Devas, what could they be? Part 1

Click for part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
So far there has been no direct scientific evidence for devas or gods, or heavenly beings. Secular Buddhist movement are dismissing it altogether as supernatural stuffs. The commonly accepted explanation for the origin of gods for physicalism philosophy now is that the ancients has no means to account for how nature works, why does natural disaster happens and how can it be controlled in a way to be conducive for civilisation to thrive. The explanations we have now as science was not available to the ancients, so they invented gods. The gods controlled thunder, the seasons, whatever important thing which seems out of human control are in the realm of the gods.

So to secular buddhists, the gods in the suttas are merely added to appease the superstitious people of that time, not to be taken as literally true. Most Buddhists teachers would also de-empathise the roles of gods or devas, to help increase the acceptance of Buddhism for those coming from the physicalism philosophical background, which is most western style educated people today. Yet, the devas are quite integral in many of the Suttas including one whole book on them called Vimanavatthu (stories of celestial mansions), even one of the description of the Buddha is said to be: Teachers of gods and humans. I would agree with the de-empathising of the role of gods, as Buddhists take refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha, not to the gods. However to dismiss them altogether as fictional is too hasty a conclusion, even for current knowledge of physics.
Could deva be some scientific possibility yet unexplored? Below I shall present six possible ways physics might still allow for gods.
They are aliens with advanced technology, we can predict their technology by extension of what our technology will be capable of in the future.
They are higher dimensional beings, that is living in four dimensions of space, five, or bigger.
They are beings from another universe.
They are advanced intelligence which transcended physical forms, this is one of the speculations of how intelligence will evolve in the future, with humans uploading their minds to artificial bodies and even transcending it.
They are made of or living in dark matter, dark energy, or other forms of currently unexplored physics
We are living in simulated universe, with gods as simulated beings or the programmers.

Of course there is also the number seven, which is beyond the physicalism philosophy.
They are mind or kamma made beings, with mind or kamma made bodies as their powers and rewards are made from the power of kamma, the laws of ethical cause and effect. Actually, the above all should be like that too, just that if the above six cannot explain devas then this is the last resort.

The rest of the chapter shall analyse how each of these possibilities can fit in with what we generally know about the devas and even Brahmas, with clues from the suttas. We know that they have these characteristics:
Spontaneous rebirth: “He holds right view… there are beings spontaneously reborn.[AN 10:176]” It is believed that other than humans and animals, the beings at other realms of rebirth are spontaneously reborn. As to what exactly does spontaneously reborn means is arisen without visible cause (without parents). At least it is not born by egg, womb, or moisture.[SN 30:1]
Invisible, but can reveal themselves, or be seen via divine eye: “with the divine eye, which is purified and surpasses the human, I see beings…who engage in good conduct…after death, have been reborn in a good destination, in a heavenly world.[SN 16:9]”, “whenever Brahma Sanankumara appears to the Thirty-Three gods (Tavatimsa), he appears having assumed a grosser form, because his natural appearance is not such as to be perceptible to their eyes.[DN 18]”
Blissful, but not end of suffering: “However Pancasikha, that holy life (referring to Jhana meditation to attain to Brahma realms), does not lead to disenchantment, to dispassion, to cessation, to peace, to superknowledge, to enlightenement, to Nibbana, but only birth in the Brahma world.[DN 19] (It should be noted that the Buddha was refering to Jhana meditation alone will not get one to enlightenment, but it is part of the noble eightfold path, so it helps.)”
Long life: “for the devas ruled by the four great kings, a single night and day is equivilent to fifty human years thirty such days make up a month, and twelve such months make up a year. The life span of the devas ruled by the four great kings is five hundred such celestial years.[AN 3:70]”
Many levels: repeat above for Tavamtisa, Yama, Tusita, devas who delight in creation, devas who control what is created by others, each double the lifespan than the previous one, and each day double of the previous one in terms of human years equivalent.[AN 3:70] Then beyond this are the Brahma realms, which has many levels too.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             
Superior powers, but limited knowledge: “Monk, these devas believe there is nothing Brahma does not see, there is nothing he does not know, there is nothing he is unaware of. That is why I did not speak in front of them. But, monk, I don’t know where the four great elements cease without remainder. And therefore monk, you have acted wrongly, you have acted incorrectly by going beyond the Blessed Lord and going in search of an answer to this question elsewhere.[DN 11]”
Virtuous conduct needed to be reborn here: the whole of Vimanavatthu details how good deeds leads to rewards in heavens.
Powers of instant travelling: “just as quickly as a strong man might extend his drawn in arm or draw in his extended arm, Brahma Sahampati disappeared from the brahma world and reappeared before the Blessed One.[SN 6:2]”
Luminous light shining forth from them: “When he (Brahma Sanankumara) appears to the Thirty Three gods, he outshines other devas in radiance and glory, just as a figure made of gold outshines the human figure.[DN 18]”
One for each world: for each world with a sun and moon (solar system), there will be one whole set of the sense sphere devas and brahmas.[AN 3:80]

The above ten characteristics are the main material for analysis, we shall first see why applying current physics unimaginatively may lead most to outrightly dismiss the notion of gods before going into the imaginative speculation of the unknown areas of current physics to fit the gods in. Below are some more information about the gods.

The levels of Brahmas is for those who had attained to the first to fourth Jhana and not lost them before they die, they can be reborn in the following worlds[First to Fourth Jhana levels from AN 4.123, 125. Formless Jhana from AN 9:39]:
First Jhana: devas of Brahma’s company, lifespan one eons. (Estimation of length of eon is done at the chapter of time scales, in section of the big.) Each solar system has one Brahma world of this level.
Second Jhana: devas of streaming radiance, lifespan two eons. (Survives world dissolving, mind made, feeding on rapture, self-luminous, moving though the skies, living in glory)[AN 10:29]
Third Jhana: devas of refulgent glory, lifespan four eons.
Fourth Jhana: devas of great fruit, lifespan 500 eons.
Formless Jhana of infinite space: the base of infinity of space
Formless Jhana of infinite consciousness: the base of infinity of consciousness
Formless Jhana of nothingness: the base of nothingness
Formless Jhana of neither perception nor non perception: the base of neither perception nor non perception

Majjhima Nikaya, Middle length discourses sutta no. 41 and 120 list down many of the Brahma realms more commonly found in the Theravada collection of the 31 planes of existence. The above can be taken as summary. The Formless Brahmas are really without a body and there is another Brahma at the level of Fourth Jhana called Mindless/ Unconscious devas (asannasatta) which only has body but no mind, as soon as perception arose in them, they falls from that realm.[DN 1]

Practitioner’s guide: It seems that the purpose of Vimanavatthu for introducing gods and how they got reborn in heavens is so that we can see how good deeds can lead to heavenly rewards. This can be used to motivate a person with faith to do good deeds, that is to observe the five or eight precepts, to give generously, or even to just rejoice and venerate the noble ones. However, one must be wary of being greedy for merits, that is to do good deeds with the expectations of rewards. This expectation is a form of craving and therefore a cause of suffering. Unfulfilled expectations may demotivate one from keep on doing good deeds. Most non-religious people already know this, which is part of the excuse they didn’t want to do good deeds, because they do not wish to be “greedy” for merits.
Yet, do not just do good deeds without the knowledge of kamma. Do know that there is a good result coming from doing wholesome deeds, this would make the wholesome deed done with wisdom and bring better rewards. It is also better rewards to do good deeds with pleasant feelings and without hesitation. Making merits can also be accompanied with wish. Wishing the good deed to be for one’s own benefit is less rewarding than for the benefit of all, but the best is to wish the merits done to be causes and conditions for one to attain to Nibbana. Those who give gifts if he sets his mind on favourable rebirths in the sensual deva realms or as affluent humans, because of the purity of one who is virtuous, the heart’s wish succeeds.[AN 8:35]
Just like in economic analysis, for one who can get paid high to do a job he is skilled at, there is no reason to take up a lower pay job; just like knowing how to adjust the experimental set up to get the best data ever, the experimental physicists would be careful to tweak the experimental set up to be the best in collecting quality data, with no reason to stick to lower quality data; knowing how to get the best rewards from how to do good deeds means one can do good deeds which brings the greatest reward, with no reason to stick to inferior ways of doing good deeds. Greed need not get involved in here, only wisdom, just be careful to note if wisdom has turned into greed.
The gods in Buddhism do not play the role of the decider of fate or rewarding or punishing good or bad deeds. Those roles are done by the impersonal law of kamma in Buddhism. Neither do they play the role of a creator of worlds, or to answer prayers. Basically, they hold nothing much of importance in the path of practise other than to positively motivate those with faith to do good deeds.