[SECOND LECTURE.] 

 THE FUNCTIONS OF THE GODS. 



MY BROTHERS : Those of you who are familiar 

 with your own sacred literature will know how 

 great a part is played therein by those spiritual 

 Intelligences who are spoken of as the Devas, or 

 Gods. As I said yesterday, the existence, the pre- 

 sence, and the working of these Intelligences in the 

 administration of nature, in the carrying out of the 

 will of Ishvara, are recognised in every great faith 

 that the world has known. The Hindu speaks of 

 them sometimes as Suras, sometimes as Devas ; the 

 Hebrew, the Christian, the Mussulman, speak of 

 them as Angels and Archangels, making the dis- 

 tinction between the higher and the lower; the 

 Zoroastrian also recognises their work, speaking of 

 them as Feristhas; and so, in each of the great 

 religions, we find the presence of these workers in 

 the Kosmos recognised, and we see their functions 

 defined. Now it is exceedingly important, especially 

 perhaps for the Hindu, to understand how wide is the 



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