Question: Was man created by God, or did he come into existence in some other manner?

   Answer: The real man, the Spirit, was not created. The Spirit of man is a part of God, and as a part of God has always been in existence. God had no beginning, hence the Spirit of man has had no beginning. In the earlier stages of evolution we were homogeneous, so to speak, with God. But at the beginning of this Day of Manifestation we were differentiated within the body of God and each individual man. In Spirit there is no division, however. The differentiation which took place in Spirit was not a division or a separation. It was brought about by means of vibration. But the differentiated Virgin Spirits immediately began to encase themselves in the substance of the lower worlds, finally building physical bodies, and in these physical bodies they have lost their sense of unity with Spirit and with one another. The unenlightened ones imagine that they are entirely separate from all other human beings. They do not know of "the fundamental unity of each with all." The esoteric student, however, knows that this is a fact, and endeavors to conduct himself accordingly in all of his relations with his brother Spirits

  Question: What is your interpretation of John 6:53: "Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you?"

  Answer: When Christ Jesus was on Earth, He spoke to the multitude in parables, but to the disciples He explained the inner meanings as they were able to understand. Since the four Gospels are not only the story of the life of Christ Jesus, but also four descriptions of the Path of Initiation to which the life of Christ Jesus is related and which we all eventually must travel, many of these writings have both an inner and an outer meaning.

   We first must understand that the Earth is not a mass of dead matter, but that it is the living, breathing body of a great Spirit. Through this body, He expresses Himself and comes into close touch with the beings on the surface of the planet. This Spirit is the Christ, Who periodically draws into the center of the Earth and again withdraws. This indrawing begins at the time of the fall equinox. Then commences the impregnation of all seeds with the life force which later will cause them to break forth and clothe the body of the Christ Spirit in living green and provide food for all beings living on the Earth. In the streams and rivulets we find the fluids, the blood, which, as a great circulatory system, ever is flowing back to the ocean, again to be distributed over the surface of the Earth by means of precipitation. Thus, our food and drink truly are the flesh and blood of the body of the Son of Man. If we did not partake of this, we could not live.

   The spiritual meat and drink that this passage symbolizes can be explained only to those who, like the disciples, have true spiritual understanding-the true wisdom which makes clear all the mysteries of God. In general, however, we can say that they symbolize the formation of the Christ within each individual through the soul body, which is built of the two higher vital ethers during lifetimes of unselfish service.

   Question: Why attach so much importance to the Moon's aspects in esoteric work? Why is the New Moon especially appropriate for awakening Invisible Helpers and the Full Moon for building the quintessence of service into the soul body? Moonlight is only reflected light.

   Answer: The Rosicrucian Teachings explain this by analogy. As Christ is born on the longest and darkest night of the year, so the Invisible Helper, is born on the darkest night of the month; that is, he then comes into conscious use of his etheric vehicle. We know that at Christmas time the spiritual vibrations in the Earth are the most intense. Therefore, by analogy, we know that the spiritual vibrations each month are most intense on the night of the New Moon, and these vibrations make it the most propitious time for the birth of the Invisible Helper. Astrologically the vibrations are stronger at that time because the Sun and Moon are in conjunction, and their combined force is thrown upon the Earth from the same angle.

   The time of the Full Moon is most propitious for the building of the essence of service into the soul body. The Full Moon at a certain time in the fall is spoken of as the harvest Moon, and the building of the essence of service into the soul body is a process of harvesting best conducted under the great illumination at that time. Astrologically, at the Full Moon the Sun and Moon are in opposition, bringing into play two opposite signs, which are spiritually correlated, constituting a positive and a negative pole. At that time a current of life or spiritual energy is flowing between the two poles, which may be utilized for the building-in process.

   This article was adapted from "The Rosicrucian Philosophy in Questions and Answers, Vol. I," by Max Heindel.