Spirit

76. What definition can be given of spirits?

Spirit: "Spirits may be defined as the intelligent beings of the creation. They constitute the population of the universe, in contradistinction to the forms of the material world."
77. Are spirits beings distinct from the Deity, or are they only emanations from or portions of the Deity, and called, for that reason, "sons" or "children" of God?

Spirit: "Spirits are the work of God, just as a machine is the work of the mechanician who made it: the machine is the man's work, but it is not the man. You know that when a man has made a fine or useful thing, he calls it his 'child'- his 'creation.' It is thus with us in relation to God. We are His children in this sense, because we are His work."
78. Have spirits had a beginning, or have they existed, like God, from all eternity?

Spirit: "If spirits had not had a beginning, they would be equal with God; whereas they are His creation, and subject to His will. That God has existed from all eternity is incontestable; but as to when and how He created us, we know nothing. You may say that we have had no beginning in this sense, that, God being eternal, He must have incessantly created. But as to when and how each of us was made, this, I repeat, is known to no one. It is the great mystery."
79. Since there are two general elements in the universe, viz., the intelligent element and the material element, would it be correct to say that spirits are formed from the intelligent element as inert bodies are formed from the material element?

Spirit: "It is evident that such is the case. Spirits are the individualisation of the intelligent principle, as bodies are the individualisation of the material principle. It is the epoch and mode of this formation that are unknown to us."
80. Is the creation of spirits always going on, or did it only take place at the beginning of time?

Spirit: "It is always going on; that is to say, God has never ceased to create."
81. Are spirits formed spontaneously, or do they proceed from one another?

Spirit: "God creates them as He creates all other creatures, by His will. But we must again repeat that their origin is a mystery."
82. Is it correct to say that spirits are immaterial?

Spirit: "How is it possible to define a thing in regard to which no terms of comparison exist, and which your language is incompetent to express? Can one who is born blind define light ? 'Immaterial' is not the right word; 'incorporeal' would be nearer the truth, for you must understand that a spirit, being a creation, must be something real. Spirit is quintessentialised matter¹, but matter existing in a state which has no analogue within the circle of your comprehension, and so ethereal that it could not be perceived by your senses."
83. Is there an end to the duration of spirits? We can understand that the principle from which they emanate should be eternal; but what we desire to know is, whether their individuality has a term, and whether, after a given lapse of time, longer or shorter, the element from which they are formed is not disseminated, does not return to the mass from which they were produced, as is the case with material bodies? It is difficult to understand that what has had a beginning should not also have an end.

Spirit: "There are many things that you do not understand, because your intelligence is limited; but that is no reason for rejecting them. The child does not understand all that is understood by its father, nor does an ignorant man understand all that is understood by a learned one. We tell you that the existence of spirits has no end; that is all we can say on the subject at present."