After the discovery that I didn't know anything about Spiritism (which happened almost a year ago) and with the confirmation that a series of doubts that I always kept in my mind, and that were accentuated as I started to put my head to work, I stopped reading the works carried out through the mediumship of Chico Xavier.

Recently, however, instigated by the suggestion of a girl, in a group, who recommended studying the work Ação e Reação to understand why animals suffer pain, I found several inconsistencies, from the many already known, among the “teachings” transmitted by André Luiz and the doctrinal postulates of Spiritism, passed through the double control of the sieve of reason and the general teaching of the Spirits.

I can no longer blindly overlook various concepts that were previously more or less accepted without reasoning. Not after getting to know Allan Kardec in his essence, through the studies of the Spiritist Magazine, and also after beginning to understand the concepts of autonomy and morality, based on Rational Spiritualism and developed by Spiritism.

Collective rescues? Action and reaction? Look, if there is any way to get something useful out of this work, it is first necessary to know Spiritism, deeply, understanding it as the development of Rational Spiritualism and making use of its concepts, because the most absurd ideas have spread, in the Doctrine , due to this lack of knowledge.

just see that complicated:

In our study, however, we analyzed the pain-atonement, which comes from the inside out, marking the creature on the path of the centuries, holding it in complicated labyrinths of affliction, to regenerate it, before the… It is very different… "

Now, it is established, by the study of Spiritism, that atonement and pain do not inherently go together. The passage above leads the unwary reader to understand that, in the face of “[divine] Justice”, the being is regenerated by the ache, being that pain is an inherent condition of the incarnate Spirit, and differs from moral suffering. From physical pain, he suffers the bad and the good. Atonement can go far beyond pain, but rely only on difficulties, often morally suffered, which, according to the planning of the Spirit, aim to give you opportunities for learning.

However, in possession of the new (actually, old) knowledge, we could give a whole different meaning to this passage, by simply observing the term “that comes from the inside out”, which implies that this pain is coming from consciousness to the outside.

It is necessary to be very careful to focus on these works - which, in fact, are novels, and not sources of studies - because we know the enormous reservations that Kardec always had in relation to spiritual ideas not passed by the double control of reason and general teaching. of the Spirits. Furthermore, without having the aforementioned knowledge, novels, in general, lead readers to a totally adverse path to what Spiritism teaches, in fact, and can cause (as they have caused) more harm than good.

So, to studies!

Cover image: photo by asiama junior at the pexels

Just yesterday, I wrote here, on this blog, the article “Root Spiritism“, talking about the absurd subversions being carried out by people who adopt the title of Spiritists, but who, about Spiritism, don't say anything. They talk a lot about concepts of certain Spirits, which, in short, does not constitute the Doctrine. These individuals, who, under the false guise of the “evangelizer”, with sweet words from the Gospel of Jesus (we have already seen such a case in practice, presented by Kardec, in the article Obsessed and Subjugated: The Dangers of Spiritism), take them to, slowly and progressively, subvert it to the most absurd and wide-open ideas, even prior to Christ himself, worthy of the time when human beings were consciously enslaved by the religious ideas of heteronomy, sin and punishment.

Behold, right after the conclusion of this article, going to Spiritist groups to share, I come across, in the largest of them, with hundreds of thousands of followers, the following post, from one of the administrators from the group:

MULTI-GENERATION DNA CLEANING

I, _____________ (your name), break, destroy, disintegrate and pulverize all the negativity that I bring in the family tree of my Father and my Mother, from the first generation that formed their families to the inheritance we receive from them in this life((This idea is directly subordinate to dogma of original sin, which, despite starting from a figure of language, in a very distant time, was instituted by the Roman Catholic Church as such, with the purpose of imprisoning the consciences of the faithful at its pleasure)).

[…]

I'm taking it all out of my DNA((Deoxyribonucleic acid is an organic compound whose molecules contain the genetic instructions that coordinate the development and functioning of all living beings and some viruses, and that transmit the hereditary characteristics of each living being (ref: Wikipedia). This phrase sums it all up : contrary to the demonstration, by Spiritism, of the soul and its relations with the Spirits as the principle of all what concerns the incarnate being, it is totally materialistic!))!
DECREE AND INSTALL HERE AND NOW:
A system of health, love, abundance, prosperity, serenity, trust and happiness guided by universal laws.

I was and still am perplexed and stupefied! I would consider it valid to find a message of this content in a group of religious linked to the ideas of original sin and materialism, contrary to Spiritism and its liberating doctrine... But within a group "spiritist", which establishes, as the first of its rules, that "our main objective is the STUDY OF THE SPIRITIST DOCTRINE“, and by the hands of an administrator?! Never! Now, it comes to disrespect the Spiritist Doctrine itself and Kardec's effort to fight, in the light of reason and with great effort, precisely these two systems contrary to Spiritism and the liberation of man: materialism and religious dogmatism.

The intention here is not to descend to the level of personal attack. Each one with their conscience and with the results of their actions. What I want to firmly emphasize is the following two very important points:

1. Caution, dear reader, with the wave of evangelical moralism spread in the spiritist environment! The Gospel is indeed very important, but Spiritism must be studied to understand it well. There are many "wolves in sheep's clothing” who hide under the words of the Gospel, but who actually spread ideas contrary to him.
2. We have been absorbed for a long time in inaction and in the absence of studies. This is why false ideas spread at a gallop. IT'S our responsibility, facing the doctrine and ourselves, study it, apply its moral consequences in our own lives and spread it in its essence! We can no longer accept that such ideas continue to be disseminated in the spiritist environment, undermining the Doctrine from the inside out!

the spiritist does not study not even the Gospel According to Spiritism, because, if study, could be on guard. It is not for nothing that Saint Louis expresses himself in this way, about false prophets:

If they say to you: “Christ is here”, don't go; on the contrary, be on your guard, because the false prophets will be numerous.. Do you not see that the leaves of the fig tree begin to whiten; you do not see its many shoots awaiting the time of flowering; and did not Christ say to you, Is a tree known by its fruit? If, then, the fruit is bitter, you already know how bad the tree is.; but if they are sweet and wholesome, you will say, “Nothing pure can come from an evil source.”

It is thus, my brethren, that you must judge; are the works that you must examine. If those who claim to be invested with divine power show signs of a mission of a high nature, that is, if they possess the highest degree of Christian and eternal virtues: charity, love, indulgence, the kindness that reconciles hearts; if, in support of the words, they present the acts, then you can say: These are really sent from God.

But be wary of honeyed words, be wary of the scribes and Pharisees who pray in the public squares, dressed in long robes. Be wary of those who claim to have a monopoly on the truth!

KARDEC, Allan. The gospel According to spiritism. My italics.

The Spirit of Erastus, in the same work, says the following:

False prophets are not only found among the incarnate. There are also them, and in much greater numbers, among the proud spirits who, appearing to love and charity, sow disunity and delay the work of emancipation of humanity, throwing their absurd systems through it, after having made their mediums accept them.. And, to better fascinate those whom they wish to deceive, to give more weight to their theories, they unscrupulously appropriate names that only men pronounce with great respect.

Ibid. Idem.

This exhortation, however, does not carry the meaning that we should not be on guard against the wolves in sheep's clothing, for it is they themselves who sow the disunity by throwing, in the midst of consoling ideas, the thorny fruit of the old religions. Kardec, by the way, highlights the need to keep away from these individuals, even when mediums:

It should be noted that when good spirits see that a medium is no longer well assisted and becomes, due to his imperfections, the prey of deceiving spirits, circumstances almost always arise that reveal his defects and distance him from serious and well-respected people. -intentioned, whose good faith could be lacquered. In this case, whatever faculties he possesses, his departure is not to be missed.

KARDEC, Allan. The Mediums' Book. 1862. Italics mine.

None of this means that we should fight with rudeness or hatred, on the contrary, because we would be in error too. But we must fight false ideas by disseminating true Spiritism, the one that is truly consoling. And how to do it? Understanding Spiritism and its context! It is necessary to understand Rational Spiritualism ((we recommend studying the book Small Elements of Morals, by Paul Janet, in addition to studying the work Autonomy: the never-told history of Spiritism, by Paulo Henrique de Figueiredo, or following the several videos on this subject, with this author, on Youtube)), it is necessary to study the Doctrinal essence in its unadulterated works((as always, we recommend studying the works O Céu e o Inferno and A Gênesis according to the editions of the publisher FEAL, translated and commented, among others, by Paulo Henrique de Figueiredo, as well as also following the study of these works in channel Spiritism for All)) and it is necessary to study the Spiritist Magazine, as we have done, in order to understand what Spiritism really is and how this doctrine was formed.

Finally, it's time to move. It is not only the spiritist milieu that lacks the recovery of the ideas of the moral theory developed by Spiritism and based on the Rational Spiritualism: is all mankind.

Do your part.

Definitely, I moved away from the discussion about proofs and evidence of tampering in your works. That is my opinion that they have become a huge waste of time. I explain:

At first, I had an opinion, that pieces of evidence regarding the adulteration were very overwhelming ((Facts presented in detail in “The Legacy of Allan Kardec”, by Simoni Privato, and “Nem Céu, Nem Inferno”, by Paulo Henrique de Figueiredo and Lucas Sampaio .)).

Then, emerged the evidence that it could had been indicated could that there were no adulterations and that everything was the result of Kardec's own work, according to the interpretation of some, and this led by indications and evidence that he, Kardec, had the clear intention of publishing new editions, with alterations, of O Céu and Hell and Genesis. I emphasize that, in my opinion, so far, all the evidence indicates that Kardec, at least in A Genesis, would have started a work in this direction, a work that was never completed and that gave space, precisely, to whoever would have the intention to wreak havoc in the only way possible on an unassailable Doctrine: by tampering with its postulates, in their origin.

There are those who disagree, of course. But there's a big although, on this subject, which I cannot ignore: the question precisely linked to spiritist science and to Allan Kardec as the honest, insightful, patient, careful and honest scientist he was. Of two, one: either he wrote very important and serious things under an anxiety that he never had, having later retreated in his opinions - which would demonstrate a serious flaw in his method and would represent a great danger to the whole Spiritist Doctrine - or he he was very careful, until the end, and only concluded what had to be concluded, after years of research and under the guidance of superior spirits, as he always tried to do.

Now, he himself said, years before the publication of these works, that certain doctrinal matters still needed to wait a few years and that he would not publish anything very soon, without the development of the Doctrine giving way to this. Heaven and Hell and Genesis were precisely that conclusion. I do not see how, therefore, especially in the first work, to make changes that, at certain points, alter completely the understanding of the idea and that, in A Genesis, make the concept or doctrinal postulate incomplete or misunderstood. But that's not all: Kardec was very austere in these two works, precisely with regard to the most sensitive points, and which gave reason to fear in the opponents of Spiritism, and it was precisely at these points where the “alterations” took place.

Let's look at some examples:

In A Genesis, chapter III, item 19, from the 5th edition onwards, the text reads as follows:

“The man who only acted constantly by instinct might be very good, but he would keep his intelligence dormant. He would be like a child who didn't leave the walkers and didn't know how to use his limbs. He who does not master his passions can be very intelligent, but at the same time very bad. Instinct annihilates itself; the passions can only be tamed by the effort of the will.“

However, in the 4th edition, now recovered and translated into Portuguese by the publisher FEAL, there is the following complement:

All men go through passions. Those who have overcome them, and are not, by nature, proud, ambitious, selfish, spiteful, vindictive, cruel, wrathful, sensual, and do good without effort, without premeditation and, so to speak, involuntarily, it is because they have progressed in the sequence. of their previous existences, having rid themselves of this uncomfortable weight. It is unfair to say that they have less merit when they do good, compared to those who fight against their tendencies. It turns out that they have already achieved victory, while the others have not yet. But when they do, they will be like the others. They will do good without thinking about it, like children who read fluently without having to spell. It is as if they were two sick people: one cured and full of strength while the other is still recovering and hesitates to walk; or as two runners, one of which is closer to the finish than the other.

Kardec, A Genesis, 4th edition — FEAL Publisher

Now, it seems believable that Kardec drew this conclusion so important, profound and liberating of this postulate?

A little further on, in chapter XVIII, “The times have arrived”, the following passage was deleted (removed) from the 5th edition of the work. Read with attention:

To say that humanity is ripe for regeneration does not mean that all individuals are on the same level, but many have, by intuition, the germ of new ideas that circumstances will bring about. Then they will prove to be more advanced than one might suppose, and they will eagerly follow the lead of the majority. There are, however, those who are essentially refractory to these ideas, even among the most intelligent, and who will certainly not accept them, at least in this lifetime; in some cases, in good faith, out of conviction; others for interest. They are those whose material interests are linked to the current conjuncture and who are not advanced enough to give them up, since the general good matters less than their personal good — they are apprehensive at the slightest reform movement. The truth is for them a secondary issue, or rather, the truth for certain people lies entirely in that which does not cause them any trouble. All progressive ideas are, from their point of view, subversive ideas, and for this reason they have an implacable hatred for them and an obstinate war against them. They are intelligent enough to see Spiritism as an aid to progressive ideas and the elements of transformation that they fear and, because they do not feel up to it, they strive to destroy it.. If they thought him worthless and unimportant, they wouldn't worry about him. We have already said it elsewhere: “The more grandiose an idea is, the more it finds opponents, and its importance can be measured by the violence of the attacks to which it is the object”.

Kardec, A Genesis, 4th edition — FEAL Publisher

If the suppression of this passage doesn't seem like something carried out precisely by an opponent of the Doctrine, I don't know what would.

In O Céu e o Inferno, from the 4th edition onwards, we have, among other things, the suppression of important postulates, such as these (chap. VIII):

Through the examples that Spiritism places before our eyes, it teaches us that the soul in the invisible world suffers for all the evil it has done, as well as for all the good it could have done and did not do during its earthly life. That the soul is not condemned to an absolute, uniform, and time-limited penalty, but that it suffers the natural consequences of all its evil deeds, until it has improved itself by the efforts of its own will. It carries its own punishment within itself, and that wherever it finds itself, for which there is no need for a circumscribed place. Hell, then, is wherever there are suffering souls, as Heaven is wherever there are happy souls, which does not prevent one and the other from grouping together, by affinity of position, around certain points.

Heaven and Hell, Chap. IV, item 6, paragraph deleted in adulteration, p. 85

As all spirits are perfectible, by virtue of the law of progress, they carry within themselves the elements of their future happiness or unhappiness and the means of acquiring one and avoiding the other by working towards their own advancement.

Allan Kardec, Heaven and Hell, 3rd edition — FEAL Editor

We see, then, a great loss, for the suppression of these postulates. There are several other points, which, according to a certain understanding, can even be re-signified under a possible authorship by Allan Kardec, but the fact is that there are also strange changes in this work that do not make sense. Just compare the chapter "Future penalties according to Spiritism“, from Heaven and Hell, completely disfigured in the “alteration”.

There's more: admitting that all the existing alterations in these works were carried out by Kardec, means saying that he would have made a grotesque mistake, and not just once, but twice: not having obtained the necessary permission, from the government, to print new editions of these works. I've never met this careless and reckless Kardec that they've been showing around.

Knowing a little about Professor Rivail's extremely serious, conscientious and careful face regarding this science (as with others), I cannot admit the theories of alterations by his own hand, especially the deletions, and, from a scientific point of view, everything What I have seen so far, not counting the forced conclusions under chains of logic with some problems, at most, indicates an intention to publish a new edition, which was never completed and which, precisely, gave rise to adulterations subsequent to his death, by changing the movable type ((pieces used to make previous impressions, at that time. These impressions were analyzed and corrected, by changing the types (letters, punctuation, etc.) and, when it was verified that the work was finished, they were used for printing the headquarters, which is used for large-scale printing)) existing.

In fact, in possession of Kardec's manuscripts, made available by the CDOR, from FEAL, it was possible to identify that:

Some handwritten letters show that, in February 1868, Kardec was interested in adding excerpts in The Genesis, as it was his custom, after a while of release, to review his works. For this, he asked the spirits for advice to organize this work.

Some spiritual friends gave guidelines for a review of the work, with the express indication not to change the doctrinal issues in any way, as can be seen from the following excerpts from this communication:

"My opinion is that there is absolutely nothing of doctrine to be taken away; everything there is useful and satisfying in every way" and

"It is necessary to leave intact all theories that first appear in the public eye.”.

In this case, in addition to the legal demonstration of tampering with The Genesis, this communication also reinforces the fact due to the doctrinal changes identified in the work, with the suppression of several passages in which Kardec criticizes the heteronomous moral of religious fanaticism, among other manipulations.

Still in this communication, the spirit also suggested that he work without haste and without dedicating a lot of time:

"Above all, don't rush too much. (…) Start working immediately, but not in an exaggerated way. Do not hurry”.

https://espirito.org.br/autonomia/ncni-conselhos-sobre-a-genese/

Now, what do we observe in the alterations of Genesis, if not haste and carelessness?

This recommendation was justified because Kardec, in the midst of his difficult health condition, had priority issues to worry about, such as Spiritist Magazine and the project for the continuity of Spiritism through the collective direction phase.

That's my conclusion. However, we can even go so far as to say that these questions of adulteration or not are a mere “detail”, a “stumbling block”, which will be overcome when science is restored to its essence. Now, this essence remains unchanged and is available for our study. It is enough to study it, honestly, because the honest and humble man surrenders in the face of the results of scientific investigation. But, in conclusion, this study needs to be contextualized, and one of the greatest researchers of this context, Paulo Henrique de Figueiredo, is being put under the rug, by many, just because he shares the opinion of adulteration. And that attitude is definitely not science.

This is a succinct article, bringing a reflection, I believe, important.

The subject in question has been around for a long time: the search for a unification of the Spiritist Movement. We know that, especially in Brazil, since the beginning of the spiritist movement, there have been splits, that is, divisions into groups of ideologies. There are even inside movement, political divisions, something that should never exist, since Spiritism aims, above all, at the transformation of the individual, by his own will and reason, and not by force majeure, that is, a social modification through the modification individual. Politics (seen from the simplistic point of view, according to what is generally done), on the other hand, aims at this transformation from the top down, by force of law.

We should note: this, of course, does not mean that the spiritist cannot get involved with politics. Quite the contrary: it should. But with which eyes? Certainly not those of vanity and pride of opinions, but based in the Spiritist Doctrine. Let us imagine what, with political force, people could do well-understood of the scientific, moral and philosophical essence of Spiritism, of the transformation by the base, of the pedagogy of autonomy, from kindergarten and, finally, those who understand, deeply, the well and its power of social transformation, respecting, however, ALWAYS (as long as the act does not imply direct harm to others and respecting the laws in force) the free will of each one, which is a principle fundamental of Spiritism? Now, the big problem has always been reserved opinions, when, on the one hand, some think they will solve everything with weapons and, on the other, some think they will solve everything. based on strength, taking from some to give to others.

But let's return to the fundamental point: with the divisions under the same flag, it is natural, then, to be born the various proposals for unification, even inspired by that famous and fair recommendation of the Spirit of Truth, in The Gospel According to Spiritism — “Spiritists!, love you, here is the first teaching. Instruct yourselves, here is the second”. How, then, to achieve this goal?

Now, recognizing that we are Spirits in different degrees of evolution, with different forms of understanding, with different knowledge and different ways of seeing the world - in short, each one, in itself, a true universe - it is clear that we cannot suppose that a unification mean a equalization of ideas. That would be impossible. It would also be impossible and even erroneous to suppose that this unification would be the brotherhood of all spiritists under the same regulatory entity, as has been tried for a long time, since Spiritism cannot be confined under hierarchies, entities or even people. Kardec himself, who so conscientiously led the first years of the formation of the Doctrine, knew this: after his death, who would assume his post? Who would take that right? Do not. From the beginning, Kardec proposed guidelines for what would very well lead Spiritism after his death, which, in short, would be:

1. As a basic principle of a science, Spiritism would never be closed to questioning, as long as it is born from the honest purpose of the individual who does not accept anything without reasoning, nor from curiosity, as long as it is born from the investigative principle of the search for knowledge; however, from the moment that the individual does not surrender to the logic of facts and evidence, abundantly supported by reason and by the scientific method, he cannot be taken seriously and, to spend time with this one, would mean wasting time with the one who, presenting If you are an apple, you will say that it is a lemon, simply because you want to cultivate pride and not humility.

2. From the point of view of doctrinal organization, Kardec, together with his collaborators, proposed, as presented in the Spiritist Magazine of December 1868 (about four months before his death) the “Transitory Constitution of Spiritism” (read by clicking on here) which, in short, recommended that Spiritism should no longer be constituted under any centralizing figure or entity, but through countless study and research groups, constituted around the world, and coordinated but not regulated, for one central committee, which, according to Kardec…

… will therefore be the head, the true head of Spiritism, collective leader who can do nothing without the assent of the majority and, in certain cases, without that of a congress or general assembly. Numerous enough to be clarified by discussion, it will not be enough to cause confusion there.

[…]

It is clear that here we are dealing with a moral authority, as far as the interpretation and application of the principles of doctrine are concerned, and not with any disciplinary power. This authority will be, in matters of Spiritism, what an Academy has in matters of science.

The brilliance, rationality, even genius of Professor Rivail is really worthy of a Spirit who prepared himself for the mission he had in front of him. THE unity of Spiritism, therefore, would not be represented by the strength of this or that individual, or group, of this or that entity: it would be in the whole, in the basic principles of science and spiritist doctrine. It would not be up to anyone, individually, to give rules, accept or reject the adoption of new principles and even new adepts.

Now, if this was published, by his own hand, when he was still alive, we ask: what happened to the spiritist movement to reach the current scenario, where dissidence occurs, everywhere, basically due to disrespect to the basic principles of the Doctrine and of this organization wisely proposed by Allan Kardec, shortly before his death? Well, there are four main points:

1. Doctrinal deviations after his death, by those who should have continued his work. This was due to personal interests, such as money, fame (vanity) and pride. Spirits contrary to good, because they are ignorant of it, found in human imperfections the necessary loophole to accomplish the only thing they could against such a strongly established doctrine. Thus, they obtained, through Pierre Leymarie or others ((Leymarie was not at the head of the Anonymous Society, which replaced the Parisian Society of Spiritist Studies, until 1872, the year in which the adulterated edition of Heaven and the Inferno)): the adulterations of O Céu e o Inferno and A Gênesis ((Facts presented in detail in “O Legado de Allan Kardec”, by Simoni Privato, and “Nem Céu, Nem Inferno”, by Paulo Henrique de Figueiredo and Lucas Sampaio .)), Kardec's two final works that encapsulated the doctrinal principles of more than 15 years of learning and investigations; the facts that stained and shadowed the Spiritist Doctrine, such as the “Process of Spiritists“, the frequent dissemination of anti-doctrinal ideas, in the Revista Espírita, among others ((Facts extensively detailed in the aforementioned works and also in “Muita Luz” (Beacoup de Lumiere), by Berthe Fropo. The PDF can be easily found on Google.) ).
2. The wars that followed a few decades later and that plunged the world into materialism, either through the difficulties and misfortunes of the people or through armed struggles.
3. The personal interests or the inability to understand the true essence of Spiritism on the part of those who took the reins of the nascent spiritist movement in Brazil and who found, in Roustaing, a theory closer to their purposes or their capacities for understanding. These, linked to politics — look, once again politics — and/or the press and with the ability to penetrate, made these ideas widely spread across the country.
4. The lack of interest in the studies of the adepts of Spiritism who, if they had dedicated themselves to this need, would have found what we have just presented.

I would say that, of all, the fourth and last topic is the most serious of all, as any stumbles, consciously or not, would often be corrected by a dedicated study of the existing doctrinal content or by scientific research with the Spirits, as Kardec did.

Finally, we found that the existing splits in the Spiritist movement are much less due to doctrinal ideology, and much more due to the absence or presence of necessary scientific principles, following in the footsteps of Allan Kardec. On the one hand, there are those who understand the need for the method, the principle of universal agreement of the teachings of the Spirits, of not accepting an isolated opinion, from anyone, as if it were the expression of truth and wisdom and, therefore, part of the Doctrine and the importance, usefulness and necessity of spiritist evocations, with all due care always highlighted by Kardec; on the other, there are those who think that Kardec is outdated by time, that the Spirits have to be left in peace and that it is up to this or that person to prophet of revelation.

THE unity, then, in Spiritism, it is not impossible. However, as is clear, for it to exist, it is necessary to respect the constitution, method and postulates of this science. Differences of opinion and interpretations will always exist, but as long as the basic principles of this science are fulfilled, they will be progressively overcome or removed.

From everything, we take the following: unity should not be sought in the one who insists on saying that the apple is a lemon, but in the one who, even supposing it to be a lemon, in the face of reason, understands and agrees: yes, it is an apple . In other words: Spiritism is a very well established and grounded science. Let us look for unity, based on this science, in all those who want to study and research it as necessary, without the intention of uniting everyone under the same entity or a single leader, but spreading out, across the four corners of the world, the need the formation of groups of applied studies on this science. Over time, when we are ready, this will give space to the resumption of studies, instigated by the Spirits themselves, of the new principles of the Doctrine, with the coordination of a central committee or more.

Make no mistake: we are not looking for numbers, but quality. The true spreaders of this Doctrine will not be the majority, in principle, but will be those who will help in the process of recovering the essence of Spiritism, disseminating it to all who can. Although few, they are found everywhere, often waiting for a little push to resume their walk. As for those who insist on spiritism without the spirits, or on spiritism à la Roustaing, let us understand that they practice a new religion, and not the Spiritist Doctrine. As Kardec would say, let's leave them, because reason will prevail, and divergent opinions will be muffled by time and science, as has always happened in the history of humanity.

In “spiritists, love each other”, we need respect and understanding that can only be born from the humility that arises from scientific exploration and reason, which leads the individual to perfect; in “I instruct you”, we have reinforced the need to study the Doctrine, so that we can stop being blindly commanded by opinions.

This will be a very succinct article, but of great reflections.

Religions, however far from the truth because of their dogmas, which aim to keep the people in ignorance, due to the thirst for power and control, have their uses. Of course, all of them advance - just compare, in general, the Catholic Church of 150 years ago, or even much less, with that of today - although they advance very slowly and only when they are forced to do so, most of the time. . With all this, they have always been receptacles of a certain truth, transmitted through the centuries, until the moment when man could understand and advance on these ideas.

It is a fact that, because of this thirst for control and dominion, the dogmas created for this purpose have long kept consciences under the thoughtlessness of fear and blind obedience, but, once again, the time has come. Let's look at the ranks of the churches: every day more, they are emptying. However, those who leave there, we don't find anyone who gives a better answer, they find the only answer that exists, which is in materialism.

We live exactly the same process faced between the 18th and 19th centuries, from which, in a short time (relatively speaking) we will see the emergence of a movement contrary to all this, seeking in spiritualism the answer that neither religions nor materialism can give.

However, today, we have an advantage. The very important studies on Rational Spiritualism, by Paulo Henrique de Figueiredo (mainly), can leverage this process; Spiritism, this time, does not need to be born from scratch, but only needs to be resumed in its original essence – what many recent studies, including those by Paulo, have helped a lot to accomplish. We are much closer to a revolution of ideas, which will not happen through politics, which is coercive, but through individual will, which responds to reason and free will.

My reader friend, I believe that in a few decades we will be able to see a new world. For this, however, the social foundations must be shaken - this time, not through force, but through the ideas of charity and good and, above all, autonomy through will and reason - and, for that, it is up to each of us to study exhaustively all these sources of knowledge in order to carry forward, in every possible situation, and outside the spiritist milieu, this consoling and transforming knowledge.

And we can start right now, weaving, for example, proposals to approach education, today predominantly heteronomous, experienced under the aspects of sin and punishment, with the Pestalozzi and Spiritist proposals, autonomous in all their essence.

We have a lot to do. And this process does not aim to derogate from religions, as it never did: it aims, above all, to bring about the strengthening of the truth that exists in them and to remove what there is of errors and untruths.

We also recommend reading the article “Spiritism and the world of regeneration: how will we get there?“

Today I was “philosophizing” about this subject, and I came up with the following ideas which, I highlight, are based on my way of seeing the topic and on my knowledge of Spiritism – which may not reflect the most complete reality. Below are my considerations:

Let us reflect: modification does not come from the top down, as an imposition, but from the bottom up, from the individual to society, as choice. Therefore, the planet will only be transformed by the change of its inhabitants. And when we talk about regeneration, what is a Spirit that regenerates itself, failing to undergo trials and atonements? In my understanding, it is the Spirit that starts to look within itself, moving from planning lives that only aim to bring “reparative sufferings”, to planning lives that give them more opportunities for learning to smother their imperfections. And how does this happen? Only by will, fueled by reason. Therefore, as I understand, it is precisely the knowledge reinforced by Spiritism that will enable us to conquer a new terrestrial “environment”.

As long as the spirits continue to be shackled to the old con- – an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. However, as they understand that what they really need is to strengthen themselves through learning and reason, in contact with valuable knowledge, in order to deal with their imperfections, they will, in my view, plan their lives more wisely.

After all, which causes more suffering: physical pain, which ends with death, or moral pain, which continues until the factor that caused it is resolved? Isn't that how we act here? When we make a mistake, we often want to be punished in order to relieve our conscience, so that we want to put aside the real problem, which is our imperfection and the moral suffering that originates from it, due to mistakes. The more mature individual, however, knows that punishment does not solve it, and seeks to face his own problems, which made him wrong.

For example: in that case of the Assassin Lemaire (RE – March 1858) he knew he had to deal with his imperfections. How did you think about doing this? He planned to be born in the midst of crime, but he failed in his attempt, as the environment was stronger than him, who still did not have much stronger will and reason. When he failed in his attempt, he was one more to spread criminality, allying other spirits to his intentions. What if – what if! – would he, more consciously, have planned a different life? What if, instead of putting himself under the environment of crime, to fight with his passions, he had chosen a firm and kind family, which would give him a better education and put him in contact with contents that could help him to strengthen his will to overcome your imperfections, through reason? Perhaps he had managed to overcome many of his imperfections, in addition to no longer being one of the criminals.

Isn't that, as a general understanding, generating better decisions, great for the planet? Wouldn't it cause a huge change to society? I think so. But this requires, in the foreground, that the Spirit faces itself: that it places itself under a critical perspective and that it faces its own “demons”. Now, in a society that insists on believing, because it is easier, in the imposition of divine punishments, we see how far we are still from this new era on this planet... , develop our virtues and seek to elevate ourselves, in the good, so that we can conquer the possibility of incarnating in happier worlds.

Who knows….

I finish with Kardec, in A Gênesis (4th edition, original – the excerpt was deleted in the 5th edition, which many say has not been tampered with):

To say that humanity is ripe for regeneration does not mean that all individuals are on the same level, but many have, by intuition, the germ of new ideas that circumstances will bring about. Then they will prove to be more advanced than one might suppose, and they will eagerly follow the lead of the majority. There are, however, those who are essentially refractory to these ideas, even among the most intelligent, and who will certainly not accept them, at least in this lifetime; in some cases, in good faith, out of conviction; others for interest. They are those whose material interests are linked to the current conjuncture and who are not advanced enough to give them up, as the general good matters less than their personal good – they are apprehensive at the slightest reform movement. The truth is a secondary issue for them, or, better said, the truth for some people lies entirely in that which does not cause them any trouble. All progressive ideas are, from their point of view, subversive ideas, and therefore they have an implacable hatred for them and make a stubborn war against them. They are intelligent enough to see Spiritism as an aid to progressive ideas and the elements of transformation that they fear and, because they do not feel up to it, they strive to destroy it.. If they thought him worthless and unimportant, they wouldn't worry about him. We have already said it elsewhere: “The more grandiose an idea is, the more it finds opponents, and its importance can be measured by the violence of the attacks to which it is the object”.

Kardec, The Genesis, 4th Edition – FEAL

Perhaps many spiritists have it, in the same way that many Umbandistas do, in relation to Spiritism, and in the same way that practically every human being can have prejudices. Pointing out and defining “sides” is definitely something that doesn’t help much with human progress. In any case, I would like to take this opportunity to remember the following: Firstly,…

Firstly, it is necessary to separate what Spiritism is from what the “Spiritist Movement” is. The first is a solid and scientific, rational doctrine, based on the agreed teaching of the Spirits, given everywhere and for all times. The second is the group of people who consider themselves attracted by the ideas of this Doctrine and who, however, do not always act in accordance with its postulates – unfortunately this is what most happens nowadays.

Spiritism, as a Scientific Doctrine, does not force anything on anyone: it presents its conclusions and leaves everyone the freedom to accept them or not. However, many people, called spiritualists, even though they are aware of the existence of this Doctrine, choose not to inform themselves about it, judging the book by its cover, that is, acting prejudiced about it, saying that it is just another religion, or that it is just another opinion, or that The Spirits' Book – the basic work of this Doctrine – is just another book, written by Kardec, according to his own ideas.

How many people get into difficulties with regard to contact with the Spirits, and who, when invited to study the Spiritist Doctrine (which is called that because it belongs to the Spirits, and not to a single man or group) prefer to continue in their old conceptions, resisting to seek new knowledge?

It is said that Umbanda was born from a split within a Spiritist center, when the participants of that group did not accept the communication of an “old black man” in that environment. Now, if it is true, they are no less culpable than other individuals, who insist on considering the basis of Spiritist Science as a “dead and outdated letter”.

From all of this, there is a lesson to be learned: to understand Spiritism, being it a science, born, in fact, as a development of Rational Spiritualism, which was also a scientific doctrine that included the study of psychology, metaphysics and morals, one cannot do without the study of his basic works, as well as, in order to understand Physics, he does not do without the study of Isaac Newton and Einstein. Just as Physics presents its postulates, but many people insist on ignoring it to say that the gravitational force does not exist, the same is done about Spiritism, which is not a “higher religion”, where the “only truths” exist. , but that is, yes, the only Scientific Doctrine, until today, dedicated to the rational study of our relations with the Spirits.

In fact, those who study Spiritism know that it, compared to other religions, comes to demonstrate the truth about everything that has always existed, but that has not always been well understood, in the same way that it shows errors, fruits of non-observance of reason or even of ignorance of certain information that, in time, began to be taught. They are the other individuals who, out of pride or personal interests, often cannot bear to see a dogma denied, and choose to attack back to the Spiritist Doctrine. Let's reflect. Instead of choosing sides, let's understand: Spiritism, as a science, can be studied by all modern spiritualists, as well as Magnetism, a sister science of the first. But, without studying and understanding, everything will remain the same: spiritists creating false concepts about spiritist (spiritual) communications in different religions and different religions failing to absorb knowledge as liberating, consoling and progressive as that of Spiritism.

We are, on this date, experiencing a new moment of apprehension in the world, with a new war starting between Russia and Ukraine. It will be very opportune, therefore, to remember some important concepts of Spiritism in the face of such situations, such as wars.

The situation of those who die in wars

In the first place, it is necessary to remember that any human evil is born from the imperfection inherent in Spirits who, like practically all of us, are still in the third order of life. spirit scale. The Spirit who practices evil, individually or in combination, does so because he is still ignorant of morals and acts according to his already conquered free will. Thus, I emphasize, never an action of perversity or evil, practiced by someone, arises from a divine collection of a past “debt”.

I believe it's very important to highlight this thought right from the start, because many still mistakenly think that the victim of a crime is "paying off past debts," which is not true. Now, what kind of God is this who collects debts through crimes and, in doing so, causes another Spirit—that of the criminal—to acquire a new debt?

Therefore, no, people who die victims of a crime, whether isolated, such as a homicide, or in a group, from smaller but no less expressive cases, such as the Kiss nightclub fire, which resulted in a criminal case, even the biggest, such as the cases of Nazism, which killed more than six million Jews, or the genocide committed by the Chinese revolutionary Mao Zedong, whose politics killed 50 to 80 million people, do not die because they are being charged for absolutely nothing in the past: they die as a result of the decisions of others, criminals - remembering that, of course, the Spirit that foresees life under such a condition can choose then reincarnate in order to atone for past mistakes and try to learn and get rid of the imperfections that made him wrong.

I already addressed this issue in another article, highlighting that collective deaths do not occur due to “collective rescues”, but because we are subject to such vicissitudes, inherent to the raw material we occupy today.

The “deadline”

Many have, with some fear, referred to a supposed “prophecy” attributed to Chico Xavier regarding the so-called deadline, where, from a certain date in 1969, the elevated Spirits who care for earthly progress would give an “ultimatum” to the earthly human being: if there were no war, within the next 50 years, we would enter a new phase of planetary evolution.

It so happens that we have some problems with the Doctrine:

1. Superior spirits do not usually give future predictions of this kind.
2. How could superior spirits give such an ultimatum knowing that the human being is still very imperfect and knowing the going and going in the human heart?
3. We know that the evolution of the Spirit does not respect dates. For the immortal Spirit, time does not exist, and what is not done today, nor here, will be done in decades, centuries or millennia. The urgency that exists lives in each one, because each lost day of detachment from imperfections will be one more day of suffering in this spiritual condition.

Another problem is that much of this subject has been discussed secondhand, through other people, not having come directly from Chico Xavier's mouth. Therefore, it is necessary to look at this matter very carefully.

War and Spiritism: The Spirits’ Book

In the cited work, Kardec also addresses the theme of wars. Let's review the questions and answers:

742. What is it that drives man to war?

“The predominance of the animal nature over the spiritual nature and the overflow of passions. In the state of barbarism, peoples only know one right: that of the strongest. That is why, for such peoples, war is a normal state. As man progresses, war becomes less frequent, because he avoids its causes. And when it becomes necessary, he knows how to do it with humanity.”

The human being, still very imperfect, wants to rule by force in order to enforce his selfish desires. As we progress, we will leave such imperfections behind and fight less, on any scale. The big problem is that, today, man is forgotten about morals and the soul.

743. From the face of the earth, will war ever disappear?

“Yes, when men understand justice and do the law of God. At that time, all peoples will be brothers.”

Unfortunately, in an absurdly materialistic society, we are quite forgetful about practicing the Law of God.

744. What did Providence aim at, making war necessary?

“Freedom and Progress.”

When it is said that Providence (God) made war necessary, it is important to understand that God would never make war a necessity in itself, but rather that He allows free will to the imperfect Spirit that, without a shadow of a doubt, will come into play. strife and wars of every kind. It's part of evolution. It is almost always necessary to know the bad, in its most advanced stage, for society to seek the good. In the past, the human being, in general, fought and killed for any petty reason. Today we are considerably far from that past.

There is also something important to note: larger-scale wars are always commanded by one or more tyrannical individuals or groups. At the end of the line is the soldier who, many times, has nothing to do with it and who would not even like to be there, but who is forced to follow the orders of his commanders. Divine Justice, of course, “takes into account” these differences, that is, the soldier who acts under command, without the will to do evil, will have, before his own conscience, much less sense of guilt than the commander. who sends them to murder.

744. a) — If war must have the advent of freedom as its effect, how can it often aim and result in subjugation?

“Temporary subjugation, for press peoples, in order to make them progress more quickly.”

It is the complement of what was said above. War presses for advancement, both scientific and moral.

745. What is to be thought of him who stirs up war for his own benefit?

“This is the big culprit and many stocks will be necessary for him to atone for all the murders he has caused, for he will answer for all the men whose death he has caused to satisfy his ambition.”

From the answer to this question, it seems then that the Spirit who provokes war to take advantage will indeed have to pay for each of those who have suffered for this reason. But that's not exactly it. It is necessary to read carefully and carefully, and Kardec's works, being based on science, are continually built on previous postulates.

Let us note here that the spiritual response speaks in atonement. Atonement, being a kind of penance, is not a punishment imposed directly by God, as a charge, but rather as an effect of the conscience that the Spirit takes on the evil done. From the moment the Spirit understands that what suffers from being far from the good, starts to suffer morally because of it and, then, starts to plan incarnations where it will atone for its imperfections, to overcome them. Nor does it mean that the Spirit will individually atone for each one sufferings or deaths that he has caused, but, yes, that he will go through a long reincarnation work, trying to get rid of the moral weight acquired with his mistakes. Hitler will certainly not be reincarnated more than six million times to die in the same way and "pay" for the death of every single Jew (and other victims of the war), but surely the moment he understand the extent of the evil he did and the size of the suffering he himself experiences, he will go through a long series of incarnations suffered, by his own choice, in order to seek to overcome the exacerbated imperfections that made him act in such a way.

Conclusion

War and contention, to a lesser or greater degree, are still inherent to our condition of very imperfect spirits, and will only cease to exist on the day we practice God's laws, that is, on the day when moral charity, benevolence, in short, the good in itself is installed in the heart of each one, as an obligation, as well as that each one makes his own effort to get rid of selfishness and pride, imperfections that give rise to all the others. And, for that, it is necessary that the man rises above the matter and understands that, as incarnate Spirits, the only thing that really matters and what we take from here is the progress we have made or not. And, in this, Spiritism, as a science, and education based on Pestalozzi's pedagogy (mainly), still has much to contribute.

Let us pray, yes, for our brothers. We know that thought has the power of transmission over infinite distances. They can, who knows, reach the most hardened hearts, as they can also do a lot of good to those who are victims of the despotic excesses of all those who want to rule by force and violence. And let's take the opportunity to study, not to teach Spiritism classes, but to make ourselves more useful to society through our own transformation and the propagation of ideas based on the preexistence of the soul and its infinite continuity.

This is an honest and open reflection. It so happens that, today, one only thinks about indoctrinate. We forget, however, that Spirits have a lot to teach us – even the most unhappy ones, because we can analyze their current state, the reasons for the complications in their lives and, from that, obtain a lot of important knowledge. Studying Kardec, we see that not only he, but also many groups distributed across Europe and North America carried out serious research on the subject through mediumistic communications – not just waiting for “the phone to ring from there to here”, but carrying out evocations with serious and useful purposes.

Furthermore, at that time, it was customary to annotate everything, generating large volumes of documents regarding these communications, which could then be studied independently by external researchers, through rationality, seeking to find agreement between them. It is practically what Kardec did, and it is what allowed the structuring of Spiritism as a Scientific Doctrine. Today this is rarely done, except in the production of “letters” from disembodied relatives (whose communications could be much better used). My point is: we will need to resume this methodology, after all, human science has advanced a lot, but Spiritism has practically stopped in time, and many concepts that are accepted today did not go through this necessary methodology. If, today, the various groups of studies or mediumistic practices spread out there resumed this task, taking care not to contaminate each other from the sharing of ideas not sanctioned by this method, we could once again have a large volume of production. of contents that, little by little, could be analyzed. This, however, requires at least the basic study of The Spirits' Book and The Mediums' Book.

Imagine, for example, the controversies and lack of information regarding "spiritual cities": we can't, of course, ask the Spirit in a mediumship session: "Hey, do you live in a spiritual city? Where is it?" This would almost always provoke a tainted idea as a response. Instead, we would ask: "Could you tell us about your arrival in the spiritual plane? What did you find there? What are you doing today? Do you get tired? [If so,] what do you do to rest?"

He understands? There is another very positive point: in addition to learning from such reports, with effects on ourselves, our thoughts and our attitudes, these communications are also very useful to Spirits, especially those in a state of disturbance, who, when contracted to the mediumistic connection, he focuses a little more, again and can, at that moment, reflect a lot on his condition, changing his life.

Anyway, that's it. It has to start over, somehow. We just cannot forget to study Kardec for this, in order to avoid the difficulties already known and dealt with very clearly by him.

It is time to recover Kardec.

A few days ago I got involved in a heated discussion – behind the keyboards – which ended up making me angry and indignant. The reason? The issue of tampering (or not) in Kardec’s two final works – Heaven and hell and The Genesis.

Here, the discussion itself about these adulterations being a fact or not is not relevant. My criticism goes towards the rude and sarcastic position with which some of the “partisans” of non-adulteration behave, directly attacking the people and the work of the researchers who raised this very important information and who gave strength to the need to investigate the past, with the mere intention of taking any and all credit or even the desire to study them with the seriousness that, I argue, deserve.

It turns out that, if, for some (but not for me) the adulterations of the cited works are still a reason for doubt, on the other hand, there can be no doubt about the adulterations that the Movement suffered after Kardec, with the total loss of direction of the initial purposes of the Spiritist Society and its means of communication - this is very clear in O Legado de Allan Kardec. It is an undeniable fact that Leymarie allowed, due to material interests, Roustaing's thoughts to take precedence in the Doctrine, promoting anti-doctrinaire ideals and disrespecting the immense and dedicated work of Kardec and his wife, Amélie Boudet, “the sweet Gabi”. The Spiritist Society of Paris, commanded by Leymarie, distanced itself from totally Kardec's purposes, letting this unfortunate gentleman succumb to the temptation of vanity and money. reached the point of kick out, from one of the apartments destined by Allan Kardec for charity purposes, an elderly couple, for simple delay in payments of the rent, when the same and the Society had large sums of possessions and money [Private, 2019]. Furthermore, put aside the plans for the continuity of the spiritist movement which, according to Kardec's project, should rely on the multiplication of study groups and spiritist "investigations", governed under the necessary methodology [ibidem] - well, how could those who would be denied by it apply such a medotology, right?

It is also a fact that Spiritism, since its arrival on Brazilian soil, has been affected by this line of thought, finding shelter even in Bezerra de Menezes, one of the first presidents of the FEB, an institution that, until 2019, had, as a clause stony, the orientation of the study of the Four Gospels, by Roustaing.

It is also a fact that today's Spiritism is completely mischaracterized and misrepresented. Spiritist centers, which were once meetings of confessed spiritists, dedicated to the study of mediumistic communications and their moral and scientific effects, today reproduce Catholic churches, where the faithful attend the sermon (lecture), receive the blessing (pass), say a prayer and leave. Mediums, in search of help, are placed in long courses, which sometimes reach 7 years in duration, almost always with complicated FEB primers, so that, at the end of that, if they are still minimally interested, they are “initiated” in the mediumistic group of the house. Honest mediums began to be persecuted for “animism”, while others are taken as oracles: everything they say, through mediumship or their own opinion, is taken as a summation of absolute truth and wisdom. And then we started to hear, left and right, the most outrageous ideas, which, continuously, have promoted scandals and the removal of people who, in the most diverse conditions, feel motivated to enter a spiritist center in search of hearing something different from what they say around.

The moment is serious. We have arrived, once again, at a new critical point in society, with materialism happily flourishing in the hearts of men. But, once again, the opposite movement begins to take shape, because, as we know, it is necessary for man to know the apex of evil in order to go back to seeking the good and the beautiful. And that's what these works are about. There are those who criticize Figueiredo for defending autonomy over heteronomy, that is, for defending the essence of the teaching of the Spiritist Doctrine: everything depends on our will and our choices, and not on the blind acceptance of punishments and rewards. Precisely he, the first researcher IN THE WORLD to look for the original works of several philosophers and scientists, in order to give a scientific and historical context to the birth of Spiritism, together with Magnetism, the sister science of Spiritism. Well, by not agreeing with your position – also based on proof and evidence – that there was tampering in Heaven and Hell, should we then discard everything else?

When I said that “it is time to recover Kardec”, I am not referring only to the very important study of his works, which are the basis of the Spiritist Doctrine, but I am objectively referring to “recovering Kardec” in his example, in his person, always, according to all records, so good and affable, but also so sensible and serious in the face of science studies. Kardec always recommended that, in order to criticize a certain subject, it was necessary to fully understand it, which is why, on several occasions, he failed to address in depth what he could not have given due attention to. When Kardec criticized The Four Gospels of Roustaing, he only did so after to read all four volumes. And he, with the time he didn't have, did it because he realized that it was a work full of important ideas, even if inaccurate or even contrary to the consistent teaching of the Spirits. Kardec always did that. And what we see today is that many do not want to reproduce the steps of the expert researcher. They cling to superficial issues and, with prejudice, stop delving into the content, going on to criticize or put such works into oblivion.

Before finishing, I would like to say that I read The Legacy of Allan Kardec from start to finish, with great attention and care. The facts presented there, regarding the adulteration of A Gênese, from the 5th edition onwards, I repeat, are too objective, complete and complex for such an opinion to be just the result of a misinterpretation. At the very least – and this is my position – it opens up a very large margin for suspicion that, there, there is a mixture of contents that Kardec would really change or insert, combined with contents inserted by another party, with the clear purpose of changing what was already established doctrinally.

I don't want, anyway, to force anyone to believe in anything. That's why our media, unlike many out there, will always be open to comments and the exchange of ideas. But I want to leave you, dear reader, an invitation to read the following works, so that you can take your position according to your own reasoning:

• The Legacy of Allan Kardec, by Simoni Privato
• Neither heaven nor hell: The laws of the soul according to Spiritism – by Lucas Sampaio and Paulo Henrique de Figueiredo
• Much Light, by Berthe Fropo (link to pdf on here).
• Autonomy: the untold story of Spiritism – by Paulo Henrique de Figueiredo
• About “the Genesis case” – article of my authorship.
• Tampering in Kardec's works and the "CSI of Spiritism" - article of my authorship