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Anyone who has ventured to know a little more about Allan Kardec's history knows that he was educated by the Pestalozzi method, being one of his most exemplary disciples. For his teacher, education must be guided by the principles of fraternity and love, away from the concepts of sin and punishment, which greatly shaped Kardec's way of thinking, which later was based even more fully on Rational Spiritualism and, later, by Spiritism. We also know that the investigative and humble character of Professor Rivail was also fundamentally formed by this education, guided by the exploration of the natural sciences through the scientific method, and this, of course, explains a lot the way in which he acted against Spiritism.

All of this – fraternity, learning about the moral principles of good and God's laws, disinterested charity, which is the fruit of this learning, humility, which is born from the heart of one who never takes as a principle that his word is the last, in short, everything that is contained in the Pestalozzian methodology – provides the basis for a much better quality education, from the first steps of human beings on Earth. It is, I have no hesitation in saying, one of the greatest tools for the (trans)formation of society, greatly complemented by the understanding of the laws that Spiritism came to demonstrate. The two, together, have the greatest power, from childhood, to prevent the installation or development of the most harmful habits for the individual and for society – selfishness and pride – but, to date, neither of them has gained the space it deserves. , due to human attachment to false concepts that, on the surface, seem to please, but that, deep down, only cause unhappiness and delay.

To exemplify all this, nothing better than reproducing, in full, the content of the homonymous article by Allan Kardec, presented in the Spiritist Magazine of February 1864.

Of all the moral wounds of Society, it seems that selfishness is the most difficult to root out. Indeed, it is all the more so the more it is nourished by the very habits of education. It seems that the task is taken to arouse, from the cradle, certain passions that later become second nature. And they marvel at the vices of the Society, when children suck it up with their milk. Here is an example which, as everyone can judge, belongs more to the rule than to the exception.

In a family we know there is a girl between four and five years old, of a rare intelligence, but who has the small defects of spoiled children, that is, she is a little capricious, weepy, stubborn, and does not always thank her when given something. , which the parents take great care to correct, because apart from these defects, according to them, she has a heart of gold, a consecrated expression. Let's see how they manage to remove those small stains and preserve the gold in its purity.

One day they brought the child a sweet and, as usual, they told him: “You will eat it if you are good”. First lesson in sweet tooth. How many times, at the table, do they tell a child that he won't eat that snack if he cries. “Do this, or do that”, they say, “and you will have cream” or anything else that pleases him, and the child is constrained, not for reason, but in order to satisfy a sensual desire ((Desire of the senses)) that stings her.

It is even worse when they are told, which is no less frequent, that they will give their piece to someone else. Here, it's not just gluttony that's at stake, it's envy. The child will do what he is told, not only to have it, but so that the other child does not have it. Do you want to teach him a lesson in generosity? Then they say to him: “Give this fruit or this toy to so-and-so”. If she refuses, they do not fail to add, in order to stimulate a good feeling in her: “I will give you another one”, so that the child does not decide to be generous unless he is sure of losing nothing.

One day we witnessed a very characteristic event in this genre. It was a child of about two and a half years old, to whom they had made a similar threat, adding: “We will give it to your little brother, and you will have nothing.” To make the lesson more sensitive, they put the piece on the little brother's plate, who took the matter seriously and ate the portion. At the sight of this, the other turned red and it didn't take either the father or the mother to see the flash of anger and hatred that came from his eyes. The seed was sown: could it produce good grain?

Let's go back to the girl we talked about. As she did not realize the threat, knowing from experience that they rarely carried it out, this time they were firmer, for they understood that it was necessary to master this little character, and not wait for her to acquire a bad habit with age. They said that it is necessary to train children early, a very wise maxim, and to put it into practice, here is what they did: “I promise you, said the mother, that if you do not obey, tomorrow morning I will give your cake to the first poor girl who pass." No sooner said than done.

This time they wanted to keep their promise and teach him a good lesson. So the next day, in the morning, having seen a little beggar in the street, they brought her in and forced her daughter to take her by the hand and she herself gave her her cake. Then they praised his docility. Moral of the story: The daughter said, “If I had known about this, I would have rushed to eat the cake yesterday.” And everyone applauded this witty response. Indeed, the child had received a strong lesson, but one of pure selfishness, which he will not fail to take advantage of another time, for now he knows how much forced generosity costs. It remains to be seen what fruits this seed will bear later when, at an older age, the child applies this moral to things more serious than a cake.

Do you know all the thoughts that this single fact could have caused to germinate in that little head? After that, how do you want a child not to be selfish when, instead of awakening in him the pleasure of giving and representing the happiness of the recipient, they impose a sacrifice on him as punishment? Is it not inspiring aversion to the act of giving and to those in need?

Another habit, equally frequent, is to punish the child by sending him to eat in the kitchen with the servants. The punishment lies less in exclusion from the table than in the humiliation of going to the servants' table. This is how, from an early age, the virus of sensuality, selfishness, pride, contempt for inferiors, passions, in a word, which are rightly considered as the wounds of Humanity, is inoculated.

It is necessary to be endowed with an exceptionally good nature to resist such influences, produced at the most impressionable age, in which neither will nor experience can find a counterweight. Thus, however little the germ of evil passions may be found there, which is the most ordinary case, given the nature of most spirits who are incarnated on Earth, it cannot fail to develop under such influences, while it would be necessary to observe the slightest traces in order to repress them.

Without a doubt, the fault lies with the parents, but it must be said that they often sin more out of ignorance than out of ill will. In many there is undoubtedly a guilty insouciance, but in many others the intention is good, yet it is the remedy that is worthless, or that is misapplied.

As the first physicians of their children's souls, parents should be instructed, not only in their duties, but in the means of fulfilling them. It is not enough for the doctor to know that he must seek a cure, it is necessary to know how to act. Now, for parents, where are the means of instructing themselves in this most important part of their task? Today, much instruction is given to women; they make her pass rigorous examinations, but was the mother ever required to know how to build up her child's morale?

They teach you homemade recipes, but was it initiated to the thousand and one secrets of ruling young hearts?

Parents, therefore, are left unguided to their own initiative. This is why they so often follow the wrong path. Thus, in the mistakes of their grown children, they pick up the bitter fruit of their inexperience or misunderstood tenderness, and the whole Society receives the backlash.

Whereas selfishness and pride are admittedly the source of most human miseries; that while they reign on Earth, neither peace, nor charity, nor fraternity can be expected, so it is necessary to attack them in the embryo state, without waiting for them to become alive.

Can Spiritism remedy this evil? Undoubtedly, and we do not hesitate to say that he is the only one powerful enough to stop it, from the new point of view with which he allows us to perceive the mission and responsibility of parents; making known the source of innate qualities, good or bad; showing the action that can be exercised on incarnate and disincarnate spirits; giving the unbreakable faith which sanctions the duties; finally, moralizing their own parents. It already proves its effectiveness by the most rational way employed in the education of children in truly Spiritist families. The new horizons that Spiritism opens up make things look differently. Since its objective is the moral progress of Humanity, it will inevitably have to shed light on the serious problem of moral education, the first source of the moralization of the masses. One day it will be understood that this branch of education has its principles, its rules, like intellectual education, in a word, which is a true science. Perhaps one day, too, the obligation to possess this knowledge will be imposed on every mother of a family, as it is imposed on the lawyer to know the Law.

Kardec gives full weight to the responsibility we have towards children and their habits. Spiritism shows the origin of children's innate tendencies, but it also demonstrates that the Spirit incarnated in a child may not yet be strong enough to resist a bad habit that their parents or caregivers teach them from their first steps. This creates imperfections that could be very difficult to overcome…

Commonly, in the flesh, the fruit of these imperfections will lead people to ask: “what did I do to deserve this?”, or “where did I go wrong?”. However, it is enough for reason to speak a little louder to the conscience for them to launch into heavy lamentations, born from the fruit of the realization that the suffering their son may have gone through not just in one, but in many earthly lives, originated , if not in all, but at least in part, in the first seed sown and cultivated by those who should help them develop under the morality of good, and not move away from it.

Therefore, parents and caregivers, pay much more attention to the Spirits that God has entrusted to you as children. It will be their own consciences, and not God, who will hold them accountable tomorrow...

Under a very interesting title, I found this work today, a compendium of questions and answers, freely distributed in PDF on the Internet. I then went to analyze it, which is why I leave here my observations on this work.

I must emphasize that the intention is not to denigrate or mock the efforts that many make, and that, I believe, it has a good intention, almost always. However, when we talk about Spiritism, we need to understand that this science, in short, do not make isolated opinions, and that any spiritist communication that has not met the method of double control of reason and the universality of the teachings of the Spirits cannot be taken, but as an opinion. In the article "The role of the researcher and the medium in communications with the Spirits” We have already pointed out, according to Spiritism, the various reasons for this.

This work begins like this:

This work, created by incarnate and disincarnate spirits, is structured in questions and answers, explanatory notes and complementary texts, footnotes and prayers. It is intended for all who wish to initiate or deepen their bond with the Creator through instructive and reflective reading, prayer, the practice of love and charity, self-knowledge and the constant search for intimate reform.

Until recently, I didn't see this as a problem. Today, however, I understand that there is a big mistake in the so-called “intimate reform”, which Never was, neither with these words nor with others, in the work of Allan Kardec. Because? Simply because you don't reform what isn't broken. Well, we are spirits in evolution, making mistakes and getting it right and, sometimes, acquiring bad habits that become imperfections. When there is imperfection, we will have to do some work to detach ourselves from it - then there is a certain work of "reform" - however we cannot accept as a generalized assumption the fact that we all must reform ourselves, as the Spiritist Movement has widely proclaimed . This places a heavy burden of guilt on the shoulders of those who are simply seeking to learn and evolve, but who start to believe themselves, always, as “broken things” – and this is, deep down, linked to the false conceptions of the fall through sin.

Complementation

In Chapter I - Complementation - I - Purpose of the Work, the following is said:

1. For what purpose was The Spirits' Book released in 1857 by Allan Kardec?
— To liberate the incarnates through the truth, to instruct them and, consequently, to lead them to the practice of good.

A. Has this purpose been achieved?
- Yea; obviously it depends on the free will of each individual, but everything is in God's plans.

B. Given this, is it necessary to complement it?
— Yes, communications and ways of understanding change over time, and it is important that the teachings keep pace with these changes.

Note: The intention will never be to contest what has already been written, but to state it with more clarity and objectivity, so that there is no dubious understanding, bringing the truth more explicitly, in order to promote the practice once exemplified by the master Jesus.

It is clear that, in order to complement something, especially when it comes to complementing Spiritism, through “communications from Superior Spirits”, it is absolutely necessary that a series of requirements be fulfilled:

1. The human being must be prepared for this, having known and understood deeply, and in a contextualized way, everything that gave basis to the formation of this Doctrine. As we shall see, this first point has not been met.
2. When the Spirits demand to help the man to reach new knowledge, they act distributing the same knowledge through all the corners of the world, simultaneously. That is required so that, in the light of logic and reason, researchers of the doctrine can confront the ideas transmitted from all sides, carrying out the same scientific method that Kardec did. Perhaps researchers have carried out a certain rational analysis, but since this is not due to the universality of the Spirits' teachings and since we were not given knowledge of the method employed - which seems to consist only of questions and answers given to some Spirits, supposedly superior , through a medium or more, from the same group, this second point was not answered either.

Then the following appears:

2. When the first work was released, was the intention to create a new religion?
— At the launch of the first work, the intention was to assist in the transformation of humanity through knowledge, making it abdicate from pride and selfishness, enhancing the practice of love through charity. Every religion created with the intention of aggregating rather than segregating the incarnate is positively viewed (see item V – Religion cannot cause division).

And, in addition to this, let's look for what is presented in item V of the same chapter:

16. How to promote the integration of Spiritism with other religions?
— The content must be the guide of your conscience; it has no religion, only the discernment of right and wrong. Therefore, everything that pleases her should be a factor of union, and not of segregation.

Now, the interlocutor starts from the wrong concept that Spiritism is more of a religion, contrary to what Allan Kardec has already demonstrated in the past (read more by clicking here). Thus, it biases, with a previous concept, the characteristic of the response.

Regarding the reliability of the work, there is the following:

7. What guarantees that this work comes from high spirits?

— The guarantee lies in cohesion and content, aligning them to what you feel at the core, to understand whether there is coherence or not. By filtering through consciousness, you will understand that the intention of the work is not to demonstrate the elevation of the one who instructs you, just as it is not to convince you that there is only a new communication, but rather to make you practice love and goodness.

My italics.

When the Spirit supposedly says that the guarantee is in the cohesion and content, “aligning them to what you feel in the core”, it is only stating that the answers will be cohesive, since they are born from the same idea, in the same group – which is contrary to Kardec's method - and set the precedent for this group, based on their ideas, and seeing them corroborated by the Spirits, only confirm them. Then, in “by filtering, through consciousness”, precedence is given so that the “filter” is consciousness itself, and not the rational and scientific logic of Kardec who, incidentally, was never satisfied with any spiritist idea , without judging it under the sieve of reason and, many times, he fought against them, according to science, to accept them only when he verified that the idea met, with excellence, all the questions involved.

The author follows:

8. What would Kardec say about a complement to your coding work?

— Who never intended to be the owner of the absolute truth, but to open the way so that, through science and discoveries, updates happen naturally and constantly. I would also say that truth accompanies human moral evolution; therefore, it needs updates as we evolve.

Furthermore, Kardec would say that, without the double control method, scholars would be easily led astray.

A. How can spiritists who believe that the first work is immutable be able to receive this complement?

— We hope that you will receive it with great love, but if not, you will obtain it through consistency, searching your conscience for the necessary discernment.
Nothing is immutable but God. You are all learners of eternal progress; today you know more than yesterday and less than tomorrow.

It's needed very careful with the “complicated” contents that are hidden under the different truths, taken as refrains. I am not saying that the communicating spirits necessarily wanted to carry out a mystification, but, at the very least, they reflected the same tendencies and the same thoughts of the group in question, which believed in its role in bringing, by itself, the updating of Spiritism, which it is also contrary to the lucid words of Allan Kardec in the Spiritist Magazine of December 1868.

Another issue is that we need to note the beliefs that those involved in this research were imbued with: why the need to copy the way of expressing themselves at that time, imitating the language of The Spirits' Book? “Will they get it”? Nobody uses these words anymore, nowadays, and it is natural that the Spirits would communicate differently nowadays, since they don't stick to languages.

About the work of the incarnates, it is said that:

12. Could the participants have been influenced by false prophets?

— We know the veracity of something by the content. The embodiment also matters. False prophets make a lot of fuss, but they can't hold the lie for long..

The simple fact that this work was completed with so much effort, dedication and in an unpretentious way already cancels this possibility..

Now, Roustaing's Four Gospels belie these claims: the wrong ideas were kept from beginning to end, and it was produced with a lot of effort on the part of the parties involved. Whether the effort is unpretentious or not is another matter. In fact, the Spirit does not need to want to lie to produce a work with wrong concepts: it is enough for him to believe in these concepts, presenting them. We see that in André Luiz all the time.

Another criticism of the work is that it does not make it clear, except in the questions and answers, whose text is presented: is it from the group? Is it from the reviewer? Is it from the Spirit? So it is in each of the introductions to the chapters.

General Elements of the Universe

Chapter II begins with a text talking about four energetic changes in the terrestrial globe, something that seems to have come out of eastern doctrines, which speak so much about energies, than from the Spiritist Doctrine. The text is given to Socrates, a weighty name, as if to give it more reliability.

24. Is there a predetermined hierarchy in Creation or is it the result of the evolutionary process?
— In Creation, the “hierarchy” is a consequence of the evolutionary process; as evolution takes place, the being or element increases its hierarchical position.

Although the author released a note in comparison to question nº 29 of OLE (The Spirits' Book), the answer has nothing of what a Spirit knowledgeable about the doctrinal truths recorded by Kardec would say. In OLE, the Spirits succinctly respond that the Spirits belong to different orders, not different hierarchies, which are quite different concepts. Furthermore, the Spirit says that “the being or element increases its hierarchical position”: well, do elements evolve?

Then, in III – Scientific Discoveries, the author, whoever he may be, starts from a wrong assumption, according to Spiritism, that morality must advance so that, only afterwards, we can advance in science. This is clearly opposite to what they themselves presented, shortly before, in note 27, of The Spirits' Book, and confirmed by the observations:

The Spirits' Book, question 780: “Does moral progress always follow intellectual progress? — It's its consequence, but it doesn't always follow immediately.”

KARDEC, Allan. The Spirits' Book. My emphasis.

When the author says that "one step at a time. Solidifying morals, science will take leaps and unravel many mysteries“, is leaving aside the well-known fact that the Spirit only progresses morally when he makes an effort of his conscious will. This demands intellectual advancement.

In the immediately preceding paragraph, it is said that “Technological advancement could be the salvation or destruction of the planet. It is for this reason that men will only have more answers when they have the morals compatible with this privilege.“. It is as if we said that God places a limit on human intelligence, man must first learn to love and then learn to build rockets. This would be illogical, because it is the consequence of building the rocket, which generates the bomb that is used to decimate thousands of people, which precisely promotes moral advancement, due to the consequences of the act.

Then the following question is asked:

28. What is the relationship between material and spiritual science?

— In material science, resources are limited, in spiritual science, they are unlimited. Spiritual science complements the material, because, offering infinite resources, it makes scientific advances happen through the use of human intelligence.

What is fake. Human science advances through the development of man's intellect, and not through scientific revelations from the Spirits, which, by the way, is not materialistic at all. Spirits do not develop super-technological automobiles, because they do not need matter at all, except when they incarnate to advance.

In question 35, another incongruity is found:

35. Since the first work, there have been significant advances in science.
How do the spirits see this advance?

— Naturally, because it is a reflection of the collective effort of humanity. However, the use of these findings was not always positive; they were allowed by God for the incarnate to use them for good, but, on many occasions, they used them for evil.

God neither permits nor forbids the use of science, nor its advancement. It is in accordance with the capacity of human intellectuality. The human being, through the use of intelligence, often makes mistakes and, with them, learns. This is not doing evil: it is the fruit of development.

The chapter follows with a slew of questions and answers about scientific concepts that actually go nowhere. I will not repeat them here, but I leave the question: would this be the “scientific update” of the Doctrine? Now, we know that, with regard to science, one of the points that was most studied by Allan Kardec, although limited to the science of his time, is the issue of the Universal Cosmic Fluid and the perispirit. Wouldn't this be very important knowledge to advance in the face of our scientific discoveries?

Another issue: the superior spirits, as shown by Kardec in Genesis, chap. XVI – Theory of Prescience, does not have our material references to talk about a matter of time or questions that belong to human science. That's why, even in Kardec's time, they never entered the scope of particularities, and it is up to man, in the role of researcher, to draw his conclusions, based on the comments, and not in the “revelations”.

Creation – The Childhood of the Spirit

This chapter begins with a question answered in a totally contrary way to the Doctrine of the Spirits:

60. Does the childhood period of spirits take place in a primitive world?
— Yes, in most cases, spiritual childhood begins in the primitive world, where the human stage begins.

A. Why mostly?
— The evolution of each being depends on its choices, free will and worthiness. In rare cases, the animal can also make evolutionary leaps, to the point of spending spiritual childhood on other worlds..

Note: In those cases, where the leap takes place from the terrestrial animal world to generate a childhood in another world, there is merit in that spirit, which, through its effort and resignation, although with few intellectual tools, he managed to evolve to the point of not needing to experience childhood in a world of trials and atonements.. Although it may seem confusing in your eyes, this is proof that God recognizes the effort in an individual and particular way.

My italics.

The answers attributed to a spiritual origin are completely contrary to Spiritism, as we said. Evolution does not make leaps, much less of a Spirit experiencing the animal phase, where has no self-awareness, no free will, to soon experience a human phase. Incidentally, it is in total contradiction to the answer given in OLE: “There is between the soul of animals and that of man a distance equivalent to that between the soul of man and God”. Furthermore, the absurd mistake is made of assuming that a Spirit can evolve without going through the tests, at least, which are the material vicissitudes that stimulate it to intellectual and moral development.

Soon after, in II – Material principle, in question 62:

62. Do molecules have a spiritual principle?

“No, they are part of matter. Have vital fluids, which, in turn, support them.
Molecular movements begin with the vital principle and are composed of vital and magnetic fluids. Molecules are exclusively organic, not spiritual, but they serve the spirit, through matter, when they compose the human organism.

Italics mine

The first error is in supposing the vital fluid, which was a materialist theory of science at the time of Kardec which, not being able to explain the invisible, assumed the existence of imponderable particles, such as the caloric fluid, the electric fluid, etc. Allan Kardec, who initially started from this idea, in A Genesis, abandoned her, leaving only the term "vital principle", generic, and with Mesmer's theory - that everything that exists, in matter of matter and energy (it is obvious that the Spirits are not part of either of the two) originate of the Universal Cosmic Fluid. This is well explained in The Genesis:

Is the vital principle something distinct, having an existence of its own? Or else, to be
integrated into the unity system of the generating element, it is only a particular state, a
of the modifications of the universal cosmic fluid, which becomes the principle of life, as it becomes
light, fire, heat, electricity? It is in this latter sense that the issue is resolved by the
previously reproduced communications. (Chap. VI, General Uranography).

The Genesis – Editora FEAL

It amazes me, moreover, that researchers, so penetrated by scientific formulas, which they discussed with the Spirits, have lacked this fundamental principle theorized by Mesmer and supported by modern science. We will soon see that this same mistake caused other mistakes, in the "updating" of The Spirits' Book, by the group in question.

Having reached this point, I now realize that I was wrong: the notes are almost all, if not all, of the Spirits. I wonder what the researchers did besides analyzing them, according to their ideas, and accepting them.

Fluids in the Universe

The chapter in question makes the same mistakes mentioned above: not having known and understood the science of Mesmer's magnetism and Kardec's concussions, they start from the false assumptions of an outdated science. In other words: to complement Spiritism, which, according to assumptions, would be outdated in science, they use a science that Spiritism itself has already surpassed, more than 100 years ago. Strange, no?

This is how a very wrong opinion is repeated and which, moreover, would be promptly corrected by a superior Spirit:

74. Is it the vital fluid that determines the time of human stay on Earth?
— The amount of vital fluid is determined by God, however, through your choices, you can shorten or extend the time you stay in the
orb.

First, as we have shown, does not exist vital fluid, let alone an amount of it. Second, it is not God who determines anything, but ourselves. This is exactly why animals, without free will, die, from natural causes, almost all at the same age, according to their species and race, while man dies, from the same causes, at the most different ages. And the foundation of it also is in A Genesis, presented by Kardec:

To be more exact, it is necessary to say that it is the Spirit itself that elaborates its envelope and adapts it to its new needs. He perfects, develops and completes his organism as he experiences the need to manifest new faculties. In a word, he molds you according to his intelligence. God provides you with the materials. It's up to him to use it. It is in this way that the more advanced races have an organism, or if they prefer, a more perfected tool than that of the primitive races. This also explains the special style that the character of the Spirit gives to the features of the physiognomy and the manners of the body.

KARDEC, Allan. The Genesis. FEAL Publisher.

Errors, based on these misconceptions, follow in droves in the chapter. I will not comment on them. In the following chapter, “Energy and Fluidic Transmission”, the authors continue to repeat false concepts, based on the same errors, of materialistic origin, spread by fluidists of the past, which opposed the ideas of the sciences of Magnetism and Spiritism. That's how they repeat, ipsis letteris, the very wrong idea that the pass would be an “energetic and/or fluidic transmission”. This is false, as false as the ideas that the supposed spirits repeat in the answer to question nº 92:

• “Magnetism instigates curiosity and is an intriguing science, but it requires the necessary knowledge so as not to offer risks to those who practice it or to those who receive it. You cannot include its practice in the Doctrine or confuse it with magnetic fluid.” – There is no magetic fluid, so what is this Spirit talking about?
• “Magnetizing is an ancient activity, which uses the vital fluid” – there is no vital fluid!
• “Magnetic fluid is different from magnetism and is exhaled whenever there is a need, through the assistance of the disembodied or incarnated people with due preparation” – same error, with an aggravating factor: magetism is the interaction of the will, through conscious thought, about the will of the other, who also needs to be consciously willing to be helped. There is no transfer of anything ((Mesmer – The Denied Science of Animal Magnetism, by Paulo Henrique de Figueiredo)).

Return to Spiritual Life

Of course, from what we've seen, it couldn't be missing, even if contrary to everything that Spiritism has already taught and that reason confirms, a great discussion about the concepts of “spiritual colonies”, threshold, physical pain in the Spirits, etc. It's the old mania of wanting to materialize the spirit world.

Sexuality, sex and morals

To complete our analysis, we refer to question nº 505, Part Three, chap. III - abortion:

505. If conception occurs through rape, is it right to abort?

- No, it's not correct. under no circumstances, for you must all pass your own tests. No one is a mother or child by chance. The divine law is wise and its main goal is to correct or alleviate suffering. The law of cause and effect generates responsibilities for all your actions, in this and other incarnations.. Interrupting the reincarnation of a spirit, even as a result of rape, is not correct: it will only bring more pain and increase the suffering of those involved. The preservation of life in the face of the pain of violence is an act of love. May you always fight evil with love, however difficult it may be.

Italics mine

A complete nonsense! Contrary to what we find in The Spirits' Book, question 359,

359. In the event that the birth of the child endangers the life of the mother, is there a crime in sacrificing the first to save the second?

“It is preferable to sacrifice the being that does not yet exist than to sacrifice the one that already exists.”

The answer to question nº 505, of the work under analysis, states that never abortion must be committed. Worse: that if the woman was raped, it is because, in the words of the Spirits, “the law of cause and effect generates responsibilities for all your actions, in this and other incarnations“. In other words: what is being said in this work, which aims to complementary and update Spiritism is that the raped woman is only paying, by the law of talion, for a lack of another life. This is complete and demoralizing nonsense. I need to reaffirm, in meeting the OLE, that abortion is preferable when the mother is at risk, and who are we to assess the emotional and psychological risk of a woman who has gone through such trauma, which is born of the crime committed by choice on the other, and not by the effect of a supposed debt collection!

Conclusion

The work itself seems like a real struggle of incongruities, false concepts, and some truths. It seems that, if there is really the participation of more than one Spirit, these Spirits have different knowledge, because the contradiction is frequent. There are several absurd and wrong ideas, contradicting the most basic postulates of Spiritism, as there are some truths scattered around. What to do then? We believe it is best to follow the advice of the Spirit of Erastus:

[…] it is better to reject ten truths momentarily than to admit a single lie, a single false theory, because on that theory, on that lie you could build a whole system that would collapse at the first breath of truth, like a monument erected on quicksand, whereas if today you reject certain truths, certain principles, because they are not logically demonstrated to you, then a brutal fact or an irrefutable demonstration will come to confirm their authenticity.

It remains to reaffirm that the intention of this article is nothing more than to warn, including the group from which this book originated, to be very careful not to get involved in these webs of false ideas, which will cost them a lot of peace in the future. that study in the background Allan Kardec, including – and mainly – in the Spiritist Magazine. That they study the new works, which come to recover the knowledge forgotten in time. Let them set aside, at least for the time being, the concepts resulting from mediumistic works, in order to seek the necessary learning. And let them never forget the very important exhortation of Allan Kardec, in The Genesis:

General concordance in teaching is the doctrine’s essential character, the condition even of its existence. It is evident that all principles which have not received the consecration of general agreement can only be considered as a fractional part of this same doctrine, merely as a simple, isolated opinion for which Spiritism cannot assume the responsibility.

It is the concordant, collective teaching of the spirits who have passed beyond which constitutes the logical criterion, giving strength to the spiritual doctrine and assuring to it perpetuity.

It is clear that Spiritism, to a certain extent, in terms of human knowledge, is interminable, but it will not be about errors that it will be continued, especially when starting from the fundamental error, which is to treat Spirits as revelators, not respecting the necessary method, because the Spirits are not revealers of the truth, the Doctrine is not made only by questions and answers, but also by the investigation and observation of Spirits of all orders, from the lowest to the highest.

It is also interesting to note that, in the case of supposed superior spirits, as the human researchers involved assume, at no time have they corrected the flagrant errors of the latter, since doctrinal knowledge already exists. Instead, they always corroborated the information and misconceptions from which the incarnates departed.

The main error of this work arises from the lack of observation, as we have shown, of the fundamental characteristics of spiritist science, so well explained by Allan Kardec in the introduction to The Gospel According to Spiritism (emphasis mine):

The agreement in what the spirits teach is, therefore, the best proof. It is important, however, that it takes place under certain conditions. The weakest of all occurs when a medium, alone, interrogates many spirits about a doubtful point.. It is evident that if he is under the dominion of an obsession, or dealing with a mystifying spirit, he can tell him the same thing under different names. Nor will there be any sufficient guarantee in the conformity that presents what can be obtained by several mediums, in the same center, because they can all be under the same influence.."”

At a time when efforts to revive Spiritism are multiplying, opposing efforts are multiplying, with the aim (foolish, let's face it) of causing confusion and delay. It is necessary to be on guard, especially with regard to the frequent invitation of the shadows, instigated by human imperfections, such as vanity and pride. Now, is there anything more exciting, in this sense, than saying the new elected to continue the great work of Allan Kardec? Let's not be us, and don't be you, in your group and in your lectures, to help the work of the Spirits that still don't understand the good and that are contrary to the progress of humanity.

“Spiritists!, love one another, this is the first teaching. Instruct yourselves, here is the second.” – Spirit of Truth

Janet was a contemporary of Allan Kardec. His works demonstrate, with excellence, the philosophical context in which the coder was inserted, making use of his concepts.

Many, when reading Kardec, suppose that he, due to the words he used in his works, was just reproducing ideas and concepts originating from the Catholic Church. Nothing could be further from the truth, as we will see below, because Kardec was, in fact, using the concepts widely widespread and understood in the midst of French cultured society, which, by the way, was the class that was most interested in the study of Spiritism.

Paulo Henrique de Figueiredo explains:

During the nineteenth century, what we call the human sciences were established from a spiritualist assumption for their constitution. Meanwhile, in the natural sciences, such as Physics and Chemistry, materialism predominated. This condition is very different from what we are used to today, when the university is almost completely guided by materialistic thinking.

This current of thought was known as Rational Spiritualism. For it was completely independent of formal religions and their dogmas. The fundamental basis was psychology, science of the soul, which had as a guideline: “The human being is an incarnate soul”.

As is explained at length in the book Autonomy, the untold story of Spiritism, Allan Kardec made psychology the conceptual basis for developing the Spiritist Doctrine. His monthly newspaper was the Spiritist Magazine, journal of psychological studies.

Rational Spiritualism was taught, since 1830, at the University of Paris, also at the Ecole Normale, where teachers were trained, and also at the Lyceums, in the education of young people. For these, there were manuals, like Paul Janet's. This manual has been translated into several languages and adopted in many countries, including Brazil.

This manual is of fundamental importance to understand the conceptual basis of Kardec's studies, especially regarding spiritist morals.

FIGUEIREDO, Paulo Henrique de. Paul Janet's Treatise on Philosophy. Portal do Espírito, July 22, 2019. Available at . Accessed on May 19, 2022.

Using, we said, the concepts of Rational Spiritualism, which was taught at the University of Paris and at the Escola Normal Superior in Paris, Kardec develops the most diverse philosophical concepts of the Spiritist Doctrine, in the light of the agreed teachings of the Spirits. Thus, it will give a deep development to the ideas of moral treated by these scholars, approaching the concepts of pain and pleasure, good and bad, to owe, disinterested charity, freedom, merit, punishment and reward. Let us, by way of illustration, demonstrate the construction of these last two concepts:

The reward and the punishment

in your work Small Elements of Morals, available for download, in PDF, in this link, Janet builds the various philosophical concepts that will support those of the reward and gives punishment. He expresses himself thus: "pleasure, considered as the consequence due to the accomplishment of good, is called reward, and pain, considered as the legitimate consequence of evil, is called punishment".

Pleasure, for him, is the quest to experience what life allows, and there would thus be good pleasures and bad pleasures, varying, in this interval, according to certainty, purity, intensity, duration, etc. Thus, the fugitive pleasure of drunkenness would be a bad pleasure, while the lasting pleasure of health would be a good pleasure:

There are pleasures that are very lively, but fleeting and fugitive, such as the pleasures of passion ((This is how the Oxford dictionary defines it: “in the Kantianism, violent emotional inclination, capable of completely dominating human behavior and moving it away from the desirable capacity for autonomy and rational choice. This is the meaning of passion, used by Kardec and the philosophers of his time)). There are others that are durable and continuous, such as health, safety, convenience, consideration. Will those pleasures that last a lifetime be sacrificed for pleasures that last only an hour?

JANET, 1870((JANET, Paul. Small Elements of Moral. Translation by Maria Leonor Loureiro. Paris, 1870))

Therefore, morally, the human being should always seek the good pleasures, that do not produce regrets, passing them over to the bad pleasures, which generate regrets and complications:

Experience teaches us that pleasures must not be sought without discernment and without distinction, that it is necessary to use reason to compare them with each other, to sacrifice the uncertain and fleeting present for a lasting future, to prefer simple and peaceful pleasures, not followed. of regrets, to the tumultuous and dangerous pleasures of passions, etc., in a word, to sacrifice the pleasant to the useful.

ibid.

It is clear, therefore, that the concept of reward, used in this context, is linked to the understanding of the joy of having performed an action linked to the good, while the punishment is the pain generated as legitimate consequence from evil. There is no attribution, therefore, to a mechanical imposition of a supposed “law of return” or “law of reparation”, by God or by the “Universe”, for bad action, as many insist on proclaiming, nor are there any rewards given for good action. Everything is a consequence moral, from the individual to himself, which necessarily depends on the knowledge of the Law:

In morals, as in legislation, no one takes advantage of ignorance of the law. There is, therefore, in every man a certain knowledge of the law, that is, a natural discernment of good and evil: this discernment is what is called conscience or sometimes the moral sense.

ibid.

However, for the individual to act morally, he must have free will:

It is not enough for man to know and distinguish between good and evil, and to experience different feelings from one to the other. It is also necessary, to be a moral agent, that man is capable of choosing between one and the other((Here the studies of Spiritism lead us to another understanding: in truth, man does not choose between good and evil, because, deep down , if you choose poorly, it is because you do not yet know the law. The Spirit that really knows and understands the Law of God only does good, always.)); You cannot order him what he could not do, nor prohibit him what he would be forced to do. This power to choose is freedom, or free will.

ibid.

But it is important to remember that man, as an incarnate soul, is a basic concept of Rational Spiritualism, as defined by Janet, in the same work:

Every law presupposes a legislator. The moral law will therefore presuppose a moral lawgiver: this is how morality elevates us to God. Every human or earthly sanction being shown to be insufficient by observation, the moral law needs a religious sanction. This is how morality leads us to the immortality of the soul.

From all this, the understanding of vice and virtue is born:

Human actions, we said, are sometimes good and sometimes bad. These two qualifications have degrees, because of the importance or difficulty of the action. This is how an action is convenient, estimable, beautiful, admirable, sublime, etc., on the other hand, bad action is sometimes a simple fault, sometimes a crime. It is reprehensible, base, hateful, execrable, etc.

If, in an agent, the habit of good deeds be regarded as a constant tendency to conform to the law of duty, that constant habit or tendency is called virtue, and the contrary tendency is called vice.

ibid.

Evil, however, is a judgment of oneself (no one can do harm to another((According to the rational principle of autonomy, developed so far, the individual can only commit physical harm against another, but never moral harm. A subject can stealing someone else's belongings, which will cause him some difficulties, but, in truth, he does harm to himself, as he violates the moral law, for which he will suffer depending on his state of consciousness. The victim, for his Once, apart from the material setback, she may or may not do harm to herself, depending on whether or not she clings to what happened and generates some suffering for herself. This will also depend on her awareness of the moral law))), which depends on the awareness of what one does:

The judgment that is made from yourself It differs according to the principle of action that is admitted. He who lost at the game may feel distressed about himself and his recklessness ((In other words: he may realize that he did himself wrong by losing money at the game)); but he who is conscious of having cheated in the game (even though he has won by that means) must despise himself when he judges himself from the point of view of the moral law ((Because, when he becomes aware of what he has done, he realizes that he has harmed the another, and this makes him remorse)).

ibid.

And then, a little further on, still in the same work, Janet develops the understanding of moral satisfaction and repentance:

Regarding our own actions, feelings change depending on whether the action is to be done or already done. In the first case, we feel, on the one hand, a certain attraction to the good (when the passion is not strong enough to suffocate it), on the other, a repugnance or aversion to evil (more or less attenuated according to circumstances by the habit or violence of the desire). These two feelings were not usually given particular names.

When, on the contrary, the action has been performed, the pleasure that results from it, if we act well, is called moral satisfaction, and if we act badly, remorse or regret..

Remorse is the burning pain, and, as the word indicates, the wound that tortures the heart after a reprehensible action. This suffering can be found in the very ones who have no regrets for having done wrong and would do it again.. It has, therefore, no moral character, and must be regarded as a kind of punishment inflicted on crime by its very nature. “Malice, said Montaigne, poisons itself with its own poison. Addiction leaves as it were an ulcer in the flesh, a regret in the soul, which is always scratching and bleeding itself.”

Repentance is also, like remorse, a suffering born of wrongdoing; but there is added to it the regret for having carried it out, and the desire (or the firm resolution) not to carry it out any more..

For Janet, then, remorse would not yet be the suffering generated by regret, but just a certain torture for carrying out the reprehensible action. In other words, one does not suffer because evil has been done, but only because what has been done is reprehensible. And then, Kardec, in Heaven and Hell ((Always remembering that this work was tampered with and mutilated starting from the fourth French edition, which served as the basis for all other editions and translations. The topics covered in this article were those that suffered most from these adulterations)), speaking of punishment, which has, for Janet, the same meaning as punishment ((Says Janet: “The idea of punishment or punishment would also not be explained if the good were only the useful. You don't punish a man for having been unskillful; you punish him for having been guilty”)), it is expressed as follows:

The duration of the punishment is subject to the improvement of the guilty spirit. No condemnation for a fixed time is pronounced against him. What God requires to put an end to suffering is the repentance, expiation and reparation – in short: a serious, effective improvement, as well as a sincere return to the good.

KARDEC, Allan. Heaven and hell. Translation by Emanuel G. Dutra, Paulo Henrique de Figueiredo and Lucas Sampaio. 2021.

In other words: God does not pronounce punishments or punishments against the individual. It is he himself who punishes himself, through legitimate consequences of the evil done. So, to end this suffering, you need to repent, in the first place, that is, identify that you have done something reprehensible (remorse) and add to that the regret of having done it (repentance, which is moral), as well as the desire to no longer do it. In order to reach this understanding, it is necessary for the Spirit to advance in intelligence and, in order to repair the harm done (which it is already clear that he has committed against himself, and not against others, from which it follows that he must repair in itself the origin of this evil), Spiritism demonstrates, without the possibility of error, the existence of the law of reincarnation.

All this, in short, to understand the concepts of punishment and reward. Behold, in accordance with all the above, Kardec says, in an excerpt prior to the one mentioned above:

Punishment is always the natural consequence of the fault committed. The spirit suffers for the evil it has done, so that, as its attention is incessantly focused on the consequences of this evil, it better understands its inconveniences and is motivated to correct itself.

And then, because of all this, Kardec thus begins chapter IV of this work - The hell:

Man has always intuitively believed that the future life should be more or less happy in the ratio of good and evil practiced in this world. But the idea he has of this future life is in proportion to the development of his moral sense and the more or less just notion he has of good and evil. The penalties and rewards are a reflection of the instincts that predominate in him..

But it is worth remembering that, using these philosophical concepts of his time, Kardec, at the same time, developed them for the moral consequences of spirit science.

O spiritualism in Kardec

It is worth, before closing, to remember that Allan Kardec several times used the word spiritualism in your work. It is to Rational Spiritualism that he refers:

Whoever believes that there is something more in himself than matter is a spiritualist. It does not follow from this, however, that he believes in the existence of spirits or in their communications with the visible world. instead of the words spiritual, spiritualism, we use, to indicate the belief to which we refer, the terms spiritist and spiritualism, whose form recalls the origin and the radical meaning and which, for that very reason, have the advantage of being perfectly intelligible, leaving the word spiritualism its own meaning. We will say, therefore, that the doctrine spiritist or the spiritism its principle is the relations of the material world with the Spirits or beings of the invisible world. The adepts of Spiritism will be the spiritists, or, if you like, the spiritists.

As a specialty, the Book of Spirits contains the doctrine spiritist; in general, it is linked to the doctrine spiritualist, one of whose phases presents. This is the reason why it has the words in the header of its title: spiritual philosophy.

KARDEC, Allan. The Spirits' Book. 1857

This is, finally, proved by the following excerpt from the Spiritist Magazine of 1868:

The work of Mr. Chassang is the application of these ideas to art in general, and to Greek art in particular. We are happy to reproduce what the author of the Patrie review says about it, because it is further proof of the energetic reaction that takes place in favor of spiritualist ideas and which, as we said, every defense of rational spiritualism opens the way to Spiritism, which is its development, fighting its most tenacious adversaries: materialism and fanaticism.

KARDEC, Allan. Spiritist Magazine, November 1868

Conclusion

Here is clearly presented proof that we cannot know and understand Kardec's philosophy without understanding the philosophy and morals of his time, fully inserted in the context of French Rational Spiritualism, just as we cannot fully understand the spiritist science without understanding the sciences of Magnetism [by Mesmer] and Psychology (the latter also included in the ER, under the division of moral sciences).

It was clearly evidenced that Kardec no he used dogmatic religious concepts, but only words that, found in these concepts, were first re-signified under the philosophy of the time and, later, under the spiritist philosophy.

Therefore, it is very necessary to study and disseminate this knowledge. Once again, we invite the reader to study and distribute, in all possible spiritist media, the work referred to in this article, as well as the present text, which is the result of an effort made in this direction as well.

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.

At the time of writing this article, we are entering the study of the 10th edition of Revista Espírita — October 1858. We started this weekly study (Click here to get to know it), broadcasting it live, knowing, by an intuition, that it would be very important and useful, but, in fact, we didn't know what to expect from this study. The truth is that, if not for reading some quotes from excerpts from this work, we didn't even know what the Spiritist Magazine was about.

Listen to the podcast:

Today, then, after nine editions of this publication, among the 136 of which Kardec himself was at the forefront, from January 1858 to April 1869 (he died in March, but he had already finished this last and important edition, which we will talk about later) — and we keep asking ourselves where he found the time and disposition for this, something worthy of a missionary — we have already managed to glimpse a little of Rivail's brilliance in the logical sequence of the development of the themes that, now we understand a little, give basis and towards the growth and strengthening of the Spiritist Doctrine — let us remember that the next works were produced, in large part, precisely from many of the themes and studies developed in the Spiritist Magazine.

It is important to say, first of all, that the Revista Espírita, as the name demonstrates, was a monthly periodical, where Allan Kardec presented several themes, some of them totally doctrinaire, others related to social, historical and scientific issues and others in which we realized a growing and uninterrupted elaboration of researches and knowledge that were giving more and more basis to the Spiritist Doctrine.

Spiritist Magazine: Journal of Psychological Studies

Many do not know, but this is the full subtitle of this journal: study journal psychological. And this is important to be highlighted, because, by today's eyes, it doesn't seem that psychology has much to do with a spiritist journal, does it? This is where the valuable and important work of Paulo Henrique de Figueiredo comes in, one of the most prominent spiritist researchers of our time, who sought, in the past, for a forgotten knowledge, swept under the rug: in short, the one that was closed in the context of Rational Spiritualism, about which we have already spoken a little on here. It is only through the study of this forgotten knowledge that we can, we say, contextualize much of what is said in RE and, in this regard, we highlight the importance of the work Autonomy: the untold story of Spiritism, by the same author.

In Kardec's context, Psychology did not have the materialistic therapeutic characteristic of today: it was a moral science, spiritualist, inserted in the context of Rational Spiritualism, and its main objective was to investigate and analyze the natural laws that govern human nature, including experimentally.

In this context, Psychology understood the human being as a being constituted of body and soul. The soul, which would survive the body, was the primary cause of the psyche, which was not just a material effect of chemistry and stimuli. We deal with this a little in the studies based on the article “The Psychological Period”, which you can read on here.

The birth of the Journal and its purpose

Kardec created the Spiritist Magazine based, in part, on the suggestions of a Spirit who communicated through Ms. Hermance Dufaux (it's with H, really) who, according to Canuto de Abreu, cooperated in transmitting valuable guidelines for this journal:

At the end of 1857, Kardec had the idea of publishing a spiritist journal and wanted to hear the opinion of the spiritual guides. Hermance was the chosen medium and, through her, a Spirit gave the Master of Lion many excellent directions. The organ was named “Revista Espírita” and was launched in January of the following year.

One of Kardec's greatest interests was to correspond, in an easy way, with the followers of Spiritism spread across Europe. Through the Magazine, a publication of easy circulation and of general interest — Kardec, in it, even addressed everyday facts and of great interest, involving the Spirits — the Doctrine quickly permeated the masses, who eagerly read its pages. There was no shortage of letters subscribers, thousands of them, many of which Kardec didn't even find time to answer.

We emphasize the word “subscribers” on purpose: Kardec, or rather the Parisian Society of Spiritist Studies, charged for a subscription to this journal, but never for self-enrichment, but with the aim of obtaining resources to reduce the costs of the works, provide social support, etc. We quote about this in the article Propagation of Spiritism.

We were talking about the purposes of the Magazine. We know very well that Kardec identified, right from the start, with his perspicacity as a researcher trained, since childhood, by the investigative method of Nature, by Pestalozzi, that…

… The isolated opinion of a spirit is just that — an opinion — therefore, it cannot be taken, in isolation, as if it were an unquestionable source of truth, since spirits of all types can communicate, and deceiving spirits take the names even of the saints and of Jesus, without shame, especially when they realize that they are not questioned.

Therefore, Kardec sought a way to strengthen the basic and inexorable principle of the Doctrine, which is that of universal agreement of the teaching of the Spirits, which must, in addition, comply with logic, reason, common sense and already formed science, both on the part of men and on the part of Spirits, by the same method. Now, as we can already see, through the Spiritist Magazine, where he received the various reports from various parts of the world, through his correspondents, the Lyonnais master obtained just that, in large part! We see an example of this in letter from Mr. Jobard, in July 1858, and in the observations of a correspondent in September 1858.

Kardec's Evocations

There is also an even more important aspect presented in the Magazine, which clearly demonstrates a very little known face of Spiritism in the current spiritist movement: that of the nature and usefulness of evocations of Spirits. Now, at a time when the famous phrase of dear Chico Xavier became law — “the telephone only rings from there to here” — about which we have already analyzed in the article “Spiritism without the Spirits” — which was our surprise (at least for those who did not know this reality) when we found that Kardec used evocations as naturally — but with the necessary seriousness — as the one we use to talk to people around us.

In practically all editions, Kardec presents evocations of Spirits, which he carried out in order to obtain better understandings about the morality understood in certain events, as well as to try to probe some scientific facts involving Spiritist phenomena, as happened in "A new photographic discovery", of July 1858.

This is how, number after number, Kardec presented the most diverse evocations, some made by himself and others made by his correspondents. Spirits of suicides, madmen, murderers, kings, commoners, people of great morals and benevolence and inferior spirits were evoked. Many of these, by the way, were very few days after their death, which contradicts what a large part of the current spiritist movement has said.

It is important to point out, of course, that the evocations were not intended to serve anyone's empty and inferior curiosity or fun: in addition to the teachings that could be gathered from all of them, for the superior spirits it was always a happiness to help us and, for the lower ones often provided precious moments of reflection and rebalancing.

Strengthening of the Doctrine and deconstruction of false or incomplete concepts

The form to the Spirit

To give a practical example, in these deconstructions of ideas that are widely rooted today, we have, even if in the beginning, one of them that began to draw our attention: the question of form for the wandering Spirit (between incarnations). It is customary, nowadays, the conception of a whole fantastic world and full even of automobiles in the spiritual plane… However, Kardec, from a certain edition, starts to probe what is form for spirits, through questions such as “how would we see him if we could see him with our eyes?” or “do you see other spirits? In what way?".

This is how, in July 1858, in the article “Berezina's Drum“, Kardec asks the following questions, after carrying out a series of inquiries trying to understand the moral and rational state of that Spirit, who was a soldier in his last incarnation:

28. ─ Do you see other spirits around you? ─ Yes, many.

29. ─ How do you know they are spirits? ─ Among us, we see ourselves as we are.

30. ─ How do you see them? ─ As spirits can be seen, but not through the eyes.

31. ─ And you, in what form are you here? ─ Under what I had when I was alive, that is, as a drum.

32. ─ And do you see the other spirits with the forms they had in life? ─ No. We don't take on an appearance until we are evoked. Other than that, we are formless.

The last answer was quite interesting, but so far it was just the opinion of a Spirit. Worthy of note is Kardec's methodology, probing matters of interest, instead of asking direct questions that could be answered in a biased way. Then, in September of the same year, in the article “Lectures from beyond the grave — Mrs. Schwabenhaus. Ecstatic Lethargy“, Kardec asks the following questions, getting the following answers. Please note:

29. ─ In what form are you among us? ─ Under my last female form.

30. ─ Do you see us as distinctly as if you were alive? ─ Yes.

31. Since you have been here with the form you had on Earth, is it through the eyes that you see us? ─ No, the Spirit has no eyes. I only find myself in my last form to satisfy the laws that govern spirits when evoked and forced to resume what you call perispirit.

Let's see, then: there are already two spirits, of different elevations, saying the same thing: for the spirit freed from matter, there is no form, like the one we understand. They assume the perispirit, attending to a natural law, only when they need to act materially, when, for example, they approach us to communicate (with materially I mean: they need to assume the perispirit to be able to put themselves in communication with us, which, above all, happens through this “clothes”. It is, therefore, matter, but a very subtle matter, extracted from the universal cosmic fluid[1]).

Does this mean that Kardec's studies belie André Luiz? Well, despite the fact that Kardec's methodology is quite logical, leaving little room for error, it would perhaps be hasty to draw conclusions based only on these two Spirits — we still don't know if there are, further on, more evocations that support this thesis — but we also don't know. we are saying that Chico Xavier was wrong, since he was a tool of the Spirits, nor that André Luiz lied, but rather that he spoke according to his conceptions and understandings. Who knows, he could be talking about a situation of “incarnation” of Spirits, in a more subtle matter? Nor do we rule out the existence of true cities, formed by Spirits still very dependent on matter and form — which, in short, is not good at all, but we understand that it is a phase.

the suicide

Another topic that has been largely deconstructed from its modern conceptions is that of suicide. Today, in the spiritist milieu, there are assertions that the suicidal person is on the “threshold” or “the valley of suicides”; that he will be attached to the body, “feeling” it being gnawed by worms; that he will be years in extreme disturbance, being impossible to communicate; and, also, that the suicidal person will be born tomorrow with physical defects in order to “redeem a karmic debt” (this last passage causes an aversion even to write).

Well, so far, Kardec has already evoked two suicides: The Samaritan Suicide, in June 1858, and Suicide for Love — September 1858 — where a young man killed himself on his girlfriend's doorstep, at the height of his emotions, as she had stubbornly refused to take him back after a big argument.

The first is evoked about two months after the fateful episode: “I ask Almighty God to allow the spirit of the individual who committed suicide on April 7, 1858, in the baths of the Samaritan woman, to come and communicate with us” — note the simplicity in evocation. This Spirit denoted great moral suffering, which had been going on since before his death, which he sought out of despair in not knowing how to deal with the heartbreaks and trials of life. São Luís ends the communication saying only that suicide abruptly interrupts life, which can cause a certain momentary difficulty in letting go of the body.

The second is evoked seven or eight months after the suicide. This spirit no longer suffers so much, because it understood the lack of usefulness in what it did, and that it did it by a thoughtless act driven by unrestrained passions (emotions). In this one, there is only a “mental imprisonment” at the moment of the act, which kept repeating itself in the mind of this Spirit, since it was linked to it with repentance.

In none of them, there is no mention of what has become commonplace in the Spiritist environment, which, in fact, are half-truths: there are different possibilities, according to the mentality of each one, but the current Spiritist insists on taking the exception as a rule. .

Autonomous Morality

Paulo Henrique de Figueiredo has spoken a lot and defended the essence of Spiritism as an autonomous morality. And much has been criticized by a few who have not yet been able to see this in the Doctrine. Here, there is one more current concept deconstructed by the study of Revista Espírita. I will not delve into the matter further, as in this article I have already introduced the concept. I just want to point out that, in the Magazine itself, we see this concept very well founded, and not just by Kardec, but by the Spirits.

In the first edition of RE, in January 1858, we have the article “a conversion", which presents the following sequence of questions and answers, made to the deceased father of a boy, by that same boy, who sought to believe in Spiritism:

15. — Will we be punished or rewarded according to our actions? — If you do wrong, you will suffer.

16. — Will I be rewarded if I do good? — It will advance on its way.

17. — Am I on the right track? “Do good and you will be.

Note the moral depth of this simple dialogue. There is no punishment and reward, but only ourselves, before our own conscience, according to our choices.

Later, in October 1858, in the article “Murder of five children by another twelve-year-old—Moral problem“, Kardec asks São Luís about the possibility of that Spirit, of the murderer, returning to incarnate on Earth, and not on an even more backward planet:

11. ─ So can he find on Earth the means to atone for his fault, without being forced to return to a lower world?

─ In the eyes of God, repentance is sacred, because it is man who judges himself, which is rare on your planet.

Dear friend, do you see the beauty of the Spiritist Doctrine, truly consoling and autonomous, shown in its original face? No karma. No “action and reaction”. No “law of return”. Let's study, let's study, because the current spiritist movement, flooded with narrow concepts and contrary to the Doctrine of Spirits, is far from its original essence and reality!

How to study the Spiritist Magazine

Very well: we have already presented the inestimable importance of this periodical by Kardec; we have also presented the depth it has and the logical and rational chaining of something that forms the body of a very well established Scientific Doctrine, which is Spiritism. It remains to be seen: how to study these 136 numbers of this publication?

We believe there are two main ways, on which, by the way, we are discussing and adapting, at the moment, in order to arrive at the best method. The first of them is the one that respects the chronological form, edition by edition; the second is the one that “crosses the line”, in a good way, in Kardec, and advances by subjects, in a more or less chronological way. I explain:

In the first modality, which is what we have done so far, we take the Revisa, edition by edition, and dedicate ourselves to studying it individually, in the first place, in order to extract the best understanding of each issue and subject, enriching the study. This is because there are, in it, accessory subjects, which do not present great gain in bringing to group study, as is the case of the phenomena presented by Kardec, in what we would call today “spiritist stories”. Not that they are not useful articles, as they greatly reinforce the understanding of the fact of spiritist phenomena, especially for those who still have doubts about them.

On the other hand, other subjects are so important and profound that they deserve special attention, sometimes seeking complements not only in Kardec, but also in complementary works by other researchers, contemporaneous or not with Kardec. Several times we have found it very useful to approach not only other works by Kardec that, if we were to base ourselves on the correct chronology, had not even been published, but also works such as those by Ernesto Bozzano and recent ones by Paulo Henrique.

Another way to carry out this study is, as we said, "outrun" Kardec and advance on the subjects in all the years of the Journal and the Professor's complete work. But this in a good way: Kardec, chronologically, which is obvious, is maturing his own understanding of the Doctrine of Spirits, through incessant research. Thus, we can see, for example, Kardec talking about vital fluid, in 1858, but, in A Genesis, discarding fluids and staying with Mesmer's thesis, Animal Magnetism and the vital principle. Therefore, one can disregard the chronological order in order to study the subjects covered in the Journal, complementing and remembering them as one advances through the numbers, in order.

At the moment, we are opting for a middle ground: we discard the deepening in the accessory subjects, focusing on the main subjects and, from them, doing the due deepening, as we see the need. Perhaps we will approach more than one edition in the same study, when we see that the subjects of more than one of them are built and complemented sequentially. We just don't think it's useful to go too far, because understanding the construction of Kardec's thought, his method, the teachings of the Spirits between the lines, is something that we consider very useful and important.

The end of the Spiritist Magazine under Kardec's tutelage

Finally, we come to the end of the article, citing the end of the Spiritist Magazine with the death of Allan Kardec. “But, Paulo, Revista Espírita continued to be published for many years after his death”. Yes, it continued… But, unfortunately, it was subverted by the petty interests of money and vanity. While it was under Kardec, it was a methodical, well-formulated publication and, above all, impersonal, focused on the interests of Spiritism, that is, of the Doctrine of Spirits, which does not belong to any incarnate and does not come out of the ideas of any of them, in isolation.

After Kardec's death, those who took over and subverted the Society (for more details read Allan Kardec's Legacy, by Simoni Privato) began to use this periodical to publish the most complete absurdities, among them, under the direction of Pierre Leymarie, articles promoting a false medium, who claimed to obtain photographs of the Spirits. The promotion was literal, because, in the Revista Espírita, it was even given the indication and the amounts charged to obtain a supposed photograph of a dead relative. The case resulted in a major lawsuit against Leymarie and her associates, in what became known as The Spiritist Process and which absurdly tarnished the Doctrine's reputation in society.

But it did not stop there. The Spiritist Magazine, after 1869, became a constant place for publishing absurd articles, many contrary to the Doctrine until then formed by the indispensable methodology applied by Kardec. That is why, together with the other damages caused to the Doctrine, that, today, we are with the Journal only for the time it was under the conscientious hands of Allan Kardec, and it is for all the above, so far, that…

… We invite everyone to set up study groups on this publication, adding to it the most current research, so that the learning of Spiritism, as a Scientific Doctrine that it is, can, every day, leave the circles of Spiritist scholars and spread its influences on society, which is desperate for answers once again.

For this, we recommend observing the recommended works for study, as well as accompanying the studies of the group Spiritism for All, in the YouTube.

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1. Says Paulo Henrique de Figueiredo, in Genesis (FEAL, 2018):

“There was the theory of the universal cosmic fluid, initially adopted by Franz Anton Mesmer (in the Science of Animal Magnetism), according to which the Universe would be composed of a single generating element, fully occupying space, divided into innumerable phases of density, progressively, from tangible, liquid, gaseous matter, the ether and other even more subtle conditions, imperceptible to the senses. In this other theory, the forces would not be substances, but states of vibration at various subtle levels of the universal fluid. For example, light would be a state of ether vibration. By analogy, considering the adoption in this work of the theory of the single generative element as a universal explanation of physical phenomena, spiritual fluids would be among the most subtle states of the universal cosmic fluid”. We recommend the work Mesmer: the denied science of animal magnetism, by the same author.

Today, October 3, is the birth anniversary of Allan Kardec – Hypolite Leon Denizard Rivail¹, his registered name – and, as we understand his fundamental role in the study of the Doctrine of the Spirits, which he called Spiritism, we are going to address a very important subject, which, for those who study Kardec’s works, may even sound puerile, unimportant: the “Spiritism without Spirits”.

Now, it will not be rare for someone who has already heard the most diverse statements or who is aware of the widespread thought that we should not disturb the spirits by evoking them. Many are based on the well-known phrase by Chico Xavier, “the phone rings from there to here”, attributing to it a distorted understanding and making it a stony clause in the mediumistic code: “we cannot evoke them. We must wait for them to look for us.” There is nothing further from the truth and even from the purpose of Spiritism.

Noteworthy, Chico's phrase can be interpreted as follows: “we can evoke them, but it depends on them, not on us, whether they will respond or not”. Furthermore, we need to remember that Chico was constantly surrounded by thousands of people in search of a message from their deceased loved ones. Chico could not guarantee that he could attend to all of them, being led to say, in my own words: “Brothers, I am just an intermediary and I cannot, by myself, attend to everyone. Therefore, I place myself at their disposal, allowing their communications, as the good spirits judge best”.

This opinion, however, that we should not evoke the Spirits, comes from very far away and, in fact, was very pleasant to those who, after Kardec, did not want that the method of universal agreement of the teachings of the Spirits remained standing, since it would put down their personal opinions. This is well known.

Allan Kardec, in the Spiritist Magazine of January 1866, in an article with the same title as ours, makes the following observation:

Let us now examine the matter from another point of view. Who made Spiritism? Is it a personal human conception? Everyone knows otherwise. Spiritism is the result of the teaching of the Spirits, in such a way that without the communications of the Spirits there would be no Spiritism. If the Spiritist Doctrine were a simple philosophical theory born of a human brain, it would only have the value of a personal opinion; coming from the universality of the teaching of the Spirits, it has the value of a collective work, and that is why in such a short time it has spread throughout the Earth, each one receiving for himself, or for his intimate relationships, identical instructions and the proof of the reality of the demonstrations.

And he goes on, criticizing the enemies of the Doctrine who, because they see in the universality of the teaching of the Spirits, a great enemy to his own ideas:

Well then! It is in the presence of this patent, material result that attempts are made to build into a system the uselessness of the communications of the Spirits. Let's agree that if they didn't have the popularity they acquired, they wouldn't attack them, and that it is the prodigious vulgarization of these ideas that raises so many opponents to Spiritism. Don't those who reject communications today look like those ungrateful children who deny and despise their parents? Is it not ingratitude towards the spirits, to whom they owe what they know?

Where the Spiritist Movement took a detour

After Kardec, as we already know, the Spiritist Movement suffered a huge deviation, practically putting the Lyonnais master and his method of study into oblivion. After that, when he arrived in Brazil, the Movement was already quite altered in its bases, forgetting that Spiritism without Spirits is just a system of personal ideas, ideas that proliferated among Spiritists for more than a century.

Roustaing, one of the first major opponents of Spiritism, a contemporary of Kardec, moved by enormous vanity, mainly through Pierre-Gaëtan Leymarie, inserted his contents in the spiritist environment which, if it were not enough to be contrary to the Spiritist Doctrine in many points, were obtained through of one Spirit--that is, no universality of teachings. If they had encouraged such a method, they would see such theories denied by the Spirits themselves, which would not be interesting to the personal vanity of the “chosen one”.

Astonished, I discovered recently that the FEB itself, at the beginning of the 20th century, defended Roustangist ideas as a complement to Allan Kardec:

And it was to understand its preponderant usefulness [of the Gospel] that the Federation instituted its study in the sessions on Tuesdays, preferring it to the Gospel according to Spiritism [by Allan Kardec], which only contains the moral teachings, The Four Gospels (Revelation of Revelation), dictations to J.-B. Roustaing, because this revelation is complete, containing not only the development of those teachings, but the explanation of all the acts of Jesus' life, with a new and enlightening orientation about nature and his messianic mission.

(FEB, 1902, p. 1)

We see, therefore, since when such harmful ideas have infiltrated Spiritism, especially in Brazil, where several mediums – not questioning their purposes and values – started to be taken as oracles or prophets - again, nothing universality of teachings.

But do we need it today?

Many, however, will say: this method of Kardec, based in evocations, it was only useful for the birth of Spiritism. Today, we don't need that anymore, because we already have a lot of content that serves as a teaching base.

Yes, unquestionably we have so much foundation of moral teaching today that, if we really understood them, we would be light years ahead in our spiritual evolution. However, it was not the same with the teachings of Christ who, even so, sent us the Promised Comforter – The Doctrine of the Spirits. Why? Because the Spirit advances first in intellectuality, to only later advance in morality. How, then, to reduce this distance? Only through the union of faith and science. And that was Kardec's mission, so well accomplished in the study of the Doctrine of Spirits.

Now, we cannot forget: Spiritism is a science moral and philosophical aspect, born of study and observation of the spiritist manifestations, obtaining, from them, the knowledge, based on the universality of the teachings of the Spirits – that is, the distribution of the teachings of the Spirits everywhere, obtaining, from these teachings, the agreement, under the light of reason. We thus arrive at a conclusion:

To remove the evocations from Spiritism is to remove its main characteristic: that of a science that, as Kardec has always demonstrated and defended, should go hand in hand with human science.

So, we are forced to note, too, that evocations, with a serious purpose, are still necessary and, perhaps, always will be. Or do we already know everything about our relationships with Spirits and the world of Spirits? Or has the advancement of human science not brought, on the one hand, so many confirmations and, on the other, new doubts, regarding these relationships and our spiritual nature? Or is it that the mystifications did not start to flood the Spiritist Movement?

Let's see, regarding the last question, the thoughts of Cláudio Bueno da Silva on the portal O Consolador:

When talking about mystification, about deviations from the route of the spiritist movement, it is impossible not to mention the famous and traumatic “isms”, which caused so many controversies: Ubaldismo, by Pietro Ubaldi; Ramatisism, by Ramatis; Roustainguismo, by JB Roustaing; Edgar Armond's Armondism; Divinism, by Oswaldo Polidoro, and other “isms”. All of them with a curious characteristic: in the midst of truths, many misconceptions that differ from the Spiritist Revelation, codified by Allan Kardec. Although some of these propositions did not really arise within the spiritist movement, they infiltrated it, leaving remnants that still persist in many centers and federations across the country.

But the onslaught of shadows don't stop. Some time ago, many spiritist houses were “invaded” by the theory of indigo children, an imported version about the reincarnation of many intelligent “little angels”, full of independence and malice, but also full of rebelliousness and aggressiveness who, according to the fantasy of their North American “creators”, have the mission of renewing (?) the Earth . Many spiritists were delighted with the news and for a long time there was nothing else to talk about inside the spiritist house.

CLÁUDIO BUENO DA SILVA – http://www.oconsolador.com.br/ano6/285/claudio_bueno.html

The Spirits themselves defend our communication with them

The reading and study of Allan Kardec's work demonstrates to us, without ceasing, that the Spirits come willingly, whenever possible, to respond to the evocations carried out. When kind or wise spirits are happy to transmit good teachings; when Spirits, still inferior, find relief in exposing their difficulties or in transmitting some word of comfort to their relatives. At other times, as permitted, they convey important advice, as we can see in the article “Mama, Here I Am”, by RE of January 1858:

Julia: Mother, why do you grieve? I'm happy, very happy. I don't suffer anymore and I always see you.

The mother: But I do not see you! Where are you?

Julia: Here beside you, with my hand on Mrs. X (the medium) to write down what I say. See my handwriting (the handwriting was really the girl's).

The mother: You say: my hand. So you have a body?

Julia: I no longer have the body that made me suffer so much, but I have your appearance. Aren't you happy because I don't suffer anymore and because I can talk to you?

The mother: If I saw you, would I recognize you then?

Julia: Yes No doubt; and you have seen me many times in your dreams.

The mother: I really saw you in my dreams, but I thought it was a figment of the imagination, a memory.

Julia: Do not. It is I myself who am always with you and I try to comfort you; I was the one who inspired you with the idea of evoking me. I have many things to tell you. Distrust Mr. Z… He is not sincere.

(This gentleman, known only to the mother, mentioned spontaneously, was a new proof of the identity of the Spirit who manifested.)

The mother: What can Mr. Z?

Julia: I can't tell you. This is forbidden to me. I can only warn you to be suspicious of him.

We need, therefore, to remember that mediumship serves exactly this purpose: exchange between the “two planes”. If it were not so, God would not give us this ability. Yes, it is a fact that we must try to walk with our own feet, without giving in to the urge to ask the Spirits about everything. But it is also a fact that, with seriousness and good purpose, they have much to help us, both in personal matters and in matters of general importance. And this, by the way, they do constantly, through our intuition.

But then, if we think we need clearer communications, what can we do? Live in doubt?

I think that we need to think very carefully about this in order to really not to occupy mediums and spirits with something that we ourselves can understand or do, including steeped in the teachings already existing in Spiritism. We should act like the student who, before asking silly questions, should always research the already existing knowledge, otherwise he could even be scolded by the teacher: “you didn't study carefully. The knowledge is there; go back and reread”.

For the rest, if there is serious purpose, they will answer us within the limits allowed. If, on the other hand, there is no serious purpose, the good spirits will be able to give us a good ear tug, in the best of cases; in others, malicious spirits may respond, with the intention of causing us difficulties and deviations, or just making fun of us.

Conclusion

Being a memorable date, in short, in the life of this Spirit that we know as Allan Kardec, we need, in recognizing his work so well done and so dedicated, to recover the real history of Spiritism, restoring its essence and removing the obstacles that took such a large part of it.

Spiritism without Spirits, that is, Spiritism without universal agreement of the teachings of the Spirits and therefore without the Wow search for communication with them is not Spiritism: it is just personal opinion.

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1. Among Allan Kardec's own handwritten papers is an autobiographical sketch in which he corrects his first name, normally spelled Hippolyte, to the true spelling Hypolite. Canuto Abreu made considerations in an article, which can be accessed at https://espirito.org.br/autonomia/allan-kardec-data-e-nome. as well as Kardec's manuscript. Also the year of his birth was corrected in that same document, having been born in 1803 and not in 1804 as later biographies wrongly recorded. [Paulo Henrique de Figueiredo- Autonomy: the untold story of Spiritism]

We live in the great darkness, again. After Spiritism dawned on the face of the Earth as a great light that could launch us into the most accelerated process of human spiritual and moral renewal, spreading with the speed of lightning, it suffered a huge setback and, then, slowly began to be forgotten in its proposals. and true face originals. Then came the wars, the great industrial development, the enormous material facilities, the enormous profits and, behind the big false smiles, the beautiful social masks, happy and fun, the enormous pain and anguish multiplied that, not infrequently, find a way out in giving up on life and in direct or indirect suicide.

Humanity cries out. There is weeping and gnashing of teeth. So, then, the unimaginable happens and a disease that is easily transmitted, although with relatively low mortality rates, spreads across the entire surface of the planet, taking loved ones, neighbors and acquaintances, poor and rich, in a matter of a few weeks – almost always, in less than 20 days. Humanity is once again wounded and vulnerable. The Spirit was forgotten. Morality was put aside as an article of politicking. God has become an article of blind faith, often misunderstood and, although present in many languages, empty in the heart.

The departures of close people shake families and individuals. A great movement accelerates: the search for rapprochement with the spiritual, the search for consolation, the search for answers. And behold, precisely at that same time, great studies and precious works began to increase in our eyes, by the dedicated hands of brothers dedicated to the work of Truth, bringing to us the true face of Spiritism and its history, and great and precious part, hitherto misunderstood or otherwise unknown.

Today, we are experiencing a process very similar to that experienced in the mid-19th century, bringing us an opportunity that is once again extremely grandiose. I see and believe that, as before, we are experiencing a great call back to spirituality. Mediumship phenomena are multiplying everywhere, including physical ones, with a view to attracting our attention. As before, humanity passed through a very serious materialist phase, giving rise to the great wounds of selfishness and pride, in addition to space for the proliferation of all vices and imperfections, physical and moral.

It was made known to us that Spiritism suffered from various manipulations and deviations, sometimes criminal, if not in the eyes of human justice, but at least in the eyes of Divine justice. Lyrics and Movement have been tampered with. Spiritism, after Kardec's death, lost the gigantic force that it had been developing and, with the wars, found shelter in Brazil, to remain in a semi-gestational stage, in the religious environment, for more than a century...

Brothers, as I said, we are living a very important and unique moment. Spiritism was born at a favorable and necessary moment, when humanity was looking for philosophical answers to face materialist denialism, which, in turn, was born to face the fierce dogmatism of the old religions. Today, Spiritism is reborn, in its real exuberance, at the right time, to respond to the cries of those who seek answers to the same strong and fervent materialism that cooled souls during the last century and put man on the path of gain and profit, of ephemeral passions and the cult of the body.

The huge difference is that, today, we find the work already started. We don't need to develop reasoning from scratch, analyzing physical phenomena, talking to Spirits through blows. It is enough for us to study in depth, with great wisdom and dedication, Spiritism and the complementary works that help us to better understand it, placing it in a contextualized way in the historical moment in which it was born, in order to bring it to our days. the exact understanding, which until today we have not had, for the most part, about what really It's Spiritism!

But this will not be possible until we act according to the example of the one whom God has given us as an example in this regard. I'm not talking about our ultimate example, Jesus, but about our great and humble master, affable and charitable, a researcher dedicated to humanity, Allan Kardec. No, until we follow their example, I repeat, the recovery of Spiritism will not be possible. Kardec was not perfect, as none of us are, but he exemplified one very important thing: the total absence of personalism, vanity and pride, as well as the quest to analyze facts, evidence and opinions, from all sides and from all sources. , without, before, form an idea previously conceived. As long as our personalism, our vanity, our pride, our prejudices, in short, speak louder, we will not leave the same place. Unfortunately, this is not what has been done by people who, taking fragile arguments in favor of their personal ideas, continue to deny historical facts and who, therefore, distance themselves from the unfolding of a clear and deep understanding of Spiritism, as already I treated in this article.

Spiritualists, look around: work calls us, hard! The world of regeneration will not come alone! Regeneration needs to come from us, but it won't happen as long as we keep still, sitting, waiting for life and what we think are punishments, to pass. We need to understand that the difficulties of life, which we consider insurmountable punishments, are actually valuable opportunities for learning and correcting our imperfections that lead us to make mistakes. We need to understand that, just as God does not impose punishments on us, but rather difficult opportunities - but totally bearable, as long as we ourselves do not increase their difficulties - for learning and elevation, we also need, with the help of the Spiritist Doctrine, to learn to putting into practice in our lives and, above all, with our children, the same moral: we are imperfect and punishing the error born of imperfection only causes retraction and, often, an increase in imperfection and error. That's what Spiritism comes to show us: no one becomes an angel at the snap of a finger and, also, no one loses what they've already conquered. There are no fallen angels, just as there are no chosen ones by God. We will all reach perfection, no exceptions, but the speed with which we will get there depends, solely and exclusively, of us.

So, brothers, more than ever, that important exhortation is worth: “spiritualists! love–you, this is the first teaching; instructyou, this is the second”. We need to put aside divisions. We need to put aside prejudices. We need, like Kardec, to listen to all opinions, from all sources, but only like Kardec, understanding his work, his example and his method very well, can we unite, love and educate each other. And above all, we need to produce, in our good and in favor of the next, because time is pressing and, after a year and a half of closed spiritist centers, many without none production, even among its closest members, we need to recover Spiritism that is not lived in closed temples, but in our family intimacy and, from there, to the outside world!

Once again, here is the exhortation, the request, so that you, brothers, also read the works so important and necessary for our understanding:

• Allan Kardec's Legacy, by Simoni Privato
• Neither heaven nor hell, by Paulo Henrique de Figueiredo and Lucas Sampaio
• Autonomy: the untold story of Spiritism, by Paulo Henrique de Figueiredo
• A lot of light, by Berthe Fropo

At the time of Kardec, it was easy to obtain contents with a great guarantee that they had not been “contaminated” by other mediums or groups, that is, when the same teaching came from different parts of the globe, or even from Europe, at the same time, it was possible to have great confidence that the medium from Provence, for example, had no contact with the medium from Tuscany, obtaining from the latter and not from spirituality the content transmitted, even if inadvertently.

How to adopt a necessary methodology, in times when communication can be in the same second on the other side of the globe? In times of global Internet and telephony, this becomes a great challenge, but we believe we can lessen this possibility of bias through the following methodological precepts, in a way already prescribed by Allan Kardec:

1. The groups constituted need keep in touch with each other, giving news of their existence. 
2. Through this, they can form other groups, which we will call Confederative Groups, because we lack a better term, made up of members of each of the Study Groups, and that, necessarily, don't be the psychics who participate as mediators of the contents transmitted by spirituality, in Study Groups.
3. The members of the Study Groups will be able to share with the mediums of their groups only the knowledge that has already passed through the sieve of agreement and reason, through verification by the Confederative Groups.
4. The contents obtained through the mediums of each study group you can not be shared with other study groups, nor with other people outside that group, but with those belonging to the Confederative Groups.

In this way, great reliability is guaranteed that the teachings coming from different study groups, through their participating mediums, are not biased by content from other groups and mediums. The work of the Confederative Group, then, would be to coordinate these contents, seeking to analyze them in the Kardec fashion, accepting those that appear to be in agreement and that meet the sieve of reason and logic, as well as the teachings previously affirmed by the same method. There is also the problem that has always existed that a given content is biased by other previously known, but not necessarily correct, content, as is the case with the theory of the seven astral bodies. However, groups endowed with good faith and humility will be able to easily verify what are the contents that (1) go against what was already affirmed by the Kardequian codification itself and that (2) can be easily denied by the study itself.

We remind you that our condition will not be that of researchers who put themselves to ask the most varied questions, hoping that they will be answered according to our will, but that of people who, starting from the precept of humility and availability to learn, will be attentive to the teachings received. , seeking to understand them in their entirety, within the limits that superior spirituality sets for us, as was done at the time of Allan Kardec. So, like Kardec, we will need to organize questions in a constructive way, moving forward or changing directions as the answers are given.