To the spiritist beginner, a colleague said:

"Start with the works of Kardec. Then Chico Xavier with André Luiz! Luiz Sérgio's books also contain great information about the spiritual world."

To which I reply:

– If the “start with Kardec” is carried out with a serious study, for years on end, including the Spiritist Magazine, great, because that way the individual will be able to understand and identify the errors brought in isolated communications, to the point of, for example, understand that Vale dos Suicidas, Umbral and Nosso Lar are nothing more than an illusion or a creation of disturbed spirits. You will also be able to verify that, despite many successes, André Luiz's work has errors, and that the book Brasil, Coração do Mundo was dictated by one or more Spirits with the clear intention of causing damage to the Doctrine.

As it is very difficult for the spiritist neophyte to take this path full of studies, I, today, completely abstain from indicating anything outside the “codification”, preferring to recommend that they NOT be read, unless after the mentioned process.

The Doctrine has suffered a lot due to the lack of commitment and care of those who claim to profess it, so that, today, something that used to be a science, easy to be understood by those of good will, has become a jewel covered with innumerable layers of coal and rocks, represented by mysticism and errors of opinion, which need to be removed for a mere acceptance to dedicate oneself to studying it.

Sorry, but that's it. We had a dilapidated piece of jewelry, but due to lack of care and commitment, we chose to cover it up again, to the point where its shine is almost no longer visible.

The dear colleague replies:

– I understand your opinion, but I have studied these works a lot and what I see is that one work proves the veracity of others! But I know that there is a legion of inferior spirits influencing and trying to put an end to religion! When I say Kardec, I mean the Pentateuch!

To which I reply:

– Be careful, because the agreement of the Spirits is not the only factor to build the Doctrine. Many Spirits can start to share the same wrong idea, when they are still in the range of attachment to matter. In addition, we have the problem of ideas gradually fixed in the Spiritist milieu and in mediums, who begin to translate the Spirit's ideas according to their own.

We are not talking about religion either, but about spiritist science. Therefore, the need for care, which is not part of my opinion, but from the facts exhaustively demonstrated by Kardec.

Spiritist Magazine, dear friend: there is an understanding of the formation of the Doctrine, of the steps taken by Kardec, of his observations on the psychology of the Spirits... few dozens or hundreds were usable.

This science is very serious, as it holds the key to the moral advancement of humanity. Currently, this key is quite rusty, due to carelessness.

And I prove this point to you, in Kardec. Tonight we will study Humboldt's evocation of the Spirit, presented in the RE of June 1859. At one point we have the following:

39. ─ Will Geology find one day the material traces of man's existence on Earth before the Adamic period?

─ Geology, no; common sense, yes.

This Spirit, who was an explorer, a scientist, did not yet have information that human fossils dating back millions of years existed. This is because the Spirit does not gain wisdom and knowledge not previously acquired, simply by disincarnating. Thus, if his words were taken as a rule, we would be, today, denying the existence of these fossils.

And that Spirit was quite enlightened, humble and at peace with himself. Imagine if he were in a state of disarray, attached to certain imperfections and atavisms. Imagine the kind of idea and illusion he could say. Imagine, finally, by means of what words he would do it.

Spiritism cannot be built without a rational investigation methodology. This is the problem we have always warned about, remembering what Kardec demonstrated in practice.

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Kardec did not imagine, did not assume, did not presuppose, did not seek opinions on how the Spirits acted and the care that would be necessary in communicating with them. No: he learned in practice, and left this learning recorded for all who want to learn, in the Spiritist Magazine, from 1858 to 1869.

Kardec did not even assume the existence of spirits after the death of the body. It was the investigation of the facts, which he was reluctant to undertake, that led him to this conclusion. How, then, to probe something that cannot be seen or heard directly? Through the methodology. It was through careful investigation that Kardec found that reincarnation, the idea of which he was reluctant to accept, was a fundamental principle, and it was through the same investigation that he found that the Spirit that leaves matter does not gain wisdom and knowledge that it did not possess. I repeat: found.

found, in the same way, that spirits can lie, they can talk about what they think they know, without really knowing it, they can talk about their illusions that disturb them, they can talk about what they really know, however limited it may be, and they can talk, when they are really superior, of superior wisdom, which is attested by agreement, logic and reason.

The Spiritist Movement is collapsing and, in this process, causing great obstacles to the propagation of Spiritism, precisely for not observing this more than fundamental point of spiritist psychology! It is an entire building built on pillars supported by clay, which, as it cracks and sinks, compromises the soil below.

Each one has the freedom, guaranteed by God, to believe and conclude according to the reason that suits him, or even according to the attachments he chooses to cultivate. However, by sharing wrong information about something so serious, he becomes responsible for the effect of his actions, especially when not knowing is due to a resistance to studying and finding himself wrong.

It is past time to change this stagnant, petty and selfish mindset. Do we want to do good? So, if we have, within our reach, the opportunity to know, let us know, because, if we can apologize, before our own conscience, for producing evil by impossibility of access to knowledge, we can no longer do the same when that knowledge is constantly presented in our path and, many times out of vanity and pride, we choose not knowing, to continue speaking based on our own opinions.

Received psychography:

Help! I need help! Darkness consumes me. I took my own life and now I feel persecuted by those who accuse me of being a sinner. My neck hurts a lot and my mind can't get out of that fateful scene, when I jumped off the stool, in the middle of the garden, with a rope around my neck. I suffer a lot! I feel really short of breath now... I'm at the bottom of the abyss! Will nothing stop this pain? I suffer in hell. Help, help...

Faced with this, the listeners soon associated the Spirit's speech with the idea of the Valley of the Suicides and went out to tell, everywhere, about this terrible communication from a Spirit who came to confirm this sad destiny for those who take their own lives. The leaders of the group put the name of this Spirit in prayers, hoping that they might be able to help him in some way.

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The same communication, in another spiritist group, gives rise to the following:

We made the decision to evoke this Spirit, in order to clarify ourselves about his state and, who knows, help him in some understanding. For this, we use Kardec's method, based on the knowledge drawn from the Spiritist Doctrine.

Evocation:

Q. To the guiding Spirit of the group: would it be useful to evoke the Spirit of Dimas, who communicated with us on that day?

A. Yes, he will be able to offer a good learning opportunity, which will also be beneficial for him.

[To the Spirit of Dimas]

Q: We would like to understand your situation a little better, if you can describe it.

A: I suffer, I suffer a lot… Hell is all around me… I lack air…

Q: Could you tell us why you are in this situation?

A: I am punished for the sin of taking my own life.

P: You say you suffer pain, but how can you, if you no longer have the body?

A: I can't say, I just know that I feel the suffering come from the bottom of my soul.

Q: Do you regret what you did?

A: A lot, all the time! It's incessant suffering... My children accuse me and deplore the tragedy I imposed on them.

Q: Could you explain why this tragic ending was imposed?

A: I suffered in life, I suffered for having betrayed my family's trust. Shame overwhelmed my mind and I could no longer live with it.

P: And did you feel any relief after the act?

A: No, everything increased, it increased a lot! The vexatious scenes haunt me, and now this hell that tears me apart without ceasing…

Q: Have you already reflected on the reason for your mistake first, the one that causes you reasons for embarrassment?

A: No… Wait… I was very impulsive. I didn't know how to control my material impulses and I threw myself into the arms of another... I destroyed my home! Oh! I do not want to talk about this anymore.

Q: From your position, can you better assess our intentions?

A: A little. Your Spirit Guide assists me. I perceive that you are not idle curiosity and that you are benevolent.

Q: Maybe you think a little too highly of us. In any case, it is not our intention to judge you, as we have our own mistakes to regret.

A: Yes, I understand that. I feel more comfortable.

Q: We asked about your reflection on the error that haunts you. Forgive us for touching on this point, but did you do it willingly, that is, on purpose?

A: No… Not exactly. I was weak. I didn't reflect and let myself be carried away by the pleasures of the matter. Oh, what a shame!

P: You didn't do it on purpose. If you had more control and more knowledge, do you think you would have withstood that mistake and then the fateful mistake?

A: Most likely, but it's hard to say what I haven't accomplished.

Q: We want to say that, deep down, it seems to us that you made both mistakes for lack of greater knowledge and progress, and not for harm.

A: Yes. My last life was very focused on the material aspect, which was my only concern. I didn't dedicate myself to any spiritual development, nor did I know about this Spiritism they deal with... I didn't mean to do any harm, I was just ignorant.

Q: So you don't think that this suffering is self-created, that you pursue yourself out of remorse.

A: Yes, it is possible…

Q: You said you regret it, didn't you?

A: Yes, I wish I hadn't taken the actions I did, but I lacked the strength...

Q: We are sure that, with the help of the good Spirits, you will be able to find new strength and a new understanding to, in the future, choose a new life, where you will be able to dedicate yourself to working on what led you to the error. God is not vengeful, and punishment is simply a reflection of our own actions.

A: I begin to notice something new. Hope, maybe.

Q: Do you see any changes in your status?

A: It's still too early to say, but I feel something different. With the help of your Spirit Guide, I understand a little better what you told me.

Q: We are very happy to be able to share what comforts us and leads us back to good. Just tell us one more thing: that image described at the beginning, when you said it was at the bottom of the abyss, in hell… Did you mean a real landscape?

A: Not at all. I used figurative language, although the description of hell, for me, was very authentic to what I live. I realize now that it's all an effect of my moral situation.

Q: So it wasn't a material situation.

A: Your Spirit Guide assists me. Not at all, that is, it was not a material situation like the one you imagine, but, given that the Spirit materializes what it thinks, through the Universal Cosmic Fluid, it can shape disturbing realities, as long as it believes in them.

Q: We no longer wish to pester you with our questions.

A: Far from it. They helped me a lot and, who knows, they may have learned a little from my unfortunate story. Pray for me as my correction path has just begun.

Q: You will be in our prayers. Recognize in us sincere friends who are on the same evolutionary path, trying, getting it right and making mistakes. The important thing is to keep going.

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Dear reader: the two situations are hypothetical and were only created to demonstrate the ways of acting of each group, the first being a group that is guided by what the Spiritist Movement has said, and the second a group very well penetrated by the study of the Spiritist Doctrine, on the works of Kardec.

Which group did good most deeply? Where was there a real learning situation for both sides? Could it be that the medium who served this communication ended up feeling sick, as they say, or, for serving the good, ended up like all the mediums that Kardec used — only, perhaps, fatigued by physical exercise? Should we take phrases out of context or lacking knowledge as rules? Have you ever seen that Kardec talked to the Spirits as if he were talking to any person, without ceremonies, without rituals, without far-fetched prayers, with words adorned with a love that is not even understood? Why do we treat spirits as if we were mute? Why don't we talk to them? Why, finally, do we not study when we are involved in a science as profound as Spiritism?

To studies. Good awaits!

So, my friend, how is this resistance going? Yes, the same one, from diving on Kardec. We won't lie: it's not easy. But who said learning is easy? It takes time and effort, yes. Oh, lack of time? Is it really missing? And that time you must be spending watching videos on Facebook or Instagram? No, by no means are we saying that relaxing with an “empty” mind is not important, especially after a long day at work… But could it not be possible to fit in a reading before bed? Half an hour, whatever, helps a lot. Oh, you learn better by listening? Solved: Today, apps like Google Books and Amazon Alexa do instant voice reading for you.

Não, de forma alguma nos colocamos na condição do aluno exemplar. Longe disso. Tem gente que está muito mais à frente, muito mais envolvida, muito mais dedicada. Mas cada um faz o que pode. A questão é que o “não posso”, muitas vezes, simplesmente dá lugar à ocupação inútil do tempo… E você já conhece aquele ditado: “mente vazia é oficina do diabo”. Não do diabo, propriamente, mas vai saber o tipo de companhia que nos rodeia quando nossa mente está apenas mergulhada nessa materialidade do dia-a-dia…

Could it be that, deep down, what exists is not a resistance? Analyze yourself—you don't have to tell anyone. Could it be that what exists is not an accommodation, because it is easier to believe in the little that is known — in the lights themselves, Kardec would say — or in what they tell you? Well, here's some bad news: Creation is based on autonomy, and there's only one being in the universal space capable of making you progress — and it's not God: it's yourself. Progress, however, is made of two components: intelligence and morale. For the Spirit to progress in morals, it is necessary to have intelligence — not that intelligence of an Einstein, but the intelligence that reasons, based on knowledge. And behold, the Spiritist Doctrine, formed by the scientific study of Kardec (yes, scientific) brought us an incredibly deep and transformative knowledge.

Yes, I know: reading novels and stories about fantastic places is very enjoyable and activates the imagination. But could it be that the absence of Kardec's studies, preferring novels, is not also due to resistance on his part, linked, who knows, to a little bit of pride in imagining that he holds the truth — especially when this "truth" was studied for decades on end?

Yeah, I know it too: it sucks to be wrong. No one likes to find themselves in error. But hey, that's the way it is: evolution is based on trial and error, or success. “To err is human”. The problem is getting attached to the mistake. And, another bad news: when studying Kardec, yes, we will see that we are, many times, attached to a series of flagrant errors. Yes, it's annoying to see that we spend long decades learning Spiritism the wrong way, but, well, who doesn't? Furthermore, it is very unlikely that we will err by will. Often, the very force of circumstances leads us to this: we grow up in the environment, which also learned the wrong way. What we had within our reach was the product of that culture. Okay, it happens.

No, the purpose of Spiritism is not mediumship, especially that mediumship that only serves as a telephone waiting for a call, nor is it to analyze other people's lives to identify whether someone is going through such difficulty because they have, as many assume, " kicked dog” in past life. No.

So, coming to this point, I again ask: what about this resistance? Why this resistance? The superior spirits themselves — yes, I am also sorry to say this, but we are right there at the end of the line, right on the first step of the conscious evolutionary scale — they themselves dedicate a very great effort, out of disinterested charity, out of moral duty, to help us. to understand. And the codification it's there for that. But—jeez, another bad news! — it is not enough to read The Spirits' Book as a sacred code, or to open The Gospel According to Spiritism at random, following the communications of the Spirits as a plank of salvation, without reasoning. No, I'm sorry to say. Spiritism is science and, as a science, it is progressive.

– Quer dizer que os Espíritos não deram algo pronto para seguirmos?

No, not at all, never. And this is very well demonstrated in that publication that you have certainly heard of, but still resist studying: the Spiritist Magazine. So it is. This monthly publication, from 1858 to 1869, was prepared by Kardec with a very wise purpose: after The Spirits' Book, he needed a way to disseminate knowledge, at the same time that he could establish correspondence with people from all over, receiving Thus, from everywhere, the confirmations or denials of communications given separately by the Spirits. The Spiritist Magazine was Kardec's laboratory, where we can understand very well the formation of the Spiritist Doctrine, culminating, finally, in his two final works — O Céu e o Inferno and A Gênese.

Then again, why the resistance to studying it? Yes, I already said it: I know it's not easy, especially if it's alone, but today we have the facility of instant communication over the Internet. Is it really that impossible to find a little time a week for group study? Reflects. But I'm already advancing: there is no teacher of Spiritism. Everyone is free to draw rational conclusions about what they know, without, however, giving final words about what is not established. This would be nothing more than opinion, and opinion is not science, nor does it build anything other than religious errors, in the sense here addressed.

But is this resistance fear? Afraid of seeing yourself in error? Afraid of realizing you've said the wrong things to other people? Afraid, perhaps, of noticing that he acted wrongly and alienated people from the Doctrine, for expressing wrong things? Perhaps? Well, fear of being caught in error is attachment, and it's a protective cover for something much deeper: pride. We've said it before: everyone makes mistakes. For our part, you have no idea how much we've made mistakes! But, for our part, we can say: how good it is to realize the error in time, recognize it and, who knows, resume contact with these people, saying: “I was wrong, and everything or almost everything I told you about Spiritism was false. See, this is reality.”

On the path of evolution, there will always be time. It will never be late. But attachment makes us live longer away from happiness. Were we taught that we are here to pay debts, as if the incarnation were a punishment? Well, if Spiritism not only says, but demonstrates the opposite, great! We were taught about a fully material life in the spirit world, but does Spiritism prove this to be an illusion of the attached Spirit? Well then, I don't want to develop that attachment! We were taught that we cannot evoke, but only wait for communication from the Spirits, which we take for the truth, but does Spiritism demonstrate that this is not how it works? Good, then let's fix it and get us on track again. We were taught that Spiritism is only practiced at the center, but does Kardec demonstrate a totally opposite reality — safeguarding the need for seriousness, knowledge and purpose for this? Well, let's pursue this reality.

We can say of ourselves: we are not afraid to prove our ignorance. In fact, what has unfolded in front of us about Spiritism, for us, who can hardly call ourselves diligent students, is wonderful, it is exciting, it removes the supernatural, it overthrows mysticism and it shows that Spiritism has a depth never before understood .

Let's study? We are here to help with whatever we can! Want tips? Want to study with us? Do you want to create a channel for questions and debates about what each group studies? Want suggestions on how and where to start? We're here. We are far from having the ideal model that can be applied to any situation, but we have already gone through some learning in these almost two years of studies. Count on us.

The study of the Spiritist Magazine, right in the first year, deconstructs many errors inserted in the Spiritist milieu, the most serious and present of which is the habit of blindly guiding us by the opinions of isolated Spirits, but it also shows us many previously unknown truths, in addition to leave with many doubts about other things, doubts that will only be answered with the continued study of this work. Therefore, the recommendation that nobody put yourself in the position of having the final word, or jumping to conclusions. Conjecturing, based on prior knowledge, is not prohibited. Reaching different conclusions is also not prohibited. What matters is to seek the joint construction of understanding, in cooperation, not in dispute. The important thing is that the only way to get to know Spiritism is this: studying Kardec, preferably in possession of knowledge of the scientific context in which the Spiritist Doctrine was developed (see Recommended Works).

Have you ever stopped to reflect on missed opportunities? In everyday life, we tend to forget that we are not forgotten, and that there is a good Spirit often inspiring us. How many times has he not taken you in contact with important studies, and how many times has he not passed up this opportunity? We say this on our own behalf.

So, enough resistance, enough blaming what is external, and shall we study?

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Ps: it doesn't hurt to say that, in the illustration on the cover, the little devil is our own attachment, which leads us to evil, and not just any external figure. In the same way that we choose, by our own will, not to listen to the good advice of the superior Spirits, we choose to listen or not to listen to the bad advice of the imperfect Spirits who love us because of our attachments.

CSI of Spiritism, by Carlos Seth, became the official body of Truth.

by Paulo Degering R. Junior

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Contrary to respecting world law, with regard to the moral right of the author and which peremptorily classifies, from a legal point of view, the fourth edition of Heaven and Hell and the fifth edition of Genesis as factual tampering, indisputable, the group known as CSI of Spiritism, through an argument full of holes and lack of logic, giving final words on the subject and running over The legal system says there were no adulterations.

There, in the CSI of Spiritism, by Carlos Seth, Adair Ribeiro and Luciana Farias, the subject is no longer discussed. Although the legal record of the publication of the fifth edition of A Gênesis only dates back to 1872, how did they find one (only one) supposed copy of this edition, but dated 1869, in a library in Switzerland (not in France, but in Switzerland ), soon linked this lost copy to the fact that Kardec declared that he was preparing a new version — as if this could be used as proof of conclusion and correspondence. And, in the basket, there is the statement that the grotesque — and obvious — adulteration of Heaven and Hell it didn't exist!

The logic of absolute Truth (CSI of Spiritism) is this: if Kardec declared that he was preparing a new edition of Genesis and if a copy, dated 1869, with at least strange changes, was found (in Switzerland), then it is clear that it could only have been published by Kardec (despite the problems, right on the cover), and whoever says otherwise is lying!

Of course, there is a detail here: the fact that, as the Legal Deposit of the 5th edition was only carried out in 1872, almost three years after Kardec's death, this, per se, classifies an important legal question — that any change made after the death of an author implies adulteration. But of course the Ministry of Truth has the answer: the unique copy, for who knows why, forgotten in a Swiss (and not French) library is complete proof against the legal issue (it is not)!

There is also the fact that Kardec's wife signed the minutes of 1873 (if I'm not mistaken) where she would be giving notice of the publication of that edition... But that this lady of over 70 years old, in mourning, was removed from her duties, by Leymarie, as Simoni Privato demonstrates, and that this edition was not published in France, in the first years, of course it's beside the pointIt seems to us that everything was planned so that this adulteration would not be evident in French territory.

It would be logical, for an unwary thinker, to imagine that the fact that it is not possible to find, in France, copies of this new edition, “Revised, Corrected and Enlarged”, is due to the fact that, in France, this could be considered a misdemeanor — since it had no legal deposit — but not for us who accept the Unquestionable Truth.

As they found several pieces of evidence that Kardec, before he died, had ordered a new edition of A Gênesis; how they found evidence that this new edition had begun to be printed; as they verified that Kardec's widow herself, three years later, signed a document acknowledging the distribution of this new edition, they concluded, of course, that it would be absolutely impossible for anyone to take the movable types after Kardec's death, and produced a second version, presenting each one according to convenience, or that the version altered by Kardec had disappeared, leaving only an adulterated version. No, none of this could have happened, according to the CSI of Spiritism.

Evidence is now supported to have the final say on something that cannot be proved — and which they claim cannot be proved. What we need to understand and accept, “on our side”, is that Kardec became — he may forgive me — gagá, in his last years! That, despite having produced such profound and wise works, in scientific and philosophical terms — Heaven and Hell and Genesis — shortly after that, he must have had some kind of syncope that left him injured, to the point of going against the direction of the Spirits, who said that the work was fine and that NOTHING should be removed.

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

[…]

"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”.

AUTONOMY. NCNI – Advice on Genesis. Available in: https://espirito.org.br/autonomia/ncni-conselhos-sobre-a-genese/. Accessed on: 24 Apr. 2023.

Kardec not only removed very important points from the works, such as the preface of the new edition of AG (after all, who needs a preface explaining the character of the work and the property it has, as a result of the study of the spiritist science?), he made a true frankenstein of this work, exchanging previously declared fundamental ideas and even making references to postulates that he would have to remove in the new edition of OCI. Then he, who, with frightening skill, was able to lead a line of thoughts perfectly linked between several issues of the Spiritist Magazine! He removed a chapter from the OCI and made into afterlife law what he once said could not be taken into law - without giving any explanation for it!

Poor Kardec, he must have lost his mind from talking to Spirits so much. According to this line of thought—that of Unquestionable Truth—he could have almost become a new disciple of Roustaing, so much so that, according to the Ministry of Truth, we must accept as a product of Kardec's handiwork the insertion, in Chapter VII, item 10 of the "Penal Code of the Future Life" (sic), of the idea that all the vicissitudes we suffer would be expiations! You, Kardec, who always affirmed, in agreement with the Spirits, that incarnation is not a punishment and that even the Spirit who always chose good, still needs to incarnate and go through vicissitudes! I really wish that WArlos seth Iinvestigation would explain this complete incongruity… But there is no need: we must accept their truths without question.

Worse: in addition to gagá, Kardec was FEARFUL. Well, that's the only thing we can deduce from the unquestionable truth of the CSI of Spiritism, since it made, in A Gênese, heavy assertions about the opponents of Spiritism, to later remove them in the new edition.

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, Allan. GÊNESE, 4th EDITION — EDITORA FEAL

Perhaps Kardec received a threatening letter — more threatening than the dozens he should have received with threats. Or else Kardec finally noticed his mistake in judging that Spiritism was so potent as to awaken the relentless hatred to which he referred.

Well, in addition to accepting the Unquestionable Truth of the CSI of Spiritism, learning to leave aside this “reason” business, we also need to learn to bury certain authors, who are not even cited by the representative body of divine truth on Earth. We can even criticize them, as Carlos Seth did, but we cannot, in any way, use their vast works from years of research on Magnetism, Rational Spiritualism and Spiritism. Never! When criticizing them, we shouldn't even mention names – people will be interested in reading the crazy things said by this guy “Paulo Henrique de Figueiredo”. After all, this author has the audacity to question the Ministry of Truth, using this so-called “reason” and, stating that he cannot see a crazy Kardec, says that he found full agreement between the ideas discussed in the works and in the Revista Espírita with the first editions of these works — editions that should also not be cited.

Let's run a ruler over all this imbroglio, and let's talk about it no more. The evidence of the “other side”, the one that “believes” in an adulteration, must be summarily forgotten, together with its authors. Unlike what Kardec said — that we cannot give the final word on what cannot be proven — we must accept the final word of the CSI of Spiritism. Since the evidence they found became the final expression of unquestionable truth, all — I repeat: all — arguments from the “other side” automatically become null and void! That “truck” of arguments brought by Simoni Privato in “The Legacy of Allan Kardec”? NULL, as it says WArlos seth Investiga: “We demonstrate with FACTS that ALL the evidence used to prove that “The Genesis” could have been tampered with DID NOT hold up.” There are those who disagree.

Ah, the FACT that Leymarie tampered with a spiritual communication, in Posthumous Works, removing precisely the passage in which the Spirit recommended that Kardec not remove any idea in the new edition of The Genesis was also promptly annulled by the evidence of the organ of Unquestionable Truth.

Nor should we even bring up these opposing arguments, as what is it worth, against a few material evidences, an enormous amount of logical arguments and the fact that the registration, after the author's death, of an altered edition, constitutes adulteration? ? Absolutely nothing!

Of course, this brings a “small” problem, since Spiritism cannot be proven except through rationality, but we should not fear: the Ministry of Truth will certainly have a solution for this. As soon as Spiritism is somewhat more undermined by the distrust placed on Kardec (who, remember, was left stuttering) and by the discovery of “gossip of the time”, obtained through the opinions of dissident mediums, found in old documents, we will be able, who You know, take a look at “Kardec’s” Spiritism and found a new era of historical studies. historical (not doctrinal, not moral, but historical, which is all that matters for the Absolute Truth).

But that's not all: we must, in addition to declaring the nullity of any arguments to the contrary, without presenting them to the public, also combat any idea that comes from the opposite direction, criticizing works without any need for scientific commitment. If we commit fallacies, it's okay. After all, we will be fighting the lie and, for that, we must use all the weapons.

Says Carlos Seth, from the CSI of Spiritism:

In the mid-1890s, the division between the Consoling Spiritism and Scientific Spiritism, as my colleague John Monroe has already pointed out.

History repeated itself between 2016 and 2020 now in the field of morality, with the release of books that sought to bring the thoughts of Kant, Maine de Biran and Victor Cousin into Spiritism, even if that meant distorting the ideas of Allan Kardec.

BASTOS, Carlos Seth. Added bonus – The ending. Spirits under investigation. Available at: <https://www.luzespirita.org.br/leitura/pdf/L193.pdf>. Accessed on: 04/15/2023.

Without a shadow of a doubt, Seth has not read absolutely anything that these crazy people are saying about Rational Spiritualism, nor has he read the Spiritist Magazine, which is where the scientific basis of Spiritism, which he seems to criticize. Precisely in Revista Espírita, where Kardec seems to have “lost his head”, when stating that Spiritism is a development of Rational Spiritualism! Interestingly, reading (and taking care not to criticize what one doesn't understand) makes it clear that Rational Spiritualism provided the foundation for Spiritism, with a significant interchange between these two sciences, with Spiritism providing the key to what Rational Spiritualism couldn't answer. But therein lies the problem: this subject is addressed by an author whose name the Ministry of Truth (CSI of Spiritism) doesn't even allow to be cited—this "Figueiredo" guy. I even cite the work: "Autonomy: The Untold Story of Spiritism." But please, don't read this book, full of nonsense! We should just place it in the shadow of non-existence, along with its author who, according to the Ministry, is causing a division in Spiritism, “now in the moral field”!

If the Unquestionable Truth acts like this, it is because it has a very serious reason: it is that this author can endorse the subversive ideas of adulteration. Showing his malevolent intentions and putting his books into oblivion, through some harmless and far from light fallacious statements, Truth acts in the name of Good. If these ideas of autonomy and Rational Spiritualism — “rational” — are treated by this author, they are either the result of an error, or they should just be forgotten, so that, we repeat, they do not lead people to read the prohibited works.

Pay close attention: the controversy over the adulteration of the works Heaven and Hell and Genesis turned out to be non-existent! Yes, because, for us who accept the Unquestionable Truth of the CSI of Spiritism, the other side does not even exist! Because we accept evidence as proof (although science is about theories, not proof) and make an inference that to many may seem far-fetched — but the Ministry of Truth claims it is not — everything else automatically becomes null. Let us also delete the story, which we should not even mention. Regarding the authors who corroborate this idea of a plot around Kardec, we can do nothing more than show them as they are — impulsive and frivolous, despite having dedicated themselves to long years of research — so that, finally, we can guide the people on the correct path — that of Unquestionable Truth — not through reason, but through coercion, since the majority are incapable of thinking for themselves. That story of leaving it up to time and the public to judge what is correct — these crazy ideas from Kardec — fall apart, as we have evidence that can be taken as complete proof, according to our theories.

Those, finally, who do not accept the Unquestionable Truth, we must treat them as they are: resistant and closed-minded, who do not accept the evidence that we point out to them. They prefer to believe that Kardec could never have made such alterations, because, they say, they are not rational or consistent with the method he would have used for years, much less with the rest of the work. Balela! Let us declare war on these ideas without any nexus and prohibit, as much as possible, that they are even raised, as they cause a gigantic harm by stirring up, in the people, this absurd desire to think for reason — so absurd that they do not accept historical evidence as an irrefutable fact of non-adulteration. By the way, we should name them as such: denialists, so that they are demoralized wherever they speak and do not arouse anyone's curiosity.

Therefore, some steps are defined to be followed to reestablish the Truth, according to the CSI of Spiritism:

• Use every space possible, on social media and YouTube channels, to state that all opposing arguments have been defeated, no intention of dialogue.
• Write documents and articles showing a series of material evidence that corroborates the thesis, that is, the evidential proof of Truth — again, without considering presenting contrary arguments.
• Write articles that disparage authors and ideas in contrast to the position of the CSI Ministry of Spiritism, without venturing to get to know them, which is obvious, and without any concern about committing fallacies. Remember: everything for the Good!
• Create study spaces. From Spiritism? No. From its scientific context? Much less! To study the old letters and investigate who were the mediums that Kardec insistently said should not be placed in relevance.
• In the face of any discussion about the Ministry of Truth's form of action, quickly and skillfully lead the matter to the question of adulteration, where we have total control, since the other side, already demoralized by being framed in denialism, will not be able to sustain reliability in the face of the public.

They say that we tarnish the image of Kardec and Spiritism itself by acting like this. Now, the search is for the Truth, and everything that sustains what we are certain of, from the beginning, must be exalted, no matter who it hurts. But enough of this subject, for we will not discuss it further now that we are in possession of the Unquestionable Truth.

---

Explanations

Dear reader,

Of course, if you study Kardec and follow us, you will notice that the text is just a criticism, in a satirical tone, of the absurd behavior adopted by some people who decided to take the truth for themselves, leaving important facts aside. I'm sorry I made you read all this. For our part, we do not wish to impose our truth or our conclusions. We leave each person the freedom to judge for themselves, in possession of evidence and using their own reason. What saddens us is that many, allowing themselves to be led, completely ignore works such as those by Paulo Henrique de Figueiredo and Simoni Privato, who have made a unique contribution to the understanding of Spiritism.

What is the crux of the matter, anyway? Is that the 5th edition, with alterations, was legally deposited only in 1872. This, legally, constitutes adulteration. The rest, the evidence found by the “CSI of Spiritism”, only points to the fact that Kardec was preparing a new version, but it does not prove that this version ever went to print.. All efforts to point out that the only copy found in Switzerland corresponds to this new edition constitute forced inferences, just because it corresponds to the copy referring to the legal deposit of 1872, of the 5th edition, made by Leymarie. This is the point.

What do we have for security, without a shadow of a doubt: Kardec edited A Gênese, of which he ordered four reprints, each of which constituted a new edition, although equal to the first. The proof of this lies in the fact that he did not make a legal deposit for the other editions.

It is also a fact that Kardec was preparing a new edition of this work and of O Céu e o Inferno. But there is no proof that he concluded them, it being another forced inference to state that the request for reprint of two thousand copies of A Gênese, made in February 1869, refer to the printing of this new edition. Maybe yes, maybe not. If so, it may be that this edition has been destroyed, so that someone can tamper with it. For the argument about the time to do so, it is enough to remember that, in those days, people had much more time than we have today and that, moreover, there is no proof that the adulterated version was not printed only later. ; for the argument of the printer's need to convince, it suffices to assume that it would only be necessary to say, for example, that it was a request from Kardec, made shortly before his death, and that, not being a final edition, but only an edition for evaluation and corrections, legal deposit would not be required (which is a fact).

An important point, by the way: what is the point of Kardec changing the title of his work (A Gênesis), inserting the subtitle “revised, corrected and increased”, if he has never done this before, for any of his other works? In my opinion, it looks more like something done, by a tamper, to reinforce that that edition would be an important “change”.

Spiritual communication, where the Spirit affirms, through the medium Mr. M. Desliens, that Kardec should not remove anything, but only condense what may have become clear in other points (which you can check on here), he was tampered with by PG Leymarie, when it was included with cuts and alterations in Posthumous Works, organized by him, and published in 1890: second part, chapter: “My initiation into Spiritism”, item: “My new work on The Genesis” (where “ Mine" would be a reference to Kardec, talking about himself).

Now, why Leymarie's rage in supporting, through flagrant adulteration, the idea that the 5th edition of A Gênese was produced by Kardec?

Anyway, let's leave each one to their time and their choices, but we don't fail to present the real proposal of the spiritist science, totally autonomous and liberating and, as we concluded, very far from the concepts transformed in "Código Penal da Vida Futuro", in that which, for us, can only be configured as an adulteration.

The fact is that Carlos Seth, in the search for everything that can support his idea, has distorted ideas and words himself, using fallacies and logical arguments, sometimes invalid, to force conclusions. It was frivolous and inelegant to state, with great ignorance, that “a certain author” would be causing a division in Spiritism, “now in the moral field”, by bringing, into the Doctrine, Rational Spiritualism (we have already dealt with this in the article Rational Spiritualism and Spiritism – a new division in the Spiritist milieu?) and is equally inelegant in using his means of communication to denigrate those who, through reason and facts, conclude differently from him, imputing “denialist” terms to them.

Furthermore, we present a final argument: Carlos Seth himself claims that he has no proof that the works have not been tampered with. There remains, therefore, room for some doubt and, therefore, it would not be much more prudent to stick with the first edition of these works, from when Kardec was alive, where we have complete confidence that everything, absolutely everything that exists there, was produced by your hands? This, of course, without treating the other editions as non-existent, as they serve, in our view, precisely to demonstrate the tone of the changes and what they removed or inserted in Kardec's thinking.

We leave the reflection to the reader.

– Oh, are you a Spiritist? Cool. Do you go to a center?

– Yes, I go to one near my house.

– And what do you do there?

– Ah, we watch a lecture on the Gospel, then take a pass… Then we say a few prayers, and leave. There is also child evangelization.

– Aaah… So it’s like a Catholic church.

- No! Because Spiritism has no ritual.

- Huh?! But it's just the same. At church, you arrive, there was a sermon on the Gospel, then you receive the host, then you pray, and you leave. Children participate in catechism.

- No but…

- Admit it, it's the same. Even evangelization, which I know has a positive aspect, is done in this kind of imposing way, isn't it? But what surprises me is that I've already studied a little of Spiritism, but I've never attended a center... And, from what I've studied, there wasn't any of that in Spiritism. For example: do you evoke Spirits to help them?

– No, you cannot evoke Spirits, because you could end up obsessed.

- Our! Who told you that?

- Huh?! Everyone from the center! FEB itself says so!

– Ah, the FEB… But… If Kardec himself evoked Spirits to learn from them, Spirits even of suicides, and often ended up helping them to reflect?!

– Ah, but that was in a controlled group, and these Spirits were already calmer. And it was Kardec.

– It wasn't what I read. And it wasn't just Kardec who evoked. Did you know that, at that time, people practiced studies, with evocations even of disturbed spirits, in their homes, in small groups?

– Wow, and weren’t they obsessed, feeling bad, about these inferior Spirits?

– Look, we are all inferior in relation to the most advanced spirits. And no, they weren't obsessed or sick. In fact, they often helped these Spirits while learning from them.

There is an evocation, for example, of this suicide, which was just a few days after his death, and he appeared to be in full disarray. Kardec asked some questions, trying to understand what was going on with that Spirit, and with these questions, he understood something. Then he asked for prayers and said goodbye, because he didn't want to talk anymore. I agree that seriousness and control are needed, but Kardec never mentioned any of the mediums becoming obsessed while trying to learn, with the analysis of the situation of Spirits like this, and even murderers!

- Murderers?!

- Yes! There is an evocation of Assassin Lemaire, look for it in the Spiritist Magazine of 1858, it is very interesting.

– And you said they evoked DAYS after death?

– Yes. Sometimes, hours later!

– Hours?! But I've always heard that, in addition to not being able to evoke, you have to wait patiently for that Spirit to gain the light and come to communicate of its own accord.

- This is not true. It all depends on the purpose. As the intention was to analyze these Spirits psychologically, there was no problem. Furthermore, it is clear that they respected the will of the Spirits. Many times they did not want to talk about their sufferings. There is another problem there: Kardec has always shown that being available to any Spirit brings the danger of purposeless, often misleading, communications.

But then you don't do evocations in the center?

– No. There is even a meeting of mediums, but it is closed to the public.

– Oh, natural. But there they evoke, then, to learn and help?

- No no. They are available to any spirit that wants to communicate. These days, they received communication from the Apostle John!

– How do they know it was John, and not another? Did they later question the guiding Spirit of the group?

– Spirit guide? No, the Spirit SAID that he was John the apostle and spoke of Jesus and the need for much prayer because the deadline is coming.

– Ah… But… What if this Spirit was using the apostle’s name and beautiful words to pass on wrong teachings?

– Oh, but…

– And at home, do you practice Spiritism?

– What do you mean, practice?

– Study, evoke Spirits for learning purposes by analyzing their situations…

– If we don't evoke it even in the center, do you think we're going to evoke it at home? Get out! Will a Spirit decide to stay there?

– What do you mean, “stay there”? Spirits are everywhere. There are definitely some here right now.

– Good God!

- Yes of course! And they are attracted by affinity of thoughts. If the evocation is done with serious intent and with knowledge, there is no problem. The wrong thing is to evoke it as a joke or lightly. If the evocator is proud, for example, a frivolous spirit can appear and say things that feed that pride. There, without studying, and willing to cultivate his own pride, the subject enters the spirit and ends up fascinated. This is the danger, but this can happen even through intuition, indirectly.

– Wow, I didn’t know that. I had already heard that, if you evoke a disturbed Spirit, it “sticks” to you.

- No of course not. It depends on the intention and preparation. Well, but is there at least a study at this center? Like, studying the works of Kardec, the Revista Espírita…

– Spiritist Magazine? What's that? No, we study works by Chico and Divaldo, because we know that Kardec's works are outdated in many points, right?!

– Outdated? My friend, I know that there are even beautiful and correct things in these mediumistic works, but they were the result of uncontrolled communications. How, without studying Kardec, do they recommend the study of mediumistic works? Spiritism is science!

– Science? No! Spiritism is religion!

– That was not what Kardec demonstrated. Have you read Genesis?

– Wow, I already took a leaf, but very difficult and, as I said, outdated! Imagine they believed there was life on the moon!!

– But, my friend, that was part of the human science of the time. But there is the part of the spiritist science.

– Spiritist Science?

– Yes, what was developed by the methodological study of Kardec, with the use of reason and with the need for universal confirmation of the teachings of the Spirits. But then, if there is a group of mediums in the house, how did it form?

– Ah, they are very old mediums in the house, and the group is closed.

– But what about other people’s mediumship?

– Ah, if a “good” medium appears there, he has to take a 5-year course in Spiritism!

– But what course, if they don’t study Kardec?

– No, there, there, there are some FEB booklets, where Kardec is discussed…

– At least something!

– And then there is the complement with mediumistic works. Have you seen the works of Ramatis, about mediumship??

- My God…

- What?

– Friend, Ramatis is a pseudo-sage.

– Pseudo what?

– It means that he pretends to be a wise man, but there are several absurdities in these works. We don't even know, in fact, if it's just a Spirit, because anyone can use that name.

– But I've seen some of his things, they seemed coherent

– Consistent? Well, being a Spirit, it is clear that something or other will be true... But the problem is that they accept what this or these Spirits say without even reasoning! These works are mystic, not doctrinal.

– How are they not doctrinal? The same thing he says, many others also say. It's not that?

- Not only that. It is necessary to submit this to reason, which demands knowledge. What is already established by this process can only be undone by the same process, that is, it is not enough to say the same thing everywhere, when there is no control, no method, no rationality. For example: Ramatis talks about seven spiritual bodies, which is mystical – you know those things about biblical, kabbalistic numbers? Then!

Kardec has already demonstrated, through studies with the Spirits and in a scientific way, that what exists is the perispirit, formed by the universal cosmic fluid. Just that. This story of seven bodies, after all, is materialistic.

– Friend, I don’t understand anything anymore! You mean everything I've been told is wrong?

– Not all, but most of it. When Spiritism was disseminated in Brazil, the Spiritist Movement was already worn out and weakened, due to an adulteration of principles after Kardec's death.

Well, the question is this: do you want to study, or are you comfortable with what you experience in this center?

– Ah, I feel good, and it’s so difficult trying to understand Kardec!

– Really, there are things difficult to understand in Kardec. But the dedicated study of the Spiritist Magazine, from 1858 to 1864, helps to understand a lot! Also, there are many study groups, and I myself participate in one. But, you see, these are study groups. There is no professor, nor is it a course.

Give it a chance, study it, and your reason will lead you, with the intuition of good spirits, along the path that best suits you.

– Yeah... I'll think about it...

———————————————————-

I didn't want to title this text. We don't need to give exhaustive names. It is enough that we understand the distance that exists between the Spiritist Movement and Spiritism. This distance needs to be overcome through dialogue, through facts, but only by those open to dialogue and learning. It's no use fighting the recalcitrant.

"What is the threshold?"; "Who goes to the threshold?"; "What is the meaning of threshold?"; "What does Spiritism say about the threshold?". Followers of the Spiritist movement are so concerned about something that, in truth, has no reason to exist—not as they imagine it to be.

I think that a lot of time is wasted on this subject, the “Umbral”, which is a peaceful point in the Doctrine (therefore, a result of the scientific method of research): it is nothing more than a mental creation of attached, suffering Spirits, when they are not intentionally cultivated ideas and transmitted in order to delay. This is so much a fact that, before Spiritism, the Spirit would say he was suffering in the fires of hell and, before Catholicism, he would say he was in Tartarus. They are not local, they are a state of soul and, if you seek to do good, with all your strength and with all your understanding, you should not worry about this suffering. moral.

Therefore, the question "what is the threshold" is answered thus: it is an allegory, a figure of speech, representing a state of the soul. It can also be an allegory representing this denser spiritual layer, of the Spirits most connected to matter. This is the meaning of "threshold," and "those who go to the threshold" are those who are attached to imperfections and materiality, knowing, however, that this is an allegorical idea to illustrate a previous state.

When you focus on what you want, based on previous ideas, you miss the important details of the work. Here's what we're going to demonstrate. This is a simple work analyzing the article “Umbral, is there a doctrinal basis to support it?”, by Paulo da Silva Neto Sobrinho, by Paulo Degering Rosa Junior.

Paulo Neto's study on the umbral

In the study presented by Paulo Neto, “Umbral, is there a doctrinal basis to support it?”, there are some initial problems. Let us check, for example, the very sensitive differences between the first edition of Heaven and Hell and the edition used by him. In the first edition:

In most cases, he is unhappy in this world through his own fault, but if he is imperfect, it is because he was already imperfect before coming to Earth, where it atones not only for current faults, but the previous faults that were not repaired, suffers in a life of trials the suffering imposed on others in another existence. The vicissitudes that man experiences are simultaneously a temporary punishment and a warning about the imperfections that must be eliminated to avoid future misfortunes and progress towards good.

KARDEC, Allan. Heaven and Hell, 1868 (original edition).

In the edition cited by Paulo Neto:

[…] Most of the time he [man] is unhappy through his own fault; however, if it is imperfect, it is because it was already imperfect before coming to Earth, expiating not only current faults, but previous faults not repaired. Suffer in a life of trials what you made others suffer in a previous existence. The vicissitudes he experiences are, at the same time, a temporary correction and a warning regarding the imperfections that he must eliminate from himself, in order to avoid future evils and progress towards good. […].

NETO, Paul. Umbral: Is there a doctrinal basis to support it?. Available in: http://www.paulosnetos.net/artigos/send/6-ebook/806-umbral-ha-base-doutrinaria-para-sustenta-lo. Accessed on: 20 Apr. 2023.

Can you notice that the difference in the use of the verb atone causes a whole change of ideas? In the first version, by Kardec, it is clear that man atones in the land. In the version used by Neto, it is possible to infer that atonement begins before coming to Earth, which would not be true, according to doctrinal conclusions.

Not only that: this edition, by Paulo Neto, does not even match the 4th edition in French, already adulterated:

Le plus souvent, il est malheureux ici-bas par sa propre faute; mais s'il est imparfait, c'est qu'il l'était avant de venir sur la terre ; il y expie non seulement ses fautes actuelles, mais les fautes antérieures qu'il n'a point réparées ; il harden dans une vie d'épreuves ce qu'il a fait harden aux autres dans une autre existence. Les vicissitudes qu'il éprouve sont à la fois un châtiment temporaire et un avertissement des imperfections dont il doit se défaire pour éviter les malheurs futurs et progresser vers le bien.

---

Most of the time he is unhappy down here through his own fault; but if he is imperfect, it is because he was imperfect before he came to earth; he expiates there not only his present faults, but the former faults which he has not repaired; he endures in a life of trials what he made others endure in another existence. The vicissitudes he experiences are both a temporary punishment and a warning of the imperfections he must get rid of in order to avoid future misfortunes and progress towards good.

KARDEC, Allan. Heaven and Hell or Divine Justice According to Spiritism. 4th ed. Rio de Janeiro: FEB, 2019. Available at: https://kardecpedia.com/roteiro-de-estudos/886/o-ceu-e-o-inferno-ou-a-justica-divina-segundo-o-espiritismo. Accessed on: 20 Apr. 2023.

It is evident that Kardec, in the first edition and also in the fourth, reaffirms that the atonement takes place on Earth, and to infer the opposite would be to assume that the Spirit atones, materially, in the spiritual world, which is intrinsically linked to the ideas of hell, purgatory, umbral, etc.

Let's go.

Spiritist Magazine

One of the most interesting articles in the RE is “About the Spirits who believe they are still alive”, from the 1864 Revista Espírita:

Not everything is proof in existence; the life of the Spirit continues, as you have been told, from its birth to infinity; for some, death is nothing more than a simple accident that has no influence on the fate of the person who dies. A fallen tile, an attack of apoplexy, a violent death, very often, do nothing but separate the Spirit from its material envelope; but the perispiritual envelope preserves, at least in part, the properties of the body that has just succumbed. On a day of battle, if I could open your eyes, which you have but which you cannot make use of, you would see many fights continuing, many soldiers still going up to the assault, defending and attacking the redoubts; ye would hear them even utter their hurrahs! and their battle cries, in the midst of silence and under the gloomy veil that follows a day of carnage; the combat is over, they return to their homes to embrace their old fathers, their old mothers who are waiting for them. Sometimes this state lasts a long time for some; it is a continuation of terrestrial life, a mixed state between corporeal life and spiritual life. Why, if they were simple and wise, would they feel the cold of the tomb? Why should they pass abruptly from life to death, from daylight to night? God is not unfair, and leaves this joy to the poor in spirit, hoping that they will see their state through the development of their own faculties, and that they will be able to pass calmly from the material life to the real life of the Spirit.

We have, in The Spirits' Book, the well-known question 1012, which, in my opinion, Neto completely disregarded to focus only on “we have already answered this question”, making an assumption that it would refer to question 87. This question, for In turn, he interpreted it as he wanted, not taking into account the often figurative language used by the Spirits:

1012. Will there be circumscribed places in the universe for the pains and joys of spirits, according to their merit? “We have already answered that question. Feathers and pleasures are inherent to the degree of perfection of spirits. Each one takes from himself the principle of his happiness or his misfortune. And as they are everywhere, no circumscribed or closed place exists especially for one thing or another. As for the incarnates, they are more or less happy or unhappy, depending on the more or less advanced world they inhabit.”

a) — In agreement, then, with what you have come to say, hell and paradise do not exist, such as man imagines them?

“They are simple allegories: there are happy and unhappy spirits everywhere. However, as we have already said, spirits of the same order gather together out of sympathy; but they can meet wherever they like, when they are perfect.”

The absolute location of the regions of penalties and rewards only exists in man's imagination. It comes from his tendency to materialize and circumscribe things whose infinite essence he cannot understand.

KARDEC, Allan. The Book of Spirits. 1st ed. Rio de Janeiro: FEB, 2019. Available at: https://kardecpedia.com/roteiro-de-estudos/2/o-livro-dos-espiritos. Accessed on: 20 Apr. 2023.

87. Do Spirits occupy a determined and circumscribed region in space?

“They are everywhere. Infinitely populate the infinite spaces. You have them continually at your side, observing you and acting on you, without realizing it, since Spirits are one of the powers of nature and the instruments that God uses to execute his providential designs. Not everyone, however, goes everywhere, as there are regions forbidden to the least advanced.”

Referring to question 87, note: "Spirits are everywhere. They infinitely populate infinite spaces." Space is not the Universe. Space is infinite; the Universe is not. The Universe is material, cyclical, has a beginning and an end, just like matter. Space is not.

When, in the end, he asserts that “there are regions forbidden to the less advanced", Neto took a figurative phrase for a literal one. Still, if we consider the fact that the less advanced do not easily detach themselves from the material world, we can easily imagine the difficulty of living in material regions that give way to incarnations of more advanced Spirits.

Back in RE, we have in 1858, “The Berezina Drum”:

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? ─ How one can see spirits, but not through the eyes.

31. ─ And you, in what form are you here?

─ Under the one 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.

In the same year, in “Lectures from beyond the grave — Mrs. Schwabenhaus. Ecstatic Lethargy”:

29. ─ In what form are you among us?

─ Under my last female form.

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

─ Yes. 31. ─ Since you are here with the form you had on Earth, is it through the eyes that you see us?

─ ─ No, the Spirit does not have eyes. I only find myself in my last form to satisfy the laws that govern the Spirits when evoked and forced to resume what you call perispirit.

In the Spiritist Magazine of March 1860, Kardec, talking (via mediums) with three different Spirits, questions one of them, the Spirit of Charles Dupont, the one involved in the “History of a Damned”, an inferior Spirit, quite late and still very linked to matter. Kardec asks how he sees the Spirit of Dr. Vignal, a living person, evoked for that study:

53. ─ Do you see the Spirit of the doctor, with whom we spoke?

─ Yes.

54. ─ How do you see it?

─ I see him with a less transparent envelope than that of other Spirits.

55. ─ How do you know that he is still alive?

─ Ordinary Spirits have no apparent form. This one has a human form; he is enveloped in a mist-like matter, which repeats his earthly human form. The Spirit of the dead no longer has this envelope, as it is detached from it.

In other words: the Spirits continue to affirm that, for them, form is nothing. In the last case, Charles Dupont's Spirit, being inferior, himself affirms the same principle: common (detached) Spirits have no apparent shape. Kardec realizes, based on all this, that, when they claim otherwise, they are in a state of suffering. Ever. The big mistake, allow me to repeat, is wanting to say that, outside of the methodological study, it is enough to collect something that is said everywhere and it becomes true. If so, we should include elves, fairies and mermaids in the Spiritist Doctrine.

It is not enough and we cannot simply believe in the Spirits

From then on, Paulo Neto began to catalog several statements by Spirits, after Kardec — among them André Luiz — and other conclusions by Spiritists or Spiritualists who, putting the Doctrine aside, were left with their partial conclusions.

It is a very big problem to assume that the universal communication of the Spirits is enough for the acceptance of a new doctrinal idea. No: it must also attend to reason and respect what has already been climbed by the same method. So, when a lot of people read a book that talks about “umbral”, a lot of people start to accept this idea, which becomes an illusion after death; that becomes illusion in “unfoldings”; that the medium inserts, finally, through their own ideas, when translating a thought of a Spirit, during a communication.

It is remarkable to note that, in Spiritist circles, there is great concern about whether, upon death, one will go to "Nosso Lar" or to the "Umbral." Since "Nosso Lar" could not support billions of Spirits in their beds and homes, hundreds of new "colonies" soon emerged, each located, they claim, over specific cities or regions of the Earth. Spiritists are no longer concerned about their morals, based on their spiritual progress, but are now concerned about whether they will be punished by the Umbral or rewarded with a comfortable bed and hot soup in Nosso Lar or some other "colony"!

Neto misinterprets the concepts of atonement and punishment. I say this with certainty, because Kardec and the Spirits were using concepts present at that time, based on Rational Spiritualism, to express themselves.

When the author cites the article “O Dia de Todos-os-Saints”, in the RE of 1862, we have an excerpt highlighted in bold: “[...] unhappy spirits who endure the anguish of punishment and isolation”. It turns out that “punishment” was considered the legitimate consequence of evil, not an external action of a punitive force. The irresponsible father's punishment, for example, is to see his beloved son go astray. If the father is blamed for human justice and imprisoned for his irresponsibility, this, perhaps, means absolutely nothing for him, compared to the real punishment he himself suffers. Punishment is not something external, imposed, but as a result of natural law. We thus understand Spiritism from another point of view, much more congruent.

By not understanding this fundamental idea, Neto infers that suffering or pleasure, in the spiritual world, is an external, materialistic condition, as I have already demonstrated.

Next, Neto emphasizes the following passage:

“My dear brother, what horrible torments for all these [those who have chosen the path of materialism]! It's just like the Scripture says, "There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." They will be plunged into the deep abyss of darkness. These unfortunates are commonly called the damned, and although it is more accurate to call them the punished, they still suffer the terrible tortures that are attributed to the damned amidst the flames. Wrapped in the thickest darkness of an abyss that seems unfathomable to them, although it is not circumscribed, as you are taught, they experience indescribable moral sufferings, until they open their hearts to repentance.”

From this passage, Neto sticks to the idea of a “deep abyss of darkness”, without paying attention to the fact that this abyss, if it seems unfathomable and not circumscribed, can only exist as a mental creation of suffering spirits, being, therefore, , ephemeral. Let us evoke these Spirits and help them to understand that their pain is moral and not physical, and the abysses, mud, etc. , where they will have the new opportunity to work on their past attachments.

Did you know that there are spirits who put themselves in such circumstances because they made a mistake and because they believe in the Doctrine of Sin? Yes. An individual may, for example, have killed another because he believed that the other was coming to take his life. He believes that this is a sin and, thus, mentally submits himself to this suffering, which he externalizes in fluidic creations (which are not matter like ours, but something much more subtle, formed by the “condensation” of the Universal Cosmic Fluid). . Make him understand that this apparent error was born of an instinctive reaction; that God does not punish; that he can seek, in new lives, to work this instinct, to dominate it by will; that, finally, the one he killed has nothing against him, because he understands his mistake, and that Spirit will get rid of such ideas, really disturbing.

André Luiz himself makes this clear when he cites the case of the girl who, having died, her spirit did not want to leave the coffin, because she believed that Christ himself would come to take her out of there, subjecting her to judgment.

Furthermore, the author, based on a preconceived notion, adopts a paradigm that leads him to understand all the examples given according to his own preferences. When he mentions "spiritual spheres" and "spiritual layers," he fails to realize that this is figurative language, and in this last case, it refers to the classification of Spirits by "layers," as is done in Spiritist Scale. By the way, this is very clear in question nº 1017 of OLE, which the dear Paulo Neto did not include in his assessment (my emphasis):

1017 [1016]. Some Spirits said they were inhabiting the fourth, fifth heavens, etc. What did they mean by that?

“If you ask them what heaven they inhabit, it is that you form an idea of many heavens arranged like the floors of a house. They then respond according to your language. But for these words room and fifth heavens express different degrees of purification and, therefore, happiness. It's exactly like when you ask a spirit if he's in hell. If he is unhappy, he will say Yesbecause, for him, hell is synonymous with suffering. He knows, however, very well that it is not a furnace. A heathen would say to be in Tartarus.”

The same occurs with other analogous expressions, such as: city of flowers, city of the elect, first, second or third ball, etc., which are only allegories used by some Spirits, either as figures or, sometimes, out of ignorance of the reality of things, and even of the simplest scientific notions.

When you focus on what you want, based on previous ideas, you miss the important details of the work.

The Countess Paula – Heaven and Hell

Many people use the case of this Spirit, Countess Paula, presented in Heaven and Hell, to support their theories of “astral cities”.

What are your palaces and your golden halls before the aerial abodes, the vast field of space variegated with colors that would make the rainbow pale? What are your step-by-step walks in the parks, compared to journeys through the immensity, faster than lightning? What are your limited and cloud-laden horizons, given the grand spectacle of the worlds moving in the limitless universe, under the powerful hand of the Almighty?

How are your most melodious concerts sad and noisy, in the face of this harmony that makes the fluids of the ether and all the fibers of the soul vibrate? How sad and insipid your great joys are compared to the ineffable sensation of happiness that incessantly saturates our being in the form of a beneficent effluvium, without any mixture of restlessness, any worry, any suffering! Here everything breathes love and trust and sincerity. Everywhere loving hearts, everywhere we see friends, no envious and jealous. This is the world I find myself in, my friend, and you will all reach it infallibly by following the right path.

Unfortunately, many stop reading the points that interest them. When the Spirit speaks of “aerial dwellings”, that’s enough to say that she was speaking of spiritual cities! What point do biases adopted in a hurry lead to…

Right after the quote about “aerial addresses”, he continues:

[…] the vast space field tinted with colors that would make the rainbow pale? What are your step-by-step walks in the parks, in front of Travels through the immensity, faster than lightning? What are your limited and cloud-laden horizons, compared to the grand spectacle of worlds moving in the limitless universe, under the mighty hand of the Most High?

These Spirits are talking about Space! He is not talking about astral cities, but about the Space! “Aerial addresses” is a figurative language to say about Space, “above” us!

She continues:

However, uniform happiness would soon become boring. Do not think that our happiness is free from vicissitudes. This is not a perpetual concert, nor an endless party, nor of beatific contemplation through eternity. No. It is movement, life, activity. The occupations, although free from fatigue, present an incessant variety of aspects and emotions, due to the thousand incidents that contain them. Each one has their mission to fulfill, their protégés to assist, friends from Earth to visit, Nature's processes to direct, suffering souls to console. There is a back and forth, not from one street to another, but from one world to another. Creatures come together, separate to come together again; they meet here and there, they talk about what they do, they congratulate each other on their successes; They understand each other and assist each other in difficult cases. Anyway, I assure you that no one has a second of time to get bored.

What exists “on the other side”, for detached Spirits, is action in divine creation! It is the transit through infinite Space, where they come together, here and there, with other Spirits, to act in the processes of Nature, to console suffering souls, incarnate and disembodied! That's it, and not a life limited by walls and false physiological needs!

Conclusion

It is important to note, however, that if such creations exist, it is because God allows them. In fact, this is something linked to the divine benevolence itself, which guarantees, to each one, a gradual and shock-free development. In the article “About the Spirits who believe they are still alive”, from the Spiritist Magazine of 1864, there is an important spiritual communication, from which we take the following excerpt:

Not everything is proof in existence; the life of the Spirit continues, as you have been told, from its birth to infinity; for some, death is nothing more than a simple accident that has no influence on the fate of the person who dies. A fallen tile, an attack of apoplexy, a violent death, very often, do nothing but separate the Spirit from its material envelope; but the perispiritual envelope retains, at least in part, the properties of the body that has just succumbed. On a day of battle, if I could open your eyes which you have, but which you cannot make use of, you would see many fights continue, many soldiers still rising to the assault, defending and attacking the redoubts; you would even hear them utter their hurrays! and their battle cries, in the midst of the silence and under the dismal veil that follows a day of carnage; the fight is over, they return to their homes to embrace their old fathers, their old mothers who are waiting for them. Sometimes this state lasts a long time for some; it is a continuation of terrestrial life, a mixed state between corporeal and spiritual life. Why, if they were simple and wise, would they feel the cold of the grave? Why would they pass abruptly from life to death, from daylight to night? God is not unjust, and He leaves this joy to the poor in spirit, hoping that they will see their state through the development of their own faculties, and that they may pass calmly from the material life to the real life of the Spirit.

We see, therefore, that the existence of such “places” is a fact, permitted by divine benevolence, to those who are not yet developed to understand something above and outside of matter and material needs.

We remember what is printed on our home page:

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.

This collective agreement of the opinion of the Spirits, passed, to the rest, by the criterion of logic, is what constitutes the strength of the spiritist doctrine and ensures its perpetuity.Allan Kardec – Genesis

Kardec gave the safe guide to the research method, often presenting it in RE. Current rescues of science at the time allow us to deepen this knowledge. Spiritists need to learn to study, just as those who do not study science end up believing in theories such as the flat Earth. I argue that the most interesting thing is to resume Kardec, understand Spiritist science (which depends on a scientific understanding of its context and current affairs) and then resume contact with the Spirits. With the detachment of one's own ideas and the firm purpose of research, it will be very easy to resume the step, clearing up this confusion caused in the Spiritist Movement with a single purpose: delay of moral progress.

I finished one of the last articles talking about the Spiritist Movement, attached to the errors that were slowly and continuously being admitted in its midst, slowly erasing the doctrinal knowledge now acquired through Kardec's studies.

Mistakes? Oh, several. Ideas of places in erraticity; the idea of reincarnation as payment of debts; the ban on talking to spirits outside the Spiritist Center; the blind acceptance of isolated communications, without going through the sieve of already acquired science and reason; The churchization of spiritist centers, which began to adopt rituals and formulas, in short, a series of contradictions to what had already been established by the scientific study of Spiritism.

And who am I to point out such mistakes? Well, I am a mere student of the Doctrine who, after being in contact with a series of historical facts and diving into the study of the Spiritist Magazine, found so much disparity. But, I said, it is not the Spiritist Movement, resistant to detachment from the ideas fixed by years, sometimes decades, of reading Spiritist novels, without going through the study of the Spiritist Doctrine. Neither do those who, in their simplicity, are very calm in claiming to be supporters of the Doctrine, but who do not study it, nor do they dedicate themselves to disseminating it. No.

As in Kardec's time, with safeguarded differences, we address scholars, researchers and scientists in good faith (and not blind faith) who are interested in knowing what is unknown to them. They are the ones who will seek to understand and who, when they have understood, will spread the ideas that were born with Mesmer and with Rational Spiritualism and that found full development with Spiritism. They are the ones who will have their eyes shining and, who knows, end up moved like the rest of us, when they see in Spiritism a vast depth of philosophical, metaphysical, scientific and moral knowledge. The mathematician, the physicist, the chemist, in short, all those with common sense, will see, amazed, the extension of the doctrine formed by the studies of Kardec, whose figure will rise to the highest conditions of prominence among the names that changed the world...

We are here, finally, anxious and hopeful for the development of the latest studies, the latest research. While we do not have access to the contents of the latest research that valuable colleagues are carrying out, we can only talk about what we know, what we understand so far, producing something that, we hope, will be useful tomorrow, when Science begins to leave dogma and return to metaphysics rational, rational spiritualism, but, this time, with an enormous ballast of knowledge that touches on all areas of human knowledge, with its already known philosophical and moral aspects.

We are very happy for the path that opens in front of us. And we hope that you, feeling infected, are too. Spiritism will return to its condition of science, away from mysticism and dogma. As for the resisters and dissidents, time will show where the truth lies, with the difference that when Science admits Spiritism, this time it will be definitive and will change the world.

Dear Reader: If you feel compelled, participate in the studies, but also help spread the word about what we already have in hand. It is knowledge that touches all areas and that can count on the familiarity of each one. Videos are good, but they are not enough, because they are still not searchable, that is, what a video is about, speaking, is not accessible to search engines. The text is.

We wait for you.

I have just responded to an objection related to the topic of Science versus Spiritism (the subject wanted to impute Spiritism to the imagination). I found it interesting to reproduce it here:

“"X, it's clear you're talking about what you think is true, that is, you're speaking from your own opinion. That's not science. You probably don't know that Science (with a capital "S") was formed alongside metaphysics, and that the great geniuses of the past were also great philosophers, addressing the question of God and Creation, but distanced from dogmatic and retrograde theology. Naturally, Science, becoming as dogmatic as the Church, turned its back on metaphysics, labeling as superstitious, mystical, or crazy anyone who dares to touch on the subject of God or spirituality, even rationally. Well, my friend. That's precisely what those who started the [scientific field] did." Rational Spiritualism, in the 19th century, and that was precisely what Kardec did in the study of certain phenomena that, despite crossing humanity, were treated in a dogmatic way, both by the Church and by Science.

What modern Science does not realize, because it has forgotten this knowledge, is that, by acting as it does, it acts like the Church. While the latter led man by the dogma of the fall through sin and punishment, the former leads man by the dogma of materialism. Both one and the other make him absent from his responsibilities: the latter, because it subjects man to the will of third parties — he acts bad through the influence of the devil and he acts well through the influence of Christ — and the first because he becomes man is this machine that acts in this or that way simply by force of sensations, acting chemically on his brain ((not excluding from here, of course, the influence that “body chemistry” and even genetics have on the individual. Just highlighting- If they are not the only factors, why, when faced with a great temptation, the individual can choose, by his will, not to give in to it.)). They fall into the same error as certain ancient scientists, who attributed good and bad behavior to white bile and black bile. The only difference is that modern science does not treat the psychological with leeches, but with pills.

I said that Science, in the past, dealt with metaphysics, in a rational way (and, of course, not at all mysticistic). It turns out that, for her, a key was missing, just as psychology of the time was missing, which investigated man as an incarnated soul only through the processes of logical induction and extrapolation. This key, which came to give, was Spiritism, not this false “spiritism”, gathered between the lines of false ideas, arising from errors and opinions of supposed mediumistic works, but the spiritism studied by Kardec, with methodology, that Spiritism that, more than 150 years ago, advanced knowledge, or paths to it, that modern Science is only now beginning to verify. It is important, of course, to separate the errors, natural to the human side, found in the science of the time (such as the theory of fluids), from the successes of the part that concerns natural law. What Kardec did was investigate the causes of certain effects, from which he deduced a Doctrine, which touches not only on the issue of certain material phenomena, but which is entirely moral in aspect.

The researcher and scientist who had the good faith to investigate the works “O Céu e o Inferno” and “A Gênese” (taking care to refer to the recent editions of FEAL, where we are sure that they are the original works of Kardec, untouched) would find, with great surprise, something very different from what they thought Spiritism was, and, however much they might end up disagreeing, by imputing whatever it was to Kardec, they could not conclude this study without realizing that he launched very seriously into this research, which constituted something that, contrary to what you think, was not a religion.”

In the first half of 2021, I had — and I don't even remember how — contact with the work of Simoni Privato — The Legacy of Allan Kardec — a work that shook me a lot, given the understanding of everything that happened with the French Spiritist Movement, after Kardec's death, and how much this defined the direction of this movement in the following century, especially in Brazil. Then, “by chance”, someone posted, in a group, a question about a recently released work at the time: “Neither heaven nor hell”, by Lucas Sampaio and Paulo Henrique de Figueiredo (PHF). The first thought was: it must be absurd. But the title was too challenging to pass up. I decided to research and found an article, on a spiritist blog, talking about the work... And, to understand what the bases of what the authors were saying were, I acquired and read the work, with great avidity, I must confess.

. Demerit? None. I studied what was within my reach. Humiliation? Only if I thought that the truth was just what I knew and that, outside of that, nothing would exist. But if there's one thing I knew about Kardec, by tradition of studying The Spirits' Book with my father, it was his great commitment to the scientific search for the truth, which was the reason that instigated me to study, without attachments. But… Study what? I already knew most of the Spirits' Book. The essence of The Mediums' Book, too. I mean: in the face of what was within my reach, the moral and scientific essence seemed to me to be well understood.

A fact that caught my attention and that perhaps intuition reinforced is that there must be something important in this “Spiritist Magazine”, since these authors often resorted to very pertinent and insightful quotes from Kardec or Spirits, contained in these volumes. Thus, this initiative and our study group were born… But you probably already know all of this. That's not the point, I just thought it would be interesting to demonstrate, once again, the path I've taken so far, as this path is taking me to places I've never visited before.

A very important fact that happened in this trajectory was the approximation with the Grupo de Estudos Espiritismo para Todos, which happened because, in contact with Paulo Henrique, he himself referred me to someone from that group, who studied with him the works of Kardec and its scientific context. Then came the knowledge of Rational Spiritualism, which we have discussed here several timesand, more recently, a massive in-depth study of Kardec's entire context, which is unknown today. Metaphysics, something unknown or disconnected from current science, was an elementary part of any scientist's studies at the time, and it was this, along with everything that science provided at the time, that made the formation of the Spiritist Doctrine possible.

In the same way that Science itself has as its object the study of the laws of the material principle, the special object of Spiritism is the knowledge of the laws of the spiritual principle. Now, as this last principle is one of the forces of nature which incessantly reacts on the material principle and reciprocally, it follows that the knowledge of the one cannot be complete without the knowledge of the other; that Spiritism and Science complement each other; that Science without Spiritism is unable to explain certain phenomena resorting only to the laws of matter, and for having dispensed with the spiritual principle, it finds itself in the midst of so many difficulties; that Spiritism without Science would lack support and control and could make mistakes. If Spiritism had arrived before scientific discoveries, it would have failed, like everything that happens before its time.

KARDEC, Allan. The Genesis, 1868

It's impossible to describe everything we've studied so far in this article alone. The reader who follows us will be able to identify when reading the texts on this site, various suggestions and clues that we often give and that it is up to each person whether or not they want to investigate. The fact is that we are reaching a point, following the studies of our friend Paulo Henrique, where my first questions are beginning to be answered: is it possible to return to Spiritism, studied scientifically, as Kardec did? Is it possible to resume contact with the Spirits, continuing the formation, or even the doctrinal recovery? Indeed, it is possible (and I write this with a smile on my face).

Have a look: Kardec had understood and advanced on scientific points that we had never suspected, and this could be verified through a method that will soon be made known to us and to the dear reader, because the interest is to present it to humanity. Not just the method, in fact, but the knowledge found through it. In my study with PHF, where this knowledge is being developed, I could feel nothing but very diminished compared to Kardec. I felt ignorant of my previous understanding of Spiritism. With each new realization, I laughed, but it wasn't a laugh of disdain or sarcasm: it was a laugh that was impossible to contain, expressing my level of ignorance in the face of the size of Spiritist science, formed by Kardec's studies through years of learning from the Spirits.

We already know (and if you don't, hurry up and read the Spiritist Review) that when we learn from the spirits, we can't treat them as revelators to whom all we have to do is ask and they'll answer with the theory ready. No.

“… in the world of spirits a very singular fact occurs, which surely no one had suspected – that there are spirits that do not consider themselves dead. Well then: the superior Spirits, who know this fact perfectly, never came to say in advance: “There are Spirits who suppose they still live in terrestrial life; preserving their tastes, habits and instincts”. Instead, they caused the manifestation of Spirits of this category so that we could observe them. Thus, after seeing Spirits who are insecure about their state, or claiming to belong to this world and carrying out their usual occupations, the rule can be deduced from the example. The multiplicity of similar facts proved that this is not an exception, but one of the phases of spiritual life, allowing us to study all the varieties and causes of this singular illusion, in addition to recognizing, above all, that this situation is typical of Spirits who are not yet morally advanced, and characteristic of certain types of death; which is only temporary, but can last days, months and years. Thus, the theory was born from observation. The same happened with all the other principles of the doctrine.”

KARDEC, Allan. Ibid.

It's easy to see, therefore, how much knowledge these studies require and, in a century where each area is niche, that is, where the physicist doesn't study philosophy; where the mathematician doesn't know botany; where the chemist doesn't know astronomy, and where none of them know metaphysics, it's even easier to understand the difficulty we face. I recognize that adventuring in these studies is not for everyone, and I can only behave like a goose (because I don't want to compare myself to a hen, that would be too humiliating), chasing the crumbs that fall from the hands of the one who planted and who now reaps the grains of the plantation.

Well, as I was saying, new horizons are opening up and everyone who is interested in learning and spreading knowledge can and should throw themselves into their studies in whatever way they can. It's difficult to gather all the lessons learned in order to take up the scientific study of Spiritism in our own hands, but who says we need to be as brilliant as Einstein to understand the essence of the laws of our universe, as demonstrated by this great genius? We can behave in the same way with Spiritism: all it takes is dedication, putting our minds to work and, on our part, researching, questioning and delving into everything that seems nebulous to us. The most important thing of all is that we are not alone: in a group, construction becomes much more fruitful, as each person, being in a position to help and be helped, assists and participates in the construction of knowledge. All that we need to do is get out of the position of being teachers of Spiritism.

We ended our last study with Paulo saying something more or less like this: “if this knowledge is so interesting and transformative for us, who are ignorant, imagine for those who are intelligent!”. Yes. Imagine what it would be like for a mathematician to discover that Spiritism talks about mathematics. Imagine what it will be like for the physicist, the chemist, the doctor, the philosopher, to realize that, in Spiritism, it is all about this, with moral aspect and without mysticism? From what can everything be deduced from Natural Law, and what is Spiritism about?

But, to achieve this, it is necessary to overcome some barriers created by materialism, not only in science, but also within the spiritist movement. Firstly, it will be necessary to demonstrate that modern science, by turning its back on metaphysics, has become as dogmatic as the Church which, in the past, treated as a heretic anyone who stated that the Earth revolved around the sun, or that it burned. witches” for claiming to be hearing or seeing Spirits. Then, it will be necessary to demonstrate that what they think is Spiritism — often based on absurd things they read out there, other times based on what acquaintances present to them, so-called spiritists, but dogmatic and walking on false ideas, or even false confusion between Spiritism and modern, mystical, superstitious and also dogmatic spiritualism — it will be necessary to demonstrate, I said, that this is not Spiritism. It will be necessary to demonstrate that Spiritism was (is) something so rational and serious, an undeniable fact, that, more than 150 years ago, it advanced truths that Science is only now confirming. Finally, for those who reach this point, through the use of common sense, it will be necessary to demonstrate that Spiritism, as a science very well established in its time, was formed in the same way as all other sciences of observation, being, therefore, rational — as rational as the search, in current physics, for the existence of dark matter or the existence of other universes, guided by effects whose causes are not, and may never be, directly observable. Here's the challenge.

I needed help, and, despite the predominance of Catholic religious culture, I found some volumes of the Spiritist Magazine on the shelf! No. I opened it and leafed through it, but at that moment I didn't go any further. It was necessary to pass the trouble, to, only later, give attention to such work, through the process explained above. It is natural for everyone to follow their path, and we must respect each other's choices. Perhaps those who cling to and close themselves off from knowledge believe that they are doing good, just as many of those who burned scientific works believed that they were doing what was right (which does not exempt them from their responsibility, but which mitigates their faults, before their consciences). Let us present the knowledge if we wish, but if they wish to burn it let them be while we do our part. Time takes care of everything.

Well, I've written a lot. I stop here for this moment. I need to harvest some grains that were left along the way.

At the doors of the 21st century, it is difficult to see how the spiritist movement intends to do Spiritism, after having forgotten, modified and misrepresented the work of Allan Kardec. After 154 years of Professor Rivail's disincarnation, it is very common to find so-called spiritist literature in which, in very few cases, only images of Kardec remain on sensationalist and advertising covers.

Spiritist philosophy has a method, for study purposes, it has principles or fundamentals that are impossible to separate if we try to practice it; here is the cause of such frequent errors. Faced with such a scenario, we ask ourselves:

Would it be possible today to practice, disseminate, study Spiritism, leaving aside the concepts systematized by Denizard Rivail? Is there spiritism without Kardec?

We believe that returning to Kardec, studying Kardec through Kardec, educating the mass of Spiritism followers on the need to practice this philosophy from its bases are urgent issues and necessary development, because in this and many other ways we would adopt measures against a movement that it has lost the identity of the Doctrine it supposedly practices, which it supposedly disseminates. It is an indispensable measure in the face of a movement that has been confused by a sea of opinions, distorted by waves of figures in sales of books and magazines, mistaken in the exaltation of men and women who were nothing more than imperfect mediumistic instruments like all the others. others. Dear brothers, there is the work of that man firm in his determinations, there is the logical and reasoned guide, the bases that we need to develop. The starting point of a destination full of freedom. Let's use it!

Let's walk together, and finally rescue, once and for all, Kardec's legacy without which there is no possible Spiritism.