“The Sorrows of Young Werther” is an epistolary novel by Goethe, from 1774, where its protagonist, a young man from the high German aristocracy, exchanges correspondence with a friend named Guilherme, telling about his travels and everyday experiences (see introductory paragraph of the article), until the encounter with the beautiful Charlotte.

Although both Werther and Charlotte are, in fact, living a love story, the boy cannot be completely reciprocated by his beloved, as she is married to another man. Werther, in turn, sees no other way out and puts an end to his life, shooting himself in the head. The moment of his suicide is one of the most moving episodes in the book and, considered by many, in the history of literature.

The realistic and disturbing tone of the novel caused a real commotion among the young people of the time, who, attracted by the passionate and depressive spirit of their respective protagonist, decided to follow the same path, putting an end to their own lives. There were a large number of suicides related to the reading of Goethe's little-great novel, quickly becoming a cursed work for the church. In psychoanalysis, a term called the Werther Effect was created, in reference to the character and characterized by his suicidal phenomenology.

And what does this story have to do with the Spirits? Why, everything! Goethe was a personality of an incarnated Spirit – a Spirit who, incidentally, later showed himself to be very sorry for the ideas thrown at unsuspecting minds, when, in 1859, evoked by Kardec, he responded like this, as presented in the Spiritist Magazine of that year:

12. ─ What do you think of Werther?

─ Now I disapprove of the outcome.

13. ─ Wouldn't this work have done a lot of harm, exalting passions?

─ It did, and it caused misfortunes.

14. ─ It was the cause of many suicides. Are you responsible for that?

─ Since there was an evil influence spread over me, that's exactly why I still suffer and regret it.

We are responsible for what we say and, if we cannot be fully responsible for the actions that others take as a result of our own – since it is up to the autonomy and will of the other to choose between acting in this or that way – we are, at least, largely responsible for inducing other minds in the mistakes of imperfections that, many times, hinder ourselves.

We follow, therefore, this brief reflection, presenting, in full, an article by Allan Kardec, in the Spiritist Magazine of November 1859 – “Should we publish everything that the Spirits say”?

This question was addressed to us by one of our correspondents.

We answer it as follows:

Would it be good to publish everything that men say and think?
Anyone who has a notion of Spiritism, however superficial, knows that the invisible world is made up of all those who left the visible envelope on Earth. But putting off the carnal man, not all, for that very reason, put on the robe of angels. There are, therefore, Spirits of all degrees of knowledge and ignorance, of morality and immorality. Here is what we must not lose sight of. Let us not forget that among Spirits, as on Earth, there are frivolous, inattentive and playful beings; false sages, vain and proud of incomplete knowledge; hypocrites, malevolents and, what would seem inexplicable to us, if we somehow didn't know the physiology of this world, there are sensuals, villains and debauchees who crawl in the mud. Alongside these, as on Earth, there are good, human, benevolent, enlightened beings endowed with sublime virtues. As, however, our world is neither in the first nor in the last position, although it is closer to the last than to the first, it follows that the world of spirits encompasses beings more intellectually and morally advanced than our more enlightened men, and others who are in an inferior position to that of the lowest men.

Since these beings have a patent means of communicating with men and of expressing their thoughts by intelligible signs, their communications must effectively reflect their feelings, their qualities or their vices.

According to the character and elevation of the Spirits, communications may be frivolous, trivial, gross and even obscene, or marked by intellectual elevation, wisdom and sublimity. They reveal themselves by their own language. Hence the need not to blindly accept everything that comes from the occult world, and to subject everything to severe control. With the communications of certain spirits, in the same way as with the speeches of certain men, one could make a very unedifying collection. We have before our eyes a small English work, published in America, which is proof of this. It can be said that a lady would not recommend it for reading to her daughter. Therefore, we do not recommend it to our readers.

There are people who find this funny and amusing. Let them delight in intimacy, but keep it to themselves. What is even less conceivable is that they should boast of obtaining unseemly communications. This is always an indication of sympathies that cannot be a reason for vanity, especially when these communications are spontaneous and persistent, as happens to certain people. This absolutely does not allow us to make a hasty judgment of their present morality, for we know people afflicted with this kind of obsession, to which their character in no way lends itself. However, like all effects, this one too must have a cause, and if we do not find it in present existence, we must look for it in previous experience. If this cause is not within us, it is outside of us. However, there is always a reason why we are in this situation, even if that reason is just a weakness of character. The cause is known, it is up to us to make it
cease.

In addition to these frankly bad communications, which shock any slightly delicate ear, there are others that are simply trivial or ridiculous. Will there be any inconvenience in publishing them? If they are publicized for what they are worth, there will be only a lesser evil. If they are studied as a study of the genre, with the necessary precautions and with the necessary comments and restrictions, they may even be instructive, insofar as they contribute to getting to know the spiritist world in all its nuances. With prudence and skill, anything can be said. The evil is in presenting as serious things that shock common sense, reason or conveniences. In this case, the danger is greater than you think.

To begin with, such publications have the inconvenience of misleading people who are not in a position to examine them and discern what is true and what is false, especially in a matter as new as Spiritism. Secondly, they are weapons provided to opponents, who do not miss the opportunity to draw arguments against the high morality of spiritist teaching from this fact, because, once again, the evil lies in seriously presenting notoriously absurd things. Some may even see a desecration in the ridiculous role we give to certain justly venerated characters, to whom we attribute language unworthy of them. People who have studied spirit science in depth know what attitude should be adopted in such cases. They know that mocking spirits do not have the slightest scruple to adorn themselves with respectable names, but they also know that these spirits only abuse those who like to be abused and who do not know or do not want to destroy their tricks by the means of control already known. The public, who is ignorant of this, sees only one thing: an absurdity offered to their admiration as if it were a serious thing, and because of this they say to themselves that if all Spiritualists are like this, they do not despise the epithet with which they were bestowed. Without the slightest doubt, such a judgment is hasty. You rightly accuse its authors of levity and say to them: study the matter and do not examine only one side of the medal. There are, however, so many people who judge a priori, without bothering to raise a straw, especially when there is no good will, that it is necessary to avoid everything that might give them grounds for censure, considering that if ill will joins If they give in to malevolence, which is all too common, they will be delighted to find something to criticize.

Later, when Spiritism is popularized, better known and understood by the masses, such publications will have no more influence than a book of scientific heresies would have today. Until then, circumspection would never be too much, because there are communications that can essentially harm the cause they want to defend, on a much larger scale than the rude attacks and injuries of certain adversaries. If some were made for that purpose, they would not be less successful. The mistake of some authors is to write about a subject before having delved into it sufficiently, thus giving rise to a reasoned critique. They complain about the reckless judgment of their antagonists, not paying attention to the fact that they are often the ones who reveal their weak point. Moreover, in spite of all precautions, it would be presumptuous to assume that they are safe from all criticism, at first because it is impossible to please everyone; then, because there are those who laugh at everything, even the most serious things, some because of their condition, others because of their character. They laugh a lot about religion. It is not surprising, therefore, that they laughed at the spirits, whom they do not know. If only these jokes were witty, there would be compensation. Unfortunately, they generally don't shine for their finesse, for their good taste, or for their urbanity, much less for their logic. Let us, therefore, do the best we can, bringing reason and convenience to our side, and in this way we will also bring mockers to our side.

These considerations will be easily understood by all, but there is one no less important, as it concerns the very nature of spiritist communications, and for this reason we must not omit it. Spirits go where they find sympathy and where they know they will be heard.. Gross and inconvenient communications, or simply false, absurd and ridiculous, can only emanate from inferior spirits.

Simple common sense indicates it. These spirits do what men do who see themselves complacently listened to. They attach themselves to those who admire their follies and often seize and dominate them to the point of fascination and subjugation.

The importance given to their communications by advertising attracts, excites and encourages them. The only true way to drive them away is to prove to them that we are not deceived, ruthlessly rejecting, as apocryphal and suspect, everything that is not rational; everything that belies the superiority attributed to the Spirit who manifests himself and whose name he uses. So when he sees that he's wasting his time, he walks away.

We believe that we have satisfactorily answered our correspondent's question about the convenience and opportunity of certain spiritist publications. To publish without examination, or without correction, everything that comes from this source, would, in our opinion, show a lack of discernment.. This, at least, is our personal opinion, which we submit to the appreciation of those who, disinterested in the matter, can judge impartially, putting aside any individual consideration. Like everyone else, we have the right to say our way of thinking about the science that is the object of our studies, and to treat it in our own way, not intending to impose our ideas on anyone, nor to present them as laws. . Those who share our way of seeing it because they believe, as we do, to be with the truth. The future will show who is wrong and who is right.

If we are responsible for our actions, we are no less responsible for propagating false or harmful ideas, resulting from the thinking of others, through an ostensible lack of care and study. We are dealing with Spiritism, and this matter is serious. Let us not do less, in this matter, than what is necessary, which is to study it without ceasing, in all its context, never giving as final affirmations what we have not found concluded in the doctrinal theses. We always remember that Allan Kardec himself left several issues open, due to the impossibility of advancing on them at that time, but we urge that this not be a reason to lightly accept any later communication as a complement to these matters, because, without the knowledge and the necessary methodology, we would make the mistake of not observing everything that Kardec pointed out in the text above, a summary of years of study in the face of Spiritism.

It is also our opinion that "to publish without examination, or without correction, everything that comes from this source, would, in our opinion, give evidence of poor judgment"! Goethe made the decision to publish something that was the fruit of his mind – and, very likely, of other spiritual minds, which led him to such ideas. What if those same minds, or Goethe's own Spirit, communicated to us a novel of such content, through mediumistic means? Should we just publish it?

Note that, in no way, this Group is critical of the medium. After all, it is the tool for exchanging ideas. The problem that stands out here is with regard to the analysis of these communications and the use that is made of them and, therefore, the reader can imagine how much we regret the various publications of supposed psychographed letters or even books that, indiscriminately, favor the dissemination and the inculcation of false ideas connected with the dogmas of the fall into sin, divine punishment, attachment to material things even in the spiritual world, etc.

– suicide is a mistake, of course. It may be the result of great despair, of a total lack of faith in the future – the result of materialism – it may be the result of a habit – whenever he faces a difficulty, he chooses to give up -, etc., but the fact, seen already in the study from the first year of the Revista Espírita (1858), is that we cannot link the action of suicide to standardized effects, such as, for example, saying that this spirit will suffer in the “valley of suicides” (which is not a place, as many think). Each case is different. And, after all, it is a mistake, like so many others. There is nothing “major sin” or “major crime” before God. God doesn't charge.

– I remember, finally, that the serious study of the Spiritist Doctrine in its originality, removed from the religious dogmas of sin, fall and punishment, linked to its inseparable twin sister – the science of Magnetism – led and leads many non-believers to reasoned and to regain the spirit for life.

– the Spiritist Doctrine is not a doctrine of false ideas, but a Doctrine that returns the Spirit to responsibility for itself, for autonomy and conscience.

– Moreover, I think that the best way to help someone in a state of depression or giving up is to demonstrate that:

1. He is not being punished for anything. Pains and sorrows, joys and pleasures are part *of matter*, and we all go through them. Happiness, however, is the conquest of the Spirit, who walks towards good and self-improvement, while unhappiness is the result of imperfections, developed by autonomous and conscious actions of the Spirit, linked to sensations, pleasures and passions. A happy Spirit will also go through pain and sadness in the flesh, but this will not define its state of happiness or unhappiness. Therefore, in order to achieve happiness and inner peace, we need to learn and place ourselves, in all honesty, under constant analysis of ourselves, seeking to detach ourselves from those factors that lead us to imperfections - remembering that making mistakes and learning is one thing, every world does in the learning process, while making mistakes and clinging to mistakes, in a conscious effort, because of pleasures and passions, is the big problem.

2. The difficulties faced are sometimes the result of wrong choices, even in this life. Other times, they are planned as tests, with the purpose of helping to overcome an imperfection. Anyway, these are opportunities that need to be faced, and the spiritist knowledge helps *too much* in this process.

3. Interrupting a life through direct or indirect suicide will only cause suffering*moral* last longer, because, as it originates from imperfections, it will only cease when these are overcome, through autonomous and conscious effort.

4. Trying to help someone to overcome the ideas of suicide through fear, which arises from false ideas, is a mistake, because the person who believes himself to be unfortunate or even sinful is already desperate. Instead, it is necessary to seek to help her to reason about the usefulness of every second of incarnate life to precisely overcome the imperfections that prevent her from being truly happy.

You have to be careful and study hard. False ideas are linked to our spiritist education for more than a century, but they are not an original part of the Doctrine.

Finally, I highlight question 957, from The Spirits' Book, which points to a very important conclusion:

957. What, in general, in relation to the state of the Spirit, are the consequences of suicide?

"The consequences of suicide are very diverse.. There are no specific penalties and in all cases they always correspond to the causes that produced it. There is, however, one consequence that the suicidal person cannot escape: the disappointment. But luck is not the same for everyone; depends on the circumstances. Some atone for the fault immediately, others in a new existence, which will be worse than the one whose course they interrupted.”

Observation really shows that the effects of suicide are not always the same. There are some, however, common to all cases of violent death and which are the consequence of the sudden interruption of life. There is, first, the more prolonged and tenacious persistence of the bond that unites the spirit to the body, since this bond is almost always in the fullness of its strength at the moment it is broken, whereas in the case of natural death it gradually weakens, and often dissolves before life is completely extinguished. The consequences of this state of affairs are the prolongation of the disturbance that follows death and of the illusion in which, for more or less time, the Spirit maintains that it still belongs to the number of the living. (155 and 165.)

By Paulo Degering Rosa Junior

“Text interpretation is dependent on the reading key used by the reader“, told us a correspondent involved in studies, still today, about evidences that would suggest or prove that the 5th edition of A Gênese was not an adulteration.

Of course – I reply – the interpretation depends on the knowledge of the reader. It is even possible not to understand autonomy – foundation of spiritist morality – and, on the contrary, to infer false concepts, such as those linked to karma. What I don't see as a matter of interpretation, however, is the REMOVAL of such essential and important passages from the work, such as the one in item 24 of chap. XVIII (“Saying that humanity is ripe for regeneration does not mean that all individuals are on the same level…”) or the one that ends, in the 4th edition, item 19 of chap. III, regarding the instincts – “All men pass through the passions [...]”. In addition, we have the illogical removal of the end of item 22 of the cap. II, which explains the concept of spiritual interaction through the perispiritual fluid, in line with Mesmer's thesis. Not to mention the handwritten letter where it appears that, in consultation with the Spirits, it was recommended to Kardec that ANYTHING be deleted in the new edition.

It is also interesting to note that it focuses so much on the issues of A Genesis, making a huge silence about Heaven and Hell, which was absurdly torn apart, even becoming contradictory, in the 4th edition.

I really don't understand how, even today, so much time is spent on this discussion that in anything adds to Spiritism and humanity. We already know that the Spiritist Movement has been completely misrepresented by people like Leymarie, who also condemned the future of the once recognized Parisian Society of Spiritist Studies; we already know the pernicious influence of Roustaing and his disciples; we already know about the publications of Kardec's loyal disciples, who signaled, in written screams, the facts that were happening then (according to Beacoup de Lumiere, by Berthe Fropo, a close friend of the couple); we also know that precious Kardec manuscripts were burned, also by the hands of Leymarie; we know the facts widely presented by Simoni Privato, in O Legado de Allan Kardec. Despite so many facts and evidence, for some groups it is inconceivable that the cited works have not been adulterated, and they spend precious time and resources on research that only point to evidence that Kardec planned new editions – which is more than rational.

Meanwhile, the understanding of Rational Spiritualism, Magnetism, Education and Spiritism – all very intrinsically connected – is forgotten in the background, while the Spiritist Movement continues to be trapped by false, materialistic ideas, coming from Aristotle to the days of today – the same ideas that shattered the unassailable philosophy presented by the Spiritist Doctrine. I respect the time and will of each one, after all, we are talking about autonomy and, I hope, today we understand it. But I cannot see, in all of this, anything but one more way of delaying the pace of the doctrine, while, still living in heteronomy, thousands of people “wait” for an official position from bodies such as the FEB, regarding not only the adulterations of works, but from the recognition of the distance they took from the philosophical, scientific and moral essence of Spiritism.

That's it.

Today, August 25, 2022, is the first anniversary of the Allan Kardec Legacy Study Group. In this last year, with the essential cooperation of valuable colleagues, the Group is pleased to have learned so much, developed so much and, every day, to become more useful for understanding the true essence – moral, scientific and philosophical – of Spiritism.

The Group was born right after reading O Legado de Allan Kardec, by Simoni Privato, which alerted us to the facts that we regularly saw highlighting and commenting on and we hope that, from now on, we will have the strength and possibilities to help more and more in the dissemination of the true character of the Spiritist Doctrine, away from false, materialistic and dogmatic ideas.

Spiritism has no “law of return”, “law of action and reaction”, “karma”, “payment of debts” or any idea linked to the dogma of falling into sin; Spiritism demonstrates that the Spirit is the author, The determining factor of the will, not being subjected to – though influenced by – matter. It demonstrates, above all, the principle of autonomy and free will, far from the false concepts of a punitive God or an inquisitive devil.

Let's study!

A correspondent of ours highlighted the disparity between what André Luiz tells about the whole scenario he described, of the spiritual world, and what Allan Kardec says, in the quoted passage, extracted from the Spiritist Magazine of 1859. We repeat the quoted passages below. :

“She showed a desire to eat and was immediately served with a warm and comforting broth, which was delicious on her palate…”

André Luiz – And life goes on

“The Spirit does not experience fatigue nor the need for rest or nutrition, because it has no loss to repair. … Inferior Spirits have all the passions and desires they had in life – and their punishment is not being able to satisfy them.”

Kardec – Spiritist Magazine – April 1859

It is worth noting the observation that the book “E a Vida Continua”, by André Luiz, through the psychography of Chico Xavier, is the last book in the series that began with Nosso Lar. I mean: it is interesting that the ideas presented by this Spirit did not change throughout all these publications, which supposedly reflect a certain time, with various experiences and learnings, as previously reported by him. At this point, this Spirit continues to present ideas that are contrary to what formed the Spiritist Doctrine – the methodological study of the universality of the Spirits' communications.

Why did this happen? Why is it that, during all this time, this Spirit did not learn the reality of the Spiritual world? I suppose it is reasonable to accept that more enlightened Spirits do not shock those who are still in the illusions of material attachments, a fact for which they could even provide “soup” to Spirits who, in that state, requested them. From there, however, to dictate a whole psychographic work, considered as “complementary” to the Doctrine, without clarifying the reader the reality of the facts, goes a long way.

Having said that, let's proceed.

Here, it is interesting to take care not to take the exception as a rule, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, as a general rule, not to admit the exception. The Spiritist Movement currently takes isolated communications, full of its own ideas, false ideas and illusions, as a rule of natural law, while Kardec studied, in thousands of communications with Spirits, the foundations of this and other aspects of the law. Natural.

When Kardec says that the Spirit does not experience fatigue or need for rest or nutrition, he means that, as an aspect of natural law, the Spirit really does not have ANY of our physical needs, nor emotions, which are of the body, nor pain. However, he himself communicated with several Spirits who declared such needs or sensations. In the Spiritist Magazine of December 1858, the article Sensações dos Espíritos talks a little about this, starting with a quote from the communication of a Spirit who came to join them, around the fireplace, complaining of being cold.

It happens, of course – and this is what I insist on calling everyone to study – that the Spirit, like us, creates for itself the sensations arising from its state of attachment and/or suffering MORAL – I repeat: MORAL! Just as we can create pain and illness through the body, through the psychosomatic process, the suffering or attached Spirit does the same with his spiritual body - the perispirit - with the difference that, for us, the reversal process is more difficult, while that, for the Spirit, everything depends only on the change of its thought.

Through all of Allan Kardec's serious and profound study, it is evident that it is - I repeat - the degree of attachment to material things and false ideas, allied, almost always, to moral suffering, which creates such illusions to the Spirit, illusions these that are allowed by God, since He does not make us progress by blows, but guarantees time and autonomy to each one.

Finally, I add that this is the great problem of the current ME: to instill in the ideas of the masses the ATTACHMENTS to matter, based not on serious study, but on isolated opinions, thus promoting, instead of an awakening of the Spirit, an attachment continued to the ideas of matter, which HOLD spiritual progress, since the Spirit, when leaving the flesh, instead of seeing itself conscious and seeking to evaluate its state, its choices, etc., on the contrary, it puts itself to think if goes to Nosso Lar or Umbral, if he's going to get a little house to rest (sic!), if he's going to get soup, if he's going to eat broth or the meat he liked... Do you understand the problem?

Anyway: it's each one's time and head. I quote the article “On the Spirits who believe they are still alive”, from the Spiritist Magazine of 1864:

“Not everything is proof in existence; the life of the Spirit continues, as you have already 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 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 life 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 by the development of their own faculties, and that they can pass calmly from the material life to the real life of the Spirit.”

Kardec built and presented, in the Spiritist Magazine of 1858 and in the Spirits' book, the Spiritist Scale (click here for 1858 Spiritist Scale ). He elaborated it for us to better identify the Spirits who communicated through mediums, thus facilitating the understanding and content of the communications.

However, when faced with item 100 of the Spirits' Book with the Spiritist Scale, everyone is looking for their defects and qualities in it... And they ask themselves: What class am I? Will I be a Spirit that has a lot to evolve or will I be a Spirit already able to teach and risk new horizons?

Some important points can be clarified for us to better understand what stage we are at. Let's go to them...

God is the creator of all things.

According to the communications of the Spirits, there are 3 general elements in the Universe: God, matter and Spirits.

God, matter and Spirits. These three things are the beginning of all that exists, the universal trinity.

Kardec, The Spirits' Book, issue 27

The Spirits also taught us, from the various communications, the understanding of the continuous creation of matter and Spirits by God:

This is how universal creation is made. It is therefore correct to say that the operations of nature, being the expression of the divine will, God has always created, creates incessantly, and will never cease to create.

Allan Kardec. GENESIS – Miracles and Predictions According to Spiritism, chapter 2 – God – item 18

We can deduce, then, that in Antiquity, at the time of Christ, in the Middle Ages, Renaissance, in short, EVER souls of all classes existed among us: from the simplest ignorant to the most advanced, superior spirits. This means that we will always have in our socializing incarnate souls who teach us to be better spirits, as well as others inferior to us that we can help for their progress. Souls who are of the same degree of advancement accompany us in our learning, always in cooperation.

Saint Vincent de Paul says exactly that in his communication published in the RE of 1859:

Never forget that the Spirit, whatever its degree of advancement and its situation, as reincarnated or in erraticity, is always placed between a superior, who guides and perfects it, and an inferior, before whom it has the same duties to fulfil.

Kardec, Allan. Spiritist Magazine 1859 (pp. 476)

And he even adds:

Be charitable, therefore, not only with that charity that leads you to take out of your pocket the offering that you give coldly to anyone who dares to ask, but go out to meet hidden miseries. Be indulgent towards the faults of your fellow men. Instead of despising ignorance and vice, educate and moralize them. Be meek and benevolent towards everything that is inferior to you. Do it even before the smallest beings of Creation, and you will have obeyed the Law of God.

Kardec, Allan. Spiritist Magazine 1859 (p. 477)

We understand, based on the teachings of Saint Vincent de Paul, that we should not worry about where on the Spiritist Scale our Spirit is. But how can we contribute to accelerating our progress and the progress of everyone on our journey!

We are not all imperfect. This is a false idea, when understood from a certain angle, as we will demonstrate.

Spiritism demonstrates, complementing Rational Spiritualism, that imperfection is something developed by the conscious repetition (habit) of error. When it becomes an imperfection (it is called “acquired imperfection”), it can even become an addiction, which will require autonomous and conscious effort to be overcome, through the choice of tests and opportunities in new incarnations.

This is what evil consists of: moving away from the good, which is the morality of divine laws, through the development of imperfections. And not everyone does. The Spirit who has not developed imperfections, or the one who is bravely fighting to overcome them, is in the good or walking towards it... And this strengthens him enough to overcome, too, outside influences, and even to repel them.

But there is also the aspect of imperfection from the point of view that we are all perfectible. Thus, until we become relatively perfect Spirits (because only God can be perfect), we will be imperfect.

Both aspects of the term are treated by Kardec in the Spiritist Doctrine, and we can prove:

Those who are not only interested in facts and understand the philosophical aspect of Spiritism, admitting the morality that arises from it, but without practicing it. The influence of the Doctrine on your character is insignificant or null. They do not change their habits in any way and would not deprive themselves of any of their pleasures. The miser remains insensitive, the proud person full of self-love, the envious and jealous person always aggressive. For them, Christian charity is nothing more than a beautiful maxim. They are the imperfect spiritists.

KARDEC, Allan. The Book of Mediums, 23^The Edition. LAKE Publisher

The excerpt is part of the part in which Kardec is classifying the types of spiritualists. Now, there would be no reason to classify some of them as "imperfect" if we are all imperfect. This demonstrates that, at this point, Kardec is dealing with acquired imperfections, as explained above.

We also talked about this in the recent article Intimate reform and Spiritism and, in the study below, the topic was addressed in groups.

It is a fact: we are far from perfection. In fact, we will never reach absolute perfection, for if we did, we would be like God. We will reach relative perfection… However, this does not make us imperfect, but only relatively simple and ignorant, that is, still developing will and conscience.

In Heaven and Hell, in its original, unadulterated version (see the edition produced by FEAL), this philosophy is clearly laid out in all its unassailable rationality; however, this information was already known from the very beginning of the Doctrine's formation. Just look at the Spiritist Scale in The Spirits' Book, and we will see that, in the Third Order—Imperfect Spirits—there are only those Spirits who have developed imperfections: "Predominance of matter over spirit. Propensity for evil. Ignorance, pride, selfishness, and all the passions that result from them." And it's enough to reason: not everyone develops these imperfections, because some may choose not to repeat their mistakes, as already expressed in The Spirits' Book:

133. The Spirits who From the beginning they followed the path of good?

“All are created simple and ignorant and are instructed in the struggles and tribulations of bodily life. God, who is just, could not make some happy, without toil and work, therefore without merit.”

The) - But, then, what is the use of spirits to have followed the path of good, if this does not exempt them from the sufferings of bodily life?

"They reach the end faster. Furthermore, the afflictions of life are often the consequence of the imperfection of the Spirit. The fewer imperfections, the less torment. He who is not envious, nor jealous, nor avaricious, nor ambitious, will not suffer the tortures that originate from these defects.”

The Spirits' Book. Emphasis added.

But how can this happen?

To understand this foundation of natural law, we need to understand that the simple and ignorant Spirit is the one in its first conscious incarnation, in the human kingdom. In this state, having just left the animal kingdom, it still retains all the remnants of instinct, which governed it unconsciously until then, in good, because good is being in the natural law, and the animal that kills another to feed itself is following the natural law, acting only to meet their instinctive needs, with intelligence, but without conscience. Upon entering the kingdom of man, the conscious Spirit begins to make choices — not between good and evil, but between acting in this or that way. These choices will produce results, which may be correct — they are within divine law — or an error — they are outside divine law, that is, they exceed rational necessity. The individual can then choose not to repeat this mistake, but they can also choose to repeat it, as it is something that, in some way, pleases their emotions or gives them pleasure. It is at this moment that imperfection develops, the error is repeated constantly. But he can also choose not to repeat the mistake, as he realizes that it has a bad effect on him. In this sense he is happy in his simplicity and ignorance, this happiness being relative to his present ability..

This is also in Kardec, in A Genesis:

“If we study all passions, and even all vices, we see that they have their principle in the instinct of conservation. This instinct, in all its strength in animals and in the primitive beings that are closest to animal life, dominates alone, because, among them, there is still no counterbalance to the moral sense. The being has not yet been born for intellectual life. Instinct weakens, on the contrary, as intelligence develops, because it dominates matter. With rational intelligence comes free will that man uses at will: then only, for him, does the responsibility for his actions begin.”

In the original version of this work, as presented in the FEAL edition, Kardec adds that:

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

So, is one who has developed an imperfection inferior to those who have not? Is it a bad spirit? Should he be punished for that? No no and no!

He who developed an imperfection did so because he did not really know the good, otherwise he would have acted adversely. It's just a mistake — consciously repeated — and that's it. It is not a characteristic of the Spirit. God does not create anyone evil, nor does he create evil. Evil does not exist! It's just the absence of good. It is clear, therefore, that God would not punish his child for making mistakes. No: he gives him the ability to reason and autonomy, so that he himself can realize that the results of his mistakes cause him suffering and, realizing this, repent and demand correction of these imperfections.

It is at this point that modern spiritualism and the current spiritist movement diverge from the original spiritist morality: for these, when understanding the error, the Spirit is obliged to repair THE EFFECTS, while, for the latter, the Spirit is left free to choose how and when it will attempt to repair THE IMPERFECTION (in itself), which may or may not involve remediation of harmful effects that you have performed.

Here, a conclusion is in order: the doctrine of the “law of return” or karma, which has never been part of Spiritism, states that, when we do harm to a person, we will have to reincarnate with them to repair this error. However, it has already been established that we only do harm to ourselves – if, when making a mistake with someone, that person chooses to cultivate a feeling of anger, hatred or revenge, they are doing harm to themselves. It is, therefore, up to each person's autonomy to detach themselves from such feelings. If the executioner were forced to reincarnate with his victim to repair a mistake and, no matter how much he tried to have an irreproachable attitude towards good, the victim chose not to let go of such feelings, it means that the mistake would not have been paid for and would demand as many were incarnations necessary for this, linking the progress of the other, which has already returned to good, to the other's choice? What if, on the other hand, the victim didn't get attached, he moved on, but the tormentor continues with his imperfections? Will she have to reincarnate with him so that he, who still doesn't even understand her suffering, can “pay off his debts”? Does not make sense!

Returning to our point, we were talking about the return of the Spirit to good. In O Céu e o Inferno (FEAL publisher, based on the original, unadulterated version), we have the following:

“8th) The duration of the punishment is subject to the perfection of the guilty spirit. No sentence for a fixed time is pronounced against him. What God requires to put an end to suffering is repentance, atonement and reparation – in short: a serious, effective improvement, as well as a sincere return to goodness.”

Since punishment – or punishment, as we do not know for sure what the intention of the original word was – is a consequence of the error made, the suffering inherent to imperfections will be a true punishment. It is not an arbitrary divine punishment, but a consequence of natural law. There is no condemnation: everything depends on the individual's willingness to repent and demand reparation for the imperfection, thus returning to good.

We conclude by reproducing, once again, Paul Janet's recommendation ((In Small Elements of Moral, available on here for download.)) regarding habits:

It is true that habits become, over time, almost irresistible. It is a frequently observed fact; but, on the one hand, if an inveterate habit is irresistible, the same is not true of a habit that begins; and thus man remains free to prevent the invasion of bad habits. That is why moralists advise us above all to watch the origin of our habits. “Be especially careful with the beginnings.”

Allan Kardec, before this pseudonym, already produced texts on education. It is clear that their thoughts changed and expanded after the advent of Spiritism, but, like Hypolite Leon Denizard Rivail, many of them already showed an enviable lucidity of reasoning.

We talk a lot about heteronomy and autonomy, and we greatly highlight how religious doctrines, adulterated by clergy, and also materialist doctrine, exert a pernicious influence on the propagation of heteronomous thought. However, let's face it, when it comes to doctrines, they are actually more present in the post-childhood phase, when the individual has more developed reason.

There is, however, a type of [bad] education that affects the individual from his first steps and throughout his childhood, habituating him to heteronomous habits: that commonly reproduced, thoughtlessly, by the family and school, still today based on the punishment of errors through punishment – in the most diverse ways – and in the formation of a culture of dispute and the “way”, that is, of bending the rules to win, since this has become the only objective.

We will reproduce, very succinctly, a part of Rivail's text, presented in the Proposed Plan for the Improvement of Public Education (Click here to download), which expresses very well some considerations in this regard.

“There are habits of three different natures: they are physical, intellectual or moral. The first are those that most particularly modify our animal constitution; the second consist in the more or less perfect possession of a science. Thus, for example, someone who is very familiar with a language speaks it without effort and without thinking; he who has perfect knowledge of mathematics, makes his calculations without difficulty: this is what can be called having the habit of a science; and by the way, it is the acquisition of the habit, which is neglected, in the common method; It is generally limited to a very elusive theory, which barely touches the mind. Finally, moral habits are those that lead us, despite ourselves, to do something good or bad.

The source of these latter habits lies, we said, in impressions long resented or perceived in childhood.. It is thus understood how important it is to carefully avoid anything that could make the child experience dangerous impressions; but I don't just regard as bad impressions, the example of vice, bad advice or inappropriate conversations; no one doubts the disastrous effects of such models and there is no mother of a family who does not put all her care into avoiding them; but there are a great number of others, minutiae in appearance, and which do not fail to exercise an influence often more pernicious than the ugly spectacle of vice, which one can even sometimes take advantage of to make one conceive its horror; I want above all to speak of those that the child receives directly in his relationships with the people around him, who, without giving him either bad examples or bad advice, nevertheless give birth to very serious vices, like the parents, due to their weakness or teachers because of a rigidity that is misunderstood, or when little care is taken to adapt their behavior to the child's character when, for example, they yield to their importunities, when their faults are tolerated under vain pretexts, when they submit to their whims, when he is allowed to perceive that he is a victim of his tricks, when the motive that makes him act is not known, and that in this way he takes defects or germs of vices for qualities, which often happens to parents; when the subtle circumstances that can modify this or that action of the child are not taken into account, when, above all, nuances of character are not taken into account, he is made to experience impressions that are often the source of very serious vices. A smile, when you had to be serious; a weakness when it would be necessary to be firm; severity when sweetness would be needed; a word without thinking, a nothing, in short, are sometimes enough to produce an indelible impression and to make a vice germinate.
What will happen then when these impressions are felt from the cradle, and often throughout childhood? In this aspect, the punishment system is one of the most important parts to consider in education; for they are commonly the source of most defects and vices. Often too harsh or inflicted with partiality and in a bad mood, they irritate children rather than convince them.. How many tricks, how many means of diversion, how many frauds do they employ to avoid them! This is how the seeds of bad faith and hypocrisy are thrown into them and this is often the only result that is obtained.. The angry and unpersuaded child submits only to force; nothing proves to him that she did wrong; she only knows that she did not act according to the master's will; and this will he regards, not as just and reasonable, but as a caprice and a tyranny; it believes itself to be always subject to the will.

How is she commonly made to feel physical superiority rather than moral superiority, she waits impatiently to have enough strength herself to escape this; hence this hostile spirit that reigns between the masters and their students. There is no mutual trust between them, no attachment; on the contrary, there is a continual exchange of tricks; whoever is smart enough to surprise the other wins, and it is already known who wins most often. These are two parties that, when not at open war, are continually distrusting each other. How is it possible to have a good education in such a state of affairs?

RIVAIL, HLD Proposed Plan for the Improvement of Public Education. Paris, 1828.

We see how important it is to rescue this educational base, guided by morality. We add the importance of understanding the morals brought by thinkers such as Paul Janet (Click here to download one of his works). If you liked this article and see its importance, do more: share it with whoever you can!

What does Spiritism have to say about pornography? This is a complicated subject, because it is not a subject that has been directly addressed by the Doctrine. To talk about this, we need to extrapolate knowledge and understanding that the Doctrine gives us.

Spiritism places, above all, freedom of conscience and autonomy. Let this be noted, as a result of the study of the Spiritist Doctrine in its moral and philosophical content.

Apart from this principle, we will verify in Spiritism, developing the thought of Rational Spiritualism, that man can acquire bad habits by repeating an act related to pleasure. This can become an imperfection, which becomes an addiction, of which the work of overcoming will cost the Spirit a lot, through the CONSCIOUS and AUTONOMOUS reincarnation effort.

Paul Janet talks about this in Little Elements of Morals, which I highly recommend reading (Click here For download):

20 Habits. – It is true that habits become, over time, almost irresistible. It is a frequently observed fact; but, on the one hand, if an inveterate habit is irresistible, the same is not true of a habit that begins; and thus man remains free to prevent the invasion of bad habits. That is why moralists advise us above all to watch the origin of our habits. “Be especially careful with the beginnings.”

The big problem with entering into materialistic habits – which are those that surpass physiological needs – is that, by developing attachments, not only will it be more difficult and painful for us to disconnect from matter at the moment of death, but we will also attract the “clouds of witnesses”. ”, Spirits also attached to such vices. Normally, this will lead us to live in a troubled and difficult spiritual and social context.

But look: there is no sin. There is an error. No one will be punished for making mistakes, nor for choosing, consciously, to cling to an addiction or any bad habit; however, the results of our choices can be harmful to us, which we can call punishment, which, at all, is not a deliberate imposition of God.

It should be noted that no one should be martyred by an imperfection or any bad habit to the point of getting sick. It takes little ant work, perhaps slow but constant, so as not to do like those who promise not to eat sweets in the new year, but, being a very heavy commitment, talk after the first few days, saying, then: “I am not strong is impossible. I will therefore eat whatever I want, whenever I want.” This figure, by the way, represents the exact image of the non-use of reason to contain instinct. Kardec, in A Genesis, adds:

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

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

Kardec, A Genesis, 4th edition — FEAL Publisher

A correspondent asked about what would be this supposed distance, always affirmed by us, between the Spiritist Doctrine and the Spiritist Movement.

To her, we can answer in this way, to exemplify for everyone:

“B…, this is something that everyone really needs to study or seek information about, especially about the works mentioned ((

• In the sense of doctrinal changes: The Legacy of Allan Kardec, by Simoni Privato; Neither Heaven Nor Hell, by Paulo Henrique de Figueiredo; Final Point, by Wilson Garcia
• In the sense of knowledge about the doctrinal context: Autonomy: the never-told story of Spiritism, by Paulo Henrique de Figueiredo;
• In the real understanding of the Doctrine, in the essence proposed by Kardec, through the studies: Heaven and Hell and Genesis, both from the publisher FEAL, as the others are adulterated versions, still.)), because understanding and, hence, assuming new positioning, it needs to be a autonomous action. However, I can highlight some key differences between the Spiritist Doctrine (DE) and the current Spiritist Movement (SM):

• Evocations of spirits: DE was formed on them and demonstrated the need to be carried out, with method, to continue their development; ME recommends not doing it, provoking a wave of mediums who are only “available”, therefore, without control or learning objective.
• Generality of teaching: DE demonstrated the need to develop the spiritist study through the method of double control: universality and agreement of teaching and rational judgment; ME, infected by Roustaing, who saw a danger in this method (which would disprove her theories), started to take isolated communications as an expression of the truth, without reasoning.
• Life of the Spirit in Erraticity: DE demonstrated that emotions and physical sensations only exist for the attached Spirit; ME began to teach a fully materialized spiritual world, thus creating ideas of attachment harmful to the Spirit who disincarnates.
• Necessity of the incarnation: DE demonstrated that the incarnation is a necessity for the progress of the Spirit, in which he, even if involuntarily, plays his solidary role in creation. He removed the concepts of punishment and punishment as an arbitrary action of God, demonstrating that everything is the fruit of the conscious Spirit's choice; ME, under Roustainguist influence, inserted the false concepts of karma, redemption, law of action and reaction and law of return.
• Heteronomy x autonomy: DE demonstrated, throughout it, that the Spirit develops autonomously, being the first, if not the only, author of its choices; ME, influenced by Roustaing, started to deal with life in a heteronomous way – if I suffer, it is because I am receiving the return; if I have joy it is because I have been blessed, &c.
• Charity: DE demonstrated that charity is a disinterested action, fruit of the Spirit's duty, which consciously moves towards the good; ME started to treat charity as an external action, almost always only material. Due to the absence of DE studies, ME fails to do the good it could to help in the development of society through spiritist ideas.
• Moral: DE demonstrated that, all created simple and ignorant, the Spirits develop wrong and right, through the incarnations, choosing between acting in this or that way. There is no duality between good and evil. Some choose to repeat the mistake, developing imperfections from which they will be very difficult to get rid of, through reincarnation work, in a conscious and autonomous action; ME, influenced by Roustaing, started to treat the incarnation as a punishment, as if all the spirits that incarnate were imperfect.
• Method: DE has always demonstrated the way it would develop itself: through the study of human sciences, confronted, by reason, with the spiritist teachings, in the exchange of information with reputable groups spread all over the world; On the other hand, the ME practically does not study the fundamentals of DE, it has isolated itself in the centers in routines that include: monologues, almost always filled with all the errors mentioned above; passes, without knowledge of magnetism; and mediumistic sessions that, without method and without studies, lose the purpose and usefulness they could really have.

And so on.”

We see that the differences between the Spiritist Doctrine, in its origin, and what the Spiritist Movement professes or believes today, are profound and, almost always, harmful to the propagation of the Doctrine. Therefore, it is up to the voluntary effort of each one in honest and detached study, as well as in the fraternal and cooperative dissemination of knowledge.

Complementing the cited works, we cannot fail to point out the need to study the Spiritist Magazine, which demonstrates how the formation of the Spiritist Doctrine took place.

We’re all born. We’re all going to die.

From this truth of life comes the preoccupation of the moment of death are always recurring issues.

In this article, we do not intend to close the subject, quite the contrary! We are only bringing a very small part of this vast subject. After all, we are all going to experience this event.

The Spirits explained that not all Spirits go through the same processes. Each being is a consciousness different from the other. So, The Book of Spirits brings the following conclusions in its chapter III – Return of the Corporeal Life to the Spiritual Life:

163. Leaving the body, is the soul immediately aware of itself? – Immediate awareness is not the term: it is disturbed for some time.

164. Do all spirits experience, to the same degree and for the same time, the disturbance that follows the separation of soul and body? – No, it depends on your elevation. The one who is already purified recognizes himself almost immediately, because he detached himself from matter during his corporeal life, while the carnal man, whose conscience is not pure, retains the impression of matter for much longer.

Comment: Here it is evident that each person experiences a type of perception of death, according to what he has experienced in matter.

Now, in this question 165, Allan Kardec manages to go deeper into the nature of the disturbance, as well as better describe what the Spirits taught in their communications. Note that there is nothing with a set time. This part of the answer, in our view, is the most enlightening.

165. Knowledge of Spiritism exerts some influence on the longer duration
or less of the disturbance? – A great influence, because the Spirit understands his situation in advance: but the practice of goodness and purity of conscience are what exerts the greatest influence.

Kardec continues explaining in the same item how the Spirit experiences these first moments:

“At the moment of death, everything is confused at first; the soul needs some time to recognize itself; she feels stunned, in the same state as a man who has come out of a deep sleep and is trying to understand the situation. The lucidity of ideas and the memory of the past return, as the influence of matter fades and that kind of fog that clouds his thoughts dissipates.

The duration of the after-death disturbance is very variable: it can be from a few hours, to many months and even many years. Those in which it is shorter are those who have identified during their lifetime with their future state, because they are immediately aware of their position. “

Comment: In our emphasis, it seems that he gives a kind of advice.

“This disturbance presents particular circumstances, according to the character of the individuals and above all according to the type of death. In violent deaths, by suicide, torture, accident, apoplexy, injuries, etc., the Spirit is surprised, amazed, does not believe that he is dead and stubbornly maintains that he did not die. However, he sees his body, he knows that it is his, but he does not understand that he is separate. He seeks out the people he loves, addresses them, and doesn't understand why they don't listen to him. This illusion is maintained until the Spirit's complete detachment, and only then does it recognize its state and understand that it is no longer part of the world of the living.”

Comment: There are several reports of Spirits who attend his funeral, who do not understand why they are lying inside the coffin. They are completely lost!

“This phenomenon is easily explainable. Surprised by the unforeseen death, the Spirit is stunned by the sudden change that takes place within him. For him, death is still synonymous with destruction, annihilation; Now, how he continues to think, how he still sees and listens, don't consider yourself dead. And what increases his illusion is the fact that he sees himself in a body similar to the one he left on Earth, whose ethereal nature he has not yet had time to verify. He considers it solid and compact like the first, and when his attention is drawn to this point, he is surprised that he cannot feel it. This phenomenon is similar to that of inexperienced sleepwalkers, who do not believe they are sleeping. For them, sleep is synonymous with the suspension of faculties; Now, as they think freely and can see, they don't think they are sleeping. Some Spirits present this particularity, although death did not take them unexpectedly; but it is always more widespread among those who, despite being sick, did not think about dying. We then see the singular spectacle of a Spirit who attends his own funerals like those of a stranger, speaking about them as if about something that does not concern him, until the moment he understands the truth.”

Comment: The Spirit confuses its spiritual envelope (perispirit) with its carnal body, so that it does not realize that it no longer has a carnal body!

The disturbance that follows death is not at all painful for the good man: it is calm and in every way similar to that which accompanies a peaceful awakening. For one whose conscience is not pure it is full of anxieties and anxieties.

Comment: Once again, the clarifications of the Spirits give us the tips on how to make the moment of death so much softer!

Surprisingly, in the last paragraph of this chapter, Kardec says clearly about the collective disincarnations that occurred in accidents or catastrophes!

“In cases of collective death, it has been observed that all those who perish at the same time do not always see each other immediately. In the turmoil that follows death, each one goes his own way or only concerns himself with those who interest him.”

Kardec, The Spirits' Book, item 165

Comment: Dying at the same time in the same accident doesn't mean much after disincarnation! Everyone pursues their interests.

We do not intend to close the matter! After all, from what you've read so far, it's not conclusive, because each one has its particularities! Throughout Kardec's coding there are many descriptions of that moment and more explanations that the Spirits brought.

But one thing we will never escape: the moment of death.