In this letter, a subscriber to Revista Espírita says that about 18 months ago they evoked in their small inner circle an ancient ancestor, who died in 1756, virtuous and superior.  

This Spirit told them that he was incarnated in Jupiter and reproduced the same details that Mozart (and others) also described to Kardec, both physically and morally, and even about the condition of the animals.  

As there were things that we had difficulty understanding, our kinsman added these remarkable words: “No wonder you do not understand things for which your senses were not made, but as you advance in Science, you will understand them better. by thought and they will no longer seem extraordinary to you. The time is not far off when you will receive more complete clarifications on this point.. The Spirits are in charge of instructing you in this regard, in order to give you an objective and to motivate you for good.” Reading your description and the announcement of the drawings you speak of, we naturally thought that the time had come.

Mr. Marius continues to make observations about the moral conclusions they drew from these communications, and for them the need to elevate themselves by self-improvement has become very important so that they can deserve to live, one day, in such a place. It also talks about skeptics, who would never believe such reports.  

We get an idea of countries that we have never seen, from the description of travelers, when there is a coincidence between them. Why shouldn't the same be true of spirits?  

Why should we not or should we not, therefore, believe the various more current accounts that exist regarding “spiritual cities”? Let's talk about that now.

 In response, Kardec says:

We are happy for the communication it promises us about Jupiter. The coincidence that he points out is not the only one, as we can see in the article on the subject. However, whatever opinion one may have about it, it is still a matter of observation. The spirit world is full of mysteries that must be studied very carefully.. The moral consequences that our correspondent draws from this are characterized by a logic that no one will go unnoticed.    

About the drawings, of which Mr. Marius requested a print, Kardec says it would be too complicated and expensive to reproduce them. He says, however, that the matter was in solution, because the drawing medium, Mr. Sardou, had become an engraving medium, starting to make drawings directly on copper!

conclusions

If Kardec and his correspondent, among many others, presented reports of diaphanous cities in Jupiter, why, then, we could not accept the reports about the most diverse types of places on the spiritual plane, as other more current accounts attest?    

Well, here we have some issues to consider. The first is that, at the time of Kardec, due to the enormous difficulty of communication between distances, the reports that were obtained in different parts of Europe and the Americas could be more easily accepted without the shadow of preconceived or "contaminated" ideas. .    

Furthermore, we need to consider what is very evident in all of Kardec's work: the importance of Universal Concordance in the Teaching of Spirits.

Another problem to be highlighted is that the reports of Jupiter speak of a planet, where there is a civilization of Spirits incarnate, although in matters much more subtle than ours, and the molecular structures general respects the same characteristics of subtlety.    

On the other hand, reports such as those of André Luiz, among many others, make us understand that such cities would be located in the wandering space, that is, the Spirits between the incarnations would create and use these cities. This is not at all impossible, although some details of these accounts do not seem to make much sense. However…    

is something from which never before no Spirit had spoken. In fact, the reports of wandering spirits point to the opposite: that only very materialistic spirits would cling to such concepts and “places”.

The big issue here, therefore, is just to highlight the care that we must have. We must not discard or accept an idea or concept that has not passed through CUEE. And here, there is a lesson in general, because, along with such ideas, controversial, complicated and, sometimes, even contrary to the Doctrine are often transmitted.

We remember that Ramatis (supposedly) also ventured to give such types of descriptions, in the case of Mars. However, it was an isolated communication, with strange and superfluous details, besides many of them having already been denied by human Science.

Today, the easy dissemination of certain ideas makes the “contamination” of communications very easy, not least because mechanical psychographers seem to be in short supply and, as such mediums were commonly placed in a state of “hypnotic trance”, magnetism also needs to be re-established. studied, understood and practiced.  

Therefore, to investigate these important issues, it will be necessary to take a different path, with even more scientific rigor than that already used by Kardec.    

The way is still long.

 In this section some matches of interest are presented. The first of these is a letter from Mr. Jobard (Marcellin Jobard), a true proclamation of his beliefs in Spiritism:

I eagerly receive and read your Spiritist Magazine and recommend it to my friends, not the simple reading, but the in-depth study of your Spirits' Book. I am very sorry that my physical concerns do not leave me time for metaphysical studies, although I have taken them far enough to feel how much you are close to the absolute truth, especially when I see the perfect coincidence that exists between the answers they give us – you and me. The very spirits who personally attribute to you the writing of your writings are stunned by the depth and logic they find there..

As for me, who know the phenomenon and your loyalty, I do not doubt the accuracy of the explanations given to you and I abjure all the ideas I published about it, when, with Mr. Babinet, I thought that there were only physical phenomena or antics unworthy of the attention of the sages.

Do not be discouraged, as I am not discouraged, by the indifference of your contemporaries. What is written is written; what is sown will germinate. The idea that life is an attunement of souls, a test and an atonement, is great, consoling, progressive and natural.

In response, Kardec praises Mr. Jobard, being such a recognized man, asks him about the possibility of publishing his “adherence” to the Spiritist Magazine.    

It is important, first, to note Kardec's nature: The compliments contained in Mr. Jobard would have made it impossible for us to publish it if they had been addressed to us personally.    

In response, Jobard would have said he was “humiliated” by Kardec's questions, as if he felt compared to fools. However, consciously informing himself of the difficulties of the supporters of new ideas, he reaffirms his decisions, making an interesting and profound digression.

About magnetism, more than forty years ago, I made this simple reasoning: It is impossible for such worthy men to write thousands of volumes to make me believe in the existence of a non-existent thing.. So I experimented for a long time, but in vain, while I had no faith in obtaining what I sought. I was, however, well rewarded for my perseverance, for I succeeded in producing all the phenomena of which I heard. Then I took a break of fifteen years. The tables had appeared and I wanted to get a clear idea. Today Spiritism appears and I act in the same way.

When something new comes along, I'll run with the same zeal I use to keep up with all modern discoveries. It is curiosity that drives me, and I regret that savages are not curious, for they remain savages. Curiosity is the mother of instruction.

I know perfectly well that this fever to learn has hurt me a lot. and that if I had remained in that respectable mediocrity that leads to honors and fortune, I would have taken my share, but long ago I said, to myself, that I thought I was just passing through this ordinary hostel, where it's not worth packing. What made me painlessly bear the adversities, injustices and robberies of which I was a privileged victim, was the idea that there is no happiness or misfortune here that is worthy of being happy or grieving.

I saw it evoke a living person. She had a syncope until her Spirit returned. Evoke me, to see what I will say to you. Also invoke Dr. Muhr, died in Cairo on 4 June. He was a great spiritist and homeopathic physician. Ask him if he still believes in gnomes. It is certainly in Jupiter, for it was a great Spirit, even here on Earth; a true prophet to teach, and my best friend. Is he happy with the obituary I wrote him?    

Note: Kardec makes the evocation and presents it in the November 1858 edition

The study of the Revista Espírita of July 1858 gave us space for an important aside, regarding Psychography. We talked about the following topics at our meeting, as you can see below.

In The Mediums' Book    

178. Of all the media, handwriting is the simplest, most comfortable and, above all, most complete. All efforts must be directed towards it, as it allows for the establishment, with the spirits, of relationships as continuous and regular as those that exist between us.. It should be used all the more diligently, as it is through it that spirits better reveal their nature and the degree of their improvement, or their inferiority. Because of the ease they find in expressing themselves in this way, they reveal their innermost thoughts to us and allow us to judge them and appreciate their value. For the medium, the faculty of writing is, moreover, the one most susceptible to being developed through the exercise of the medium..

Mechanical Mediums

They are those whose movement of a pencil, pen or even hands on a keyboard takes place independently at will. The movement is uninterrupted and the medium is not aware of what he writes.    

179. […] When absolute unconsciousness occurs, there are so-called passive or mechanical mediums. This faculty is precious, as it does not allow any doubt about the independence of the writer's thought.

Intuitive Mediums    

They are those who write under the influence of the Spirit, being aware of what they write.    

180. […] it is possible to recognize the suggested thought, as it is never preconceived; it is born as the writing is being traced and, often, it is contrary to the idea that was formed in advance. It may even be outside the limits of the medium's knowledge and abilities.

Semimechanical Mediums

181. In the purely mechanical medium, the movement of the hand is independent of the will; in the intuitive medium, the movement is voluntary and optional. The semi-mechanical medium participates in both these genres. He feels that his hand is given an impulse, despite his own will, but, at the same time, he is aware of what he is writing, as the words are formed. In the first, thought comes after the act of writing; in the second, it precedes it; in the third, it accompanies him. These latter mediums are the most numerous.

Inspired Mediums    

They are those who write consciously, but whose content origin is from contact with other Spirits. They are like intuitives, with the difference that the intervention of an occult force is much less sensitive there. In this case, it is much more difficult to distinguish one's own thought than the one suggested to it.    

182. […] It can be said that all are mediums, because there is no one who does not have their protective and family spirits, who strive to suggest healthy ideas to the protected ones.

If everyone were well aware of this truth, no one would fail to frequently resort to the inspiration of their guardian angel, in moments when they don't know what to say or do. Let each one, therefore, invoke it with fervor and confidence, in case of need, and very often he will be astonished at the ideas that come to him as if by magic, whether it be a matter of a resolution to be made or something to compose. If no idea comes up, it's just that you have to wait.

Foreboding Mediums

184. Foreboding is a vague intuition of things to come. Some people have this faculty more or less developed. It may be due to a kind of double vision, which allows them to glimpse the consequences of current things and the filiation of events. But it is often also the result of occult communications, and above all in this case those who are endowed with it can be called psychic mediums, which constitute a variety of inspired mediums.

278. An important question arises here, whether or not there is any inconvenience in evoking bad spirits.  That depends on the end one has in view and the ascendancy one can exert over them. The inconvenience is null, when they are called with a serious purpose, which is to instruct and improve them; it is, on the contrary, very great, when called out of mere curiosity or for fun, or even when the caller puts himself at their dependence, asking them for some service.. The good spirits, in this case, can very well give them the power to do what is asked of them, which does not exclude the daredevil who dared to ask for help and suppose them more powerful than God from being severely punished later on. . It will be in vain if he promises himself, whoever does so, to make good use of the help requested from then on, and to dismiss the servant once the service has been rendered. This same service that was requested, however minimal, constitutes a true pact signed with the bad Spirit and he does not easily let go of his prey.. (See no. 212.)  

279. No one exercises ascendancy over inferior spirits, except for moral superiority. Perverse spirits feel that good men dominate them. Against those who are only opposed by the energy of the will, a kind of brute force, they fight and are often the strongest. To someone who was trying to tame a rebellious Spirit, only by the action of his will, he replied to that one: Leave me in peace, with your air of slaughterhouses, which are not worth more than I am; one would say a thief preaching morals to another thief.  

282. 11th. Is there any inconvenience in evoking inferior spirits? And is it to be feared that, by calling them, the summoner will come under their dominion? “They only dominate those who allow themselves to be dominated. He who is assisted by good spirits has nothing to fear. It is imposed on the inferior spirits and not the latter on him. Isolated, mediums, especially beginning ones, must refrain from such evocations.. (No. 278.)

We have the general forgetfulness of the past life for a very important reason: so that the past, known objectively, in its details, does not get in the way of our walk. See: it is convenient for Spirits of our evolution, for example, not to remember that we did harm to the family member who helps us today, which could hinder our learning.

However, this oblivion is not total. We are not a blank page in each incarnation. We have, in each of them, a more or less new, different personality, shaped according to the creation of the family and the customs of the society in which we are inserted, but our true “I” is demonstrating its virtues and its imperfections from the first steps. from childhood.

At the heart of our Spirit, so to speak, is what we really are – in fact, this is what attracts or repels good or bad Spirits, and that is why a merely superficial modification (let alone rituals) does not drives them away or attracts them. During life, we often wear a mask of pride and vanity, which aims to hide, from ourselves and from others, our true face - especially with regard to moral imperfections. We get distracted by mundane things, not having much courage to face our inner selves. However, this is precisely what Spiritism calls attention to, repeating and expanding the teachings of Jesus: we need to put aside this mask, learning to look inside ourselves with the hard and judgmental look we keep to look at the defects of others. .

When we do this, we almost always discover – which can be greatly helped by a psychologist – a set of imperfections, many of them linked to the cultivation of passions. Whoever takes this step, far from feeling guilty, should feel happy for the bravery of coldly analyzing himself. With this, we must start to lead ourselves without fading, but calmly, step by step, on the path of moving away from these imperfections, developing better virtues.

This, in itself, which even makes me shiver to think about, constitutes a whole philosophy capable of completely modifying the directions of a Spirit that feels tired of suffering for its imperfections, and, in itself, this represents the essence of Spiritism, and not any concepts of sin and punishment, since guilt and punishment live only in our minds.

We leave the indication of the following video, from the study group Spiritism for All, with a deep digression in this regard:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This topic, always so present, came up in a Facebook group: according to Spiritism, is there a problem in sacrificing an animal in a terminal state, that is, in subjecting it to euthanasia?

I'll say no—and that's not my opinion. But first of all, it's important to remember that no we must make them suffer needlessly, in no case — and this corroborates the view presented here.

Here, we need to recover some postulates of the Spiritist Doctrine, obtained, as always, through a rational and concordant analysis of the teachings of the Spirits. In The Spirits' Book, we will find an important clarification in this regard:

Free will and moral suffering in animals

595. Do animals enjoy free will to perform their acts?

“Animals are not simple machines, as you suppose. However, the freedom of action they enjoy is limited by their needs, and cannot be compared to that of man. Being far inferior to him, they do not have the same duties as him. Freedom, they have it restricted to the acts of material life.”

Animals have a certain freedom, of course, and we can see that some of them have it in a way superior to others, as a species of more advanced intelligence, which, however, is still restricted to the acts of material life. Thus, animals are concerned with survival, and they do everything to do so. As difficult as it is to admit, there is more of a relationship of dependence, habit and need than of love, in them, in relation to us, because love is something that develops with the advancement of the Spirit. Of course: we cannot judge the point at which this spiritual ability begins to exist, so we cannot judge absolutely about it.

The most important point here is to note that animals do not have free will, that is, they do not have consciousness, as we do, about their actions. From the moment free will develops, even in the most latent states, the Spirit starts to have free will, that is, it starts to choose its actions and, from these choices, congratulates itself or suffers for its results. So, finally, we find that animals can't hurt: they kill each other, they attack the human being, they reproduce, but all subject to instinct. There is no harm in the lion that kills the zebra: there is an instinctive need to survive. There was also no harm in orca that drowned its trainer: there is curiosity, instinct, but not a thoughtful act.

We said that the animal still has no free will. if still doesn't have, one day he will. And what is free will, if not an attribute of the Spirit, the intelligent principle of Creation? So animals have souls? Yea:

597. Since animals have an intelligence that gives them a certain freedom of action, is there in them any principle independent of matter?

“There is, and that survives the body.”

The) - Is this principle a soul like that of man?

“It is also a soul, if you will, depending on the meaning given to this word. It is, however, inferior to that of man. There is between the soul of animals and that of man a distance equivalent to that between the soul of man and God.”

598. After death, does the soul of animals retain its individuality and self-consciousness?

“Keep your individuality; about the awareness of your I, no. Intelligent life remains in a latent state.”

We see that it is a Spirit – or a soul, which is the incarnate Spirit – still in an evolutionary stage very distant from that of the terrestrial human Spirit: as if it were the same distance, according to the Spirits, that separates us from God. don't even have consciousness of themselves. It's a huge distance, but the important information is: yes, they have Spirits. So one question remains: do animals suffer? In what way?

the suffering of the animal

We, Spirits in the human stage, suffer in two ways: morally, as a result of our choices, and materially, as a result of our choices. when incarnate (The Spirit does not suffer materially when disincarnated, so that all reports of the type are the result of a mental externalization of moral suffering).

Moral pain, as we said, is born from the realization of a mistake we have made. And there could be no mistake if we didn't have the ability to choose, because without it, we would only be responding to external stimuli, through instinct. Now, this being exactly the case with animals, it is rational to suppose that they cannot suffer moral pain because of their actions – after all, imagine the moral pain that a lion would have after killing, from time to time, another animal for food!

The Spirit in the animal stage does not even need the time in the erraticity that the human Spirit needs, where he analyzes his past, his choices, his difficulties, etc:

600. Surviving the body in which it inhabited, does the soul of the animal find itself, after death, in a state of erraticity, like that of man?

“It remains in a kind of erraticity, since it is no longer united with the body, but it is not a wandering spirit. The Wandering Spirit is a being who thinks and works of his own free will. The animals do not have the same faculty. Self-awareness is what constitutes the main attribute of the Spirit. The animal's, after death, is classified by the Spirits who are responsible for this task and used almost immediately; he is not given time to enter into relations with other creatures.”

We see, in the highlighted section, important information, which denies some theories of “dog heaven”, “animal paradise”, etc. The Spirit, in this evolutionary state, only needs to experience successive reincarnations, where they develop and, in no way, atone for their faults – because they do not commit them:

602. Do animals progress, like man, by the act of their own will, or by the force of things?

“By force of things, wherefore they are not subject to expiation.”

After all, is it okay to submit an animal to euthanasia?

Rationally, after the knowledge presented, it is easy to see that no, because, as the animal does not yet have moral suffering, does not need to go through material sufferings in order to obtain any kind of learning. This is exactly the opposite of the case of the Spirit in the stage of free will, because the physical pains, many times, planned for himself before incarnating, they offer precious crucibles of purification of the Spirit, which reflects on his acts, his choices, his mistakes and successes.

Note, however, that in no way are we saying that the Spirit must always go through pain to learn something, as is preached by the defenders of the doctrine of the "law of action and reaction", where, for these, the Spirit will always need to go through a pain of the same gender and of the same intensity in order to understand that the pain he has caused another to go through, hurts. They forget that the Spirit can see its error, suffer for it, but then, with more lucidity, plan a life with opportunities and trials - and, sometimes, atonements - where it can face its imperfections and seek to get rid of them through the apprenticeship.

Conclusion

We don't need to make the animal go through unnecessary pain – pain that is often the result of the lifestyles and diet to which we submit them – because it does not reap the moral fruits of this pain, which is only physical. The case is different for the human spirit, which should never be submitted to euthanasia., as the Spirits teach in The Spirits' Book:

Question 953 - When a person sees an inevitable and horrible end before him, will he be guilty if he shortens his sufferings for a few moments, voluntarily hastening his death?

“He who does not wait for the term that God has marked out for his existence is always guilty. And who can be sure that, despite appearances, this term has arrived; that unexpected help does not come at the last moment?”

by Marco Milani
Text published in Spiritist Leader Magazine, ed. 188 – Mar/Apr 2022, p. 9-11

This article reinforces our recent observations regarding the Spiritist Movement, and demonstrates that we are not alone in this path.

Despite the different sizes and complexities of the services offered, all effectively Spiritist institutions have, as a common identity characteristic, the theoretical structuring of their principles and values in the teaching of Spirits organized and presented by Allan Kardec. Much more than the formal denomination displayed on its facade and documents, it is the internal culture guided by the content of Kardec's works that becomes the central element that makes any spiritist center recognized as such.

Historically, one can point to the Parisian Society of Spiritist Studies (SPEE), founded on 04/01/1858, as the first spiritist center in the world and served as a reference for the constitution of numerous groups focused on the study and practice of Spiritism.

Although it was the model for the formation of other centers, SPEE's organizational culture was unique, as the set of practices, routines, norms, needs, concerns and expectations of its members is something that cannot be reproduced. Likewise, each spiritist institution, past or present, reflects particular aspects of its founders, maintainers and collaborators that give it a unique characteristic and subject to changes over time, but always distinct from other organizations.

It can, therefore, be said that the spiritist center has a common identity in Kardec, shared with other spiritist institutions, and its own microculture, resulting from the direct action of its participants, which differentiates it to a greater or lesser degree from the other centers.

The microcultural plurality is also determined by the doctrinal maturity of the leaders of each house.

A critical identity problem is generated when the institution's microculture conflicts with the common identity that would make it recognized as a spiritist. In other words, when the spiritist principles and values start to be reinterpreted and re-signified due to doctrinal immaturity and/or the particular interests of the leaders, the house moves away from the Kardecian direction and approaches it to a spiritualist context, but not a spiritist one.

Doctrinal dynamism, the need to add new knowledge and conceptual updating are often misused to justify the subversion or abandonment of the teaching of the Spirits in Kardec's work. Isolated opinions of disincarnated authors come to be assumed as new truths that legitimize themselves because they were revealed by supposed mediumistic communications and by infallible mediums. The universal control method adopted by Kardec is also rendered useless or distorted by the novices, devaluing the care necessary to accept information as valid.

It is not by chance that the relationship between power and culture in organizations is widely explored in the scientific literature in the area of Applied Social Sciences. The influence exerted by leaders, mainly charismatic ones, in institutions can change and consolidate the organizational culture in the long term and make the spiritist doctrinal references migrate from their Kardecian base to new theoretical frameworks, generally syncretic and mystical.

It was precisely the syncretism with Theosophy, Catholicism and Orientalism, in addition to superstitious hints, some of the factors that negatively impacted the development of the French Spiritist Movement after the disincarnation of Allan Kardec. The reflection of the cultural distortion was the dissemination of Roustainguism, for example, in some nascent groups, including Brazilians. Once the syncretic microculture is implemented, its harmful impact on the spiritist identity issue is visible.

Mistakenly, some more daring and distant from the careful analysis under sociological methods, confuse the countless organizational microcultures with their own common spiritist identity, leading them to suppose that there are “various spiritisms”. What exists, in fact, is an expected microcultural heterogeneity that does not represent, by itself, the Spiritist Doctrine, which is unique. Thus, there is only one Spiritism, but different degrees of doctrinal maturity of its adherents.

The more coherent with the teaching of the Spirits presented by Allan Kardec, the closer to the spiritist identity is the profiteer. The coder himself recognized and classified the different types of spiritists, signaling that there is no strict uniformity nor that the isolated thoughts and acts of those who declare themselves adept will necessarily characterize the doctrine.

In the book The Gospel According to Spiritism, in its chapter XVII, item 4, the characteristics of the true spiritist are explained, but even in this item the hasty reading prevents the real understanding of its deeper meaning. The following excerpt stands out:

“He who can rightly be qualified as a true and sincere spiritist is in a higher degree of moral advancement. The Spirit, who dominates matter more completely in him, gives him a clearer perception of the future; the principles of the Doctrine make you vibrate fibers that in others remain inert (emphasis mine). In short: he is touched in the heart, so his faith becomes unshakable. One is like a musician that a few chords are enough to move, while another only hears sounds. The true spiritist is recognized for his moral transformation and for the efforts he uses to tame his evil inclinations.”

               As can be seen, it is a limited interpretation to characterize the true spiritist only through moral transformation and efforts to tame bad inclinations, since these attitudes, although extremely positive and necessary, can be done by any human being, be it whatever your philosophical belief or orientation, including atheists. To be good, you don't have to be spiritual. That's why the maxim is outside charity (not Spiritism) there is no salvation. There are morally higher atheists than many religious people.

On the other hand, to be a spiritist, one must understand and experience the doctrinal principles and, for that, one must study and learn about the nature, origin and destiny of Spirits, as well as their relationship with the corporeal world, according to the Spiritism. Science has, therefore, a prominent role in the production and advancement of knowledge about the reality that surrounds us, even entering spiritualist proposals, even if it displeases researchers still trapped in materialism.

Considering that it is not enough to be good to be a true spiritist, a spiritist organization must imperatively be conducted according to doctrinal principles and values. Conceptual deviations incorporated in organizational microculture under the claim that the only thing that matters is striving to transform morally generate spaces for subtle or clear anti-doctrinal infiltrations.

In summary, the spiritist movement, composed of thousands of institutions and activists, expresses a rich microcultural diversity and degrees of doctrinal maturity, but Spiritism is unique, expressing the teaching of the Spirits that were validated by the method of universal control and march, side by side. , with scientific advances as long as they are properly validated, overcoming the hypothetical stage. The organizational culture of the true spiritist center has, therefore, Kardec as ballast, it distances syncretic, mystical and superstitious postures, and welcomes the invitation to dialogue based on facts and on reasoned faith for the production and advancement of knowledge, which do not occur due to mere psychic opinion.

Spiritist Magazine — Journal of Psychological Studies — 1858 > June

Mr. Morrison, Monomaniac

Last March, an English newspaper reported the following concerning Mr. Morrison, recently deceased in England, leaving a fortune of one hundred million francs. According to that newspaper, in the last two years of his life he was prey to a singular monomania. He imagined himself reduced to extreme poverty and had to earn his daily bread with manual work. Family and friends had recognized the futility of efforts to get it out of his head. He was poor, didn't have a penny and had to work for a living: that was his conviction. Every morning they put a hoe in his hands and sent him to work in his own gardens. In a little while they came to look for him, for the task was completed; they paid him a modest salary for the work done and he was content. His spirit was tranquil and his mania satisfied.

If they had thwarted him, he would have been the most unhappy of men.

1. ─ I ask Almighty God to allow the Spirit of Morrison, recently deceased in England, to communicate with us, leaving a considerable fortune.

─ Here he is.

2. ─ Do you remember the state you were in during the last two years of your corporeal existence?

─ It is always the same.

3. ─ After death, did your spirit resent the aberration of faculties during your life?

─ Yes.

Saint Louis completes the answer, spontaneously saying: “Detached from the body, the Spirit feels, for a while, the compression of its bonds.”

4. So, after death, did not your Spirit immediately recover the fullness of its faculties?

─ No.

5. ─ Where are you now?

─ Behind Ermance.

6. ─ Are you happy or unhappy?

─ Something is missing… I don’t know what… I’m looking for… Yes, I suffer.

7. ─ Why do you suffer?

─ He suffers for the good he has not done. (Reply from St. Louis).

8. ─ Why this mania of considering himself poor, when he had such a great fortune?

─ I was. Truly, rich is he who has no needs.

9. ─ Where did this idea come from that you had to work for a living?

─ I was crazy and I still am.

10. ─ How did this madness come to you?

─ What does it matter? I had chosen that atonement.

11. ─ What is the origin of your fortune?

─ What do you care?

12. ─ However, wasn't your invention aimed at relieving Humanity?

─ And enrich me.

13. ─ What use did you make of your fortune when you enjoyed the fullness of reason?

─ None. I think I enjoyed it.

14. ─ Why would God have given him fortune, since he was not to use it usefully for others?

─ I had chosen the test.

15. ─ Is not one who enjoys a fortune acquired in work more excusable for clinging to it than one who was born in the bosom of opulence and never knew the need?

─ Less.

St. Louis adds: “He knows pain, but does not relieve it.”

The monomaniac remembers his past life

16. ─ Do you remember your existence before the one you just left?

─ Yes.

17. ─ What were you then?

─ A worker

18. ─ You told us that you are unhappy. Do you see a term for your suffering?

─ No.

St. Louis adds: “It is too soon.”

19. ─ Who does this depend on?

─ From me. So the one who is there told me.

20. ─ Do you know the one who is there?

─ You call him Louis.

21. ─ Do you know what he was like in France in the 13th century?

─ No… I know him through you… I thank you for what you taught me.

22. ─ Do you believe in another corporeal existence?

─ Yes.

23. ─ If you must be reborn in corporeal life, on whom will your future social position depend?

─ Me, I suppose. So many times I have chosen that this can only depend on me.

NOTE: The words so many times I chose are features. His current state proves that, despite numerous existences, he has progressed little, and that for him, it is always a fresh start.

24. ─ What social position would you choose if you could start over?

─ Low. Move forward more safely. You are only in charge of yourself.

25. ─ (To Saint Louis): Isn't there a feeling of selfishness in choosing a humble position, in which one should only be responsible for oneself?

─ Nowhere are you burdened only with yourself. Man is responsible for those around him and not only for the souls whose education has been entrusted to him, but also for others. The example does all the harm.

26. - (To Morrison): We thank you for the kindness with which you answered us and we pray that God gives you the strength to endure new trials.

─ You relieved me. I learned.

OBSERVATION: The moral state of the Spirit is easily recognized in the above answers. They are short and, when not monosyllabic, have something dark and vague about them. A melancholy madman would not speak otherwise. This persistence of the aberration of ideas after death is a remarkable fact, but it is not constant, or that sometimes presents a completely different character. We will have occasion to cite several other examples, where the different forms of madness are studied.

Conclusion

The question below from The Spirits' Book talks about greed and other trials:

261. Should the spirit, in the trials to which it must submit to reach perfection, experience all kinds of temptations? Must he go through all the circumstances that might excite pride, jealousy, avarice, sensuality, etc.?

The Spirits respond:

Certainly not, since you know that there are those who, from the beginning, take a path that frees them from many trials; but he who lets himself be led astray runs all the dangers of this road. For example, a spirit may ask for wealth and it may be granted; then, according to his character, he can become greedy or prodigal, selfish or generous, or else he can indulge in all the pleasures of sensuality; this, however, does not mean that you must necessarily experience all these tendencies.

Previous article: The role of the researcher and the medium in communications with the Spirits

Meet our Facebook group: Study Group The Legacy of Allan Kardec

In this group study, we treated the article in question in a somewhat different way, as we noticed that it gave us the opportunity to go into a very important depth regarding mediumship and the differences between how it was treated in Spiritism, as a scientific doctrine born from the rational observation of facts and spiritist (spiritual) communications and how it is treated today. Thus, we cover the following main topics:

• What is the medium's influence on communication?
• Animism and the fear of being a psychic
• Can and should we judge mediumistic communications? In what way?
• Myths: we cannot summon spirits; Evoking Spirits Causes Obsessions
• Lessons learned: the distance between the current “spiritualist movement” and original Spiritism; the need to resume studies

Based on the article “Impostor spirits — the false Father Ambrósio” — Spiritist Magazine, July 1858

We hope that both the video of our debate and this reading will be of great benefit to you!

The pitfalls of mediumship

We recognize: studying Kardec on your own is not always easy. It is a difficult language and, many times, full of references to neologisms and the context in which Professor Rivail was inserted, in a way that such contextualization¹ is very opportune, in the foreground, as the use of research in the web, while reading.

"I choose" means, figuratively, a difficulty. And Kardec opens the aforementioned article by discussing such difficulties:

One of the pitfalls presented by spiritist communications is that of imposter spirits, who may mislead their identity and who, under a respectable name, try to pass the grossest absurdities. On many occasions this danger has been explained to us. However, he is nothing to those who scrutinize both the form and the content of the language of the invisible beings with whom he enters into communication.. […] Nothing is easier than to guard against similar frauds, however small our good will.

Kardec seems to make quite simple, even banal, this task of identifying the communication of an imposter Spirit, isn't it? But why, then, nowadays, so many absurdities have been accepted, via mediumistic communications, as if they were the legitimate expression of a serious and honest Spirit, knowing the absolute truths?

It turns out that the “spiritualist movement” (I call it movement in order to distinguish Spiritism from what its adherents, who are not always well-informed and knowledgeable about the Doctrine, do) has largely forgotten the most basic postulates of the Doctrine of Spirits. Now, right at the beginning of the second part of The Spirits' Book, in items 100 to 113, Kardec presents us, didactically, a general scale, named by him “Spiritist Scale“, where, grouping in a more or less general way, the dear professor shows us the general characteristics of the Spirits in their different evolutionary scales, grouping them into three main orders: Imperfect Spirits (third order), Good Spirits (second order) and Pure Spirits (first order).

It is verified, even by the logical observation of our evolutionary condition, that we put ourselves in contact mainly with the Spirits of the last two orders, especially with those of the third, with whom we are more easily attuned mentally. It is also a known fact that spirits differ from us, incarnates, only because they do not have the constriction of the physical body and, due to the absence of this, they have a more free thought, in general, from the smothering of the physical brain. Therefore, like us, they do not change their opinion or knowledge simply by leaving matter through disincarnation and, like us, they can speak what they know, what they believe they know, or else they may seek to deceive, either out of ostensible malice or out of pride in wanting to say what they admittedly do not know.

We have already reproduced the Spiritist Scale in a previous article, but we are going to highlight some important details of this third order of Spirits, which is where the problems in mediumistic communications are concentrated.

How do third-order Spirits communicate – Imperfect Spirits

Tenth Class – Impure Spirits

They are inclined to evil, what they are worried about. They give treacherous, disloyal advice, blow away discord and distrust, and they mask themselves in every way to better deceive.

In language they are trivial, coarse, have baseness of inclination, and cannot long deceive with false wisdom.

Ninth Class – Levian Spirits

They are ignorant, malevolent, inconsequential and mocking. They meddle in everything, respond to everything, without worrying about the truth. They like to cause little annoyances and little joys; to produce discord; to maliciously mislead by mystifications and pranks.

His communications are almost always witty and lighthearted, but often lacking in depth.

Eighth Class – Pseudo-Wise Spirits

They have quite extensive knowledge, but they believe they know more than they really do.

It's a mixture of some truths with the most absurd mistakes, through which they penetrate the presumption, pride, jealousy and obstinacy, which they have not yet been able to undress.

Now, we have, here, a very important basic knowledge about the way these Spirits express themselves, don't we? And of course, as good spiritists, we will not stop here and will seek to study The Spirits' Book and other works, in order to acquire even more knowledge that can help in our contact with the Spirits. After all, it is not for nothing that Kardec, in the introduction to The Mediums' Book, begins like this:

Every day experience brings us confirmation that the difficulties and disappointments that many encounter in the practice of Spiritism originate from ignorance of the principles of this science, and we are happy to have been able to prove that our work, carried out with the objective of guarding the adepts against the pitfalls of a novitiate has borne fruit and that many people must have managed to avoid them after reading this work.

It is natural, among those who deal with Spiritism, the desire to be able to put themselves in communication with the Spirits. This work is intended to find the way for them, leading them to take advantage of our long and laborious studies, since a very false idea would form those who thought it was enough, to consider themselves an expert in this matter, to know how to put their fingers on a table, in order to to make her move, or to hold a pencil, in order to write.

One thing is certain: Kardec had no time to waste with empty words destined to embellish a pride or a vanity that, as it was very well demonstrated, he didn't have. So, what we have to do is put aside pride and dedicate ourselves to studying, instead of thinking that we know everything simply because we have any practical contact with the Spirits! That way it's much easier to judge a spiritual communication or trying to penetrate the real face of the Spirit that communicates – and Kardec, in that same article (by the fake Father Ambrósio) will give a simple and clear lesson on how to do it. We will deal with that later on.

How to deal with mystifying spirits?

To mystify means to deceive, to deceive. And we will highlight two questions asked by Kardec, directly to the mystifying Spirit (that of the false Father Ambrose, whom he had evoked) that raise important questions, which are discussed below.

“14. ─ What do you think of what you said in his name?

─ I think like those who thought of me listened."”

The question here is: who listened to them? The medium would be listening, necessarily? In other words: was that medium's fault that false communication?

“16. ─ Why do you not maintain the imposture in our presence?

─ 'Cause my language is a touchstone [material used to assess the purity of a material], with which you cannot be deceived."”

Why in that environment (Kardec's) did that Spirit say he couldn't deceive?

But in order to answer these questions, let's move forward in our reflections, which will make the answers very clear.

Animism

We think it is important to raise the question of animism, since it is something that persecutes and takes the sleep of many mediums and leaders of spiritist groups. Animism is the concept in which the medium presents his own content, his own thoughts, instead of presenting purely the thought of the Spirit who communicates.

It is something that actually happens a lot, being the reason for many fears, as we said, because the hypothesis was created that the medium needs to be a totally passive tool for spiritual communication. This is still true when we talk about the communication of a Spirit through a medium. However, it should not be turned into a tool of persecution or self-persecution. The importance of the question here is linked to the medium's honesty:

• When the medium acts in a totally honest way, seeking to be a good tool for the Spirits, stripped of vanity and pride, his mediumship can be developed through practice and favored by study. Thus, in more or less time, the communications given through it will be more and more “clean”, expressing the original thought of the Spirit. Therefore, animism, in this case, should not be something to be feared, as it is related to the degree of development of mediumship, considering that, in the early stages, the medium will commonly complete thoughts or translate them according to their own ideas, which are not necessarily contrary to those of the Spirit.

• When the medium consciously acts (under the gaze of material lucidity) expressing ideas that are not of a Spirit, that is, when he is not acting as a medium, but only by himself, in a waking state, but he tries to trick, as if it were a mediumistic communication, expressing the most terrible nonsense, yes this is a serious case, a problem directly linked to the medium's morals, which needs to be treated with fraternity but with firmness, so that this medium does not put the group's harmony in check. When it acts in isolation, in this case, it is only necessary that it is not taken seriously, as, unfortunately, many spiritists have done.

The honest medium must learn that, whenever he is unfocused or when no Spirit is communicated, he must inform the group, without any fear of being affected by a self-love that, in this particular case, should never exist. Unfortunately, the current spiritist centers, with the mediumistic meetings open to the public, have placed on the mediums' shoulders a deleterious responsibility of having to always be ready and available for mediumistic phenomena, which is not logical, since, mediumship being a capacity rooted in the organism, as a sixth sense, can also present several obstacles, just as a cold can take away our olfactory ability.

But there is a third aspect to consider: sometimes the animism may be welcome, as expressed in the following question from OLM (The Mediums' Book):

223 - 2nd. Can written or verbal communications also emanate from the Spirit incarnated in the medium?

“The soul of the medium can communicate, like any other. If he enjoys a certain degree of freedom, he recovers his qualities as a Spirit.[…] Because, you know, among the Spirits you evoke, there are some who are incarnated on Earth. They, then, speak to you as Spirits and not as men. Why shouldn't the same be done with the medium?”

In such a way, if the spirit of the medium itself can communicate - which happens more easily in states of somnambulism and ecstasy, as the answer to question 223-3a makes clear - it is clear that it can also bring valid and important knowledge, in the same way that a spirit freed from matter would do.

I believe that the subject of animism is relatively well understood from what has been exposed. But what about the fear that the medium may have of transmitting a communication of low content, that is, a communication frivolous, of indecent or deceptive language? We believe that the following approach will respond well in this regard.

The medium's moral influence

Having raised the issue of the fear that the medium may have of giving way to a communication of less high content, we need to reflect on the medium's role in this regard. Kardec addresses, of course, this questioning in OLM, seeking to identify the connection between the medium's morals and the mediumistic ability. Let's see:

226. 1st. Is the development of mediumship related to the moral development of mediums?

"No; the college itself takes root in the body; regardless of morale. The same is not true, however, with its use., which can be good or bad, according to the medium's qualities.”

5th. In the lessons given, in general, to the medium, without personal application, does he not appear as a passive instrument, for the instruction of others?
“Often, warnings and advice are not addressed to him personally, but to others to whom we cannot address ourselves, except through him, who, however, must take his part in such warnings and advice, if not blind him. self-love.

The first question reinforces what we said about the mediumistic faculty being rooted in the organism, which means that both the good and the bad can be mediums of greater or lesser capacity. However – and therein lies the main objective of the mediumistic faculty – the good or bad use we make of it is what will guide our morals and the will to use it for our own progress, in the service of humanity, or not.

The fifth question goes like this: the medium, as much as he is a passive instrument, must always be attentive to the communications he intermediates, because, no matter how much they are directed to others, they can have personal application - which reinforces the previous thought.

226. 6th. Since the medium's moral qualities drive away imperfect spirits, how can a medium endowed with good qualities transmit false or rude answers?

“Do you know all the corners of the human soul? Moreover, the creature can be light and frivolous, without being vicious. This is also the case, because sometimes he needs a lesson in order to keep his guard up.”

The sixth question points out that, often, a low-level communication can occur through the sympathy of mediums with Spirits who think like him or who have the same inclinations, even if this is not visible in the medium, on a daily basis. They can also happen because he sometimes needs a lesson to keep himself on his guard, or else, we suppose, so that the study group remains on guard, because we suppose that a good medium can still mediate a communication of this content. in order to test the attention of that group.

All this, however, is very valid if the group or the individual is attentive and they treat communications seriously and honestly. Otherwise, such communications, which will happen more often, will lead to the downfall of one or the other.

226. 8th. Is it absolutely impossible to obtain good communications from an imperfect medium?

“An imperfect medium can sometimes obtain good things, because, if he has a beautiful faculty, it is not uncommon for good spirits to make use of him, in the absence of another, in special circumstances; however, this only happens momentarily, because, as long as the spirits find one that suits them best, they give preference to this one.”

Spirits communicate in a friendly environment, preferably.

Note. It should be noted that when good spirits see that a medium is not well assisted and becomes, due to his imperfections, the prey of deceiving spirits, circumstances almost always arise that reveal their defects and distance them from serious and well-rounded people. -intentioned, whose good faith could be lacquered. In this case, whatever faculties he possesses, his departure is not to be missed.

a moral medium complicated but with good mediumistic abilities, it can be used by good spirits in specific situations, such as when there is no other or when the spirits think that they will produce good or that they will be able to avoid evil by doing so. Other than that, they walk away.

Kardec's note says it all: if a medium, due to his inclinations, is no longer well assisted (by good spirits) and becomes prey to inferior spirits, he is, by the good spirits themselves, removed from serious and well-intentioned people.

Conclusions about the moral influence of the medium

• A medium of good morals can be the target of a mystifying spirit. This can be a warning, as in the case that Kardec will address.
• A medium of "questionable" morals can be used, if he has a powerful mediumship, by a high spirit. However, much more often he will be the target of inferior spirits, who will end up making him fall, especially when he uses his mediumship for “questionable” purposes.

The False Father Ambrose

Kardec, in order to study the problem, approaches the case that occurred at Spiritualiste de la Nouvelle-Orléans (Click here to download the original, in French), where two deceiving spirits had posed as Father Ambrósio and Clement XIV, weaving a dialogue that was too frivolous and empty.

Kardec then evokes the three Spirits: The real Father Ambrósio, the false Fr. Ambrose and the false Clement XIV, but rather declares:

Let us hasten, however, to declare that this circle does not only receive communications of this order; there are others of a very different character, in which we find all the sublimity of thought and expression of superior spirits.

As it is possible to verify in the original magazine and also in the free translation done by our collaborator, Ariane, in the second part (third page of the document), the communications of the real Fr. Ambrose are much higher and deeper.

Kardec's conversation with the Spirits and our reflections

To the Spirit of the true Fr. Ambrose:

5. ─ How could you allow similar things in your name? Why have you not come to unmask the impostors?

─ Because I can't always prevent men and spirits from having fun.

6. ─ We understand you about the spirits. But as for the people who collected the words, they are serious people; they were not looking for fun.

─ One more reason. They must have immediately thought that such words could not but be the language of mocking spirits.

Not always good spirits can prevent such situations, because, above all, they respect the free will of others. In addition, they may allow such situations to serve as a warning to the group or individual.

7. ─ Why don't the spirits teach in New Orleans, principles perfectly identical to those they teach here?

─ Soon the doctrine dictated to you will serve you. There will only be one.

8. Since this doctrine will have to be taught there later, it seems to us that if it were taught immediately it would accelerate progress and prevent some from having harmful doubts.

─ God's plans are always impenetrable. Are there not other things which, in view of the means which he employs to attain his ends, seem incomprehensible to you? It is necessary for man to get used to distinguishing the true from the false. Not everyone could receive light from a jet without being dazzled.

The Spirit of the true Fr. Ambrósio makes it clear: the Spiritist Doctrine found, in France and in the Kardec context, the necessary basis to make itself shine with full force, without overshadow, since the sciences were very well prepared to receive their teachings, treating them rationally and with a scientific method.

A great lesson from Kardec

We talked, before, about the need to seek to distinguish the communications of the Spirits, identifying if they are honest or products of deception and if they are of more or less wise Spirits (remembering that a communication can be serious and honest, but, even so, of little importance). or no wisdom). Let's see, then, the following questions and answers exchanged between Kardec and the real Fr. Ambrose:

 9. ─ Would you be kind enough to give us your personal opinion regarding reincarnation?  

Spirits are created ignorant and imperfect. A single incarnation would not be enough for them to learn everything. It is necessary that they reincarnate in order to enjoy the happiness that God has reserved for them.  

10. Does reincarnation take place on Earth or only on other globes?  

Reincarnation takes place according to the progress of the Spirit, in more or less perfect worlds.  

11. This does not clarify whether it can occur on Earth.  

Yes, it can happen on Earth, and if Spirit asks for it as a mission, it will be more meritorious to him than if he asked for it to advance more quickly in more perfect worlds.

Now, Kardec was talking about a completely different subject. Suddenly starts asking about reincarnation? Because?

Simple: because he was trying to probe the knowledge of that Spirit, in order to know if he was really talking with a wise Spirit or if he was talking with a deceiving Spirit. Brilliant, no? This is how we should proceed, even today and always, but for that, it is necessary that we are attentive, that we have knowledge and that we leave the condition of simple passive spectators of spiritual communications.

Kardec continues, now asking the false Foot. Ambrose:

15. ─ Why did you use a respectable name to say such nonsense?

─ In our eyes, names are worthless. The works are everything. As from what I was saying, they could see what I really was, I didn't attach importance to the name replacement.

Look: the deceiving Spirit knows that the “listeners” (we know that communication was through psychography) could judge who he really was, through what he expressed. Therefore, he did not attach any importance to using the name of Fr. Ambrose.

lessons learned

We live in a Spiritism that is very distant from "Kardec's" Spiritism (in quotation marks, because we know that Spiritism does not belong to him nor did it originate from his mind). And this is not good, because "Kardec's" Spiritism is that scientific doctrine, born from the rational observation of spiritist phenomena and the universal agreement of the Spirits' teachings.

Today, in the Spiritist milieu, on the one hand, the medium is persecuted for “animism”; on the other hand, many mediums are treated as oracles, as if their opinions – because any individual thought, in the face of the Doctrine, that has not passed through the sieve of reason and universal agreement, can only be taken as opinion — of themselves or of the spirits that communicate, could be taken as the supreme expression of truth and wisdom. We have just seen how false and dangerous this premise is.

Should we not evoke the Spirits?

In addition, several myths were created, such as the one that says that we should not evoke the Spirits (which is only valid in case of lack of good intentions, which would constitute, in Kardec's words, a true desecration) and how what says that evocations can result in spiritual obsessions. Now the spirits are all around us all the time, and they approach us according to their affinities with what we are and think, in the depths of our soul. To obsess us, it is enough that they want to use our unwillingness and our permission and, for that, do not need to communicate with us through mediumship.

It is worth noting that if a medium or mediumistic group becomes the target of spiritual obsession, it is because there is a moral problem there, linked to the imperfections of each one, over which they need to be vigilant. Kardec and countless other researchers used educated and balanced mediums to evoke all kind of spirit, without ever suffering from obsessions to do so. Just to reinforce: these evocations had a serious purpose and were made by serious people. If they were made out of mere idle curiosity or amusement, they would be related to a moral problem, and so there we have the highlighted problem.

This question, of the possibility and validity or not of evoking the Spirits, was already very well addressed by Kardec in his article “Spiritism without the Spirits”, in the RE of January 1866, about which we made some important considerations in an article namesake (Click here to access it).

Also, in the 1858 Magazine, in the article “Obsessed and Subjugated” Kardec addresses the issue of the dangers of Spiritism in more detail. We suggest reading the article emerged from our studies.

Spiritism needs defense

Many claim that Spiritism does not need to be defended and, much more, that it needs updating, as it would be outdated. I begin by saying that Spiritism needs defense YES. Affirmations contrary to this seem to come from Spirits contrary to the propagation of this Doctrine, Spirits who, by the way, have never read Kardec, who should come out in defense of Spiritism whenever appropriate. It is not a defense that attacks religions or beliefs, but a defense that points out the inaccuracies and errors, in the face of Spiritism, in the so-called Spiritist affirmations and practices.

I've heard a lot, in the spiritist environment, in different parts: the times are come. For a long time I thought it was just a warning about the difficulties we are going through. However, today I reflect: analyzing it coldly, do we really live something very different from what we already lived in other times of humanity? Or could it be that the Spirits were informing that the time has come to restore what was corrupted?

One thing is a fact: it is time to start reorganizing thoughts and resume studies that have been forgotten or lost for a long time. Some researchers have brought very important information, based on documents and original works, hitherto unknown, allowing us to know not only Spiritism in its essence, but also the sciences that gave rise to it or that, together with it, form an inseparable set. .

Paulo Henrique de Figueiredo, in the work Autonomy: the untold story of Spiritism, brings us information about Rational Spiritualism. This formed the Moral Sciences of the time and which gave basis to Spiritism, which, according to Professor Rivail's own thought, was a development of the first; at work Mesmer: a denied science of magnetism, brings very important information about Magnetism, a science that is so often cited not only by Kardec, but by the Spirits themselves. As magnetism was a very well-established Science in its time, it never had in-depth explanations by Kardec, who could not imagine that it would be extinct in the following decades; and Simoni Privato, in Allan Kardec's Legacy, gives us information regarding not only an alleged adulteration of The Genesis, a subject that is still full of controversial discussions, but also gives very important information about the complete deviation that the Parisian Spiritist Society, later transformed into an Anonymous Society and led by Pierre Gaetan Leymarie, suffered at the hands of this gentleman.

Based on these studies and on Kardec's studies, Spiritists honestly interested in seeing the return of serious research work, together with Spirits, along the lines of Kardec, need to do their part in defending the Doctrine, disseminating it without accusing and, above all, , urging the mediumistic groups to re-register communications with the Spirits, delving into them and leaving the mere condition of patient spectators, living under the misunderstood phrase, which became the motto, “the telephone rings from there to here”, to resume serious evocations and produce important material that, one day, can be independently analyzed again (read this succinct article about this reflection).

Conclusion

Unfortunately, the spiritist movement is quite distant from Kardec and from Spiritism in its real face. It started to accept the most diverse blunders, allegedly transmitted by mediumistic sources, some well known, which has caused a lot of damage not only to the movement itself, which is increasingly emptied, but also to the image of Spiritism before the society, which has learned, in large part, to see Spiritism as that opinion that comes to the surface whenever any disaster happens to say that, there, people who were redeeming a collective debt were victimized, being, therefore, guilty and deserving of that event. And this kind of thinking is widely reproduced about individual or collective tragedies, causing aversion and distancing.

As if that were not enough, Spiritism, since Kardec's death (in 1869), began to be flooded with ideas roustaguists (by Jean-Baptiste Roustaing), a “doctrine” that was established in the Brazilian Spiritist community since before the beginning of the 20th century, including by great sympathy from Bezerra de Menezes to his ideas. Although the FEB, self-proclaimed “Spiritism summit in Brazil”, only adopted the obligation to study Roustaing’s works from 1917 onwards (read more here), the Roustainguist (or Rustanist) influence was already strong in this environment for a long time.

Then came the influences Ramatists, following the same pattern: ideas of a clearly pseudo-wise Spirit (Ramatis), who believes he knows more than he knows and who wants to put himself with messianic characteristics, rewriting the truth and putting Kardec in the trash, contradicting the Spiritist Doctrine and Science itself in countless points and, finally, without citing several other examples, came the divinism, also with the same messianic content, this time through an individual who proclaims himself the reincarnation of Kardec and who also produces the most diverse types of ideas contrary to what was already established by the universal agreement of the teachings of the Spirits and by reason.

Anyway: the Spiritist Movement is forgotten by Kardec, to the point that there is almost no Spiritism in many points, but a religious spiritualism (in the sense of dogmatic religion and full of rituals, hierarchies and priests). We need, I repeat, to do our part, actively, but without contention, that is, looking for groups and individuals honestly interested in this task, in order to assist in the restoration work, because,

what is basic, cannot be surpassed!