The Queen of Oude

The Queen of Oude has been summoned. She was an Indian Queen (her name was Malika Kishwar) who had visited England. On his return trip to India, he fell ill and died in Paris, in 1858. More details here queen of oude From now on, we'll call it Queen.

The queen appeared very disturbed, finding it difficult to understand what was happening to her. From their conversation, we could see their arrogance and pride. Several questions were asked about her opinion of her earthly life, the condition of women, the life of Indians, about Muhammad, God, Jesus, but she said that she was too powerful to be occupied with God.

She said that she missed life, that she hoped her subjects would come to serve her. She said more than once that she was always queen, even in other lifetimes. She was extremely arrogant.

The queen, in addition to being disturbed, seemed quite annoyed with the questions, which was questioned. She said she was forced to come:

question 22 ─ Why did you respond so quickly to our appeal?

ans. Queen: - I didn't want to do it, but they forced me. Do you think that I would deign to answer you? Who are you by my side?

Question. 23 – And who forced you to come?

Reply. Queen: – I don't know myself... since there shouldn't be anyone greater than me.

The Queen of Oude, RE March/1858

The conversation ended as soon as the Espírito de Sao Luis intervened:

question 32 ─ We only ask you to be kind enough to answer two or three more questions.

Reply. Saint Louis – ─ Leave her, poor misguided! Have mercy on your blindness. May she serve as an example to you! You do not know how much their pride suffers.

We thought we would find in this Spirit, if not philosophy, at least a truer feeling for reality and healthier ideas about earthly vanities and grandeur. Far from it, earthly ideas retained all their strength in her: it is pride, which loses nothing of its illusions.

This evocation description is also found in the book Heaven and Hell by Allan Kardec, Second part, chap. VII – hardened spirits.




The Lemaire Killer

In this article, Kardec reports the case of a murderer named Lemaire. He was invoked after his execution on December 31, 1857 in Paris.

Lemaire was a young man of 23 – 24 years old. He was arrested several times for theft followed by murders more than once. Escaped from prison, was held back again. He was feared by society. here you go article in french about your life.

When invoked by Kardec, through Ms. Raquel, immediately spoke up for questions. In his words, there was a clear regret for his actions. Besides, he was embarrassed.

Lemaire said he found his victims he murdered and felt remorse. His moral pain was unbearable,

– Do they have hatred and a desire for revenge?

Do not. Your prayers draw to me the atonement. You cannot appreciate what a horrible torture it is all due to the one who is hated.

In RE, Assassin Lemaire, question 20.

He added, through responses from his summoners, the following:

 ─ How do you plan to rescue crimes?

─ By further evidence, but it seems to me that Eternity is between me and them.

question 32

He was very upset, which must have made them want to be able to give some kind of comfort to the Spirit of Lemaire.

This evocation is also described in the book Heaven and hell by Allan Kardec, Second Part, chap. VI – Repentant criminals.




Law of action and reaction, law of return, karma: why do we suffer, according to Spiritism?

Maybe you who are reading, like me, have already asked that question: “God, why me?”

This questioning, quite natural when we still do not have a full understanding of the teachings of the superior spirits through Spiritism, still finds many inexact or even wrong explanations, precisely because of this lack of understanding, which is born from the lack of study.

Let's present some of these opinions incongruous with Spiritism:

  • because God wants
  • 'Cause I'm paying for a bad one
  • 'Cause I'm being punished for a mistake from other lives
  • because it's chance
  • It's karma (or karma)
  • It's the Law of Action and Reaction (which reflects a bad past)
  • It’s “rescuing” other lives

All explanations, except the one that says it is the work of chance, basically reflect the same opinion: if I am suffering it is because God is subjecting me to a punishment, since I made a mistake. One opinion even goes further: God doesn't like me.

We need to detach ourselves a little more from these old conceptions, from a time when the human mentality was not ready to move a few steps forward and understand a God who is all kindness and love. In the past, we believed that God was a cruel, vengeful being, full of wrath and wrath, because we attributed our imperfections to Him, because we were unable to understand a being that did not have them. Today, however, it is no longer that way.

Allan Kardec, in The Spirits' Book, presents a face of God, obtained from the teachings of superior Spirits, never before known on the face of the Earth - at least not as a doctrine:

1. What is God?

“God is the supreme intelligence, primary cause of all things” *

2. What is to be understood by infinity?

“That which has neither beginning nor end; the unknown; all that is unknown is infinite.”

3. Could it be said that God is infinite?

“Incomplete definition. Poverty of the language of men, insufficient to define what is above their intelligence.”

[…]

13. When we say that God is eternal, infinite, immutable, immaterial, unique, omnipotent, sovereignly just and good, do we have a complete idea of his attributes?

“From your point of view, yes, because you believe that you encompass everything. Know, however, that there are things that are above the intelligence of the most intelligent man, which your language, restricted to your ideas and sensations, has no means of expressing. In fact, reason tells you that God must possess these perfections in a supreme degree, since if he lacked one, or were not infinite, he would no longer be superior to all, therefore he would not be God. To be above all things, God must find himself exempt from any vicissitude and from any imperfections that the imagination can conceive.”

Since our conception of God has evolved a lot, how then can we attribute to him the execution of punishments or demands, since he You know that the imperfections we have are only momentary and will disappear with our evolution?

But, we may object, facts are facts: if there is no chance, but I suffer, then there must be a reason for such sufferings. If it wasn't me who caused the suffering, then someone else is subjecting me to them, so it can only be God.

However, we need to analyze this chain of thoughts in a rational way, which is the invitation always made by Kardec in the face of any questions:

First of all, we need to understand that we are incarnate Spirits and while we are connected to the body, especially in such a dense state, we will be subject to the vicissitudes of matter, including the pain and suffering naturally caused by something like, for example, cold and heat.

Secondly, we need to learn to analyze and distinguish the types of suffering caused by ourselves, in the present incarnation, by our ways of acting and thinking. In this sense, Kardec calls us to reflect:

Going back to the origin of earthly evils, it will be recognized that many are a natural consequence of the character and course of those who suffer them.

How many men fall through their own fault! How many are victims of their improvidence, their pride and their ambition!

How many are ruined for lack of order, for perseverance, for bad behavior, or for not knowing how to limit their desires!

How many unfortunate unions, because they resulted from a calculation of interest or vanity and in which the heart took no part!

How many dissensions and fatal disputes would have been avoided with a little moderation and less susceptibility!

How many diseases and infirmities result from intemperance and excesses of every kind!

How many parents are unhappy with their children, because they have not fought their bad tendencies from the beginning! Out of weakness, or indifference, they allowed the seeds of pride, selfishness and foolish vanity to develop in them, which produce the dryness of the heart; then later, when they reap what they have sown, they marvel and grieve at the lack of deference with which they are treated and their ingratitude.

Coldly question their consciences all who are wounded in the heart by the vicissitudes and disappointments of life; go back step by step to the origin of the evils that torture you and check if, more often than not, you will not be able to say: If I had done, or not done, such a thing, I would not be in such a condition.

Allan Kardec – The Gospel According to Spiritism – chap. V

It is very evident that there are many sufferings that are born on account of our actions, even in thought, and about which we can only accuse ourselves.

But what about the sufferings we don't cause in this life? Where do they come from then? If it doesn't come from today, many will say, it is a reflection of other lives. I am just paying for past mistakes. But, we will reflect, if God does not charge or punish us, who is charging me for supposed debts? My victims of the past, some will say. We even suppose that, many times, our victims persecute us for more than one incarnation, seeking revenge. But would that be a rule? Aren't there the countless cases of spirits who forgive their tormentors and go on with their lives? Who, then, who would be charging and punishing us? Where would the court be?

There is, at this point, a very important teaching given by the superior spirits, quoted in The Spirits' Book:

621. Where is the law of God written?

“In conscience.”

This answer is so succinct, but so complete, that it amazes us. Now, we already understand that the Spirit only has free will when it enters the realm of consciousness. Before that, their actions are mechanical, responding only to instincts. When, consciously, however, he begins to have the free choice about his actions and, so to speak, between good and bad.

I am taking a very constructive line of exposition in order to elaborate the thought well: we understand, then, that, from the moment we develop conscience, the Law of God becomes effective in our own mind. So, finally, we come to the crucial answer: who pursues us are ourselves.

When we make an imperfection a habit, we start making mistakes that then make us unhappy. from the moment we become aware of them. When in the state of erraticity, then, we evaluate our actions and their consequences, on ourselves and on others, and to plan new incarnations with trials that we aim to help us learn and overcome these imperfections. Often, however, haunted by great guilt and still undeveloped in understanding, we come to the point of planning great and painful atonements, like the child who, not knowing how to deal with the guilt for some wrong committed, asks his father to punish him.

We see, therefore, that the difficulties and pains of our lives, when not arising from our present actions, are rich opportunities for learning and readjustment. Other times, tragedies and terrible pain are planned by the Spirit itself to seek to ease your conscience about something past. However, a very important lesson remains: as we understand more deeply the mechanics of spiritual evolution, we will make better plans for our incarnations.

We are still spirits very connected to these conceptions of sin and punishment, reaching the point of elaborating reincarnation plans linked to the “Law of Talion” – an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. But, as we understand that what really matters is to identify our imperfections transformed into bad habits and correct them, understanding that punishment itself teaches little or nothing, we will seek better ways to plan new opportunities, progressively disconnecting ourselves from the need for very brutes to then seek opportunities more linked to a basic spiritual education, from the first steps of material childhood, with a view to strengthening virtues and smothering imperfections.

After all, we want to say: the difficulties of this life, however bad they may seem, if they are not a negative effect of our present actions or of Nature itself, they are opportunities planned by ourselves for our elevation. Let us strive, therefore, to face these trials differently, seeking to learn from them, always relying on prayer and studies of Spiritism, which can do a lot to help change our conceptions even in this life.

To complement this reading, we suggest reading the article on Punishment and Reward, recently published.


Reading suggestions:

  1. The case of Antonio B, in Heaven and Hell
  2. our reflections about the article A Fatality and Presentiments, presented in the March edition of the Spiritist Magazine of 1858
  3. The Lemaire Killer, in the Spiritist Magazine of March 1858



Jupiter and some other worlds

In this article, very connected to the previous one, Kardec, referring to the Spiritist Scale, makes some other conjectures about what a planet could be inhabited by Spirits of the ninth (tenth) class, the immense difficulties, the general state of crime, horror, of physical and moral suffering.

Then, he conjectures a planet inhabited by Spirits all of the third order – impure, frivolous, pseudo-wise and neutral spirits. There, evil would still dominate, although less and less present as those Spirits moved away from the ninth (tenth) class. Pride, selfishness, passions, enslavement and various other moral imperfections would still dominate there.

IN SUCH A SOCIETY, IF IT DOMINATES, THE IMPURE ELEMENT WILL CRUSH THE OTHER; OTHERWISE, THE LESS EVIL WILL SEEK TO DESTROY THEIR ADVERSARY; IN ANY CASE THERE WILL BE A FIGHT, A BLOODY FIGHT, OF EXTERMINATION, BECAUSE THEY ARE TWO ELEMENTS THAT HAVE OPPOSITE INTERESTS. TO PROTECT GOODS AND PEOPLE, LAWS WILL BE NECESSARY, BUT THESE WILL BE DICITED BY PERSONAL INTEREST AND NOT JUSTICE; WILL BE MADE BY THE STRONG, TO THE DETRIMENT OF THE WEAK

Next, Kardec invites us to imagine, in the midst of these Spirits, some of the second order: we would see, then, amidst the perversities, some virtues.

IF THE GOOD ARE A MINORITY, THEY WILL BE VICTIMS OF THE BAD; HOWEVER, AS ITS PREDOMINIUM RISES, LEGISLATION BECOME MORE HUMAN, MORE EQUITABLE AND CHRISTIAN CHARITY IS NO LONGER A DEAD LETTER FOR EVERYONE. FROM THAT SAME GOOD ANOTHER ADDICTION WILL BE BORN. DESPITE THE WAR WHICH THE BAD INCESSANTLY DECLARE TO THE GOOD, THEY CANNOT AVOID esteeming them in their intimate forum. SEEING THE ASCENDANT OF VIRTUE OVER ADDICTION AND NOT HAVING THE STRENGTH OR WILLING TO PRACTICE IT, THEY SEEK TO PARODIATE IT AND TAKE THE MASK OF IT. WHEN THE HYPOCRITES, SO NUMEROUS IN ALL SOCIETY WHERE CIVILIZATION IS STILL IMPERFECT.

After all, Kardec arrives, through imagination, to a whole world inhabited by spirits of the second order, to where, by simple reading, we would like to transport ourselves at this exact moment. Absolute equality does not reign there, since the second order still encompasses Spirits of various degrees of development. However, this inequality does not generate envy of the less advanced nor pride of the most advanced: everyone would be united in the purpose of learning and elevation.

THE CONSEQUENCES WE DRAW FROM THIS FRAMEWORK, ALTHOUGH HYPOTHETICALLY PRESENTED, ARE NO LESS RATIONAL, AND EVERYONE CAN DEDUCT THE SOCIAL STATE OF ANY WORLD, IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROPORTION OF THE MORAL ELEMENTS OF WHICH WE SUPPOSE IT TO COMPOSE.

WE HAVE SEEN THAT, WITHOUT THE REVELATION OF THE SPIRITS, ALL PROBABILITIES ARE FOR THE PLURALITY OF WORLDS. NOW, IT IS NO LESS RATIONAL TO THINK THAT NOT EVERYONE IS IN THE SAME DEGREE OF PERFECTION AND THAT, FOR THIS VERY REASON, OUR ASSUMPTIONS CAN PERFECTLY BE THE EXPRESSION OF REALITY.

We see, through this exercise, in which spiritual moment the Earth is and in which it has already found itself. Based on this thought and on the Spiritist Scale, we see which evils we still need to root out of our individualities in order to advance to better positions.

About some neighboring planets, Kardec informs that, according to the Spirits, Mars would be an even more backward planet than Earth, where would incarnate Spirits almost exclusively of the ninth (tenth) class. But, since we didn't find anything on Mars other than dust, should we imagine that the Spirits deceived Kardec? Why, no! just that this incarnation it must take place in a fluidic state, outside of our senses.

Follows Allan Kardec commenting on some teachings about other planets, the most interesting being those that talk about Jupiter, which would be a planet of much higher spiritual elevation than ours. There, according to the reports of the Spirits, only Spirits of the second order would incarnate. These spirits portray wonderful cities.

Will we one day land a probe there and see a civilization that is perceptible to our senses and devices? Maybe yes maybe no. Maybe one day we'll land there and find an icy, desert planet, how can we find some way of life. We don't know and, if the first case occurs, we can also assume that such cities and civilization are also constituted in ethereal matter, as we already know that even in the surroundings of our planet this fact occurs.

Anyway, they are conjectures of a past time that, although valid in many ways, maybe one day – when the methodological studies of the Spirits' communications can be resumed – revisited and complemented or corrected.




The plurality of worlds

The science of Kardec's time is something quite different from what it is today. Many scientific advances were made and, while Kardec could only imagine what the neighboring planets and even the moon would be like, today we have visited the last celestial body several times, we have already landed at least 3 autonomous vehicles on Mars and, a little while ago, we made it reach the orbit of Mercury the first human probe. Huge revolution, compared to a time when you could only think through a telescope.

We started like this in order to place ourselves in Kardec's time, which is essential to understand his conjectures about nearby astral bodies. It is also very important to note that there are two distinct parts in the Spiritist Doctrine in this regard: human knowledge and conjectures and the knowledge taught by Spirits, in the way that man could understand at that time.

On the human side, Kardec, in this article, makes several conjectures about what other worlds would be like, based on what human science at that time had already been able to observe. It creates hypotheses, quite plausible for the knowledge of the time, about the atmospheric formations of these distant orbs, conjecturing, then, about the possible forms of life that could exist there, including those not detectable by our five senses, that is, those that could be in much more subtle states of matter.

But the intention of this article by Kardec is not only to make philosophical conjectures about life, seen in a scientific way, outside the Earth: it is also to make the reader reflect on the divine greatness, which does nothing by chance and that, also in this sense , would not have made planets just for our enjoyment. In fact, Kardec makes this approach based on the teachings of the Spirits, as we can see in The Spirits' Book:

55. ARE ALL THE GLOBS THAT MOVE IN SPACE inhabited?

“YES AND EARTHLY MAN IS FAR FROM BEING, AS YOU SUPPOSE, FIRST IN INTELLIGENCE, IN KINDNESS AND IN PERFECTION. HOWEVER, THERE ARE MEN WHO HAVE VERY STRONG SPIRITS AND WHO IMAGINE THE PRIVILEGE OF CONTAINING RATIONAL BEINGS TO BELONG TO THIS LITTLE GLOBE. PRIDE AND VANITY! THEY JUDGE THAT GOD CREATED THE UNIVERSE ONLY FOR THEM.”

[…]

57. IF THE PHYSICAL CONSTITUTION OF THE WORLDS IS NOT ONE FOR ALL, WILL THE BEINGS THAT inhabit them have different ORGANIZATIONS?

“NO DOUBT, IN THE SAME WAY THAT FISH ARE MADE TO LIVE IN WATER AND BIRDS IN THE AIR.”

Scientifically, at that time, it was already possible to verify that the Moon had no atmosphere, that Mercury would be very hot and that Saturn would be very cold. How, then, could there be life in these orbs? About this, we have two hypotheses, adopted by Allan Kardec:

  1. The beings that live there, if they have a physical constitution of the same density as ours, could be adapted to these places, as on Earth there are living beings that survive extreme cold and heat or even chemical compounds that would kill us in a short time, as well as there are animals adapted to live their entire lives in water and others only on land.
  2. The beings that live there are made up of ethereal matter, more subtle than our matter and, therefore, they live in conditions that are totally adverse to ours. About this, also in The Spirits' Book, there is an indication:

58. WILL THE WORLD FAR AWAY FROM THE SUN BE DEPRIVED OF LIGHT AND HEAT, BECAUSE THAT ASTRO IS SHOWN TO THEM WITH ONLY THE APPEARANCE OF A STAR?

“THEN DO YOU THINK THAT THERE ARE NO SOURCES OF LIGHT AND HEAT OTHER THAN THE SUN, AND IN NO WAY DO YOU THINK OF ELECTRICITY, WHICH, IN CERTAIN WORLDS, PLAYS A ROLE THAT YOU KNOW AND MUCH MORE IMPORTANT THAN IT HAS TO PLAY ON EARTH? FURTHERMORE, WE DO NOT SAY THAT ALL BEINGS ARE MADE OF THE SAME MATTER AS YOU OTHERS AND WITH ORGANS OF IDENTICAL CONFORMATION TO YOURS.”

What Kardec does in this article is, in possession of information obtained by human science and spirit science, reason, together with the reader, about the very natural possibility of there being life, in some way, in all existing orbs in space, and even in space, that is, in “empty” space. There is nothing wrong with this thinking.

However, we can think: “We have already arrived at the Moon and Mars and we have not found anything of what he imagined. Kardec, therefore, was wrong”. Now, by the second hypothesis, no, he was not wrong. There may exist beings in an ethereal state, as among us the Spirits live, walk and interact, through their perispirits, without us even noticing them (except when we have mediumistic faculties for such). Furthermore, we must remember that Kardec never claimed to be the owner of the ultimate truth: he only reasoned based on what science provided him.

It may be that one day we land on a nearby planet and there we find new forms of life, sensitive to our senses, or it may be that all the nearby planets are empty of biological life, perhaps even by divine wisdom that, who knows, understands that man it would only find reasons for wars if it found other living beings on nearby planets. Now, you see, it's just me guessing.




Spiritualism and Politics

The time for the lecture at the Spiritist Center hits. The speaker, apparently well-prepared and with eloquent language, rises to the rostrum and, in the midst of topics related to the current spiritist environment, begins to issue different opinions about a supposed purpose of Spiritism as the foundation of political movements.

Most likely you too, dear reader, have already witnessed such feats, or heard close reports. And, of course, such opinions – personal, we remember – arouse sympathies and antipathies, because, in the political field, there is a lot of clash and disagreement of ideologies.

We are not going to name sides, parties, ideologies or whatever. What we are going to defend here is that Spiritism is not and will never be a political movement. And those who involve the Doctrine in such matters, did not understand it in its depth and are based on a distorted understanding to base their own political ideological inclinations, keeping away from Spiritism people who do not agree with their way of thinking - almost always quite closed in a circle. specific to ideas.

Spiritism, we remember, is a moral science with a philosophical aspect, whose theory was born from the observation of spiritist facts - that is, from the manifestation of Spirits. Its essence, in its original clarity, is aimed at the reform of ideas, in the sense of how the human spirit faces its evolution, its trials, its difficulties and its opportunities. It is not by chance, by the way, that Allan Kardec was formed at the Castle of Yverdon, by the method of Pestalozzi: it is through the pedagogy of fraternity and love, and not through punishment, that the Spirit really acquires a real understanding about its potentialities and your imperfections, perfecting yourself and leaving your bad habits behind.

Why do we say all this? Because political ideologies, on all sides, have supporters – to the exclusion of those many only use politics for their own benefit – who aim at social improvement. When these adepts are spiritists, they are often led to believe, by a very shallow understanding, that spiritist ideas are allied to their political ideologies, and they start to spread such beliefs to the four winds, without caring about the antipathies they will arouse. By the way, we also need to remember: most political ideologies trample on individual freedoms of thought, and Spiritism does just the opposite.

And all this, I repeat, for a very shallow understanding, for not delving into the studies of the Doctrine to the point of understanding that the purpose of Spiritism is to re-educate the human Spirit and, allied to education from childhood, improve the way in which the Spirit faces material life, promoting in him a change of ideas about the difficulties of life and about the need to stifle his impetus of pride and selfishness and to act in a charitable way, as a moral obligation, respecting the free will that each one has.

This does change society, as it changes the way the individual sees life and others. Spiritism offers us common ground, being a science available to people of all beliefs and ideologies, as long as they understand that its real proposal is individual modification, through free conscience, and not by force of law.

In the same way that an individual who knocks on the door of the center looking for consolation but listens to the most diverse zucchinis is scared away, brothers are also scared away when involving political issues in the spiritist environment. Unfortunately, I see many spiritualists supporting ideas and individuals who, directly or indirectly, hurt or declaredly wish to hurt the first basic principle of divine law, supported by Spiritism, which is free will.

I don't want to say that I'm someone so worthy of being important for their presence or absence, but I think I'm not the only one to walk away because of this kind of bias that shouldn't, in my humble opinion, be part of Doctrine studies – thinking that, although we want to imprint our own personalities and ideas on groups, we have a lot of responsibility for others, in the same way that someone who “welcomes” the mother of a person with disabilities by saying that he is like that because he committed suicide in the family has a responsibility. past life and that, therefore, pushes it away.

Therefore, no, Spiritism can never be mixed with any political movements.

To finish, let's remember

Allan Kardec who, in Spiritist Magazine February 1862, gives an alert:

“I must also call attention to another tactic of our adversaries: that of seeking to compromise the spiritists, inducing them to move away from the true objective of the Doctrine, which is that of moral (emphasis ours), to address issues that are not within their competence and that could, with good reason, arouse susceptibility and distrust.

Don't let yourself fall into that trap either; carefully remove from your meetings all that pertains to politics and irritating issues, in which case discussions will lead to nothing and only cause embarrassment, while no one will question morals, when it is good.

Look for in Spiritism what can improve you; here's the essentials. When men are better, truly useful social reforms will follow naturally.”




Spiritualism and Mental Health

Today, October 10th, is International Mental Health Day. And, as a matter of such importance, we could not let it pass unnoticed.

We begin by stating that, as it is extremely important, the slightest signs of restlessness and imbalance, be they uncontrolled stress, melancholy/depression and other disorders, should always motivate the search for professional psychological support. Many of our concerns come not only from aspects deeply rooted within us, but also, many times, from organic imbalances. We are spirits incarnated in a body, and these are subject to the vicissitudes of matter.

That said, let's move on to the spiritual aspect of our mental health. For us spiritists and, globally, for every spiritualist, the brain is not just a chemical and organic reflection, but it is, rather, the organ of expression of the Spirit, although muffled in its real face. Therefore, the Spirit – or the soul – is the one who presides over the will, the choices and, in a word, the free will.

Recognizing ourselves, therefore, in a kind of duality between Spirit and matter, we understand that any treatment that addresses the mind should approach the individual in a holistic way, that is, integral, integrating body and Spirit. It is clear that a good professional psychological support will do a lot in this regard, but we cannot deny that, by encompassing the existing spiritual sphere, the treatment will always bring much more benefit in this regard.

What we are trying to do here is to demonstrate that, when it comes to mental health, we cannot see everything only from the spiritual aspect – especially regarding the probable spiritual obsessions – but also from the organic and physiological aspect of the issue. For example: we can think that a person who lives under stress and who has emotional out-of-control events is being the victim of a spiritual obsession, when, however, he just has pre-diabetes symptoms, which causes hypoglycemia, which leads to such out-of-control .

We cannot, therefore, as spiritists, in welcoming whoever and wherever it may be, treat everything as if it were a “spiritual problem”, which would be very irresponsible. It is always important to investigate what is going on with the individual, trying to find out if he is undergoing psychological follow-up, if he is being treated and, if not, seek to refer the brother for such treatment.

On the other hand, it is important to highlight that Spiritism has a very important facet in this aspect, as it enlightens the individual about the reasons for the difficulties of life and about our constant relationship with the spiritual world around us. Now, how many cases of madness are not also initiated by an open and unvigilant mind to the thoughts of Spirits of the third order? How many times are we not fed, because of our imperfections, in the most subtle processes of mental alienation that, slowly, are causing us manias, fears and various disorders?

Since we are Spirits incarnated in a body and our Spirit is in charge of our will, it is clear that the root of all our problems will always be in the Spirit – even in the case of pre-diabetics, since it is due to a bad habit in the food, provoked by “his Spirit”, that such an evil was installed. Therefore, in this sense too, the more the Spirit understands about the devices and purposes of life, the need to correct its imperfections, the benefit of prayer on the mind and the fact of mental association, with incarnated and disembodied beings, according to our inclinations mental health, the easier it will be for you to remain mentally balanced.

But, what in the case of an already installed imbalance process? Here, as we have already said, in the first instance we cannot dispense with professional psychological treatment. This is imperative. Secondly, through Spiritism and Magnetism, we can also offer a very beneficial treatment:

  • Through prayer, seek to help the incarnate and the possible disincarnate in the improvement of their mental field;
  • Through the magnetic pass, which can be done even by family members, we can seek to help reduce the disturbances and reflexes of such imbalances;
  • After all, however, we cannot forget that the individual who is experiencing a serious mental disorder, such as schizophrenia, may have a need to experience it, even as part of a reincarnation plan, for reasons such as, for example, , to make him disconnect a little from old mental processes, which afflict him a lot. Therefore, pray and seek to help always, with faith, but not giving up before the complete cessation of the disease.

Finally, we would like to point out that differentiating pathological disorders from cases of mediumistic obsession is always very important, since, as Kardec already identified at that time, that in the latter case, medication can even be harmful:

let's not confuse the pathological madness with the obsession; this does not come from any brain injury, but from the subjugation that malevolent spirits exercise over certain individuals, and which, many times, has the appearance of madness itself. This condition, very frequent, is independent of any belief in Spiritism and has existed at all times. In this case, ordinary medication is impotent and even harmful.

Allan Kardec – What is Spiritism? 

Nor could we fail to quote, here, in full, the text “Suicide and madness”, by Allan Kardec, in chap. V of the Gospel According to Spiritism:

14. The calm and resignation derived from the way of considering earthly life and the confidence in the future give the spirit a serenity that is the best preservative against The madness and suicide. Indeed, it is certain that most cases of madness are due to the commotion produced by the vicissitudes that man does not have the courage to endure. Now, if looking at the things of this world in the way that Spiritism makes him consider them, man receives with indifference, even with joy, the setbacks and disappointments that have made him desperate in other circumstances, it becomes evident that this force, which it places him above events, preserves his reason from shocks, which, if it were not for that, would disturb it.

15. The same is true of suicide. Leaving aside those who give themselves up in a state of drunkenness and madness, which can be called unconscious, it is undeniable that he always has a cause of discontent, whatever the particular reasons that may be pointed out to him. Now, he who is sure that he is only unhappy for a day and that the days to come will be better, is easily filled with patience. He only despairs when there is no term for his sufferings. And what is human life, in relation to eternity, if not much less than a day? But for those who do not believe in eternity and think that everything ends with life, if misfortunes and afflictions overwhelm them, only in death do they see a solution to their bitterness. Expecting nothing, he finds it very natural, very logical, to abbreviate his miseries by suicide.

16. Incredulity, mere doubt about the future, materialistic ideas, in a word, are the greatest incitements to suicide; cause the moral cowardice. When men of science, supported by the authority of their knowledge, endeavor to prove to those who hear or read them that they have nothing to hope for after death, they are not in fact leading them to deduce that, if they are wretched, they are better off. what is left for them to do but kill themselves? What could they say to divert them from this consequence? What compensation can you offer them? What hope can you give them? None but nothing. Hence it must be concluded that, if nothingness is the only heroic remedy, the only perspective, it is better to seek it immediately and not later, in order to suffer for a shorter time.
The propagation of materialistic doctrines is, therefore, the poison that instills the idea of suicide in the majority of those who commit suicide, and those who constitute themselves as apostles of such doctrines assume tremendous responsibility. With Spiritism, once doubt is made impossible, the aspect of life changes. The believer knows that existence goes on indefinitely beyond the grave, but under very different conditions; hence the patience and resignation that very naturally keep him from thinking about suicide; where, in short, the moral courage.

17. In this aspect, Spiritism still produces another equally positive and perhaps more decisive result. It presents the suicides themselves informing us of the unfortunate situation in which they find themselves and proving that no one violates God's law with impunity, which forbids man to shorten his life. Among those who commit suicide, there are some whose sufferings, not because they are temporary and not eternal, are no less terrible and of a nature to make those who think of leaving here, before God has ordained, reflect. The spiritist has, therefore, several reasons against the idea of suicide: the certainty of a future life, in which, he knows, he will be all the more blissful, the more unfortunate and resigned he has been on Earth: the certainty that , shortening his days, arrives, precisely, at the opposite result to what he expected; who frees himself from an evil, in order to incur a worse, longer and more terrible evil; who deceives himself, imagining that, by killing himself, he goes faster to heaven; that suicide is an obstacle to his joining in the other world with those who were the objects of his affections and whom he hoped to find; hence the consequence that suicide, by bringing him only disappointments, is contrary to his own interests. For this very reason, the number of those who have been, by Spiritism, prevented from committing suicide is already considerable, and from there it can be concluded that, when all men are spiritists, there will no longer be conscious suicides. Comparing, then, the results that the materialist doctrines produce with those that derive from the Spiritist Doctrine, only from the point of view of suicide, it will be necessary to recognize that, while the logic of the first leads to it, the other one avoids it, a fact which experience confirms.




Manifestations of Spirits - Answers to Mr. Viennet, by Paul Auguez

Mr. Paul Auguez was a great French poet and intellectual of his time, as well as one of the first defenders of Spiritism, having met Kardec through the release of his first work as such – The Book of Spirits.

Mr. Paul Auguez responds in a dignified, serious, profound and rational way to the attacks suffered, which is why Allan Kardec defends him in the Spiritist Magazine of February 1858.

By numerous citations that attest to serious study and profound erudition, he proves that if today's adherents, despite their ever-increasing numbers, and the enlightened people of all countries connected with them, are, as the illustrious scholar claims, , unbalanced brains, such a disease is common to them with that of most geniuses who honor humanity.

Allan Kardec, [RE], 1858

It is important to emphasize that Spiritism is not a theory taken from a person's head, but it is a science whose theory is supported by the logical observation of facts. It is from this observation, rational, logical and serious, that the theory arises, and not the other way around.

Paulo Henrique de Figueiredo says:

Spiritism serves, mainly, those who, for having a rational thought incompatible with mysticism, want to understand the laws of spirituality through the use of reason. Also to those who, educated by the catechism in the churches in their first formation, are disillusioned by the dogmas, accepted by blind faith, which demand submission. The Spiritist Doctrine is a theory organized by fundamental concepts that form an irreproachable logical structure, explaining the phenomena of moral life through natural laws. Those who study it deeply, and understand its original message, find strength in difficult moments, courage to face their own misfortunes, have hope for the future and gain the certainty of a better world, where they will find their place.

Figueiredo, Autonomy: the untold story of Spiritism, 2019

And he adds: “A theory based on facts is the very definition of science, because it represents what differentiates it from other ways of thinking, such as conjecture or religious faith.”




Is Spiritism a religion?

It is very common to hear that “Spiritism is religion”, including comparing it to other existing religions. Is it really a religion?

Well, for that, first, we need to conceptualize the term religion.

What is it religion

Although many understand it primarily as a set of beliefs in one or more deities, there are even atheistic or agnostic religions. So, to avoid further confusion, let's stick to two main ways of understanding the term religion:

  1. A set of principles, beliefs and practices of religious doctrines, based on sacred books, commonly separated between priests and faithful, the former being organized through clearly distinct hierarchies that culminate, at the top, in a high priest, who represents all the Church and has the final, unquestionable word.

2. A system of rules and moral values established through beliefs that characterize a group of individuals.

In the first aspect, the religious doctrine is indisputable by the faithful and by the lower levels of the priestly hierarchy. A change, if it comes, comes from the top down. Very commonly, one finds in them ideas that are debated in front of human science, in an irrational way.

The second aspect is more in line with the idea of natural religion, which is understood by our natural connection to God and Spirituality.

And in which of these two aspects would Spiritism fit more?

We know very well that Spiritism, in its essence, never had any of the aspects of the first classification. But… What about the second? To discuss this, we need to conceptualize Spiritism in its historical moment.

Rational Spiritualism and Spiritualism

as we already talked in this article, Spiritism emerged in the midst of the movement called Rational Spiritualism, adopted in France from the third decade of the 19th century, mainly as an opposition to the materialist movement and the old religions that enslaved thought. According to Paulo Henrique de Figueiredo, in the work Autonomy: the untold story of Spiritism, the movement:

"is characterized by the adoption of scientific methodology, seeking to do with the human being what has been successfully achieved by studying the matter: the understanding of the natural laws that underlie it. In other words, it replaced blind faith with a rational faith, a requirement of the new times.”.

FIGUEIREDO, Autonomy: the untold story of Spiritism

And, in another passage, he highlights:

In their time, rational spiritualists, away from formal religions, made use of the concepts of religion and natural morals to study the acts of the human soul and its social relationships.

ibidem

Thus, the concept of natural religion was something studied in a scientific way (by the moral sciences) in that historical context in which Spiritism was born. And so, and only for that, that Kardec admitted a religious aspect in Spiritism, since he was born as development of Rational Spiritualism, as Kardec himself highlights:

[…] every defense of Rational Spiritualism opens the way for Spiritism, which is its development, fighting its most tenacious adversaries: materialism and fanaticism.

KARDEC, [RE] 1868, p. 223

Not only was Spiritism never been a religion – according to the first concept – but, on the contrary, it was born and grew up as a moral science with a philosophical aspect, based on the observation of facts to support the logical and rational deduction on which the theory is based:

All science must be based on facts; but facts alone do not constitute science; science is born from the coordination and logical deduction of facts: it is the set of laws that govern them. Has Spiritism reached the state of science? If it is a question of perfect science, it would undoubtedly be premature to answer in the affirmative; but the observations are, as of today, numerous enough to be able, at least, to deduce the general principles, and that is where science begins.

KARDEC, [RE] 1858, p. 3

Spiritism was never a new religion

We see, after all, that Spiritism, being a development of Rational Spiritualism, and with the aspects of a rational science, was born diametrically opposed to the ideas of religious dogmatism that have always prevailed in humanity. The main purpose of the Doctrine of Spirits is precisely to take control of human faith from religious groups that, acting for different interests, enslaved consciences to their sacred books and rituals.

However, it is very important to say that Spiritism is not a Doctrine that was born to fight with others. It does not come to cast anathema on other beliefs, but, as a science, to provide a neutral ground where people of all faiths can take shelter:

Spiritism comes, in its turn, not like a religion, but as a philosophical doctrine, to bring its theory, supported on the fact of the manifestations; does not impose; does not claim blind trust; he stands and says: Examine, compare, and judge; if you find anything better than what I give you, take it. He does not say: I come to know the fundamentals of religion and replace it with a new cult; he says: I do not address those who believe and who are satisfied with their belief, but those who desert your ranks through unbelief, and whom you did not know or could not retain.; I come to give you, about the truths you reject, an interpretation of a nature to satisfy your reason and which makes you accept it. (Ibid.)

KARDEC, [RE] 1862, p. 70

But Spiritism is a religion

The contradiction is purposeful, because I want us to force ourselves to understand the distinction that is given to the term religion according to the understanding given to it. This is imperative. Depending on how we understand – if by the philosophical aspect of natural religion, relating to the historical context of Allan Kardec, or if from the aspect of a religious system, which comprises rituals, priests and dogmas – then Spiritism can be said to be a religion or not. Kardec conceptualizes this distinction very well in the Spiritist Magazine of 1868:

[…] so Spiritism is a religion?

“Why, yes, no doubt, gentlemen; in the philosophical sense, Spiritism is a religion[1], and we glorify ourselves for this, because it is the doctrine that founds the bonds of fraternity and communion of thoughts, not on a simple convention, but on the most solid foundations: the very laws of Nature.”

"Why, then, have we declared that Spiritism is not a religion?? Because there is no word to express two different ideas, and because, in the general opinion, the word religion is inseparable from the idea of worship; because it exclusively awakens an idea of form, which Spiritism has no. If Spiritism called itself a religion, the public would only see there a new edition, a variant, if you will, of the absolute principles in matters of faith; a priestly caste with its procession of hierarchies, ceremonies and privileges; he would not separate it from the ideas of mysticism and abuses against which public opinion has so often risen.”

“Since Spiritism does not have any of the characteristics of a religion, in the usual sense of the word, it could not and should not adorn itself with a title about whose value people would inevitably have been mistaken. That is why it is simply said: philosophical and moral doctrine.”

KARDEC, [RE], 1868

Where is the problem then?

Arriving here, to close, I need to reinforce my thinking, which compacts with Kardec: we should not call Spiritism a religion, much less present it as one, because, in people's minds, there is no such distinction of understandings. – especially nowadays. It is said that it is a religion and, promptly, the adept of some religious line will ask himself: “but then can I be a spiritist, since I am Catholic/Evangelical/Hindu/etc?”. Or, worse, he will say: “I already have my religion. That other I do not care" .

Now, we cannot deny that, when treating Spiritism as a religion, according to the popular understanding given to the term, we will be creating a great difficulty expansion of the Spiritist Doctrine in the masses, since they will understand that, if Spiritism is other religion, so they cannot leave their own religions to study it. Let us present it, however, as a science with a philosophical aspect – that he is and the difficulties are resolved: everyone can study Spiritism, sipping from the knowledge given by the Spirits everywhere and from the studies of Allan Kardec and others, on such knowledge, without the need to leave your religion, their rituals, etc. In fact, about this, Spiritism, whether in Kardec's words or in the words of the Spirits themselves, has always been very clear: it does not force anyone to believe or change; logically presents his ideas about causes and effects and leaves everyone the freedom to change or not.

By the way, Spiritism does not even place the need to visit or attend a spiritist center – although, of course, we do not deny the great use that spiritist centers can have – because Spiritism is a Doctrine to be studied and lived individually and in the family nucleus.

Conclusion

Here, in conclusion, we come to a crucial point: the way in which Spiritism spread in Brazil. For a series of questions, the main one being the lack of knowledge of the real face of Spiritism, for lack of study of Kardec's works, but also due to ignorance of the tampering suffered after Kardec's death, the Doctrine gained several aspects of religion, "going to live" in temples, attending to rituals and hierarchies and, mainly, leaving behind all the methodology of studies based in the evocation of Spirits, as we have already in this article.

However, just as Jesus Christ never founded a religion, but, on the contrary, dealt with all the morals brought by him in a natural way - then, yes, acquiring the traits of a "natural religion" - Spiritism never was and never will be a religion as we understand it today. It is up to us to understand it deeply, seeking to restore its true face, applying it in our own lives and spreading it, in a fraternal and clear way, to all those who can benefit from it in their lives.

We add, to enrich, the interview in this regard with Paulo Henrique de Figueiredo:


  1. See that, when Kardec says that “in the philosophical sense, Spiritism is a religion“, he is referring to Spiritism as a moral science with a philosophical aspect, and such science, at that moment, addressed the natural religion, away from the dogmas of the old religions.



Spiritism without the Spirits

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Where the Spiritist Movement took a detour

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

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

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

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

(FEB, 1902, p. 1)

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

But do we need it today?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Spirits themselves defend our communication with them

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The mother: What can Mr. Z?

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

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

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

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

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

Conclusion

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

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


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