This article was inspired by the article “The Genesis case“, presented on the Portal Luz Espírita. In this article, which is quite extensive, several details are presented, step by step, which finally lead the author, Ery Lopes, and his collaborators — Adair Ribeiro, Adriano Calsone, Carlos Luiz, Carlos Seth Bastos, Jorge Hessen and Wanderlei dos Santos — to assume that, no, the Genesis was not adulterated and that we can be completely confident that the 5th edition, according to them edited and printed in 1869, was indeed a version printed by Allan Kardec.

I must recognize that the article has the merit of having tried to remain impartial, including the works of Simoni Privato, in The Legacy of Allan Kardec, where he presents a huge collection of evidence and evidence of adulterations.

At what point, then, does the article move on to assuming that such tampering does not exist and that all the evidence is wrong? Mainly from item 37 — “Clues from the Rational Catalog — which I reproduce below:

In this context, some clues are presented, obtained through the analysis of the work Catálogo Racional, which would have had its first edition distributed on April 1, 1869, the day after the death of Allan Kardec:

1. There is a quote from the work La clef de la vie (The key to life), by Michel de Figagnères, on which Kardec would have made a comment referring to items 4 to 7 of chapter VIII of A Genesis. Item 7, however, The Soul of the Earth, only came into existence from the 5th edition of this work.
2. Next, there is evidence that the work the four gospels, by Roustaing, would have already been cited by Professor Rivail himself in this first edition of the Catalog, unlike what some people would have said, supposing that such a citation would only have been due to adulteration. 

There is, however, a very important piece of information that was left out at this point: Kardec's reference to items 64 to 68 of chapter XV of A Genesis. It turns out that item 68 only existed until the 4th edition of this work, transformed into item 67 from the 5th edition, when the original item 67 was withdrawn. This item was very important, because it dealt with the question that the disappearance of the body of Jesus, until then, would be an unsolvable issue, due to the absence, until then, of the sanction of the double control of confirmation by rigorous logic and by the general teaching of the Spirits, and its withdrawal seems very strategic, if we consider that the contrary ideas, coming from Roustaing, could not be sustained, due to the absence of this double control.

Now, why this contradiction in Kardec's references? Why would he have simultaneously referred, at one point, to an item that would still be inserted in A Genesis, in the 5th edition, while, at another, he referred to an item that would be removed from it, in the same edition?

Logic takes me down the following path:

• Kardec had already prepared the printing of the Rational Catalogue, but he was still in the process of finishing the printing of A Genesis, which was still, apparently, in the final stages of reprinting for corrections and editions.
• In the Catalog, Kardec refers to an item that did not yet exist in The Genesis (Chap. VIII, item 7) and another that, from the 5th known edition, ceased to exist (item 68). This may demonstrate that Kardec, in the Catalog, would refer to an item from the new edition of A Gênese, and that would keep the reference to item 68, cited above. A would-be adulterer, determined to remove the all-important principle of double-checking sanction, missed the problem.
• The Catalog had already been ordered and printed with Kardec's knowledge, but that does not mean that it would be readily distributed. Most likely, by the logic of the facts, he would expect the printing of the new version of The Genesis.

I also suppose, by the logic of the facts, that the 5th edition of A Genesis, known to us, was based on changes to Allan Kardec's own clichés, since, in this edition, item 7 of chapter VIII presents content in accordance with with his own style and thinking (in my opinion). Thus, the alterations that we know, I suppose, are not all tampering, but the tampering hypothesis is very evident by all the evidence and evidence already presented, until today, and by the simple analysis of some altered or suppressed points, which are out of line with the thought, of Kardec's style and purposes and, above all, of the teaching of the Spirits during the entire first phase of Spiritism.

I add that I see no reason why Kardec has not cited Roustaing's work in his Catalogue, since he himself suggests, just below the recommendation, that the reader seek better clarifications in A Genesis, in the items mentioned. In fact, in the 5th edition of A Gênese, there is a reference to the Spiritist Magazine of September 1868, p. 261, which refers to the same theme contained in item 7 of the first work: A Alma do Mundo.

One more evidence that shows that the alterations in the 5th edition of A Gênese are not totally the result of adulterations, although, even on this item, I cannot say whether it would have been, in addition to being introduced, also adulterated, since the passage that in the 5th edition of A Gênese, he ends item 7 of chap. VIII, continues, in the Spiritist Magazine, in a very important way: “Spiritism would, with good reason, be ridiculed by its opponents if it made the editor responsible for utopias that do not stand up to scrutiny. If the ridiculous didn't kill you, it's because it only kills what is ridiculous.“

About the very common statement that some letters confirm the printing of the 5th edition of the work by the hands of Kardec himself, I have already addressed the case in the article “The adulterations in Kardec's works and the "CSI of Spiritism” (click here to read).

What I want to say with all this is that, yes, it is a very deep and complex subject, with a lot of cross information to be analyzed under a very rational, logical and truly impartial methodology. Unfortunately, it seems that many people desperately try to cling to any evidence that the tampering did not occur, and in doing so, fail to analyze the facts with all the care the matter deserves.

I always repeat: the content presented in the works “The Legacy of Allan Kardec” and “Neither Heaven nor Hell” is complete and too profound to be taken as if it were just any error, based on incomplete or false information. Even so, if there is room for doubt, let the other information be analyzed with the utmost scientific criteria, as Kardec himself taught us and, while they cannot be remedied, let us remain safe with the works undoubtedly printed by his own hand and pocket.

Finally, I would like to highlight the following: one of the most used proofs to affirm that the 5th edition was fully authored by Kardec himself, the 5th edition of 1869, presents on its cover, as a printing address, the new address of the headquarters from the Parisian Spiritist Society: “Librairie Spirite et des Sciences Psychologiques”, at “7, rue de Lille”.

We know that Kardec died before of the Company's establishment at the new address, which proves that this edition was only printed after your death. Read more by clicking on here.

Karma and Spiritism are like oil and water: they do not mix. Be careful with people who preach the doctrine of karma within the spiritist environment, as the understanding of Spiritist Doctrine goes in the opposite direction: we are not incarnated to pay anything to anyone, because we owe nothing to anyone, much less to God!

We incarnate to experience our choices and learn from them, through trials and difficulties, but also through blessed opportunities, which is to have contact with Spiritism, which leverages our progress in many steps, when well understood and experienced.

Everything is part of our choices, including, most of the time, our way of dying. But in that there is no Karma. “But Paulo, so-and-so said that people burned to death at the Kiss nightclub because they killed others by burning other lives!”

Sorry to say, but so-and-so is almost completely wrong. What God would that be, who punishes ignorance in the same coin, in the fashion of Talion, in a way that teaches nothing to anyone? That said, I want to say: yes, there are Spirits that CHOOSE punishment, whether during life or in the way of dying, for BELIEVING in karma and not knowing how to deal with the guilt over their mistakes. We shall see this in Heaven and Hell, Part Two, Chapter VIII: having killed his walled-in wife in the preceding life, even though he had been forgiven by her, he PLANNED a horrible death in order to try to rid himself of this guilt. Look: planned! And needed? No, because in his current life, he was a good man, that is, he sought to LEARN to be a better person.

He understands? We are not here to pay debts, but to learn to be happier Spirits, through the smothering of our imperfections through learning! And this is often done through harsh penalties, including difficult contact with a person to whom, in the past, we have done some harm, and who, still suffering its effects, we try to help in a new incarnation. But, you see: it is a matter of conscious choice.

It is in this sense that the Earth is no longer a planet of trials and atonements to be a planet of regeneration, since the atonement consists precisely in the type of choice made by Antonio B, or by the murderer Lemaire (chapter VI), while better enlightened Spirits they choose not only to suffer in their skin, but rather better opportunities to learn. And, along with that, we come to the topic of education proposed by Pestalozzi, which is increasingly so necessary and important every day.

So, enough blaming yourself. It is clear: if we have done an evil that still exists at the moment our consciousness awakens about it, let us seek, yes, to repair it, but through work, and not through self-flagellation. And that goes for any moment, whether in the flesh or in erraticity. What really matters is learning, developing better habits, developing humility and charity. This does interrupt the cycle of evil and pain.

Earlier today I came across exactly this opinion, in a discussion in a certain Youtube group. It is understandable that many people have it, because they do not understand what Spiritism is, but it is unquestionable that only those who have not dedicated themselves to reading the introduction of The Spirits' Book can issue it - let alone Allan Kardec's other works. . But, before entering these paths, let's make an explanatory introduction to the subject here.

The Bible

First, it is necessary to understand what the Bible really is: a doctrinal compendium made up of man's stories, statements and opinions about divinity and Spirituality. We cannot object, however, that it has not been tampered with at various points by personal interests and by different groups, as the Roman Catholic Church did in historically known episodes. So, in short, it is a work full of a lot of morality, but also permeated with human errors everywhere, including introduced by an anachronistic interpretation of both history, culture and the original language. We know today that, especially in the Old Testament, but also in the New Testament, the language was full of neologisms and figures that, for that people, at that time, made perfect sense.

There is also an enormous difference between the two books that make up the Bible – The Old Testament and The New Testament – since, between them, there is a space of centuries that introduced a new mentality in humanity. At first, the "sacred texts" are full of even more backward ideas and permeated with laws and human statements, unacceptable today, which, at that time, had the purpose of legislating with divine powers over a people who had no ability to understand concepts that would later be acceptable. The New Testament, on the other hand, carries an enormous moral content, unassailable in its essence, taught and exemplified by a Pure Spirit, known to us as Jesus. Kardec, in The Gospel According to Spiritism, deals only with the New Testament, due to its degree of elevation, leaving the Old Testament aside.

The big question is that, through the ages, with or without adulterations, the Bible, as a whole, has always been used as a “word of salvation”, which should be obeyed blindly. Precisely there, religions found a wide field to disseminate their own ideas, introducing the various dogmas that, in fact, were not there, in order to command their faithful according to their particular political and material interests.

Spiritism

Unlike the Bible, which was born from the reports and stories of a few men, the spiritist theory, which constitutes a Philosophical Science, was born from the rational observation of facts spread over the entire globe and throughout all times. It is precisely under this authority that Kardec sees space and the need to seek to bring to the spiritist understanding the facts or stories narrated in the Bible. The in-depth study of Spiritism shows us, as always, that Allan Kardec cannot be considered the “father” or “prophet” of Spiritism, as no other could, because his quality was only that of a researcher, like so many others, who, to a “new” discovery, he begins to analyze it with patience, persistence and method, putting together the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle to compose an image that, in its separate pieces, cannot be understood or that does not make any sense.

The Spirits' Book was the first work completed by him, born of a vast study of the various spiritual messages obtained before and after the beginning of his studies. Even so, there are huge differences between the first and second editions, especially in concepts that were later investigated further and complemented or corrected. But how did Kardec carry out such a study?

The Methodological Study of Spiritism

The world of spirits cannot be glimpsed as we see our world. It does not produce the effects that in our senses produce the dense matter that constitute our world: the air, invisible to the eye, through the wind is felt by touch; the taste is felt by the taste buds; light is captured by the eyes and processed by the brain. However, the world of spirits can only be perceived by the senses. specials, which constitute what we call mediumship.

In mediumship there are different types of sense – to make an approximation with the world that we understand – and that give, to their “carriers”, the capacities to feel and communicate, or to give communication, to the beings that constitute this world, and these beings are the Spirits, more or less freed from matter and more advanced and superior or rather backward and inferior. Through mediumship, we can verify the existence of something above the material world, of an intelligence that survives matter, and some of them, like several researchers, in addition to Kardec himself, are only questionable due to the worst of pride, such as are mediumship of physical effects and somnambulism. The first obtains physical effects without great moral extension, while, in the second, the moral content is often vast, totally outside the capacities and knowledge of the medium who transmit it. But we will reserve that subject for another article.

It is important to say that it was mainly in the mediums sleepwalkers it is us mechanical psychographers that Kardec most sought out communications, as he perceived them to be richer and less susceptible to his own content. Even so, as a researcher, Kardec knew very well that he could not rely only on the opinion of one or another medium or one or another Spirit: he needed to seek in the generality and agreement of the Spirits' teachings the unshakable basis of the Spiritist Doctrine:

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

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

Allan Kardec – Genesis

And it couldn't be otherwise, after all, from the researcher's point of view, the world of Spirits is unattainable and impossible to probe and analyze. Let's make a brief effort of imagination: let's say that, wanting to move to another country, without knowing it, we want to gather as much information about that place and its people. Let's say we don't have access to the Internet and we only have the telephone. We got a number from an inhabitant of that country and called him – of course, we think they both speak one same language--in order to get an account of that place: what are the people like there? Are they good or bad? Is there violence or not? Will I be able to count on support or not? Well, it's easy to assume that this single person's account will be in line with their cultural, political, educational, historical, social and even their own perceptions. Tendencies and own concepts. It could be, moreover, that we have inadvertently called a criminal, without knowing it. Shall we, then, sway our decision or our conception of that people by a single account? Of course not: we need, in this context, to call many other people, analyze bibliographic and artistic works produced by its inhabitants, etc.

It is exactly the same as what Allan Kardec did, analyzing countless communications obtained from all sides, by countless mediums and by countless Spirits, drawing, from all this, rational and logical conclusions, postulates and, sometimes, scientific theories, which only future studies could sanction or derogate.

Conclusion

We could truly spend hours and hours talking much more about Allan Kardec's studies, but the fact is that there is already a lot of material about it, especially in Kardec's own work, which, as he always demonstrated, did not have a content born of his own ideas. We leave this necessary search to the reader. We limit ourselves to closing this article, after all this previous approach, demonstrating that Spiritism is not a religion and that, as Science is a Doctrine that presents its studies and its conclusions, in a rational and logical way, and leaves to each one the task to reason for yourself about all the content presented. Now, as even the Modern Sciences, so well established, find their dissidents with their most absurd ideas, Spiritism could not expect less. Still, it's a question of everyone's freedom.

We spiritualists we believe in Spiritism not out of fear or imposition, but because we naturally understand the rationality contained in this Scientific Doctrine. We believe in reincarnation not because of inconclusive evidence, but because of an inconclusive rationality; we believe in the existence of spirits and in their communication with us also for reason, but also for the seriousness of researchers who have already set out to study the manifestations with great care and who, by themselves, have found irrefutable evidence of such existence; but we do not believe blindly in the teachings of the Spirits, much less in any supposed phenomenon. Kardec himself asserted: Spiritism must go hand in hand with Science. If, one day, it denies some postulates of its Doctrine, we must abandon them and stay with Science. On the contrary, Modern Science is getting closer and closer and confirming the spiritist postulates, just as the Science of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century did.

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

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.”

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.

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.

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]

supposed? No, they are not supposed. They are factual, with numerous evidence and strong evidence presented, including obtained by field research and others based on historical documents by Allan Kardec that, little by little, come to light.

Unfortunately, the FEB, based on Carlos Seth's arguments, is basing itself on very weak evidence to argue in favor of what it believes – non-adulteration – without presenting, as Kardec would do, the opposite argument, without going deep into them. I discuss that in this article: https://geolegadodeallankardec.com.br/2021/09/01/as-adulteracoes-nas-obras-de-kardec-e-o-csi-do-espiritismo/

worse than that, the defense of non-adulteration, against the existing evidence, hurts Allan Kardec's own image, as if he, who always carried out everything with all the necessary care, under all the requirements of human law, had then decided to submit an amendment illegally, without making the legal deposit, obligatory at that time, making him a self-confessed criminal. I believe that we can and must do more than that, not only in the name of Allan Kardec, but in the name of something much bigger and more serious: Spiritism, a doctrine that finally comes to provoke and help the great changes necessary for humanity.

I feel a great dissatisfaction when verifying not that there are contrary opinions, but, yes, that many spiritists do not even try to follow the example of Kardec, honest and humble, verifying all serious sources, even contrary to his previously developed ideas, going deep into them and analyzing what is true or probable in them and, modifying one's own opinion in the face of scientific evidence and, when not, scrutinizing such ideas in order to show where they fail.

Unfortunately, many have not acted like this, despite countless serious spiritualists, already since the 19th century and, later, passing by Silvino Canuto de Abreu and Herculano Pires himself, having raised serious accusations against the deviations that the Doctrine suffered after Kardec.

In true, I don't want you to agree with me, but that we all act conscientiously, mirrored in the example of Professor Rivail. Several works, since a few years, have presented evidence that is too serious and too well-founded to the point of being put aside and discarded. If we are going to discuss tampering, let us discuss it in the light of reason, in the face of logical reasoning and evidence and evidence, as Kardec would do.

As we call ourselves Spiritists, which is a science born from the observation of facts and evidence, I ask once again: let us not leave these works aside, because what they bring, even if it were false, is too important and serious to ignore. them, as the Brazilian spiritist movement has done.

They are, but not only:

• The Legacy of Allan Kardec, by Simoni Privato
• Neither Heaven nor Hell: The Laws of the Soul according to Spiritism, by Lucas Sampaio and Paulo Henrique de Figueiredo
• Much Light (BEAUCOUP DE LUMIÈRE), by Berthe Fropo
• Autonomy: the untold story of Spiritism, by Paulo Henrique de Figueiredo

Brothers, read, study, inform yourself and spread this motivation everywhere. It is high time to restore the original understanding of Spiritism!

We often find ourselves asking: why reincarnate? Could we not make all progress on the spiritual plane?

Spiritism, as in everything that we are already able to understand, comes to our rescue, explaining this point, which is actually fundamental to our lives, since we see so many brothers and, sometimes, ourselves, with thoughts of discouragement and giving up. . How many brothers have not taken their own lives from their bodies, through suicide, interrupting a reincarnation plan so important to them?

What Spiritism teaches us, dear brother or sister, is that, when in Spirit, in the state of erraticity, that is, in the period between one incarnation and another, our true self emerges with emphasis and transparency. Thus, our good and bad virtues, embedded in our minds, show themselves as they are, and with greater truth. It is as if we are a crystal vase that has the cloudy water thrown away and then starts to shine in its original clarity, although this does not always show a crystallity of heart.

The Spirit that has been struggling for some time due to moral imperfections - and even material vices - and that, from incarnation to incarnation, has not yet found the strong decision for its change, when disincarnating, it starts to experience this moral environment at its disposal. , as they move, with the speed of thought, to the companies and environments they most desire. Thus, many spirits easily become part of the ranks of spirits who agonize in the misunderstanding that, in order to leave, a firm will is enough, which until then, even in physical life, they often failed to have.

Also, there are cases of obsessed and persecuted spirits, often demented by the extent of their own guilt and misunderstanding.

Then comes the opportunity of reincarnation as a very valuable device that allows the Spirit, through the obliteration of integral memory, to regain breath and correct imperfections, especially through the so important but still so forgotten role of parents or caregivers, from early material childhood that the Spirit goes through, a phase in which it becomes more docile and malleable to learning - which should always be done on the basis of love and fraternity, in a constructive way and never violent or imposing.

But, we remember, reincarnation, or reincarnation planning, only happens in an “impositional” way when the Spirit does not yet have the consciousness developed to the point of understanding the needs for its advancement. It is at this point that he is constrained to reincarnate, by other Spirits who, in the name of charity, dedicate themselves to such a task.

From the moment, however, in which the Spirit develops its own awareness of its own imperfections and the need to correct them, it starts to act positively in this process, often requesting a new incarnation, full of tests and atonements, with the purpose of learning and correcting its imperfections.

Therefore, the incarnation, the present life, is a divine gift, a blessed opportunity to readjust the factors that, in ourselves, lead us to make mistakes and, therefore, to suffer. It has never been and will never be a punishment or a punishment and, if we ourselves do not increase our sufferings by our own actions, we will be able to go through the trials and atonements many times chosen by us, because we will never be abandoned in this endeavor and, in addition to the brothers who assist us from the spiritual plane, there will always be people around us, ready and often devoted to this planning, to help us.

Dear brothers, let us spread this simple and so powerful truth, so that the brother who is about to give up on life, reconsider his position and that he does not have to, only from the spiritual plane, wrapped in suffering, look back and verify that the suffering that he was going through was about to end and that he had a lot to help him change, never to suffer like that again, if he had his will very firm and decided. And remember, always: we will all reach happiness and perfection, some faster than others, by the action of their own will:

133. Do spirits who from the beginning have followed the path of good need incarnation?

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

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

“They reach the end faster. Furthermore, the afflictions of life are often the consequence of the imperfection of the Spirit. The fewer imperfections, the less torments. He who is neither envious, nor jealous, nor greedy, nor ambitious, will not suffer the tortures that arise from these defects.”

The Book of Spirits

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