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In the modern Spiritist Movement, considerably removed from Spiritism, there is an insistent, almost imposing idea of carrying out an intimate reform. The need to follow the Gospel, using, for this purpose, the well-known family reading meetings of the Gospel According to Spiritism, which almost always recommend randomly opening a book that should be studied like the other works of Allan Kardec.
I wouldn't be crazy enough to say that Jesus' moral reform and moral teachings aren't important. Quite the contrary: there are many, and also not few times in which Kardec or the Spirits speak of the important moral reform brought about by Spiritism, a Doctrine capable of, by reasoning, instigate human beings to better resolutions. No, that's not the problem.
What I want to highlight is that there is a false idea reigning in the Movement, among many others: that the Earth, being a planet of proofs and atonements, only receive Spirits in expiations, that is, Spirits with inclinations past. This is not true, as I will demonstrate below.
Evidences
Evidences are all the difficulties we face in life, and that are not always the result of our choices. We may, for example, live in a city where, at a certain point, a nearby dam bursts, causing a flood and taking our home or our lives. This is a test that we did not want, but that we will pass, because it is part of the laws of matter. We can also spend years being medicated with a medicine that causes us adverse effects and destroys our health. This is also proof, as would be the eruption of a dormant volcano, close to where we live. It's part.
Sometimes, however, we go through trials that result from our choices. Still here, sometimes the result is indirect or involuntary: we can choose to carry out an act that gives undesirable results, causing us a test.
But there are tests that are directly the result of our past choices, as Spirits. Regretful of a moral deviation, we choose a certain kind of tests and opportunities that will give us the chance to face and correct this deviation. Here the term “intimate Reform” would fit, according to the understanding of Spiritism. And here is the key to the problem: not everyone developed imperfections in the past, and not everyone, in the moment we live in, is experiencing expiations.
121. Why do some Spirits follow the path of good and others the path of evil?
“Don’t they have free will? God did not create evil spirits; He created them simple and ignorant, that is, having as much aptitude for good as for evil. Those who are evil became so of their own free will.”
The Book of Spirits
imperfections
Imperfection, according to what we can infer from the study of Spiritism, is everything that arises from the free exercise of will in the repetition of an error, creating an imperfection, which will require expiation.
We are all created simple and ignorant, all having the same opportunities to follow the path forward. Everyone on this path will make mistakes, because it is impossible not to make mistakes when we are ignorant. How many times do we make mistakes, trying to get it right? However, not everyone clings to mistakes, developing imperfections. Some learn from mistakes and quickly overcome them.
133. The Spirits who From the beginning they followed the path of good?
“All are created simple and ignorant and are instructed in the struggles and tribulations of bodily life. God, who is just, could not make some happy, without toil and work, therefore without merit.”
The) - But, then, what is the use of spirits to have followed the path of good, if this does not exempt them from the sufferings of bodily life?
"They reach the end faster. Furthermore, the afflictions of life are often the consequence of the imperfection of the Spirit. The fewer imperfections, the less torment. He who is not envious, nor jealous, nor avaricious, nor ambitious, will not suffer the tortures that originate from these defects.”
The Spirits' Book. Emphasis added.
Note that Kardec understood, questioned and was not denied: there are those who have always followed the path of good, which doesn't mean they didn't make mistakes, but just that they didn't stick to the mistake.
Do you doubt what I say? That's good, that means you're reasoning. But, to reason well, it is necessary to be based on something. I therefore suggest reading questions 114 to 127 of The Spirits' Book, in addition to this one. I'm not getting all this out of my head either, as I highlight here.
Spiritist Scale
Furthermore, note that the Spiritist Scale (100 to 113), which was just a classificatory outline proposed by Kardec, says the following about imperfect Spirits:
“101. General features. – Predominance of matter over spirit. Propensity for evil. Ignorance, pride, selfishness and all the passions that are consequent to them.”
Ignorance, certainly, since it is not possible to know the divine law, in reality, and still practice evil. That would be retrograding, which the Spirit does not do. But note that, along with this, there are pride, selfishness and all the passions that are consequent to them – imperfections developed by attachment to what satisfies materialistic desires.
Something else to highlight: note that Kardec classifies the first class as “First order – Pure Spirits”, and not as “Perfect Spirits”. Kardec does not address a “duality” between perfect and imperfect Spirits. And we saw, above, that a Spirit he can, apparently, occupy the second class from the beginning – and, if you disagree, please, let's talk.
Atonement
Atonement is something that is well defined in Heaven and Hell, in its unadulterated edition, found at Editora FEAL. Kardec defined, as a result of long years of study, that it is the free and conscious effort of the Spirit that honestly seeks to repair a detour it has taken:
8) The duration of the punishment is subject to the perfection of the guilty spirit. No sentence for a fixed time is pronounced against him. What God requires to put an end to suffering is repentance, atonement and reparation – in short: a serious, effective improvement, as well as a sincere return to goodness.1.
The spirit is thus always the arbiter of its own destiny; he can prolong his sufferings by his hardening in evil, alleviate them or abbreviate them by his efforts to do good.
A sentence for any given period of time would have the double disadvantage of either continuing to affect the spirit that had been perfected, or ending while it was still in evil. God, who is just, punishes evil while it exists; and ends punishment when evil no longer exists.
Thus this expression is confirmed: I do not want the sinner to die, but for him to live, and I will accuse him UNTIL HE REPENTS2.
Heaven and Hell, publisher FEAL
World of Trials and Atonements
We can easily verify, finally, that the Earth, as it is a world of trials and expiations, is neither a world of trials alone nor a world of expiations alone. It's from one and the other. Therefore, there are incarnated Spirits who chose expiations and others who did not. They are just going through tests, which are all the difficulties that offer us a chance to learn and advance.
Who are those, therefore, who undergo atonement? Can we point the finger and classify them? “This one is good, it’s just a test”; “ah, that one over there is evil, selfish, it’s an atonement”. I don't risk it. But, in fact, there is something logical to take away from here: an incarnated Spirit can be, right now, developing an imperfection, an attachment, something that I didn't have before. Perhaps, before, I was without attachments. It is not, therefore, atoning, but it will atone.
This is the function of a planet like ours: to provide, in contact with raw matter, the conditions for each person to hone.
A Spirit can be in the range of evolution in which the Earth gives it conditions for learning, without it having any moral regrets that it needs to face.
Intimate Reform or Moral Reform
Spiritism offers a strong subsidy, a strong lever for the moral reform of our world, which is in a regrettable situation, for sure. At the individual level, we need to ask ourselves: do we lack all of a reform? Or do we just need learning? This is a question that only each person, with their own conscience, can answer.
The fact is that it is necessary Careful by blindly adopting certain ideas. Believing that everyone born here is atoning for something, that everything we go through is an atonement and, even worse, that expiation is to pay past debts through a kind of punishment, leads us to negative results in the way we act towards life and others.
Negative results of belief in karma
- Guilt and Self-censorship: Individuals who believe this may carry a burden of constant guilt, believing they are paying for past mistakes. This can lead to self-censorship and a life full of restrictions, afraid of making new mistakes.
- Discouragement: The belief that the current life is a punishment for past actions can discourage people from pursuing their goals and dreams, as they may believe they do not deserve success or happiness.
- Lack of Empathy: The idea that the suffering of others is the result of karmic debts can lead to a lack of empathy and compassion for those in difficult situations. This can undermine solidarity and social support. Unfortunately, we see this lack of empathy constantly.
- Negative resignation: People can become resigned to difficulties, passively accepting suffering as an inevitable destiny, instead of seeking solutions and improvements in their lives3.
- Injustice: Belief in karma in this way can justify or perpetuate social and economic inequalities, as people may believe that those in privileged positions deserve it due to past actions4.
In short, this belief can have negative effects on mental health, well-being and interpersonal relationships, in addition to contributing to the perpetuation of inequalities and injustices. It is important to remember that beliefs about karma vary greatly between different belief systems and cultures, and not everyone interprets karma in the same way.
Wonclusion
Perhaps many of us are in need of reforms, in the sense that we have strayed from the good because of this or that attachment and now we need to lead ourselves back to the good. But, how to change what you don't know?
There is no point in seeking an empty, baseless transformation, just trying to blindly follow other examples. It is necessary to understand what is done and why it is done. Hence the importance of Spiritism.
780. Does moral progress always accompany intellectual progress?
"It follows from this, but does not always follow it immediately.” (192–365.)
a) — How can intellectual progress engender moral progress?
"Making good and evil understandable. Since then, man can choose. The development of free will accompanies that of intelligence and increases the responsibility of actions.”
The Spirits' Book. Emphasis added.
Furthermore, the idea that we are all atoning for past deviations leads to external pressure to correct ourselves for things we don't even understand. This would be an artificial correction, which is not sustainable and takes us down a complicated path: if the change is not built on real understanding, in a progressive way, we impose ourselves a step bigger than our legs. When we try to take the leap and therefore fall, we believe that we are not strong enough, completely abandoning our attempts.
Unfortunately, many still add the false idea that this life would be the most important of all and that, if we do not correct ourselves, we would be doomed to be chaff, “exiles” from Planet Earth – another false idea, initially born from the book “ Capela Exiles”, which is not doctrinal.
Yes: everyone must observe themselves and try to correct themselves in what they understand they do wrong. But this is not done through pressure, nor by blindly following something. It is necessary to understand, and the change has to be made step by step. You don't build a building from top to bottom.
The path of good
The individual who seeks the path of good, looks at himself and analyzes himself. Judge yourself, observing mistakes and successes. Evaluate where you can improve and where you can correct, if you think there is something to correct. More than that: to pursue good, one must do good, and knowledge of Spiritism allows this process to be more successful, because true good is useful and, to be useful, it is necessary to know what is said and what what is done.
Many, due to lack of doctrinal knowledge (Kardec's works), are of little use. While they give bowls of soup, which momentarily satisfy the stomach's hunger (something important and venerable, of course), they do not satisfy the hunger for understanding and knowledge, which definitively elevates the Spirit to new heights and can even give him new perspectives for face that situation and get out of it.
Some, while delivering the bread, believe and say that the person who suffers from material ills is going through it because deserve. Yes, I've heard spiritualists say that. This is often the result of artificial intimate reform, which tends to look only at oneself, without seeking knowledge, forgetting that one must be truly useful to others.
Reading Recommendations (Books)
- Free PDFs by Kardec – https://bit.ly/3sXXBxk
- Autonomy – The Untold History of Spiritism: https://amzn.to/3PIvbyy
- Allan Kardec's Legacy: https://amzn.to/3RIn2gv
- Final point – the reunion with spiritualism with Allan Kardec: https://amzn.to/48PLaE7
- Neither Heaven nor Hell – The Laws of the Soul According to Spiritism: https://amzn.to/3F2voYO
- Genesis – Miracles and Predictions According to Spiritism (unadulterated): Free PDF or https://amzn.to/3RM91hF
- Heaven and Hell: Or divine justice according to Spiritism (unadulterated): Free PDF or https://amzn.to/3ZGrcal
- Spiritist Revolution. Allan Kardec's forgotten theory: https://amzn.to/3t7HIUH
- Mesmer. The denied science of animal magnetism: https://amzn.to/3PYc1X2
- The Book of Mediums: https://amzn.to/3PDNTHK
- The Spirits' Book: https://amzn.to/3QkcFx9
- Spiritist Magazine – complete collection: https://amzn.to/48Uxh7s
- Practical Instructions on Spiritist Manifestations: https://amzn.to/3QiR8Gc
- Spiritism in its Simplest Expression: https://amzn.to/3M6fXT5
- Didactically, we can interpret atonement as serious and effective improvement, and reparation as a sincere return to good. In item 23, Kardec defines repentance as 'a fact of man's free will'. In other words, the imperfect spirit first becomes aware and chooses to overcome its condition, then chooses tests as atonement, aiming for its improvement, thus returning to good, achieving happiness by developing the faculties of its soul. (N. do E.) [↩]
- If the wicked does penance for all the sins he has committed, if he keeps all my precepts and acts according to equity and justice, he will certainly live and not die – I will no longer remember the iniquities he has committed; he will live in the works of righteousness that he has done – Do I want the death of the wicked, says the Lord God? And don't I want him to convert, turn away from the evil path and live? (Ez, 18:21-23; 23:11.) (N. do A.) [↩]
- Resignation can be positive when it represents the realistic acceptance of limitations after exhausting efforts to deal with a situation. [↩]
- The original understanding of karma is linked to the idea that actions have consequences. This emphasizes personal responsibility for actions and the implications they have. [↩]
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