In this issue we continue the study of the book Posthumous Works, published after Allan Kardec disembodied and containing texts written by him. The present work is based on the translation made by Dr. Guillon Ribeiro, published by the Brazilian Spiritist Federation.
Questions for discussion
142. Although the coming of the intellectual-moral aristocracy is possible, it will still take a long time. Is this fair? Can Spiritism help reduce this period of time?
143. Are there deserters also in Spiritism?
144. Were some of the desertions caused by deception?
145. Was it helpful for Spiritism to have faced these problems?
146. Do desertions also occur among the convicted followers?
Answers to the proposed questions
142. Although the coming of the intellectual-moral aristocracy is possible, it will still take a long time. Is this fair? Can Spiritism help reduce this period of time?
Yes. Surely, this state of affairs is not the work of a day, but if there is something that can hasten its advent, it is no doubt Spiritism. It is an agent par excellence of human solidarity, and shows that our life now is a logical and rational consequence of our actions in previous lives; it also teaches that man is the only one responsible for his own happiness, and that by becoming popular, Spiritism will, no doubt, result in a significant betterment of the present moral. The general principles of the Spiritist philosophy are only prepared and coordinated, and have already manifested an impressive communion of thoughts, millions of followers all over the world. The progress made under its influence, the individual transformations it has caused allow us to see the huge fundamental changes that it will determine in the future. But, if thanks to the development and general acceptance of the teachings of the Spirits the moral level of Humanity constantly tends to rise, it would be a mistake to think that moral will become preponderant in relation to intelligence.
Spiritism, indeed, does not ask to be accepted blindly. It wants to be discussed and enlightened. Instead of blind faith, which annuls the freedom of thinking, it tells us, "There is no firm faith but that which can meet reason face to face in every period of time of Humanity. A base is needed to support that faith, and that base is the perfect intelligence of our belief. To believe it is not enough to see, we must above all understand". We therefore consider Spiritism as one of the most powerful heralds of the future aristocracy, namely the intellectual-moral aristocracy. (Posthumous Works - The Aristocracies).
143. Are there deserters also in Spiritism?
If all great ideas have their earnest and devoted apostles, even the best have their deserters too. Spiritism could not escape the consequences of human weakness. It had its deserters, and regarding this issue a few notes would not be useless. At first, many despised the nature and purpose of Spiritism, and did not see its importance. At the beginning it made people curious; many only saw in the spiritual manifestations a matter of entertainment; they had fun with the Spirits, while these wanted to amuse them; it was a kind of a hobby, often an addition to the night. This way of presenting Spiritism was at the beginning a tactical way on the part of the Spirits; in the form of fun, the idea was introduced everywhere and the seeds were sowed without scaring the timid consciences; they played with the child, but the child should grow. When the funny Spirits were followed by the serious and moralizer Spirits, when Spiritism became a science and a philosophy, the superficial people found no more fun in it. For those, who cherish above all the material life, it became an inopportune and uncomfortable censor that set aside more than one.
There is, therefore, nothing to mourn regarding those deserters, because frivolous people are everywhere miserable workers. However, this first phase cannot be considered a lost time, on the contrary. Thanks to this disguise, the idea was popularized a hundred times more than if it had a severe form right from the beginning; but that thoughtless and careless environment gave place to serious thinkers. (Posthumous Works – The Deserters).
144. Were some of the desertions caused by deception?
Yes. The phenomena in fashion caused people to become curious, and since it was being admired by all, it also excited the cupidity of some people hoping to find here an open door. Spiritual manifestations seemed to be a wonderful exploitable matter, and more than one dreamed of making it an auxiliary of his industry; others saw in it a variant of the art of divination, perhaps a safer way than fortune telling to know the future and discover the hidden things, because, in their opinion the Spirits knew everything.
Since these people saw that speculation escaped from their hands and returned to mystification, and that the Spirits did not come to help them make money, and share with them the lottery numbers, nor make them discover treasures and collect inheritances, and did not give them a good fruitful and patentable invention, nor provide them with the intelligence they lacked to dismiss them from physic or intellectual work, the Spirits were then considered good for nothing, and their manifestations were classified as an illusion.
Spiritism was both praised while people hoped to take advantage of it, and defamed when they became disappointed. More than one critic, who made a fool of it, would have praised it if through Spiritism he was shown a rich uncle in America, or if he had made a good profit in the stock Exchange. This, yes, is the most numerous categories of deserters, but we can also understand that we cannot consider them Spiritists. They were only mere parasites that withdrew from Spiritism, and were never sincere followers. (Posthumous Works - The Deserters).
145. Was it helpful for Spiritism to have faced these problems?
Yes. All doctrines have their Judas, and so does Spiritism. They are the contraband Spirits, which were, however, useful: they taught the true Spiritist to be prudent, circumspect, and not rely on appearances, because at first it is necessary to distrust the very earnest faith, that is, almost always, like a straw fire, and the momentarily enthusiasms that replace action by the abundance of words.
True belief is calm and thought; it is demonstrated, in the same manner as true courage, by facts, i.e., by firmness, perseverance and especially by self-denial. The moral and material detachment is the true touchstone of sincerity. Sincerity has a sui generis brand; it is reflected by nuances often easier to understand than to define; it is felt through the transmission of thought, of which Spiritism has revealed us the law, and that falsity can never hide it completely, since it cannot change the nature of the fluidic currents that it projects, in the same way ice can never copy the heat. (Posthumous Works - The Deserters).
146. Do desertions also occur among the convicted followers?
No. Among the convicted followers there are no desertions in the true sense of the word, because the one, who deserts due to some interest, or any other, was never a sincere Spiritist. However, there can be weakness. Courage and perseverance can bend before a disappointment, a disillusioned ambition, a not achieved superiority, a wounded ego, a difficult test. We back when we have to sacrifice our well-being, when we fear compromising material interests, or what will be said; feeling baffled by a mystification. The person does not resign, but it cools off; it lives for itself and not for others; it wants to benefit from the belief, but with the condition that it costs nothing.
Indeed those who act like this may be believers, but they are selfish believers, in which faith did not light its sacred fire of devotion and selflessness. Their soul has trouble to free from matter. They had to the final number, but we cannot count on them.
The others are Spiritists, who truly deserve this name, because they accept all the consequences of the Doctrine and are recognized by the efforts they make to improve. Without neglecting the material interests, they consider them an accessory and not the main; terrestrial life for them is not but a journey more or less painful; from their useful or useless application depends their future; their joys are small if compared to the splendid purpose they glimpse beyond; they suffer with the obstacles that lie in their way; the vicissitudes and disappointments are tests that never discourage them. That is why we do not see desertions and weakness among them. (Posthumous Works - The Deserters).
