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
147. Do the good Spirits protect those who fight with courage and perseverance?
148. Some leave Spiritism, because our way of seeing things does not satisfy them. Can we consider them deserters?
149. What message on this subject was transmitted to us by Kardec- the Spirit after his disembodiment?
150. How to face the criticisms made to Spiritism?
151. What is the object of Spiritism?
Answers to the proposed questions
147. Do the good Spirits protect those who fight with courage and perseverance?
Yes. They protect those who work with perseverance and whose devotion is sincere and honest; they help them to succeed over the obstacles and ease the tests they cannot avoid, but they also openly drop those who abandon them and who give more importance to their personal ambition, instead of fighting for the truth. (Posthumous Works – The Deserters).
148. Some leave Spiritism, because our way of seeing things does not satisfy them. Can we consider them deserters?
Yes and no. Certainly not, if they are driven by the sincere desire to spread the truth. However, yes, if their efforts tend only to put themselves in evidence and call public attention to them to strike their ego and personal interests. (Posthumous Works - The Deserters).
149. What message on this subject was transmitted to us by Kardec- the Spirit after his disembodiment?
In November 1869, at a meeting held in Paris, the Spirit of the Encoder spoke about the issue desertion. Towards the end of his message, he said:
"If it is right to criticize those who tried to exploit Spiritism, or diminish it in their writings, without making a preliminary study, then is it also not right to do the same with those who, after learning its principles, not contented, left and turned their efforts against it? It is mainly about these deserters that we have to ask for divine mercy, because they voluntarily extinguished the flame that clarified them, and with which they could clarify others too. They soon lost the protection of the good Spirits and, went from one fall to another in the most critical situations!
After my return to the world of the Spirits, I met some of these miserable beings! Now they regret their idleness, their grudge, but they cannot bring back the lost time. Soon they will return to Earth with the firm decision of actively working for progress, and they will still struggle against their old tendencies, until they finally succeed.
We would believe that the actual Spiritists, enlightened by these examples, would avoid repeating the same mistakes. But it is not like this. For a long time still, there will be false brothers and awkward friends; but as the elder they will also not succeed in removing Spiritism out of their way. If they are able to cause some momentary and purely local disturbances, the Doctrine shall not endanger because of this; soon, unlike the lost Spiritists, they will recognize their mistakes; then they will return with a new passion to the work momentarily interrupted, and, acting in accordance with the Higher Spirits, who guide humanitarian transformations, they will advance in quick steps towards the happy times promised to the renovated Mankind”. (Posthumous Works - The Deserters).
150. How to face the criticisms made to Spiritism?
Spiritism accepts, as inalienable, the right to scrutiny and criticism, and it is also aware that it cannot satisfy everybody. Each one, therefore, is free to accept or reject it, but it would be necessary to discuss it based on sound information. But criticism has proved, most of the times, that it ignores the most elementary principles, by saying precisely the contrary of what Spiritism says, assigning to it what it in fact denies, mistaking it with coarse and burlesque imitations of quackery, and finally considering as a general rule the eccentricities of some individuals.
Spiritism is not, however, sympathetic with those who like saying they are Spiritists, in the same manner Medicine does not accept charlatans, who exploit it as a living, and sound religion does not accept the abuses and even crimes committed in their name. Spiritism only considers as true followers those who put in practice its teachings, i.e., work for their own moral progress, struggling and fighting their bad tendencies, with the purpose of becoming less selfish, less conceited, more gentle, humble, patient, benevolent, charitable towards others, and moderate in all things, because these are the specific signs of the spiritual truth. (Posthumous Works - Short answer to Those Who calumniate Spirtism).
151. What is the object of Spiritism?
The spirit and the material elements are the two principles, the two active forces of Nature that complement one another and react continuously over one another, both essential to the operation of the Universe mechanism. From the interaction of these two principles are born the phenomena, which by themselves are difficult to explain. Science itself has a special mission to study the Laws of Matter. Spiritism is engaged in the study of the spiritual element in its relations with the material element, and it finds, in the union of these two principles, the result of a multitude of facts hitherto unexplained.
Therefore, Spiritism advances in accordance with Science in the field of matter: it accepts all the truths that Science accepts; but where the scientific research stops, Spiritism continues with it in the field of spirituality.
Since the spiritual element is an active state of Nature, the phenomena that are linked to it, are subject to laws and, therefore, are as natural as those that have their source in the neutral matter. (Posthumous Works - Short answer to Those Who calumniate Spirtism).
