Kardec, was he a psychic? Part 1

It is very common to hear from lecturers and coordinators of doctrinal studies the statement that Allan Kardec (1804-1869) was not a medium. Although we have nothing to support us, we found this very strange, for our first impression was that he was a medium,  based on something we had read, but we did not know exactly where.

In literary works - Spiritists or not - we will certainly find this opinion, as for example in The table, the book and the Spirits, in which its authors, the anthropologists Marion Aubree and François Laplantine - the first, a PhD in anthropology, and the second her teacher-advisor - state:

The Book of Spirits - a work that organizes a collection of data - was not, as said, dictated by the Spirits - because Kardec never was a medium - but it was elaborated with their assistance; two especially helped him: Z, and above all, the Spirit of Truth. [...]. (AUBREE and LAPLANTINE, 2009, page 44, emphasis added).

Another source in which we found this was in the work Mediumship, written by J. Herculano Pires (1914-1979), who said: "But Kardec himself was not a medium because his mission was scientific and not mediumistic. [...]". (PIRES, 1987, page 24, emphasis added).

Where did these mentioned authors get this from? It is likely that we find the clue in Herminio C. de Miranda, in his text entitled "Allan Kardec and the mystery of a secular fidelity", of which we copy:

Often the attacks on Kardec seek support in declarations made by the Scottish medium Daniel Dunglas Home. In the book "Lights and Shadows of Spiritualism," by Home, Vartier goes and fetch the following: "It is known that Allan Kardec was not a medium. He did nothing but “magnetize” or “psychologize” people more sensitive than he". (Spiritist Community site)

We went to check on the work Lights and Shadows of Spiritualism, English version, and there, on page 224, one can find the following statement by Home (1822-1886): "It is, or it should be well known, that Allan Kardec was not himself a medium. He simply magnetized or used psychology on minds weaker and more sensitive than his”. (1) (Emphasis added). In this work, Home does not save criticism to Kardec, although the Encoder did not treat him in the same way, when, on several occasions, he referred to him.

Interestingly, these two authors, quoted above, confirm Home’s position, adding that, in 1923, the French philosopher, metaphysician and social critic Rene Guenon (1886-1951) defends this thesis, which, of course, was also absorbed by Aubree and Laplantine, as can be seen on page 44 of the book The Table, the book and the Spirits, which we copied above. Let us see what they both mention from Guenon1:

Under the power of his strong will, his mediums were typewriters, which slavishly reproduced his own thoughts. If, at times, the published doctrines were not in accordance with his desires, he corrected them at will. It is known that Allan Kardec was not a medium. He could magnetize people who were more sensitive than him. (GUENON, 1984, page 34 apud AUBREE and LAPLANTINE, 2009, page 113, italic emphasis).

From the way Aubree and Laplantine put it, the impression that one has is that this speech belongs to Guenon; however, when confronted with what appears in his work The Spiritist Error, Portuguese version, we could see that, in fact, it is from Home, which Guenon cites mentioning his source: "Les Lumieres et les Ombres du Spiritualisme, pages 112-114". (GUENON, 2010, pages 37-38). It is the same work mentioned by Herminio de Miranda, in the French version.

Unfortunately many people act naively believing in what others say, without worrying about whether it is true or not; with this, they often end up as if opening a bag of feathers on top of a hill, spreading, lies or slander.

Let us see how Kardec qualified a medium:

 […] Whoever is capable of receiving or transmitting the Spirits’ communications is thus a medium, whatever the means employed, or the degree of development of the gift, from the simple occult influence to the production of the most unusual phenomena.However, in its ordinary use, this word has a narrower meaning, and is generally said of people endowed with a very great mediumistic power, either to produce physical effects, or to transmit the thought of Spirits by writing or by word. (KARDEC, 1993a, 29, emphasis added).

There are two situations to classify a medium: one in a broad sense and the other in a narrow sense. In a broad sense one can say that we are all mediums; in a narrow sense it applies to those in which this gift manifests itself in an evident way, producing the phenomena of physical effects or transmitting the thought of the Spirits; they are ostensible mediums. Kardec comes back to this subject twice, making it even clearer:

Every person who feels the influence of the Spirits, in any degree of intensity, is a medium. This faculty is inherent in man. That is why it is not a privilege, and people - who do not have it at least in a rudimentary state - are rare. It can be said, therefore, that we are all more or less mediums.Usually, however, this qualification applies only to those who possess a well-characterized mediumistic faculty, which is translated by evident effects of a certain intensity, which depends on a more or less sensitive organization.

It should be noted, further, that this faculty does not reveal itself in all the same way. [...]. (KARDEC, 2006a, page 139, emphasis added).

Every person who feels, in any degree, the Spirits’ influence is therefore a medium. This faculty is inherent in man, and therefore is by no means an exclusive privilege: there are also few in which there is no rudiment. It can be said, then, that everybody in this world, with very few exceptions, is a medium; nevertheless, in practice, this qualification applies only to those in which the mediumistic faculty is manifested by ostensible effects of certain intensity. (KARDEC, 2006b, pages 62-63, emphasis added).

We will only emphasize, for we shall always have this in mind, that "Every person, who feels the influence of the Spirits, in any degree of intensity, is a medium".

In the Spiritist Magazine, year 1858, we find:

This faculty, as we have already said, is not an exclusive privilege; it exists in a latent state, and in several degrees, in a multitude of individuals, waiting only for an opportunity to develop; the principle is in us by the very effect of our organism; it is in Nature; we all have it in germ, and it is not far from the day when we will see the mediums appearing from all points, in our midst, in our families, in the poor as in the rich, so that the truth may be known by all, because, according to what is announced to us, it is a new era, a new phase that begins for Humanity. The evidence and the Spiritist phenomena becoming common, will give a new course to moral ideas, as steam has given a new course to industry. (KARDEC, 2001a, pages 60-61, emphasis added).

We conclude that we are all potential mediums, since mediumship is a characteristic, or a faculty, as you wish, proper to Human Nature. This is what we can also find in Channing (Spirit), who, talking about the mediums, said:

All men are mediums. All have a Spirit that leads them towards good, when they know how to listen to it. Either some may communicate directly with it, thanks to a special mediumship, or others only listen to the inner voice of the heart and mind. This matters little, for it is always the same familiar Spirit that accompanies them. Call it Spirit, reason, or intelligence; it will always be a voice that answers your soul, saying good words to you. But you do not always understand them. ... Listen, therefore, to this inner voice, this good genius that speaks to you always, and you will gradually hear your Guardian Angel reaching out to you from the height of Heaven. I repeat: the inner voice that speaks to the heart is that of the Good Spirits. And it is from this point of view that all men are mediums. (KARDEC, 2006a, pages 331-332, emphasis added).

But what we propose here is to find out if Kardec was a medium in the narrow sense, that is, if he possessed some mediumistic faculty by which we could classify it among the various types of mediumship.

It was on March 24, 1856, that Kardec became involved with a mediumistic phenomenon. He was at his house, working, when he heard repeated beats, the origin of which was unknown to him. The next day, in a session at Mr. Baudin's house, Kardec asks Spirit Z (Zephyr), what had happened to him the day before. The answer was "it was your familiar Spirit," who identified himself "For you, I shall call myself The Truth" (Kardec, 2006b, page 305), who "wanted to communicate with you" (Kardec, 2006b, page 304), and clarifying it said, "What I had to tell you was about the work you were doing: I did not like what you wrote and wanted to make you drop it". (Kardec, 2006b, page 305).

(The final part of this article will be published in the next issue.)

References:

AUBREE, M and LAPLANTINE, F. The table, the book and the Spirits: genesis, evolution and the present of the Spiritist social movement between France and Brazil. Maceio: EDUFAL, 2009.

GUENON, R. The Spiritist Error (L'erreur Spirite). Paris: Ed. Traditionnelles, 1984.

GUENON, R. The Spiritist Error (L'erreur Spirite). Sao Paulo: Rene Guenon Institute, 2010.

HOME, D. D. Lights and Shadows of Spiritualism. London: Virtue, 1878.

KARDEC, A. The Book of Mediums. Sao Paulo: Lake, 2006a.

KARDEC, A. Posthumous Works. Rio de Janeiro: FEB, 2006b.

KARDEC, A. Spiritist Magazine 1858. Araras, SP: IDE, 2001a.

KARDEC, A. Spiritist Magazine 1859. Araras, SP: IDE, 1993a.

KARDEC, A. Spiritist Magazine 1861. Araras, SP: IDE, 1993b.

KARDEC, A. Spiritist Magazine 1867. Araras, SP: IDE, 1999.

PALHANO JR. L. Dictionary of Spiritist Philosophy. Rio de Janeiro: CELD, 2004.

PIRES, J. H. Mediumship: life and communication. Conceptualization of mediumship and general analysis of its current problems. Sao Paulo: EDICEL, 1987.

DONHA, J. A. V. An anthropological X-ray of Spiritism. In the newspaper Abertura no. 149. Santos, SP: Espirit Net, June / 2000, obtained in the site: Abertura 2000, access on 03.17.2011, at 08: 08hs.

GABILAN, F. A. Intuition or Inspiration? In O Semeador no. 760, May / 2000. Sao Paulo: FEESP, obtained by Feesp website, access on 03.17.2011, at 06:15 hs.

MIRANDA, H. Allan Kardec and the mystery of a secular fidelity. Available at: community, access on 03.14.2011, at 22: 06hs. 

  
Translation:
Eleni Frangatos - eleni.moreira@uol.com.br