Special

por Altamirando Carneiro

The life board

The late writer and lecturer Pedro de Camargo - Vinicius - (Piracicaba - SP, 5/7/1878 - Sao Paulo, 10/11/1966), in the text entitled Luther's dream, says that Luther once dreamed he was in the doorways of the eternal tabernacles, when he asked the angel who was there on guard.

- Are the Protestants there?

- No, not a Protestant is to be found here.

- What do you mean? Did not the Protestants achieve salvation through the blood of Christ?

- I told you and I repeat: there are no Protestants here.

"So, are the Roman Catholics here, members of that Church I abjured?"

- Nor do we know of the children of this Church here; there are no Romans here.

- Who knows, perhaps, the supporters of Muhammad or Buddha?

- No, neither one nor the other.

- Is it, by chance, that the sky is uninhabited?

- That doesn't happen. Countless are the inhabitants of the Father's house, occupying all its multiple dwellings.

- Tell me, then, quickly: who are the ones who are saved and to what church do they belong on Earth?

– All and none. There are no denominations or dogmas here. Those who are saved are those who visit widows and orphans in their afflictions, keeping themselves exempt from the corruption of the century. Those who are saved are those who seek to improve themselves, correcting their defects, being reborn every day for a better life. Those who are saved are those who love others and renounce the world with its fascination. Those who are saved are those who struggle, passing through the narrow path, rimmed with thorns: the path of duty. Those who are saved are those who obey the voice of conscience and not the claims of interest. Those who are saved are those who work for the cause of justice and truth, which is the universal cause, and not for the aggrandizement of regional causes, of certain associations with religious titles and labels. Those who are saved are those who aspire to the glory of God, the common good, collective happiness. Those who are saved...

- Enough! cut in Luther, already understanding everything: I need to return to Earth and introduce a certain reform in the Reformation.

- We do not know if this dream attributed to Luther is true. However, it is a case of saying: if he did not dream like that, he should have dreamed.

Let the Spiritists and the Theosophists – with their harsh terminology - work on the words of the angel. If Luther did not inquire about such, it is because at the time of the dream those denominations did not exist. If they existed, surely the angel would have said the same thing about them as he said about the others.

Another interesting text by Vinicius is called “Loiola’s nightmare”. Ignatius of Loiola founded Jesuitism in 1534, determined to suppress freedom of conscience. The Society of Jesus did not know the means, to consider only the immoral ends to which it was supposed. In this text, Vinicius says that one day, when Loiola found himself in that fixed idea, which so obsessed him, of conquering the world, he fell into a deep sleep and had a nightmare. He found himself, without knowing how, at the gates of Hell. The road was guarded by the brilliant Hades demon with gnarled hair and a bristly tail, ending in a plume. The General of the Jesuits asks him:

- Are the heretics and the wicked there suffering the just punishment they deserve?

- You are wrong. The wicked and the heretics were converted and attained salvation.

- Ah! I already know. Are there the murderers, the thieves, the arsonists, the bandits there?

- They're not. They purified themselves on the path of pain, where they atoned for their crimes: they are saved.

- I understand now. Are the perjurers, the tyrants who oppressed the peoples, the wealthy miser who despised poverty, the satyrs and professional politicians under the domination of Satan?

- You still haven't got it right. All these sinners found in the statement – he who strikes with iron shall be struck with iron - the means of rehabilitation. They have been redeemed, going through what they did to others.

- In this case, Hell is just a myth. Since no one is condemned, is Hades nothing else than fiction and its prestige, based on mere fantasy, will eventually disappear, thus jeopardizing the Company's value?

- You got it wrong again. Hell – the portals of which I proudly guard and defend, is a reality. There are a lot of people inside. Do you want to know who the convicts are? They are the hypocrites, the false mentors of the people, who traded with religion, abusing the credulity of the little ones and corrupting the conscience of the big ones. They are the merchants of the temple, the dealers of the faith, the ones who devoured the homes of widows and orphans on the pretext of prayers. They are the hardeners of reason, the pirates of thought, the enemies of truth. Finally, they are those who once, in a choleric and hoarse cry, cried out to Pilate: Loosen Barabbas! Crucify Jesus Christ!

- Damn! What a horrible nightmare! This one only the Devil does - said Loyola, rising in horror: for he still heard the distant echo of that voice that demanded the crucifixion of the Son of God.

The two texts have a lot in common. And through them we see that the religious label is not enough for the regeneration and progress of souls, since man, in his evolutionary trajectory, is the very builder of his happiness or misfortune, that is, a benefactor or executioner of himself. God has no need to punish him in this or that way, since he gave him free will, so that he can, through his own effort, improve himself more and more and move forward on the path of progress and spiritual perfection, lovingly giving him all the necessary and indispensable resources for him to achieve this desire.

Reincarnation is one of them.

However, it is good to know that the Law of Cause and Effect is always on the alert, watching over all one’s actions on the stage of life, "giving to each according to his works", as stated in the Gospel. And as it could not be otherwise, this law applies to everyone, without distinction, so that no person, no matter how rich and powerful he may be, will cheat with his devices and his sanctifying devices.

Therefore, when man goes through the atoning process and suffers a lot here on Earth, everything indicates that he misused his free will in another existence, or even in this one, which follows that he must blame himself and not accuse the others for their misfortunes, which come from his own transgressions of the divine precepts.

Having passed, therefore, by successive incarnations, he has the freedom to act this way or that, committing, in most cases, the smallest folly and arbitrariness and, as the popular saying goes, "who sows wind, reaps storms" confirms the Spiritist teaching, that "sowing is free, but the harvest is mandatory".

However, man, instead of humbly thanking the Divine Providence for this precious and priceless gift, which allows him to redeem all his debts through the remissive tests he undergoes in Earth’s school, he prefers to miss the point and always considers himself a wronged person, attributing, as a rule, the cause of his physical and moral ailments to destiny and bad luck.

We bring everything within us and it all depends on our willingness to start anything. Heaven, hell, joy, sadness, despair, hope, everything is in agreement with us. We are the ones who give value to a certain problem, the approach that we consider convenient, which, sometimes, does not deserve that concern. Everything is according to our convenience.

Léon Denis (Foug, Toul district, France, 1/1/1846 - Tours, France, 4/12/1927) said that the will is the greatest of all powers. We have free will, the decision to make, freedom of thought. And that thought has a lot of strength, be it good or bad, positive or negative. When we think, we mentally connect with an objective and mobilize the energy around us. It can act both in deep sleep and in wakefulness, because the brave soul that has set itself a goal, pursues it with tenacity in all phases of its life, thus determining a powerful current, which undermines, slowly and silently, all obstacles. Each soul is a focus of vibrations that the will sets in motion. If man knew the extent of resources that germinate in him, he might be dazzled and instead of thinking himself weak and fearing the future, he would understand his strength, and feel that he himself can create that future. Willing is power and the power of will is unlimited.

Knowing the strength within us, we will be able to safely embark on the paths that will help us to materialize our edifying goals, as they bring comfort to the soul. If we bring with us the prospect of happiness, it means that the germ of certainty is latent, waiting to emerge to prosper.

Unfortunately, man lost himself in the eagerness to have, and to have more. This has made him an island, oblivious to anything that is not inserted in his own selfishness. Technological progress has come to attest to his intelligence, to approach distances, however, it has distanced the surroundings. Western man of the 21st century has extreme difficulty in living with himself and let himself be experienced by the need for what is outside himself. He became unable to be alone, to hear the voice of silence or to be enchanted by the melody of the winds. When he is not immersed in complicated computer games, he is magnetized to television, to the phone, to the cell phone, desperately clinging to the outside and dependent on things and people as a condition of survival.

We need to lose the fear of living with ourselves, of introspecting ourselves, knowing each other and being sufficient, because happiness and balance are nowhere else but within us. We must not reduce our desires and aspirations or material fulfillment. There are much more important ideas, such as our fulfillment as children of God, due to the constant and conscious effort of learning and moral improvement.

We live all the time clinging to things, people, places, as if everything and everyone were at our disposal, throughout our existence. The fears that distress us, the ghosts that afflict us, are almost always the fear of loss: loss of youth, beauty, money, health, prestige, power, employment, etc. This attachment, which enslaves us, makes us capable of greater atrocities against ourselves and others, for maintaining the state of affairs that satisfies our selfishness. The feeling of possession, which is nothing more than the institutionalization of material attachment, is what makes us unhappy and anxious about life.

Nobody owns anything or anyone, except their own conscience, and "self-consciousness is the most noble level of human consciousness” (Divaldo Franco).

We are only associates in the divine work. What belongs to the world remains in the world, so why do we cling to what we will have to leave? We are eternal as Spirits, not as incarnates, and we are only bequeathed as fortune what we are; what we have is perishable. Matter and passions are perishable. All excess is pernicious, all exaggeration is unhealthy, and man becomes master of his destiny only when he acquires the habit of controlling his passions.

At the turn of the millennium, at the advent of the new era, it is necessary to learn to grow and to grow is to gradually achieve all of our potential. Achieving potential is cultivating self-esteem, recognizing and loving oneself to be able to radiate love, detaching oneself from attachments and idolatry, it is to stop being happy to be happy, being happy for the life that pulsates inside and outside of us, is to be able to "live in the world without being of the world", it is to be captivated by love without becoming captive by selfishness.

Finally, let us appreciate, from the book “Vinha de Luz” (The Vineyard of Light) (FEB), Emmanuel's message, through the psychographics of Francisco Candido Xavier, entitled: In our struggle:


In our daily struggle, let us be careful enough to use the powers that have been lent to us by the Lord.

The idea of ​​destruction assaults our mind on countless occasions.

Associations of forces less enlightened in the good and in truth?

We are tempted to move processes of annihilation.

Less desirable companions in everyday work?

We try to abandon them for good.

Hardened co-workers?

Leave them to helplessness.

Passionate demonstrations, at odds with the imperatives of evangelical prudence?

Our initial impulses boil down to the purposes of violent suffocation.

Something that contradicts our ideas and personal programs?

Our intolerance calls for destruction.

However, what is the purpose of the powers that rest in our hands, in the name of our Loved Master?

Paul of Tarsus answered us, with great propriety, explaining to us that he received faculties from the Lord to build and not to destroy.

Let us renew the good, transform into the light.

The Supreme Father gives us powers to spread death.

Our mission is of tireless love for the Abundant Life. 


 

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

 
 

     
     

O Consolador
 Revista Semanal de Divulgação Espírita