We continue today the methodical study of “Heaven and Hell, or Divine Justice According to Spiritism” by Allan Kardec. The first edition was published in August 1, 1865. This work is part of the Kardecian Pentateuch. The answers to the questions suggested for discussion are at the end of the text below.
Questions for discussion
A. The Church condemns communication between men and Spirits. What is the reason?
B. Does the perisprit also separate itself from the soul under the trance of bodily death?
C. How does the soul separate from the body after the trance of death?
D. Four extreme situations may occur at death. Describe them.
Reading Text
105. Moses' ban on evocation of the dead was fair. The dead were not evoked in respect, affection, or pity towards them, but it was more a source for riddles than anything else was. It was also a business and, as much as Moses tried, he could not detach it from the popular customs. (Part I, Chapter XI, section 4.)
106. However, since the Spiritists do not sacrifice children, do not honor the gods through libation, do not question the stars and the dead to guess what is forbidden to men, since they repudiate trading with mediumship, and are not driven by curiosity or greed, but by compassion, by a desire to instruct and improve themselves, relieving the suffering souls, since it is so, Moses' prohibition cannot be extended to them. (Part I, Chapter XI, section 4.)
107. If those, who wrongly claim against the Spiritists, could understand the real meaning of the Biblical words, they would arrive to the conclusion that there is nothing similar in the fundaments of Spiritism to compare to what happened among the Hebrews. In fact, Spiritism also condemns everything that caused Moses' ban. (Part I, Chapter XI, section 4.)
108. There are two distinct parts in the Law of Moses, the Law of God itself, enacted on Sinai, and the civil or disciplinary law applicable to customs and to people's character. The first is unchangeable and the latter changes with time. (Part I, Chapter XI, section 5.)
109. Jesus did not proscribe but sanctioned the Law of Sinai, an unfolding of His moral doctrine. However, He never mentioned the prohibition to evoke the dead, and this sure was a very serious matter to be omitted in His sermons, especially considering he mentioned other minor issues. (Part I, Chapter XI, section 6.)
110. The Church teaches that the blessed souls cannot leave the glorious mansion to help the mortals. Now if this is true, why does the Church call on the assistance of the saints? Why does the Church advice to invoke them in cases of sickness, distress, flagella? Why, as the Church itself admits, do the saints and the Virgin herself appear to men and operate miracles? (Part I, Chapter XI, section 12.)
111. To refuse communication from afterlife is to deny the most powerful means of instruction through the examples that are provided. To forbid such communication is also to deprive the suffering souls from the assistance we can and ought to offer them. (Part I, Chapter XI, section 15.)
112. The certainty of future life does not exclude the concern about the passage from this life to afterlife. Many people do not fear death itself, but the moment of transition. Spiritism tells us how this transition occurs, and the information we have regarding the fluidic tie that binds the soul to the body is the key to this and too many other phenomena. (Second Part, Chapter I, sections 1 and 2.)
113. The perisprit is the mantle of the soul and it does not separate either before or after death. It forms with the soul one entity, and we cannot conceive one without the other. (Second Part, Chapter I, section 3.)
Answers to the proposed questions
A. The Church condemns communication between men and Spirits. What is the reason?
The reasons mentioned to condemn communication with the Spirits do not stand up to serious examination. By the passion of the dispute, it is easy to conclude that there is a great interest regarding this subject. Therefore, the insistence. Observing the way all faiths fight against spiritual manifestations, one would say that they fear them. And they fear them because enlightened Spirits come to instruct men on points intended to be maintained obscure. At the same time, they teach them that there is a spiritual world where one can be happy or suffer. (Heaven and Hell, Part One, Chapter XI, sections 13 to 15.)
B. Does the perisprit also separate itself from the soul under the trance of bodily death?
No. The perisprit is the mantle of the soul and they are bonded before and after death. It forms with the soul one entity, and one cannot be conceived without the other. (Ibid, Second Part, Chapter I, section 3.)
C. How does the soul separate from the body after the trance of death?
Life ends with the detachment of the soul caused by the rupture of the fluid that maintains body and soul attached, but this separation is never abrupt. The separation takes place gradually. The perispiritual fluid gradually detaches from all organs, in such a way that the separation is only complete when not one perisprit atom is attached to a molecule of the body. (Ibid, Second Part, Chapter I, sections 3 and 4.)
D. Four extreme situations may occur at death. Describe them.
Following, are the four extreme situations with several variants.
1st - If at the time life extinguishes, the detachment of the perisprit is complete, the soul feels absolutely nothing.
2 - If at that time the binding of the two elements is at the peak of its power, it produces a kind of rupture that reacts painfully on the soul.
3 - If the binding is weak, the separation becomes easier and occurs without shock.
4th - If upon the complete extinction of life there are still many points of contact between the body and the perisprit, the soul may suffer with the effects of the decomposition of the body until the bond entirely dissolves.
Thus, the suffering that accompanies death is subject to the adhesive strength that binds the body to the perisprit. Everything that can mitigate this force, and accelerate the speed of detachment, makes the transition less painful, and finally, if the detachment occurs without difficulty, the soul will no longer experience any unpleasant feeling. (Ibid, Second Part, Chapter I, section 5).
