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. Which type of suicide is the most severely punishable?
B. What happens to those who commit suicide to join the other world?
C. How to face the suicide coming from love?
D. What are the key requirements to successfully evoke a spirit?
Text for reading
201. We can learn a lot of lessons from the case of a mother who killed herself to meet her son who died at 21. Suicide did not give her the opportunity to see him. In contrast, he could see her but he was very disappointed because she was in a sad condition due to her lack of resignation and trust in God. (Part II, chap. V, Mother and Son).
202. Kardec, while analyzing this case, states: "The death, even by suicide, did not produce on this Spirit the illusion of still being alive. She has become aware of her status - for others that illusion is the punishment due to their strong ties that bind them to their bodies. This woman intended to leave Earth to follow her son in the afterlife, thus it was necessary that she knew about her discarnation to have an exactly idea of her situation. “That is how it works: each fault is punished according to the circumstances which caused it and there is no uniform punishment for faults of the same classification." (Part II, chap. V, Mother and Son).
203. In the case of two lovers who killed themselves, although it presented some attenuating circumstances, the outcome was not what the couple expected. "I see them - said one Spirit - immersed in confusion and terrified by the prospect of eternity. They will carry the moral consequences of their misconduct by successive reincarnations, searching for each other for a long time without reuniting. In addition, they will be subjected to double punishment as they sense and want each other in vain." (Part II, chap .V, Double Suicide out of Love and a Sense of Duty).
204. Kardec says in his comments: "Their intent not to break their marriage vows was honorable and will be taken into account later on. True merit, however, would have consisted in resisting temptation, whereas they acted like the deserter who dodges his duty in the moment of danger. As one can see, their punishment will consist in their search for each other for a long time without reuniting, whether in the spirit world or during other earthly incarnations. Additionally, their punishment is temporarily aggravated by the idea that their present state will last forever.” (Part II, chap. V, Double Suicide out of Love and a Sense of Duty).
205. Commenting the case of Louis G.: a shoemaker who killed himself after being scorned by his fiancée, Kardec says that his punishment is lighter because he did nothing more than give in to a thoughtless impulse and a moment of excitement rather than to the cold premeditation of those who commit suicide in order to evade the trials of life. (Part II, chap. V, Louis and the Boot Stitcher).
206. Mr. J.B.D. committed suicide due to weariness of a life without hope. He believed neither in God nor in the existence of the soul. At the request of a relative, he was evoked two years after his death. He was still suffering and that evocation was painful to him. He explained that above all things he was suffering because he had to believe in everything he denied. (Part II, chap.V, An Atheist)
207. Kardec states: "One thinks about suicide when life is hopeless; one also wants to escape unhappiness at any price. With Spiritism, the future unfolds and hope is legitimized, leaving suicide without purpose; moreover, one realizes that through suicide one does not escape an evil but falls into another one a hundred times worse." (Part II, chap. V, An Atheist, Kardec’s note to question 5).
208. The family of Mr. J.B.D. read the communication of that Spirit and told Kardec that the identity of the Spirit was evident in the words spoken by him and the similarity to his handwriting. However, some friends wanted responses that are even more categorical. For example, they would like him to disclose the place where his body was buried, where he drowned himself, how his body was found, etc. The son-in-law inquired: “In order to satisfy and convince them, would it be possible for you to evoke him again? And if so, to ask the following questions: where and how did he commit suicide, how long was he under water, where his body was found, where was he buried, and whether a religious or civil funeral was given to him?” (Part II, chap.V, An Atheist).
209. Kardec recognized the praiseworthy intention of such questions, but he said that a deeper understanding of the Spiritist science would lead him to understand that his questions are superfluous. You have to understand firsthand that we cannot govern the spirits at our will. Kardec continued: “In the first place we cannot control spirits at will. They respond whenever and however they want, and often only as they are able. Their freedom of action is greater than when they were alive and they possess ways of avoiding any mental coercion we might wish to exert over them." (Part II, chap. V, An Atheist).
Answers to Proposed Questions
A. Which type of suicide is the most severely punishable?
The suicide most severely punished is the one that results from the desperation of seeking to evade life’s miseries. These miseries are expiations and trials at the same time, then withdrawing from them is to refuse the task one has accepted and sometimes, even the mission one must fulfill. Suicide does not consist solely in the intentional act that produces instant death; suicide occurs whenever anything is consciously done that will prematurely hasten the extinction of the vital forces. (Part II, chap. V, The Father and the Conscript, question 10, and Kardec’s note).
B. What happens to those who commit suicide to join the other world?
In the case analyzed by Kardec, which is a double suicide out of love, the punishment will consist in their search for each other for a long time without reuniting, whether in the spirit world or during other earthly incarnations. Additionally, their punishment is temporarily aggravated by the idea that their present state will last forever. (Part II, chap. V, Double Suicide out of Love and a Sense of Duty, questions 1 and 8 and Kardec 's comments).
C. How to face the suicide out of love?
Suicide out of love is less criminal in God’s eyes than a suicide of someone who wants to be freed from life for cowardly reasons. In this case, the young woman for having nourished in Louis a love she did not reciprocate perpetrates the first wrong. Thus, she bears the greatest part of the responsibility. As for the young man, the suffering he endures is punishing him. However, his punishment is lighter because he did nothing more than give in to a thoughtless impulse and a moment of excitement rather than to the cold premeditation of those who commit suicide in order to evade the trials of life. (Part II, chap. V, Louis and the Boot Stitcher, questions 5 and 8).
D. What are the key requirements to successfully evoke a spirit?
Evocations cannot be done on the spur of the moment. Spirits do not always respond to our appeal. For them to respond, they must be both able and willing. Additionally, there must be a suitable medium (endowed with the necessary special aptitudes) available at the time. Finally, the surroundings must be agreeable to the spirit. (Part II, chap . V, an Atheist, last paragraph).
