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. What is the advantage we may derive from previous existences, since we do not remember them?
B. Can a Spirit, as opposed to being immersed in darkness, be punished by light waves?
C. How should we view the work for men?
D. What happens to the spirits of the people who were lazy and idle on Earth and only thought of themselves?
Text for reading
236. Later on, comforted by the prayers that himself and others have made in his favor, Jacques Latour communicated through the same medium in Brussels, explaining to be much calmer although he was still suffering. He said: “God has had compassion on me because he has seen my repentance. I am now suffering from my repentance; it has shown me the enormity of my crimes. If I had received better guidance while alive, I would not have done all the evil I did. But my instincts were not repressed, so I obeyed them without restraint. If all men would think more about God, or if they would at least believe in him, they would not commit similar crimes.” (Part Two, Chap. VI, Jacques Latour)
237. Showing the shortcomings of human justice and the prison system since that time, Jacques Latour says: “Human justice, however, is badly administered; for one wrong – sometimes a minor one – a man is condemned to prison, which is always a place for perversion and downfall. He leaves it completely lost because of bad advice and examples. Even if his character is good and strong enough to resist these bad examples, on leaving prison he finds that all doors are shut to him, all helping hands are withheld; all honest hearts reject him. What is left? Disgrace, poverty, abandonment and desperation if he has made the good resolution to return to the good. But poverty drives him to everything, and now he also despises his fellow creatures. He hates them and loses his sense of good and evil altogether because he finds himself rejected – he, who has made the decision to become an honest man. In order to get what he needs, he steals, sometimes kills, then later…later they execute him!” (Part Two, Chap. VI, Jacques Latour)
238. Commenting on Jacques Latour case, Kardec instructs: “The spirit does not really comprehend the gravity of its misdeeds until it has repented. Repentance leads to regret, to remorse – a painful sentiment that is the transition from evil to good, from moral illness to moral healthiness. It is to avoid this painful transition that wicked spirits stand firm against the voice of their conscience, like ill patients who refuse the medicine that will heal them. They seek to delude themselves by persisting in evil.” (Part Two, Chap. VI, Jacques Latour, Study on the Spirit of Jacques Latour)
239. Analyzing the case, Kardec asserts: “Many other important lessons can be taken from these communications. First, it is the confirmation of the principle of eternal justice, by which repentance is not enough to place the guilty in the ranks of the elect. Repentance is the first step toward rehabilitation – it attracts divine mercy. It is the prelude to forgiveness and the abbreviation of suffering. However, God does not absolve unconditionally; expiation is required, and especially reparation. (Part Two, Chap. VI, Jacques Latour, Study on the Spirit of Jacques Latour)
240. Analyzing Angele case, a woman whose existence on earth was useless for herself and for her neighbors, Monod (spiritual mentor of the medium, says “Her life was unfruitful and therefore blameworthy, for evil originates from neglecting the good. You must all understand that it is not enough to abstain from error: you must also practice the virtues that oppose it. Study the Lord’s teachings; meditate on them and understand that although they may present a barrier that detains you on the edge of the evil path, they force you at the same time to retreat and take the opposite path that leads you to the good. Evil is opposed to the good. Thus, those who wish to avoid evil must choose the opposite path; otherwise, their life becomes useless; their works are dead, and God our Father is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living.” (Part Two, Chap. VII, Angele)
241. Alluding to an idle Spirit entirely doomed to boredom, the medium's Guide states: “He is as idle in the spirit world as he was on the earth. We brought him to you in order to attempt to pull him out of his apathy and boredom, which is true suffering and sometimes more painful than acute pain would be because it can prolong itself indefinitely. Can you imagine the torment of the perspective of endless boredom? Most of the spirits of this category look for an earthly existence only as a pastime and as a means to break the unbearable monotony of their spirit life. That is why they frequently enter their earthly lives without any definite resolution to foster the good, and this in turn obligates them to start all over until finally true progress is felt.” (Part Two, Chap. VII, A Bored Spirit)
242. Died in France in 1858, The Queen of Oude kept after several years of her discarnation the same pride and arrogance that she had in times of power and magnificence on Earth. Inquired about religion in her last existence, the former queen replied: “Muslim. However, I was too powerful concern myself with God.” Then, talking about Christianity, she criticized by saying: “The Christian religion is absurd; it says that all people are brothers.” In her opinion Jesus [who was merely “a son of a carpenter”] was not worthy of occupying her thoughts. (Part Two, Chap. VII, The Queen of Oude)
Answers to Proposed Questions
A. What is the advantage we may derive from previous existences, since we do not remember them?
Many people often ask what advantage we may derive from previous existences, since we neither remember them nor have any idea about who or what we were. This question is completely resolved due to the fact that if the evil we committed is deleted and no trace of it remains in our heart, then remembering a past existence would be useless because we do not need to concern ourselves with it any longer. As for the immoralities from which we have not entirely freed ourselves, we know about them through our current bad tendencies, and we must focus all our attention on them. It is enough to know who we are, without being necessary to know who we were. When one considers how difficult it is during life for the most repentant guilty spirits to rehabilitate themselves, the disapprovals that they are subject, we ought to praise God for having thrown a veil over the past. (Quoted from the book Heaven and Hell - Part Two, Chapter VI, Jacques Latour, Study on the Spirit of Jacques Latour, and chapter VIII Letil)
B. Can a Spirit, as opposed to being immersed in darkness, be punished by light waves?
Yes. Experience has shown that while some are indeed immersed in darkness or complete isolation, others endure the anguish of their final hour for many years or believe themselves to still be in this world. The light shines for this spirit. He enjoys the full use of his faculties; he knows perfectly well that he is dead and does not complain about anything; he asks for no assistance and continues to affront the divine and human laws. Will he thus escape punishment? No. God’s justice is accomplished under many forms, and what causes joy for some is a torment for others. (Quoted from the book Heaven and Hell - Part Two, Chapter VII, Lapommeray, introduction and item II, Erastus message)
C. How should we view the work for men?
“Human beings have been created to be active. The activity of the spirit: that is their essence; the activity of the body: that is a necessity. Therefore, fulfill the requirements of existence as a spirit destined to eternal peace. Since your body is meant to serve you, it is nothing more than a machine subordinate to your intelligence. Work to cultivate your intelligence so that it may provide a healthy impulse to the instrument that must aid it in the fulfillment of its task. Grant it neither rest nor repose, and keep in mind that the peace to which you aspire will only come after work.” According to Monod, “those who consciously perform the most ungrateful and vile tasks in your society are a hundred times more elevated in the eyes of the Omnipotent than those who impose such roles on others while neglecting their own.” (Quoted from the book Heaven and Hell - Part Two, Chapter VII, Angele, communication from Monod)
D. What happens to the spirits of the people who were lazy and idle on Earth and only thought of themselves?
Disappointment, emptiness and loneliness. Not interested in anyone while on earth; also on the spiritual plane nobody cares for them. Remain alone and abandoned – that is their punishment. (Quoted from the book Heaven and Hell - Part Two, Chapter VII, A Bored Spirit; Chapter VIII, Anna Bitter, message from the medium’s guide)
