In this issue, we continue the study of the book, What is Spiritism, launched in Paris in July 1859. This study will be divided into 19 parts. The pages cited in the text and suggested for reading refer to the 20th edition published by the Brazilian Spiritist Federation (Federação Espírita Brasileira). The answers to the questions suggested for discussion can be found at the end of this text.
Questions for discussion
A. Why do we like, or dislike people we have never met before?
B. Does man have free will or is he subject to fate?
C. Where does evil on this Earth come from, and why does it prevail in this planet?
Reading Text
174. The origin of evil on Earth is in the imperfection of the Spirits who are incarnated here. As for its prevalence, it comes from the inferiority of the planet, whose inhabitants are mostly inferior Spirits or that have little progressed. (Chapter III, item 131, page 201).
175. Not always a painful life means atonement; it is often chosen by the Spirit, which sees in it a means to progress more quickly, according to the courage to support it. (Chapter III, item 134, page 203).
176. The Spiritist studies about imbeciles and idiots - people who have mental retardation - prove that their souls are as intelligent as the other men and that this disease is an expiation inflicted to the Spirits who abused of their intelligence and cruelly suffer because they feel imprisoned by ties they cannot break, and by the disregard they feel now when compared with the respect and consideration they had in previous lives. (Chapter III, item 135, page 204).
177. During sleep it is only the body that rests, but the Spirit does not sleep. He enjoys the freedom and the fullness of his faculties; takes advantage, when the body rests, of the time while he is not required to be with the body, to act separately and go where he wishes. During the incarnation, the Spirit is attached to the body by a silver cord, used to call him, when his presence becomes necessary. Only death breaks that bond. (Chapter III, item 136, page 204).
178 Dreams are the result of the freedom of the Spirit during sleep; sometimes they are the memory of places and people that the Spirit saw or visited in that state. (Chapter III, item 137, page 204).
179. Omens are vague and intuitive memories that the Spirit learned in his moments of freedom and which are sometimes hidden warnings given by the Benevolent Spirits. (Chapter III, item 138, page 204).
180. The simultaneous presence of savagery and civilization on Earth is a material fact, which proves the progress that some have done and what others still have to go through. The soul of the wild will reach, as time goes by, the same degree of enlightened soul, but to reach it, it must pass through successive incarnations. (Chapter III, items 139-141, pages 205 and 206).
181. The faculties of the soul are proportional to its purification; only those of the elite can enjoy the presence of God. (Chapter III, item 146, page 209).
182. God is everywhere, because everywhere He radiates. Late Spirits, however, are involved in a kind of fog that hides Him from their eyes and this fog becomes clearer as they distance themselves from what is material and become purer. (Chapter III, item 147, page 209).
Answers to the proposed questions
A. Why do we like, or dislike people we have never met before?
The feeling of liking or disliking someone may stem from previous relationships, but it can also have another cause: the fluidic irradiation common to all people, which can raise pleasant or unpleasant impressions regarding our neighbors. (What is Spiritism, Chapter III, item 125).
B. Does man have free will or is he subject to fate?
Man is endowed with free will, which is a consequence of God’s justice. This is an attribute that elevates man above all other creatures. If his behavior was subject to fate, he would have no responsibility in doing evil, or merit in doing good. (Ibid, Chapter III, item 128).
C. Where does evil on this Earth come from, and why does it prevail in this planet?
Evil is originated in the imperfection of the Spirits, who are still incarnated in this Earth. It prevails here due to the inferiority of this planet, since the majority of those who live here are Inferior Spirits with little progress. (Ibid, Chapter III, item 131).
