6

The soul after death. — Individuality of the soul before and after death. — The universal whole. — Independence of the soul and the vital principle. — The body can live without the soul. — Separation of the soul and the body. — Sensation of the soul on returning to the world of Spirits. — Remembrance of corporeal existence. — Relations among the souls of those who knew one another on Earth. — Manner in which souls consider the things of this world. — Humiliation of the great and exaltation of the lowly. (Questions 101 to 124 b.)

What does the soul become at the instant of death? [Question 149.]

“It becomes a Spirit again.”

The soul that had left the world of Spirits to put on the corporeal envelope leaves that envelope at the moment of death and immediately becomes a Spirit again.

After death, does the soul retain its individuality? [Question 150.]

“Yes; it never loses it.”

The soul never loses its individuality; it had it before incarnating and retains it during and after its union with the body.

What should we think of the opinion of those who say that after death the soul returns to the universal whole? [Question 151.]

“Does the assemblage of Spirits not form a whole? Does it not constitute a complete world? When you are in an assembly, you are an integral part of it and, nevertheless, you always retain your individuality.”

Those who think that, through death, the soul returns to the universal whole are mistaken, if by this they understand that, like a drop of water falling into the ocean, it loses its individuality there. They are right, if by the universal whole they understand the assemblage of incorporeal beings, of which each soul or Spirit is an element. Like a soldier who is part of an army where he is subject to the common law, without thereby ceasing to be himself.

Is the soul independent of the vital principle? [Question 136.]

“Yes; the body is only the envelope, we repeat it ceaselessly.”

a. Can the body exist without the soul? [Question

a.]

“Yes; however, as soon as the body's life ceases, the soul abandons it. Before birth the soul is not yet in it; 89 there is no union between the soul and the body, 90 whereas, after this union has been established, the death of the body breaks the bonds that unite it to the soul, and the soul leaves it.” The soul is independent of the vital principle.

Before birth the body can live without the soul, because there does not yet exist a union between the soul and the body; but, after this union has been established, the soul leaves the body as soon as the latter ceases to live, because then the bonds that existed between the soul and the body are broken. Organic life can animate a body without a soul, but the soul cannot inhabit a body deprived of organic life.

Is the separation of the soul and the body painful? [Question 154.]

“No; the body almost always suffers more during life than at the moment of death; the soul takes no part in it. The sufferings that are sometimes experienced at the instant of death are a joy for the Spirit, who sees the term of his exile drawing near.”

The sufferings that are sometimes experienced at the moment of death are due to corporeal and accidental causes; the soul takes no part in them. The sufferings are even a joy for the Spirit, since they announce to him the deliverance that is approaching. In natural death, which results from the exhaustion of the organs as a consequence of age, the man leaves life without perceiving it: it is a lamp that goes out for lack of fuel.

Does the separation of the soul and the body take place instantaneously? [Question

a.]

“Yes; it escapes like a frail dove pursued by a vulture.”

The separation of the soul and the body takes place instantaneously; once the bonds that held it are broken, it flees like a prisoner who escapes.

Does the separation of the soul and the body sometimes take place before the complete cessation of organic life? [Question 156.]

“Yes; as in the death agony, the soul has already left the body. Nothing more remains than organic life. The body is a machine that the heart sets in motion; it exists as long as the heart makes the blood circulate in the veins, and for that it does not need the soul.”

The separation of the soul and the body almost always occurs before the complete cessation of organic life. This is what happens with the dying man: although a breath of life still remains in him, he no longer has consciousness of himself.

In violent or accidental death, when the organs have not yet been weakened by age or by illnesses, the separation of the soul and the cessation of life occur simultaneously. [Question 161.]

On leaving the body, does the soul immediately have consciousness of itself? [Question 163.]

“Immediate consciousness.” 92

a. Can the example of a person passing from darkness into light give us an idea of this fact?

“Not exactly, for the soul needs some time to recognize itself. At first everything is confused. It is like a man who comes out of a deep sleep; until he awakens completely, his ideas come to him only little by little.” On leaving its envelope, the soul has immediate consciousness of itself and of its individuality; but it needs some time to recognize itself. At the first moment it finds itself as though stunned and in the condition of a stranger suddenly transported to an unknown city, or like someone who comes out of a deep sleep and is not yet completely awake. The lucidity of ideas and the memory of the past return to it as the influence of the matter from which it has just been freed fades away. [Question 165.]

What sensation does the soul experience at the moment when, leaving its corporeal envelope, it re-enters the world of Spirits? [Question 159.]

“It depends; that is to say: if you practiced evil with the desire to do it, at the first moment you will feel ashamed of having practiced it.”

a. Is the sensation experienced by the soul of the just the same? “Oh! that is quite different; its soul feels as though relieved of a great weight.” [Question 159.]

The first feeling that the soul experiences on returning to the spiritual world will depend on the use it has made of the life that was given to it as a trial. If its time was poorly employed, and if it practiced evil with knowledge of the cause, the first feeling that dominates it is that of shame and of confusion, since all its actions will then be laid bare; just as happens on Earth with someone who is caught in flagrant offense for an act he believed deeply hidden. The soul of the just, on the contrary, is as though relieved of a great weight; it enters radiant and happy at its deliverance into the world of Spirits, because it does not fear any investigating gaze.

At the moment of death, does the soul sometimes have an aspiration or ecstasy that lets it glimpse the world it is about to enter? [Question 157.]

“Yes.”

a. What does it feel at that moment?

“It feels that the bonds binding it to the body are about to break; it employs then all its efforts to undo them entirely.” [Question 157.]

At the moment of death, the soul sometimes has an aspiration or ecstasy that lets it glimpse the world it is about to enter. Already in part detached from matter, it feels the bonds that bound it to the Earth breaking, and it itself strives to break them; it sees the future unfold before it.

Can the example of the caterpillar give us an idea of terrestrial life, of the tomb and, finally, of our new existence? [Question 158.]

“A faint idea. The image is good; nevertheless, it must not be taken literally, as you frequently do.”

The example of the caterpillar, which at first crawls on the earth, then encloses itself in its chrysalis in a state of apparent death, to then be reborn with a brilliant existence, is an image, though faint and incomplete, of our terrestrial existence, of the tomb and, finally, of our new existence. 93

Does the Spirit detached from matter keep the remembrance of its corporeal existence? [Question 304.]

“Yes, and of all the acts of its life.”

a. How does it consider its body? [Question 309.]

“Like a useless garment, of which it has rid itself.” On divesting itself of matter, the Spirit retains the remembrance of its corporeal existence, whose acts and smallest details come back again to its memory. It sees its envelope deteriorate, as we would see an old garment we have thrown away rot.

Is the soul that returns to spiritual life sensitive to the homage paid to its mortal remains? [Question 326.]

“No; it no longer has earthly vanity and understands the futility of this world, especially when the Spirit has already reached a certain degree of perfection. But, be aware, there are Spirits who, in the first moments following their material death, experience great pleasure at the honors paid to them, or are vexed by the abandonment to which their mortal remains have been relegated. It is because they still retain some ideas and prejudices of earthly life.”

On returning to spiritual life, the soul that has already reached a certain degree of perfection understands the futility of human things and sees, without pleasure and without pride, the honors paid to its mortal remains. The remembrance of the persons who are dear to it is the only thing to which it gives value. Only inferior Spirits, still under the influence of matter, experience, at the moment of material death, a certain pleasure at the honors paid to them or lament the abandonment to which they have relegated their body.

Do Spirits return to the tombs where their bodies rest, in preference to other places?

“No; the body was nothing but a garment; they are no longer interested in it.”

It is an error and a superstitious idea to think that Spirits return to the tombs where their bodies rest, in preference to other places. They give no importance to the envelope, which caused them sufferings.

Is the instinctive respect that, in all times and among all peoples, man bears for the dead an effect of the intuition he has of future life? [Question 329.]

“Yes, it is the natural consequence.”

In all times and among all peoples, man has borne instinctive respect for the dead. Such a feeling proves there is in him an intuition of future existence, for, without this, this respect would have no purpose.

Do Spirits recognize one another for having lived together on Earth? Does the son recognize the father, does the friend recognize his friend? [Question 285.]

“Yes, and thus from generation to generation.”

On returning to spiritual life, the soul keeps the remembrance of its corporeal existence, recognizing those whom it knew on Earth: the friend recognizes the friend, the son recognizes the father, and thus from generation to generation.

How do the men who knew one another on Earth recognize one another in the world of Spirits? [Question 285 a.]

“We see our past life and read in it as in a book. Seeing the past of our friends and enemies, we see there their passage from life to death.” The men who knew one another on Earth do not recognize one another in the world of Spirits by any particular form. Earthly life presents itself to them; in it they read as in an open book and, seeing the past of those they knew, they see their passage from one life to another.

Do two beings who were enemies on Earth keep resentment of one another in the world of Spirits? [Question 293.]

“No; they understand that the hatred they bore one another was stupid and the motive that inspired it puerile. Only imperfect Spirits retain a kind of animosity, as long as they have not purified themselves.”

a. Does the remembrance of the evil deeds that two men committed against one another constitute an obstacle to the sympathy that should reign between them? [Question 294.]

“Yes; this remembrance leads them to keep away from one another.” Two beings who were enemies on Earth keep between themselves no resentment in the world of Spirits, because they understand perfectly how stupid their hatred was and how puerile the motive that inspired it. But the remembrance of the evil deeds they committed against one another leads them to keep away from one another.

Just like two schoolboys who reach the age of reason and recognize the puerility of the quarrels they had in childhood and cease to bear one another ill will.

Can we conceal some of our acts from the Spirits? [Questions 283, 456 and 457.]

“No; neither acts nor thoughts.”

a. That being so, it seems easier to hide something from a living person than to hide it from that same person after she is dead? [Question

a.]

“Certainly, and when you believe yourselves well hidden, you often have a multitude of Spirits observing you.”

Vision being indefinite and the penetration of thought one of the attributes of Spirits, it follows that we can conceal nothing from them. We can hide something from a person during life, but we can no longer do so after her death, for she knows all our acts and the most secret movements of our soul.

Do Spirits retain some of the human passions? [Question 228.]

“Pure Spirits, on losing their envelope, leave the evil passions and keep only those of good; but inferior Spirits retain them, for otherwise they would belong to the first order.”

On leaving the material envelope, the superior Spirits retain of the human passions only those directed toward good. The inferior Spirits, on the contrary, retain the evil ones, and it is this that keeps them in the inferior classes until they are purified.

How is the soul of the just received on its return to the world of Spirits? [Question 287]

“Like a beloved brother long awaited; those who love him come to receive him.”

a. And the soul of the wicked? [Question 287.]

“The soul of the wicked is received like a being whom one despises.”

b. What feeling do the impure Spirits experience on seeing another wicked Spirit arrive? [Question 288.]

“The wicked are pleased when they see beings similar to themselves and, also like them, deprived of infinite happiness, as happens, on Earth, to a bandit among his equals.”

On its return to the spiritual world the soul of the just is received by the good Spirits as a traveler is received by his friends on returning from a dangerous excursion, or like a beloved brother, awaited a long time.

If it escaped the dangers of the journey, that is, if it came out victorious from the temptations and the trials, it rises in the hierarchy of Spirits; if, on the contrary, it succumbed, it enters the class of the inferior Spirits, pleased at the sight of a being in their image and, like them, deprived of infinite happiness.

Does the man who was happy in this world lament the happiness he lost on leaving the Earth? [Question 313.]

“No, for eternal happiness is a thousand times preferable to that enjoyed in this world. Only inferior Spirits can lament the joys befitting their impure nature, and which bring upon them expiation through suffering.” Earthly joys perish with the body. As it no longer gives any importance to the body, the Spirit feels no longing for any of the gross pleasures it enjoyed on Earth, for it understands the futility of those pleasures in comparison with eternal happiness.

Just like the grown man who scorns what constituted the delights of his childhood.

Does he who began great works with a useful aim and who sees them interrupted by death lament, in the other world, having left them unfinished? [Question 314.]

“No, because he sees that others are designated to complete them. He seeks, on the contrary, to influence other human Spirits, so that they carry them forward. His aim, on Earth, was the good of Humanity; in the world of Spirits, this aim continues to be the same.” The man who began on Earth great works with a useful aim and who sees them interrupted by death, once in the world of Spirits experiences no more regret at having left them unfinished, since, freed from all feeling of vanity, he sees that other men are destined to carry them forward. Far from that, he seeks to influence other human Spirits to give them continuation.

Do the power and the consideration that a man enjoyed on Earth give him any supremacy in the world of Spirits? [Question 275.]

“No, for the lowly will be raised and the great brought low. Read the psalms.”

a. How should we understand this elevation and this lowering? [Question

a.]

“Do you not know that Spirits are of different orders, according to their merits? Well then! The greatest on Earth may belong to the last category among the Spirits, whereas his servant may be in the first. Do you understand this?”

b. Does he who was great on Earth and who finds himself in an inferior position, among the Spirits, feel humiliation at this? [Question 276.]

“Almost always very great, especially if he was proud and envious.” Earthly grandeurs disappear with corporeal life. Man takes with him only the merit of the good he has done. The power and the consideration he enjoyed on Earth confer on him no superiority in the world of Spirits; there the lowly will be raised and the great brought low. This elevation and this lowering should be understood as different orders of Spirits; it is thus that a powerful man of Earth may be relegated among the inferior Spirits, while a man of the humblest condition may remain in the first; whence results, in the world of Spirits, the inequality, which constitutes glory for some and humiliation for others. This is what Jesus understood, when he said: “My kingdom is not of this world.” [88] TRANSLATOR'S NOTE: Understand this as the return of the Spirit, corporeal life being extinct, to life in the spiritual world. [89]

TRANSLATOR'S NOTE: The expression “the soul is not yet in it” was excluded from the 2nd edition of The Spirits' Book [in question

a, being thus redrafted: “Before birth, there is not yet a definitive union between the soul and the body.”]. [90]

TRANSLATOR'S NOTE: See footnote no. 84, on page 118.

[91]

TRANSLATOR'S NOTE: According to the answer to question

a, of the definitive edition of The Spirits' Book, of 1860, which deals with the same subject, such separation does not take place instantaneously. “The soul detaches itself gradually and does not escape like a captive bird to whom liberty has been restored. Those two states touch and merge, so that the Spirit detaches itself little by little from the bonds that held it: they untie, they do not break.”

[92]

TRANSLATOR'S NOTE: In the definitive edition of The Spirits' Book [Question 165], this answer came to have the following wording: “Immediate consciousness is not quite the term; the soul remains for some time in a state of disturbance.” [93]

TRANSLATOR'S NOTE: In the present edition of The Spirits' Book, of 1857, this comment attributed to Allan Kardec, which comes right after the answer of the Spirits to question 111, comes to form part of question 158, of the definitive edition, published in 1860.