Example 8 - A RUSSIAN PHYSICIAN.

Mr. P…, of Moscow, was a physician as eminent for his learning as for his moral qualities. The one who evoked him knew him only by reputation, having had with him not even indirect relations. The original communication was given in the Russian language.

(After the evocation.) Are you present? — A. Yes. On the day of my death I pursued you with my presence, and you resisted the attempts I made for you to write.

The words you spoke concerning me gave occasion for me to recognize you, and from there came the desire to converse with you for your benefit.

Good as you were, why did you suffer so much? — A. Because it pleased the Lord to make me feel doubly, by that means, the worth of my liberation, wishing at the same time that I might progress as much as possible on Earth.

Did the idea of death cause you terror? — A. I had faith enough in God for that not to happen.

Was the detachment painful? — A. No. That which you call the last moments is nothing. I felt only a swift shock, only to find myself happy at once, entirely freed from the wretched carcass.

And what happened afterward? — A. I had the pleasure of seeing innumerable friends approach, notably those whom I had the satisfaction of helping, all of them bidding me welcome.

What regions do you inhabit? Perhaps some planet? — A. All that is not a planet constitutes what you call Space, and it is in this that I remain.

Man cannot, however, calculate, nor form even an idea, of the number of gradations of this immensity. What an infinity of rungs there are on this ladder of Jacob that goes from Earth to Heaven, that is, from the poverty of incarnation in an inferior world, such as this one, to the complete purification of the soul!

One does not reach the place where I now find myself except after an enormous series of trials, or, in other words, of incarnations.

Therefore, you must have had many existences? — A. It could not be otherwise. There is nothing exceptional in the immutable order of the Universe, established by God. Reward can come only after the struggle is won: thus, if the former be great, it is because the latter was so as well, and necessarily.

But human life is so short that the struggle is waged only at intervals, which are the different and successive incarnations. It is easy, then, to conclude that, being on one of the elevated degrees, I attained it after a series of combats, in which God permitted me to come out victorious a few times.

In what does your happiness consist? — A. This is more difficult to make you understand. This bliss I enjoy is a kind of extreme contentment with myself, 2 not on account of my merits — which would be pride — and this is an attribute of backward Spirits — but a contentment as if saturated, immersed in the love of God, in the acknowledgment of His infinite goodness; 3 in short, it is the joy that doing good instills in us, when one may suppose that one has of one's own accord contributed to the progress of others, who have raised themselves up to the Creator. We become as if identified with this well-being, which is a kind of fusion of the Spirit with the divine goodness.

We have the gift of seeing the more advanced Spirits, of understanding their mission, of knowing that we too shall reach that point; in the immeasurable infinite, we glimpse the regions where the divine fire shines resplendent, to the point of dazzling us, even through the veil that envelops them.

But, what am I saying? Do you understand my words? Do you believe that this fire to which I refer is comparable to the Sun, for example? No, never; it is something unutterable to man, since words express for him only physical or metaphysical things that he knows from memory or intuitively; 6 since man cannot retain in his memory what he absolutely does not know, how could the perception of it be conveyed to him? Be aware, however, that it is already a great bliss to think of the possibility of progressing infinitely.

You have had the kindness to express the desire to be useful to me: I ask you to tell me in what way. — A. I can help you and sustain you in moments of faintness, strengthen you in moments of discouragement, console you in those of affliction.

If your faith should be shaken and any disturbance trouble you, evoke me, for God will permit me to be brought to your remembrance, drawing you toward Him; 3 if you feel yourself on the verge of succumbing to the weight of evil tendencies, which your own conscience accuses as culpable, call upon me still, for I will help you carry your cross, just as they helped Jesus carry that one from which he was so solemnly to proclaim the truth, charity; 4 if you waver under the weight of your own sorrows, when despair takes hold of you, once again call upon me, that I may come to wrench you from the abyss, speaking to you spiritually, reminding you of the duties imposed, not by social or material considerations, but by the love that I shall pour into your soul, love for God granted to me on behalf of those who through it can be saved.

Certainly, on Earth you have friends who, sharing in your anguish, have perhaps already saved you. In afflicting moments you seek to find those friends, who give counsel, support, caresses… Well then: be assured that in Space you can also have friends, useful and helpful.

It is a consolation to be able to say: When I die, while at the head of my bed the friends of Earth weep and entreat, those of Space, at the threshold of life, will go smiling to lead me to the place suited to my merits and virtues.

By what right do I deserve this protection you wish to grant me? — A. Here is the reason: I became attached to you on the very day of my death: — it is that, as a Spirit, I saw in you a sincere adept of Spiritism and a good medium. And since, among the many I left there, it was you whom I first saw, I at once resolved to contribute to your progress. The benefit is not yours alone, but also that of those whom you are to instruct in the knowledge of the truth.

In your mission you can see an eloquent proof of God's love for you. Those who draw near to you will, little by little, become believers, and even to the most refractory, upon hearing you, the time to believe will also come, though later.

Never be discouraged; walk on always, despite the stones. Take me as your support in moments of discouragement.

I do not deem myself worthy of so great a favor. — A. But surely you are far indeed from perfection; 2 nevertheless your ardor in the practice of sound doctrines; your care in maintaining the faith of those who hear you; in counseling charity, goodness, and benevolence, even toward those who behave badly with you; 3 your resistance to the impulses of anger, which, moreover, you could easily discharge upon those who afflict you out of ignorance of your intentions; all this attenuates the wickedness you still possess; 4 it is fitting that I say so: the forgiveness of offenses is, of so many, one of the most powerful attenuators of evil.

God showers you with graces through the faculty He has granted you, and which you must develop by your own effort, in order to cooperate in the salvation of your neighbor.

I am going to leave you, but count upon me always. It is necessary that you moderate your earthly ideas, living as much as possible with the friends of Space.

P…