Philosophical Spiritism

My friends, we have spoken of Spiritism from the religious point of view [see Allan Kardec's Observation at the end]; now that it is well established that it is not a new religion, but the consecration of that universal religion whose foundations Christ laid, and which today it comes to crown, let us consider Spiritism from the moral and philosophical point of view.

First of all, let us explain ourselves as to the exact meaning of the word philosophy. Philosophy is not a denial of the laws established by the divinity, of religion. Far from it, philosophy is the search for what is wise, for what is most exactly reasonable. And what can be wiser, more reasonable than the love and the gratitude one owes to one's Creator and, consequently, the worship, whatever it may be, that can serve to prove to Him that gratitude and that love? Religion, and all that can lead you to it, is therefore a philosophy, because it is a wisdom of the man who submits to it with joy and docility. These observations having been made, let us see what you can draw from Spiritism, put seriously into practice.

What is the end toward which all men tend, whatever the position in which they find themselves? The improvement of their present position. Now, to attain it, they run in all directions and for the most part go astray, because, blinded by pride, dragged along by ambition, they do not see the only road that can lead to that improvement; they seek it in the satisfaction of pride, of their brutal instincts, of their ambition, whereas they can only find it in the love and submission due to the Creator.

Spiritism comes, then, to say to men: Leave those gloomy byways, full of precipices, surrounded by thorns and brambles, and enter the path that leads to the happiness you dream of. Be prudent, in order to be happy; understand, my friends, that for men the goods of the Earth are but ambushes, which they must avoid. This is why at last the Lord has permitted you to see the light of this beacon, which is to lead you to port. The sufferings and ills that you endure with impatience and rebellion are the red-hot iron that the surgeon applies to the open wound, in order to prevent gangrene from destroying the whole body. Your body, my friends, what does it represent for the Spirit? what must it save? what must it preserve from contagion? what must it heal, by every possible means, if not the sore that gnaws at the Spirit, the infirmity that hinders it and prevents it from casting itself radiant toward its Creator?

Always turn your eyes toward this philosophical thought, that is, full of wisdom: We are an essence created pure, but fallen; we belong to a homeland where all is purity; guilty, we have been exiled for some time, but only for some time. Let us, then, employ all our forces, all our energies in diminishing the time of exile; let us strive by every means that the Lord has placed at our disposal to reconquer that lost homeland and shorten the time of absence. (See the issue of January 1862: Doctrine of the fallen angels.)

Understand well that your future lot is in your hands; that the duration of your trials depends entirely on you; that the martyr always has the right to the palm of victory and that, to be a martyr, it is not necessary, as happened with the first Christians, to serve as food for ferocious beasts. Be martyrs of yourselves; break, annihilate in yourselves all the carnal instincts that revolt against the Spirit; study with care your inclinations, your tastes, your ideas; distrust all that your conscience reproves. However softly it speaks to you, because it can often be repelled; however softly it speaks to you, that voice of your protector will tell you to avoid what can harm you. In all times the voice of your guardian angel has spoken to you, but how many have remained deaf! Today, my friends, Spiritism comes to explain to you the cause of that inner voice; it comes to tell you positively, comes to show you, to make you touch with your finger what you can hope for if you listen to it docilely; what you must fear if you reject it. This, my friends, for man in general, is the philosophical side: it falls to you to save yourselves. My children: do not seek material diversions nor satisfaction of curiosity, as the ignorant do. Do not summon to you, under the slightest pretext, Spirits of whom you have not the least need; content yourselves with always giving yourselves over to the care and love of your spiritual guides; they will never fail you. When you gather for a common purpose, namely the improvement of your Humanity, raise your heart to the Lord, if only to ask Him for His blessings and the assistance of the good Spirits, to whom He has entrusted you. Examine well around you whether there are not false brothers, the curious, the incredulous. If you find them, beg them with gentleness, with charity, to withdraw. If they resist, content yourselves with praying fervently that the Lord may enlighten them and, another time, do not admit them to your works. Receive into your midst only simple men, who wish to seek truth and progress. When you are certain of your brothers who are gathered in the presence of the Lord, call your guides and ask them for instructions; they will always give them to you, proportioned to your needs, to your intelligence; but do not seek to satisfy the curiosity of the majority of those who ask for evocations. Almost always they leave less convinced and more disposed to mockery. Those who wish to evoke their relatives and friends should never do so except with an aim of usefulness and charity; it is a serious act, a very serious one, to call the Spirits that wander around you. If you do not bring the necessary faith and recollection, the bad Spirits will take the place of those whom you await, will deceive you and make you fall into profound errors and sometimes drag you down into terrible falls!

Do not forget, then, my friends, that Spiritism is the confirmation of Christianity, because Christianity is entirely contained in these words: To love the Lord above all things, and one's neighbor as oneself.

From the philosophical point of view, it is the straight and wise line of conduct that is to lead you to the happiness that you all covet; and this line is traced for you, starting from a sure, demonstrated point: the immortality of the soul, to arrive at another point that no one can deny: God!

This, my friends, is what I have to say to you for today. Soon we shall continue our intimate conversations.

Bernardin.

Observation. – This communication forms part of a series of dictations under the same title: Spiritism for all, all of them marked by the same stamp of profundity and paternal simplicity. As not all of them can be published in the Review, they will form part of the special collections we are preparing [see Publicity of Spiritist Communications]. The same is the case with those addressed to us by other mediums of Bordeaux and of other cities. These publications will be all the more useful the more they are done with order and method, and would all the more produce a contrary effect the more they were done without discernment and without selection. There are communications that are excellent for intimacy, but that would be unsuitable if made public. Others, in order to be understood and not give rise to false interpretations, require commentaries and developments. In communications it is often necessary to make allowance for the personal opinion of the Spirit who speaks, and who, if not very advanced, may form of men and things ideas and systems that are not always correct. Published without corrective, these false ideas will only cast discredit upon Spiritism, will furnish arms to its enemies and sow doubt and uncertainty among the neophytes. With commentaries and explanations given appropriately, even evil sometimes becomes instructive. Without this, they might hold the doctrine responsible for all the utopias enunciated by certain Spirits more proud than logical. If Spiritism could be retarded in its march, it would not be by the open attacks of its declared enemies, but by the unreflecting zeal of imprudent friends. It is not, then, a matter of making indigestible collections, where everything is heaped together confusedly and whose least inconvenience would be to bore the reader; one must carefully avoid all that may falsify opinion about Spiritism. Now, all this requires a labor that justifies the delay of such publications.