• the gospel according to spiritism by allan kardec

page 42

• "Had Socrates and Plato known the teachings that Christ would give five hundred years later, and those which the Spirits provide nowadays, they would not have spoken in any other manner. There is nothing surprising about this if one remembers that great truths are eternal and that advanced spirits had to have known them before coming to earth, to which they brought them; that Socrates, Plato and the other great philosophers of their time could have later been among those who aided Christ on his divine mission, and who were chosen precisely because, more than anyone else, they were capable of comprehending his sublime teachings; that, in short, today they may be part of the great host of spirits charged with coming to teach these same truths to humankind."

page 54

• "The morality taught by Moses was appropriate for the state of advancement of the people it was called to regenerate, and these people, semi-primitive with regard to the perfection of their soul, would not have understood that it was possible to worship God by means other than burnt offerings, or that they should forgive an enemy. Their intelligence, noteworthy from the materialistic point of view and even from that of the arts and sciences, was morally quite backward, and they would never have been converted under the rule of an entirely spiritual religion; they needed a semimaterial representation, like the one the Hebrew religion offered them. Hence, burnt offerings spoke to their senses, whereas the idea of God spoke to their spirit."

pages 59 to 61

• Then Pilate, returning to enter the palace, and having made Jesus come to him, asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus responded to him, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my people would have fought to prevent my falling into the hands of the Jews. But my kingdom is not here.” Pilate said to him, “Then you are a king?” Jesus replied, “You have said it; I am a king. I was not born, nor did I come into this world except to bear witness to the truth. Whoever belongs to the truth hears my voice.” (Jn. 18:33, 36, 37)

The Future Life

• "With these words, Jesus clearly refers to the future life [...]. The Jews had only very imprecise ideas regarding the future life. They believed in angels, whom they regarded as the privileged beings of creation, but they did not know that human beings could someday become angels and share in their bliss. According to them, observing God’s laws was rewarded with earthly possessions, the supremacy of their nation and victory over their enemies. Public calamities and defeats were punishment for their disobedience. Moses could not have said more than he did to an uneducated people comprised mostly of shepherds, and who needed to be touched, before anything else, by the things of this world. Later, Jesus came to reveal to them that there is another world, where God’s justice follows its course. It is this world that he promises to those who observe God’s commandments and where the good ones will find their recompense. That world is his kingdom; it is there that he is to be found in all his glory and to where he will return upon leaving the earth. However, adapting his teaching to the state of people at that time, Jesus did not believe he should give them complete enlightenment, which would dazzle them without edifying them, for they would not comprehend it. Thus, he limited himself to presenting the future life in principle, as a law of nature from which no one could escape. Therefore, every Christian strongly believes in the future life, but the idea that many hold about it is vague and incomplete, and therefore erroneous on various points. For a great many, it is only a belief without absolute certainty; hence doubt and even disbelief. Spiritism has come to complete, on this point as well as many others, the teaching of Christ now that humans have matured enough to comprehend the truth. With Spiritism, the future life is no longer a simple article of faith, a hypothesis. It is a material reality demonstrated by the facts; eye-witnesses have come to describe this reality in all its phases and in all its peripeties in such a way that not only is doubt no longer possible, but the most commonplace intelligence can depict it in its true appearance just as one could depict a country about which one had read a detailed description. And this description of the future life is so circumstantiated, the conditions of the happy or unhappy existence of those who are there are so logical, that one must state in spite of oneself that it could not be otherwise, and that the true justice of God is contained therein."

The Kingship of Jesus

• "Everyone understands that Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world, but might he not also have a kingship on the earth? The title of king does not always imply the exercise of temporal power; it is given by unanimous consensus to those whose genius places them on the forefront of any order of idea, who dominate the times in which they live and influence the progress of humankind."

pages 67 to 77

• “Let not your hearts be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. There are many dwellings in my Father’s house; if it were not so I would have told you, for I am going to prepare the place, and after I have gone and have prepared the place for you, I will return and will take you with me, so that there where I am you may be also.” (Jn. 14:1-3)

The Different States of the Soul in the Errant State

• "The Father’s house is the universe; the different dwellings are the worlds that revolve in infinite space, offering to incarnate spirits stations appropriate to their advancement. Regardless of the diversity of worlds, these words may also be understood as referring to the happy or unhappy situation of the spirit in the errant state. The spirit’s environment, its point of view regarding things, the sensations it experiences and its perceptions will vary infinitely, depending on its degree of purification and how detached it is from material ties. While some spirits cannot leave the sphere in which they live, others can travel through space and go to other worlds. While certain guilty spirits wander in darkness, the blessed ones enjoy a resplendent light and the sublime spectacle of the infinite. Finally, while the evil spirit, tormented by remorse and lamentation, frequently alone, without consolation and separated from the objects of its affection, groans under the duress of mental suffering, the righteous spirit, reunited with those whom it loves, enjoys the delights of an indescribable bliss. There are therefore many mansions, although they are neither circumscribed nor localized."

The Different Categories of Inhabited Worlds

• "From the teaching given by the Spirits, one comes to understand that the various worlds are in conditions very different from one another as to the degree of advancement or the lower order status of their inhabitants. Among them are those whose inhabitants are physically and morally even less evolved than those of earth; others’ inhabitants are of the same level, whereas others’ are more highly evolved to differing degrees in every respect. On lower order worlds, existence is completely material, the passions reign supreme and moral life is almost non existent. To the degree that moral life is developed, the influence of matter diminishes in such a way that, on more advanced worlds, life is entirely spiritual, so to speak. On intermediate worlds, there is a mixture of good and evil, with the predominance of one or the other, according to the degree of advancement. Although it is not possible to make an absolute classification of the various worlds, one can, nevertheless, due to their status and destiny, and based on the more accentuated differences, divide them in a general way as follows: primitive worlds, intended for the first incarnations of the human soul; worlds of trial and expiation, where evil dominates; regenerative worlds, where souls who still have something to expiate may absorb new strength by resting from the fatigue of struggle; happy worlds, where the good outweighs evil; and heavenly or divine worlds, the habitations of purified spirits, where the good reigns completely. Earth belongs to the trial and expiation category, and that is why humans on it are the target of so many miseries. Spirits who incarnate on any one world are not connected to it forever, nor do they complete on it all the progressive phases they must traverse in order to attain to perfection. When on one particular world they have reached the degree of advancement it offers, they go to a more advanced one, and so on until they have reached the state of pure spirits. These various worlds are the stations on which they find elements of progress proportional to their advancement. It is a recompense for them to go to a world of a higher order, just as it is a punishment to prolong their stay on an unhappy world or to be relegated to one that is even unhappier than the one they are forced to leave if they have been obstinate in evil."

Earth’s Destiny. The Cause of Earthly Miseries

• "Surprised at finding on earth so much wickedness and evil passion, so many miseries and infirmities of every sort, one might come to the conclusion that the human species is a very sad thing indeed. This judgment arises from the limited point of view of those who hold it, and it gives an erroneous idea of the whole. One must remember that not all of humankind is to be found on the earth, but only a tiny fraction of it. Actually, the human species entails all beings endowed with reason, who populate the innumerable worlds of the universe; hence, what is earth’s population when compared to the total population of all those worlds? Much less than that of a tiny village when compared to a great empire. The material and moral situation of earth’s humankind is nothing surprising considering earth’s destination and the nature of those who inhabit it. One would form a very erroneous idea of the inhabitants of a large city if they were judged by the populace of its infamous and sordid quarters. In a hospital, one sees only the sick or maimed; in a penitentiary, one sees all sorts of turpitudes and vices in one place; in unhealthy regions, most of the inhabitants are pale, weak and sickly. Well then, imagine the earth as being a sordid district, a hospital, a penitentiary and an unhealthy region – because it is all of these at once – and you will understand why afflictions outweigh joys. This happens because one does not send healthy persons to a hospital, or those who have practiced no evil to houses of correction; nor can hospitals or houses of correction be places of delight. Hence, in the same way that in a city the whole population is not in hospitals or prisons, the whole of humankind is not on the earth. And just as one leaves the hospital when one has been cured and the prison when one has served one’s time, humans leave the earth for happier worlds when they have been healed of their moral infirmities."

Highly Evolved and Less Evolved Worlds

• "The catagorizing of worlds as either less evolved or highly evolved is more relative than absolute. A world is less evolved or highly evolved in relation to those that are above or below it on the scale of progression. Taking the earth as a point of comparison, one can form an idea of the state of a less evolved world by supposing its inhabitants to be at the degree of the primitive or barbaric14 cultures that may still be found on earth’s surface, and which are remnants of earth’s primitive state. On the least evolved worlds, the beings that inhabit them are, to a certain extent, rudimentary. They have the human form but are devoid of any beauty. Their instincts are not tempered by any sentiment of refinement or benevolence, or by any notions of right or wrong. Brute force is the only law. With no industry or inventions, they spend life in conquest of food. Nevertheless, God does not abandon any of his creatures; in the darkest depths of their mind lies the latent, sometimes more, sometimes less developed, vague intuition of a Supreme Being. This instinct is enough to render some more advanced than others and to prepare their ascension to a more complete life, for they are not degraded beings but children who are growing up. In between the lowest and highest degrees there are innumerable levels, and in the pure, dematerialized spirits shining in glory it is difficult to recognize those who used to animate such primitive beings, in the same way that in the adult person it is difficult to recognize the embryo. In worlds that have reached a highly evolved degree, the conditions of moral and material life are very different from those on earth. The corporeal form, as everywhere else, is always the human form, but embellished, perfected and, above all, purified. The body possesses nothing of earthly materiality, and consequently is subject neither to the needs, the diseases, nor the deteriorations that the predominance of matter engenders. The senses, more refined, have perceptions that the denseness of the organs stifle on this world. The specific lightness of the body enables rapid and easy locomotion; instead of dragging itself laboriously over the ground, it glides – so to speak – over the surface or sails through the air with no other effort than that of the will, in the way in which angels are portrayed, or in which the ancients imagined the manes (the spirits of the dead in ancient Greco-Roman belief) on the Elysian Fields. Depending on their wishes, humans retain the features of their past migrations and appear to their friends as they were known to them, but illuminated by a divine light and transfigured by inner impressions that are always of an elevated nature. Instead of pallid faces stricken by suffering and passion, intelligence and life radiate from that splendor, which painters have portrayed by the halo or aureole of the saints. The little resistance that matter poses to highly advanced spirits renders the development of bodies more rapid and infancy short or almost non-existent. In the absence of worries and troubles, life is proportionally much longer than on earth. In principle, longevity is proportional to the degree of advancement of each world. Death holds none of the horrors of decomposition. Far from being an object of dread, it is regarded as a happy transformation, because on such worlds the doubt as to the future does not exist. During life, the soul, not being enclosed within compact matter, radiates and enjoys a lucidity that places it in an almost permanent state of emancipation and allows for the free transmission of thought. On such blissful worlds, relationships between nations are always friendly and are never disturbed by the ambition of dominating their neighbor, or by war, which is its consequence. There are no masters, slaves or privileges of birth; only moral and intellectual ascendancy establish the differences of conditions and confer supremacy. Authority is always respected, for it is conferred only on those who have merit and it is always exercised with justice. Humans do not try to raise themselves above others, but only above themselves by striving for perfection. Their objective is to reach the class of the pure spirits, and this unceasing desire is not a torment but a noble ambition that makes them study ardently in order to become like them. All the tender and elevated sentiments of human nature are found there, augmented and purified. Hatred, petty jealousies and the menial covetousness of envy are unknown. A bond of love and fraternity unites all humans; the strongest help the weakest. Their possessions vary to a greater or lesser degree according to what they have acquired by means of their intelligence, but no one suffers for lack of necessities, since no one is undergoing expiation. In other words, evil does not exist. On your world, you need evil in order to sense the good; night to admire the light; sickness to appreciate health. On highly evolved worlds such contrasts are not necessary. Eternal light, eternal beauty and eternal serenity of the soul provide an eternal joy that is disturbed neither by the anxieties of material life nor contact with evil persons, who have no access there. This is what the human spirit finds most difficult to comprehend; ingenious at painting the torments of hell, it could never represent the delights of heaven. Why not? Because, being little-evolved, it has borne only pain and misery, and not having glimpsed the heavenly splendor, it can only speak of what it knows. As the human spirit evolves and purifies itself, however, the horizon becomes resplendent and it comprehends the good that lies ahead as well as the evil that has been left behind. Nevertheless, such fortunate worlds are not privileged, for God is not partial toward any of his children. He gives to all the same rights and faculties to ascend to such worlds. God makes all start from the same point and endows no one with more than the others. The highest positions are accessible to all, and it is their responsibility to win them through labor, to reach them as soon as possible or to linger through centuries and centuries in the underworlds of humankind."

Worlds of Trial and Expiation

• "What more can I tell you about worlds of expiation than what you already know, since all you have to do is consider the earth that you inhabit? The superior intelligence of a large number of its inhabitants indicates that it is not a primitive world meant for the incarnation of spirits who have just left the hands of the Creator. The innate qualities they bring with them are proof that they have already lived and achieved a certain amount of progress. However, the numerous vices to which they are inclined are also an indication of great moral imperfection. This is why God has placed them on an ungrateful earth: so that they may expiate on it their wrongs through pain-filled labor and the miseries of life until they have merited going to a happier world. Nevertheless, not all the spirits that incarnate on the earth are sent there in expiation. The so-called primitive16 peoples are spirits who have just left infancy, and who are there for an education, so to speak, and to develop themselves through contact with more-advanced spirits. Next come the semi-civilized peoples, comprised of the same spirits in more advanced stages of progress. [...] Some of them have been able to reach the intellectual advancement of more enlightened peoples. Spirits undergoing expiation are foreigners there, if we may so express ourselves. They have already lived on other worlds, from which they were banished because they persisted in evil, and because they were a cause of disturbance to the good inhabitants. They have been relegated to living for a time among less advanced spirits, and since they carry with them their developed intelligence and the seed of acquired knowledge, they have the mission of helping them advance. That is why punished spirits are found in the midst of the most intelligent peoples. Having more sensitivity, the miseries of life are bitterer to them because sufferings bruise them more deeply than they bruise the primitive peoples, whose moral sense is more obtuse. Consequently, the earth portrays one of the types of expiatory worlds, whose variety is infinite, although they all possess the common characteristic of serving as a place of exile for spirits who rebel against the law of God. There, such spirits must struggle simultaneously against the wickedness of humankind and the inclemency of nature, a two-fold and arduous endeavor that at the same time develops the qualities of both heart and intelligence. It is thus that God, in his divine goodness, enables punishment itself to revert to the advantage of the spirit’s progress." St. Augustine (Paris, 1862)

Regenerative Worlds

• "Among the stars that twinkle in the blue canopy of the firmament, how many worlds there are like yours, designated by the Lord for trial and expiation! But there are also some that are more miserable and some that are better; and there are those of transition, which may be called regenerative. Each planetary vortex, moving in space around a common center, draws along with it its own worlds: primitive, exile, trial, regenerative and blissful. We have already spoken to you of those worlds where the newborn soul is placed, when, still ignorant of good and evil, it can progress toward God, lord of itself, in possession of its free will. You have already been informed regarding the ample faculties given to the soul so that it may practice the good. But alas! There are those who succumb, and God, not desiring their annihilation, permits them to go to those worlds where, from incarnation to incarnation, they purify and regenerate themselves, and return worthy of the glory that has been reserved for them. Regenerative worlds serve as a transition between worlds of expiation and worlds of bliss. The repentant soul finds peace and repose on them, and ends up purifying itself. Of course, on such worlds humans are still subject to the laws that govern matter; their humanity still experiences your sensations and desires but is free of the muddled passions that enslave you; on regenerative worlds there is no longer the pride that renders your heart silent, the envy that tortures it and the hatred that suffocates it. The word love is written on every brow, a perfect equity governs social relationships, and all acknowledge God, endeavoring to evolve toward him by following his laws. Nonetheless, on them there is still not perfect bliss, but the dawning of happiness. Human beings there are still of flesh, and therefore subject to the vicissitudes from which only completely dematerialized beings are freed. There are still trials to endure, but they do not have the pungent anguish of expiation. Compared to the earth, these worlds are very happy, and many of you would be satisfied to settle on them, for they are the calm after the storm, the convalescence after a cruel disease. Since humans there are less absorbed by material things, they foresee the future better than you do. They comprehend the joys that the Lord promises to those who render themselves worthy, when death has once again reaped their bodies in order to bestow upon them true life. It is then that the delivered soul hovers above all horizons; there are no longer the material and coarse senses, but the senses of a pure and celestial perispirit breathing emanations from God, in aromas of love and charity that emanate from his heart. But alas! On those worlds humans are still fallible and the spirit of evil has not completely lost its empire. Not to advance is to retreat, and if individuals are not firm on the pathway of the good, they may fall back to worlds of expiation where new and more fearsome trials await them. So at night, at the time of repose and prayer, contemplate that blue canopy and the innumerable spheres that shine above your heads, and ask yourselves which ones lead to God. Ask him for a regenerative world to open up to receive you after your expiation on the earth." St. Augustine (Paris, 1862)

pages 80 to 84

• Jesus, having come to the outskirts of Caesarea Philippi, asked his disciples and said to them, “What do men say regarding the Son of Man? Who do they say I am?” They answered him, “Some say you are John the Baptist; others, Elijah, others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” Jesus said to them, “And you, who do you say I am?” Simon Peter said to him, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus responded to him, “You are blessed, Simon, son of Jonah, because it was neither flesh nor blood that has revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.” (Mt. 16:13-17; Mk. 8:27-30)
• Meanwhile, when Herod the Tetrarch heard about everything that Jesus was doing, his spirit was perplexed, because some were saying that John had come back to life from among the dead; others that Elijah had appeared, and others that one of the ancient prophets had come back to life. Herod then said, “I had John beheaded, so who is this of whom I have heard such great things?” And he desired to see him. (Mk. 6:14-15; Lk. 9:7-9)
• (After the transfiguration) His disciples asked him, saying “Why, then, do the scribes say that it is necessary for Elijah to come first?” But Jesus answered them, “It is true that Elijah must come and reestablish all things. But I declare to you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but treated him as they wished. It is likewise that they shall cause the Son of Man to suffer.” Then his disciples understood that it was John the Baptist about whom he had spoken to them. (Mt. 17:10-13; Mk. 9:10-12)

Resurrection and Reincarnation

• "Reincarnation was part of the Jewish dogmas under the name resurrection. Only the Sadducees, who thought that everything ended with death, did not believe in it. Jewish ideas on this point, like many others, were not clearly defined because they had only vague and incomplete notions regarding the soul and its connection with the body. They believed that a person who had lived could live again, without comprehending the exact manner in which it could happen. They designated by the word resurrection what Spiritism more correctly calls reincarnation. Actually, resurrection supposes the return to life of the body that died, which science has demonstrated to be materially impossible, especially when the elements of that body were dispersed and absorbed long ago. Reincarnation is the return of a soul, or spirit, to corporeal life, but in another body newly formed for it and having nothing in common with the old one. The word resurrection might thus be applied to Lazarus but not to Elijah or the other prophets. Hence, if, according to their belief, John the Baptist was Elijah, John’s body could not have been Elijah’s, since John had been seen as a child and his mother and father were known. John, then, could be Elijah reincarnated but not resuscitated.
  • Now, there was a man among the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a senator of the Jews, who went at night to meet Jesus and said to him, “Rabbi, we know you have come from God to instruct us as a doctor; for no one could perform the miracles you are doing if God were not with him.” Jesus answered him, “Verily, verily I say to you: no one can see the Kingdom of God unless he is born again.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man who is already old be born? Can he enter his mother’s womb in order to be born a second time?” Jesus responded, “Verily, verily I say to you: If a man is not born again of water and the spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God. Whatever is born from flesh is flesh, and whatever is born from the spirit is spirit. Do not be surprised that I have said to you that it is necessary for you to be born again. The spirit blows wherever it wishes and you hear its voice, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. The same occurs with every man who is born of the spirit.” Nicodemus responded to him, “How can this be?” Jesus said to him, “You are a teacher in Israel and yet you are unaware of these things! Verily, verily I say to you that we say only what we know and that we testify only to what we have seen; yet you have not accepted our testimony. But if you do not believe me when I speak about things of the earth, how will you believe me when I speak to you about the things of heaven?” (Jn. 3:1-12)
• "The thought that John the Baptist was Elijah and that the prophets could live again on the earth may be found in many passages of the Gospels, especially in those indicated above (nos. 1-3). If this belief had been in error, Jesus would not have failed to combat it just as he combated so many others; far from it – he sanctioned it with all his authority and set it as a principle and necessary condition when he said: “No one can see the Kingdom of Heaven if he is not born again.” And he insisted, adding, “Do not be surprised that I have said that IT IS NECESSARY for you to be born again.” The words “If a man is not born again of water and of the spirit” have been interpreted in the sense of regeneration through the waters of baptism, but the original text simply stated “Not born again of water and of the spirit,” whereas in some translations the words of the spirit have been replaced by of the Holy Spirit, which no longer implies the same thought. This crucial point stands out in the first commentaries written on the Gospels and will someday be confirmed beyond a doubt. "In order to understand the real meaning of these words, one must also pay attention to the significance of the word water, which has not been employed in its proper acceptation. The ancients’ knowledge regarding the physical sciences was highly imperfect, because they believed that the earth had arisen from the waters, and that is the reason they regarded water as the absolute generative element. That is why it is stated in Genesis that, “The Spirit of God hovered over the waters; it hovered over the surface of the waters; ... Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters; ... Let the waters that are under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry element appear; ... Let the waters produce living animals that swim in the water and birds that fly above the earth and under the firmament.” According to this belief, water became the symbol of the material nature, just as spirit was the symbol of the intelligent nature. The words, “If a man is not born again of water and of the spirit,” or “in water and in the spirit,” thus mean, “If humans are not born again with their body and their soul.” This is the sense in which these words were originally understood. Moreover, such an interpretation is justified by these words: “Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh and whatever is born of the spirit is spirit.” Here, Jesus makes a positive distinction between spirit and body. “Whatever is born of the flesh clearly indicates that only the body proceeds from the body and that the spirit is independent of it. “The spirit blows wherever it wishes and you hear its voice but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going” may be understood either as the Spirit of God, who gives life to whomever God wishes, or the human soul. In this latter acceptation, “you do not know where it comes from or where it is going” means that no one knows what the spirit had been or what it will be. If the spirit or soul were created at the same time as the body, one would know where it came from because one would know its beginning. In any case, this passage is the consecration of the principle of the pre-existence of the soul, and consequently, the plurality of existences."
  • Now, since the time of John the Baptist until the present, the kingdom of heaven has been taken by violence, and violent are those who obtain it, for up until John, all the prophets and the law thus prophesied. And if you wish to understand what I have said, he himself is Elijah who must come. Let him hear who has ears to hear. (Mt. 11:12-15.)
• "If the principle of reincarnation as expressed in John could be strictly interpreted in a purely mystical sense, the same could not apply to this passage from Matthew, which is unmistakable: “HE HIMSELF is Elijah, who must come.” Here there is neither symbol nor allegory – it is a positive affirmation."
  • “Those of your people who have been made to die shall live again. * Those who have been slain around me shall live again. Awaken from your sleep and sing the praises of God, you who dwell in the dust, because the dew that falls upon you is a dew of light, and because you shall destroy the earth and the kingdom of the giants.” (Is. 26:19)
• "This passage from Isaiah is also quite explicit: “Those of your people who have been made to die shall live again.” If the prophet had intended to speak of the spirit life, if he had wanted to say that those who had been made to die were not dead in spirit, he would have said: “live still,” and not “will live again.” In the sense of the spirit, these words would be a contradiction since they would imply an interruption in the life of the soul. In the sense of moral regeneration, however, they would be the negation of eternal punishment, since in principle they establish that all those who are dead will live again."

pages 86 to 90

• "Family ties are not destroyed by reincarnation, as certain persons believe; on the contrary, they are strengthened and become tighter. [...] In the spirit world, spirits form groups or families united by affection, sympathy and similar inclinations. These spirits, happy at being together, seek out one another. Incarnation separates them only momentarily, because after their reentry into the errant state they meet again like friends who have returned from a journey. Frequently, they even follow one another into incarnation, wherein they are reunited in the same family or the same circle, working together for their mutual advancement. If some are incarnate while others are not, they are nevertheless united by thought. Those who are free watch over those who are captive; the more advanced try to help the less advanced to progress. After each existence, they will have taken a step on the path toward perfection. Less and less attached to matter, their affection is more alive due to the fact that since their spirit has become more purified, it is no longer troubled by selfishness or the clouds of the passions. They can therefore pass through an unlimited number of corporeal existences without any harm affecting their mutual affection. It is to be understood that we are here referring to real affection from soul to soul, the only affection that survives the destruction of the body, because beings of this world who are united to one another only through the senses have no reason to look for each other in the world of spirits. There are no lasting affections except spiritual ones; physical affections die out with the cause that gave rise to them; but that cause no longer exists in the world of spirits, whereas the soul exists forever. As for persons united by the sole reason of self-interest, they really do not mean anything to each other – death separates them both in heaven and on earth. The union and affection that exist between family members are an indication of a former sympathy that has brought them together. One also says of someone whose character, tastes, and inclinations have no similarity to those of their closest relatives, that he or she is not of that family. Saying this declares a greater truth than one might suppose. God allows such incarnations of antipathetic or foreign spirits within families with the dual objective of serving as a trial for some and as a means of advancement for others. The evil ones better themselves little by little through contact with the good ones and the care they receive from them. Their character becomes milder, their habits more purified and antipathies are erased. It is thus that the fusion amongst different categories of spirits is established, as occurs on the earth amongst ethnicities and cultures. Let us now look at the consequences of the “nonreincarnation” doctrine. This doctrine necessarily annuls the pre-existence of the soul. Since souls are created at the same time as the body, there are no previous links between them. They are complete strangers to one another. The father is a stranger to his child. The kinship between families is thus reduced solely to corporeal kinship without any spiritual link. There is therefore no reason to glorify oneself for having had such and such famous personages as ancestors. With reincarnation, ancestors and descendants may have known each other, lived together, loved each other, and find themselves reunited later on in order to tighten their bonds of sympathy. All this has to do with the past. As for the future, according to one of the fundamental dogmas resulting from nonreincarnation, the destiny of souls is irrevocably set after one sole existence. This definitive fixing of their destiny implies the cessation of all progress, because if there is any progress at all, there is no longer a definitive destiny. Depending on whether they have lived well or badly, they go immediately either to the dwelling place of the blessed or to eternal hell. Hence, they are immediately separated forever, without hope of ever being united again, so that fathers, mothers and children, husbands and wives, brothers, sisters and friends are never certain of seeing each other again. It is the most complete rupture of family ties. With reincarnation and the progress that results from it, all those who have loved one another meet again on earth and in space, gravitating together to reach God. Those who fail along the way delay their advancement and happiness, but all hope is not lost. Helped, encouraged and upheld by those who love them, they will one day exit the quagmire in which they have been immersed. In short, with reincarnation there is ongoing solidarity between incarnates and discarnates, and hence the tightening of the bonds of affection."