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Allan Kardec, the Incarnate
Modesty |
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From an
early age I
learned to
admire Allan
Kardec. As
soon as I
began to
read his
books, I was
struck by
his belief
that the
Spiritist
work was not
his, but
belonged to
the Spirits
who
conceived
it.
Allan
Kardec’s
intellectual
honesty made
me have a
glimpse of
his moral
and material
detachment
regarding
everything
that might
have
benefited
him from
this work.
Just as he
warned the
mediums not
to brag
about the
material
they
received
from the
Spirits –
which
belonged to
them - he
also did not
feel
entitled to
take credit
for the
content of
the books he
published.
Evidences of
his talent
Despite this
sincerely
modest
attitude of
Kardec,
everyone
knows his
real
importance
in the
construction
and
development
of the
extraordinary
philosophical
doctrine -
Spiritism.
There are
several
evidences of
his talent
throughout
the work of
Codification,
in which he
analyzes,
reflects,
contests,
refutes,
always in
the interest
of
clarifying
doctrinal
principles,
so as to
avoid, as
far as
possible,
false
interpretations
- all with
logic,
respect and
moderation.
If, on the
one hand, he
asked the
Spirits to
give
instructions
and advice
on the
progress of
certain
issues, and
also to
receive them
spontaneously,
on the other
hand, the
conception
of the
doctrinal
structure
and the
organization
of the work
were his
sole
responsibility.
This is the
case, to
mention an
example, of
the Spiritist
Magazine.
He consulted
the Spirits
and was
guided to
found the
periodical,
about which
he later
said; (…)
"The Magazine is
a personal
work, the
responsibility
of which we
assume
entirely and
by which we
should not,
nor do we
want to be
hindered by
any strange
will; it is
designed
according to
a determined
plan to
compete for
the goal we
must
attain".
Kardec made
a huge
effort and
edited the
first issue
with great
success.
According to
the Spirits'
prediction,
the editions
had
continuity
and for many
years under
his
direction
they kept
the "public
informed
about the
progress of
this new
science",
preventing
it "against
overstatements,
both caused
by excessive
credulity
and by
skepticism".
His
experience,
his method,
the
scientific
criteria he
adopted,
associated
with his
knowledge,
his power of
philosophical
argumentation,
rationality
and
intrinsic
love for
humanity,
all this
made his
friend
astronomer
Camille
Flammarion
say, at his
tomb, that
he
considered
Kardec "the
good sense
embodied".
This opinion
is endorsed
by all those
who
thoroughly
study
Spiritism.
The
humbleness
of the great
souls
Modesty led
Allan Kardec
not to
believe that
he could be
invested
with the
important
missionary
role that
some Spirits
had assigned
to him. Even
because,
according to
him, there
were so many
others who
possessed
talent and
qualities
that he did
not have.
After the
confirmation
of the
Spirit of
Truth
concerning
his mission
(June 1856),
Kardec says:
"If
therefore I
am destined
to serve as
an
instrument
to the views
of
Providence, may
it dispose
of me.
In this
case, I
claim for
your
assistance
and that of
the good
Spirits"
(my
highlights).
The Spirit
of Truth
then gives
him careful
instructions
and warns
him about
the terrible
struggles
and
sacrifices
he will face
in
performing
the risky
mission. And
Kardec, in a
demonstration
of faith,
trust, and
humbleness:
"Lord! If
you have
deigned to
look upon
me, to
fulfill your
plans, may
your will be
done! My
life is in
your hands; have
your servant.
For such a
high
commitment, I
acknowledge
my weakness. My
good will
shall not
fail, but it
can betray
my
strength. Supply
my
shortcomings,
and give me
the physical
and moral
strengths
that are
necessary
for me.
Support me
in difficult
times and
with your
help and
that of your
heavenly
messengers I
will
endeavor to
meet your
purpose.
Thank you
for the wise
counsel,
Spirit of
Truth. I
accept
everything,
without
restriction,
nor reserved
thinking"
(my
highlights).
Great souls
are modest.
Kardec
demonstrated
this by
humbly
acknowledging
the
superiority
of the
Spirit who
identified
himself as The
Truth and
who helped
and
protected
him
throughout
the
implementation
of Spiritism
on Earth.
Kardec
gratefully
wrote: "The
protection
of this
Spirit,
whose
elevation I
was far from
evaluating
at the time,
never left
me. Its
solicitude,
and that of
the good
Spirits at
his command,
extended to
all the
circumstances
of my life,
both in
relation to
material
difficulties,
to make my
work easier
and to
preserve
myself from
the
malevolence
of my
enemies".
Parcimonious
habits
Of very
simple
habits,
Allan Kardec
led a
controlled
and modest
life. In
response to
a slanderer
who
published
lies about
his personal
life,
claiming
that he had
enriched
himself with
Spiritism,
Kardec
writes a
lengthy text
where, among
many
explanations,
he gives
information
about his
private
routine:
"Whoever
once visited
my house and
who visits
me today can
attest that
nothing has
changed in
the way I
live (...).
We live, my
wife and I,
just as
before.
(...) We
have always
had to live
modestly,
although
what for
some would
have been
little, it
was enough
for us,
thanks to
our tastes
and our
parcimonious
habits".
A lover of a
calm and
secluded
life,
Kardec, due
to
Spiritism,
found
himself
involved in
a whirlwind
of
commitments
and
relationships
that
prevented
him from
remaining
anonymous as
he intended
at the
beginning,
when he
idealized The
Book of
Spirits.
It was no
longer
possible for
him to
maintain his
previous
pace, as the
new jobs
created new
demands on
time and
resources.
Understanding
the
importance
and extent
of his
obligations,
he embarked
on extra
intellectual
tasks in
continuous
vigils, with
which he
paid with
his own
resources
much of the
setup needs
of the
Doctrine.
This gives
us the
measure of
his
detachment
and the
extent of
the
consciousness
he had about
the
historical
moment he
lived for
which he had
been
summoned to
take on
greater
responsibility.
"That was
the work of
my life –
said Allan
Kardec later
- I
consecrated
all my time,
sacrificed
my rest, my
health,
because the
future was
written
before me in
irrefutable
characters".
The
universal
man
Over the
centuries,
many
advanced and
even Higher
Spirits have
reincarnated
on Earth to
aid the
progress of
men. They
bring
missions to
their
people, to
their race,
to the
country
where they
reincarnate,
and their
humanitarian
contribution
ends up
serving as
an example
for the
whole world.
They become
reference
values of
immense
meaning such
as love,
justice,
fraternity,
and moral
integrity.
As for
Kardec, he
addressed
all mankind,
inasmuch as
he revealed,
under the
guidance of
the Superior
Spirits, the
world of
Spirits and
their
relations
with the
world of
men, and the
important
consequences
of this
knowledge
for the
human race.
In What
is Spiritism,
the Encoder
says: "The
discovery of
the
Invisible
World has
much more
scope than
that of the
infinitely
small; it is
more than a
discovery,
it is a
revolution
in ideas”.
Expanding
this
realization
of Kardec,
the
illustrious
thinker
Deolindo
Amorim
states:
"Without a
doubt the
discovery of
the
Invisible
World
imposes an
total
revolution
in ideas,
which allows
to
understand
the
resistance
that certain
scientists
demonstrated
in the
acceptance
of the
Spiritist
phenomena,
as this
would cost
them the
overthrow of
the
materialistic
building in
which they
have
settled"¹.
With
Spiritism,
Allan Kardec
became the
"universal
man," as
Andre
Moreil, one
of his
biographers
called him,
delivering
to the world
a
universalist
Doctrine.
The cause
for which he
devoted his
life was
inspired by
the Spirit
of Truth:
"Love and
study." His
greatest
desire was
to
"contribute
to the
propagation
of the
truth". He
raised the
banner of
freedom,
equality and
fraternity
high, while
establishing
charity as a
principle of
"salvation".
Kardec opens
his heart
In a
document
found in his
papers,
after his
death, Allan
Kardec gives
an intimate
testimony,
in a text
full of
feeling,
where he
opens his
heart and
shows how
the true
Spiritist
should think
and act.
With a fair
and truthful
narrative,
Kardec
reveals his
humanitarian
thoughts: "I
do well, as
much as my
conditions
allow; I
render the
services I
can; the
poor have
never been
thrown out
of my house
or treated
harshly, but
are always
welcomed
with
kindness. I
never hurt
the steps I
took in
favor of
someone.
Many parents
were taken
out of
prison due
to my
efforts".
Speaking of
ingratitude,
of which he
was often
targeted, he
says in this
same text:
"Ingratitude
is one of
the
imperfections
of humanity
and since
there is no
one exempt
from them,
it is
necessary to
relieve
others so
that they
may come to
us in order
to be able
to say with
Jesus
Christ: “Let
him who is
cleansed of
guilt throw
the first
stone”. I
will
continue to
do what is
good for me,
even to my
enemies,
because
hatred does
not blind
me".
Serious men
respect
Kardec
A Spirit of
this moral
character
must be
known and
his work
studied by
all.
Spiritists
especially
those who
have easy
access to
this
unmistakable
philosophy
of love and
truth,
cannot miss
the unique
opportunity
to deepen
this
knowledge.
Allan Kardec
is respected
by serious
men. Known
names in
world
culture and
science took
advantage of
the paths
opened by
him to carry
out studies
and
conclusive
experiments
in favor of
Spiritist
theses. Not
only did
Flammarion
eloquently
praise the
master, but
also the
philosopher
Leon Denis
and many
scholars
from so many
countries
followed his
thought.
Gabriel
Delanne, a
tireless
researcher
of spiritual
phenomena,
faithful and
loyal to the
principles
of the
Doctrine,
wrote: "By
replacing
blind faith
in a future
life, by the
unshakeable
certainty
resulting
from
scientific
findings,
such is the
invaluable
service
rendered by
Allan Kardec
to
humanity".
This
"service"
provided by
Kardec
simply
represents
the
definitive
disruption
of modern
thought with
today's
unsustainable
dogmas,
which can no
longer
continue to
delay the
progress of
humanity.
Spiritism
struck in
materialism,
in unbelief
and in human
pride.
In the same
line as
Delanne's
thought,
here in
Brazil,
among many
examples of
respect to
Kardec, I
found a
testimony of
the Spirit
Guaracy
Parana
Vieira - a
Spiritist
leader in
the State of
Parana - by
the
psychograph
of Divaldo
Franco, who
expressed
himself
about the
Encoder :
"In a time
of cultural
transition
and the
affirmation
of science,
he remained
faithful to
his
commitment
to Jesus,
contributing
to the
liberation
of creatures
by offering
them the
resources of
the
laboratory
and of
thought set
on the moral
foundations
of the
Gospel".
With all the
qualities of
a good man,
and
considering
the
greatness of
his work on
Earth, Allan
Kardec must
be seen as a
benefactor
of mankind.
No one will
ever regret
to study his
works with
good will,
without any
prejudice
and with an
effective
disposition
to grow as a
person.
¹ Deolindo
Amorim
(Spirit), Spiritism
in motion,
psychographics
by Elzio
Ferreira de
Souza,
"Fidelidade
a Kardec",
Circulus
Publisher,
Salvador,
Bahia, 1999.
References:
Allan
Kardec, Posthumous
Works,
trans.
Bezerra de
Menezes,
LAKE, 17th
edition.
Allan
Kardec, Spiritist
Journey in
1862, trans.
Wallace Leal
V.
Rodrigues,
The Clarim,
2nd edition.
Allan
Kardec, Spiritist
Magazine,
November
1864,
trans. Julio
Abreu Filho,
Edicel, 1st
edition.
Andre Moreil, Life
and work of
Allan Kardec,
trans.
Miguel
Maillet,
Edicel, 1st
edition,
1986.
Guaracy
Parana
Vieira
(Spirit), Profiles
of Life,
psychographics
by Divaldo
P. Franco,
chapter 1,
LEAL, 1992.
Allan Kardec, What
is Spiritism,
Second
Dialogue,
"Opposition
of Science,"
FEB, 1973.
Translation:
Eleni
Frangatos - eleni.moreira@uol.com.br