On the occasion of the transfer of Allan Kardec's remains to the Père-Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, a year after his death, a large number of Spiritists came together and paid him homage.

It was March 31, 1870, and a Druidic monument was erected there to honor the memory of the organizer of Spiritism. Alexandre Delanne - father of Gabriel Delanne - a close friend of Allan Kardec, who could not be present due to serious health problems, sent a letter to the promoters of the ceremony. In it, Alexandre Delanne justifies his absence and recounts several passages from the life of Allan Kardec, little known, in which one could "evaluate the goodness of his heart, and evaluate his firm and just character, the benevolence he used in his relations, his prudence and his extreme sensitiveness".

They are reports of who lived with the master for about twelve years and show his generosity and detachment, both materially and morally.

History Records

Many people in the world have already written about the ethical conduct and setbacks that great names in human history have gone through. Today, searching through internet brings us face to face with the dramatic biographies of the wronged people of all time, people that are extensively mentioned and even honored worldwide, but very little followed. Their examples of life shine in the Pantheon of History, but not in the daily life, or in the thought, and ideas of the new generations.

It is worth mentioning that there are some characteristics that identify them: the love of justice, solidarity with the humble, the unceasing pursuit of peace, the struggle for the progress of the sciences, the struggle for the eradication of the material and moral misery of humanity, among other altruistic motivations.

History shows that many of those who have proposed - in this lower world of ours - to diminish the distances between men, to lead them to socially approach one another; to overthrow the barriers of divisions by combating prejudices and their consequent hatred; to emancipate the Spirits through education, pay a high price for it, sometimes with their own lives.

Good Kardec did not escape the villainy

Although he was an ethical and just man, Allan Kardec did not escape the villainy of the evil-doers on duty at that time, as they do nowadays. Alexandre Delanne, at the end of that letter, complained sadly: "And who, more than he, so good, so noble, so great in his words and actions, has been the object of injury and slander?"

Kardec’s friend goes on: "His critics, "who knew nothing about him except his banner, tried to damage his reputation in public opinion, without even investigating whether the rumors they spread had any basis" (...).

The attacks against the great benefactor began possibly around 1859, when the success of The Book of Spirits - already with a revised and expanded new edition - was consolidated. In the face of the many attacks that followed, Kardec set a criterion: he did not respond to those that were clearly in bad faith. And he launched himself in defense of the Doctrine as to those who presented wrong but honest arguments, correcting point by point the levels of aggression.

In order to ridicule him, they ironically called him a prophet, high priest, pope of the "new religion that was emerging in Paris". Kardec never used any of these titles, considering them as the slander of opponents who wanted to attack Spiritism by striking him.

Kardec forgives the bishop

In October 1861, a consignment of three hundred books sent by Kardec to the bookseller Maurice Lachâtre, established in Barcelona, was burned in a public square by order of the intolerant bishop of the Spanish city. It was a true affront to free thinking, to religious freedom, in what has been called among the Spiritists, the "Act of Faith of Barcelona".

However, less than a year after the death of the religious Inquisitor, he communicates in the Parisian Society of Spiritist Studies. Repentant, he implies acknowledging his error and asks for a prayer in his favor: - "Pray for me. Pray, for it is pleasing to God that prayer is directed by the persecuted in favor of the persecutor". Kardec forgives him.

Campaign against Spiritism

"If Paris is the head, Lyon will be the heart of the Doctrine", says Allan Kardec, referring to his hometown, where there was a great number of Spiritism followers, especially among the working population, and so there was also intense opposition.

The Catholic Church leads the attacks on the Doctrine and promotes in Lyon a series of conferences in which bishops everywhere and professors of the theological colleges violently attack Spiritism. In the church of Saint-Nizier it is said that "Spiritism destroys the family, demeans the woman, preaches suicide, adultery and abortion, preaches communism and dissolves society".

In the Margaux chapel, Father Lapeyre distilles: "The Book of Spiritspreaches communism, the sharing of goods, divorce, equality between men and, above all, between man and woman" (...). Amazing! The conceptual distortions combined truths and lies in order to confuse the population and cause unthinking indignation.

A true crusade against Spiritism unfolds everywhere. Countless sermons, pronouncements, writings, acts of violence and intolerance are exposed against new ideas, always with the support of the press that echoed the movement of anger and slander.

"In all times persecutions were the weapons of evil causes and of those who take the triumph of brute force for reason", said Allan Kardec in a great article published in the Spiritist Magazine of March, 1863, in which he analyzes the campaign of opponents of Spiritism, by the way, in advance announced by the Spirits.

The same old arguments

It is unbelievable that after more than one hundred and fifty years, the similarity with what we presently read and hear in the media - much less in relation to Spiritism – but much more in relation to social and political questions.

As we can see, these considerations against the progress of ideas, social advances, against the development of humanitarian causes and the unveiling of truth, which Spiritism defends in the field of human relations, are ancient. They reappear periodically in some societies, when reactionary and morally poor sectors, linked to the past and fearing the future, want to maintain or restore old models that feed their interests in relation to power, fortune and supremacy.

The advice of Erastus

Erastus, the Spirit, an important member of the team that worked with Allan Kardec in the construction of the Spiritist Doctrine, advises him not to worry excessively about the attacks of his opponents, for this mad and foolish combat arises even more the interest of the population in wanting to know of what Spiritism was about.

Allan Kardec felt, as any human being would feel, the effects of this outrageous campaign, but he never let the persecution and ill-will of men interrupt or divert the work which he knew to have divine origin. He never renounced his commitment to truth and never turned away from the feelings of gratitude, loyalty and trust in the Higher Spirits who have always followed him and guided his life.

A "rational love"

On several occasions the Spirits manifested their satisfaction with Allan Kardec's handling of the Codification work, and they expressed this with encouraging words. An evolved Spirit, Kardec lived up to the mission he received from the higher spheres of spirituality.

He had not only an unusual intelligence and easy reasoning with logic, but also an enormous ability to love and to like people. It was a humble, discrete and a deeply fraternal love that he absorbed from the perfect understanding of Jesus' moral teachings. It was a "rational love" - ​​if you can use that expression - which has nothing to do with the cool, calculating, selfish love of most humans.

This love can be felt in statements he made, where his heart testifies against the pride and prejudices that confront equality among men, such as this statement, in which he addressed a large audience consisting mainly of workers: "Men of the highest positions have honored me with their visit, but never, because of them, has a proletarian remained in the anteroom. Often, in my hall, the prince sits down beside the workman".

What does this mean? It is Allan Kardec himself who replies: "For me, a man is a man, this alone! I measure his worth by his actions, by his feelings, never by his social position. Whether he belongs to the highest society, if he acts badly, if he is selfish and negligent regarding his dignity, he is in my eyes, inferior to the worker who behaves correctly" (...).

And with the sincerity that was his characteristic, he denied the hypocrisy of social conventions and exalted the excellence of humbleness: "I cordially shake hands with a humble man whose heart I am listening to, than that of a potentate whose heart has gone silent. The first one warms me up, the second freezes me".

The proof of time

Alexandre Delanne, ending the letter mentioned above, says what the course of time has proved, for the glory of justice and the highest good: "He (Kardec) held his banner so high and so firm, that no disrepute could strike him, and the mud with which they wanted to cover him only dirtied the hands of the pamphleteers”.

Undeniably, Allan Kardec is an example to follow. His philosophical work was built upon the indestructible moral foundations of the Gospel, with the skilled workmanship of the Higher Spirits commanded by Jesus. His humble fear, at first, of not meeting the expectations of such a grandiose mission was totally surpassed by success at the end of the work.

Allan Kardec, since a young man, already showed his superior ideals, donating his life to the Education of men. He was concerned with all, but especially with the simple, the humble, thus following in the footsteps of Jesus. He taught, clarified, protected, helped, defended, forgave, and loved. "When attacked, he forgave; slandered, he did not retaliate; persecuted, he understood. However, he never cowered, and his was a dignified existence, pure, hardworking, and rich in enlightened experiences" (1).

In the face of all that has been exposed, using an expression very common in social networks today to define positions, I affirm: "Allan Kardec represents me".

(1) Arthur Conan Doyle, History of Spiritualism, chapter 21. Records of Anna Blackwell, translator of Allan Kardec’s into English.

References:

-Reformador, March 1991, FEB.

-Andre Moreil, Life and work of Allan Kardec, Edicel, 1986.

-Allan Kardec, Posthumous Works, LAKE, 17th edition.

-Allan Kardec, Spiritist Magazine, March 1863, "Struggle between the past and the future", Edicel, 1986.

-Allan Kardec, Spiritist Magazine, February 1863, "Sermons against Spiritism," Edicel, 1986.

-Allan Kardec, Spiritist Journey in 1862, "Speech I - Pronounced in the general meetings of the Spiritists of Lyon and Bordeaux", O Clarim, 2nd edition.