In the hypothesis of animals not existing in the
spiritual world, the spiritual world would be clearly
secondary during the entire long process of animic
evolution during the animal phase, which would end up
being a contradiction of the text of "The Book of
Spirits", when it states that, if it were to choose, the
spiritual world would be “more essential” than the
corporeal world.
Anyway, the understanding that there would be no animals
in the spiritual world generates very strange reasoning.
In the case of humans, at least, it is known that the
number of disincarnated on Earth is much greater than
the number of incarnates on our planet. Let's see what
Andre Luiz tells us, in the “Spiritist Yearbook” of 1964
(republished in the Spiritist Yearbook of 1992 and
2009):
"1. What is the approximate number of spiritual
inhabitants – of rational age – that are presently
developing in the surroundings of the Earth?
A. One could calculate the population of disembodied
creatures of rational age, in working circles, around
the Earth, to more than twenty billion, noting that a
high percentage is still in the primary stages of reason
and this number is subject to constant changes due to
the migratory currents of Spirits in transit in the
regions of the Planet”.
With regard to animals, would it be the other way
around? Would there be more animals incarnated than
disembodied? Or, what would be even more drastic, are
all animals always reincarnated, with no animal left in
the spiritual world? How is it?
Would there always be a fertilization taking place at
the exact moment of the disincarnating of an individual
of the same species? Would the number of new
fertilizations be exactly the same as the number of new
disembodiments at all times? Ever?
Let's look at the situation in which a species goes into
extinction. Would spiritual mentors, without a minimum
preparation in erraticity, reincarnate these
“disincarnating” individuals in other species? Or would
they take the “disincarnates” to another planet, to
reincarnate in a species identical or very similar to
the terrestrial species? And in this “other abode of the
Father” would an appropriate number of new “conceptions”
already be taking place (exactly at the same time when
the disembodiments occur) so that no “disincarnate”
would remain in the spiritual world?
Considering that Kardec had little time to delve into
this issue and that Spiritist thought evolves, in
accordance with its scientific aspect, it would be the
case to assess what kind of information on this topic
the subsidiary works would present.
Ernesto Bozzano, in his work “Do animals have a soul?”,
evaluates one hundred and thirty (130) cases of
manifestations of “haunting, apparitions and supernormal
phenomena with animals”. Bozzano states in the first
chapter of this work that, among the various phenomena
studied, the appearances of animal forms constitute a
subsidy to "support the hypothesis of the survival of
the animal psyche."
In “Memories of a Suicide”, Camilo Candido Botelho
narrates the presence of different species of animals in
the spiritual world. On the penultimate page of the
chapter entitled “The Valley of Suicides”, the author
comments on horses. Let's see:
“...small stagecoaches tied together and surrounded by
very thick shutters, preventing the passenger from
checking the places where he should pass. White, light,
as carved in specific materials, skillfully lacquered,
they were pulled by beautiful teams of horses also
white, noble animals whose extraordinary beauty and
unusual elegance would arouse our attention if we were
in a position to notice something...”.
In the subsequent chapter of “Memories...”, entitled “Os
Réprobos” (The Reprobates), Camilo confirms the presence
of horses:
“Our vehicles were now light and graceful, like light
and comfortable sledges,
pulled by the same admirable pairs of Norman horses...”.
In that same chapter, on the following page, the
spiritual author mentions another animal species
(pigeons) present in the Spiritual World. Let's
evaluate:
“...while tame birds, a flock of
graceful pigeons flitted lightly among lilies”.
In “Nosso Lar” (Our Home), in chapter 33 called “Curious
Observations”, Narcisse comments on dogs, mules and
birds, which acted helping the expeditionary work of the
“Samaritans” in regions of suffering. Let's
see:
- “Dogs facilitate the work, mules support loads
patiently and provide heat in areas where it is needed;
and those birds – she added, indicating them in space –
which we call ibis viajores, are excellent helpers of
the Samaritans, because they devour the hateful and
perverse mental forms, entering into a frank struggle
with the umbraline darkness”.
In "Evolution in Two Worlds", Andre Luiz, in the third
chapter, entitled "Evolution and Spiritual body", makes
an important assessment of the soul evolution that would
require internships both in the physical and in the
Spiritual plane, depending on the needs of
modulations/modifications of the perispirit. It seems
reasonable to think that reincarnations between
different species would require a deep and complex work
of perispiritual preparation in erraticity. Below is the
analysis by Andre Luiz inserted in the item entitled
"Unknown links of evolution":
"Understanding, however, that the divine principle
arrived on Earth, emanating from the spiritual sphere,
bringing in its mechanism the archetype for which it was
intended, like the acorn of an oak enclosing within
itself the venerable tree that will be in the future, we
cannot circumscribe the experience to the physical plane
simply considered, because, through the birth and death
of form, it undergoes constant changes in the two planes
in which it manifests itself, and that is why various
links of evolution escape the research of naturalists,
as they represent stages of consciousness fragmentary
outside the carnal realm itself, in extra-physical
regions, where this same incomplete consciousness
continues to elaborate its subtle vehicle, then
classified as a human protoform, corresponding to the
evolutionary level in which it finds itself” (my
emphasis).
It is possible to infer, based both on the work of Allan
Kardec and on the subsidiary works of Spiritism, that
there are very likely animals in the spiritual world and
that, when it comes to a reincarnation process in the
same species, the period of erraticity tends to be
shorter than that, on average, observed in the
reincarnation processes of human Spirits, especially
those of reasonable or superior Spiritual evolution. In
cases where the soul of animals goes through a
transition between species, the process is probably much
more complex and time-consuming, as it involves deep
perispiritual changes. In any case, it is worth
remembering that animals can present very diverse
conditions of animic evolution, requiring substantial
in-depth study of the subject to assess the spiritual
condition of the most varied subgroups of animal
species.
Note:
This article is focused on the issue of the existence
and possibility of permanence in the spiritual world of
the soul of animals, without entering into the merits of
their modus vivendi. Starting from the analysis
of question 600 of “The Book of Spirits”, which has been
interpreted in a questionable way, in our view, we
evaluate the implications of denying the existence of
animals in the spiritual world. Only from this analysis,
we resorted to information from the so-called
“subsidiary works of Spiritism”. However, despite being
important books, few works and small quotes were made,
within a very wide universe and excellent Spiritist
works. Texts such as the one by Manoel Philomeno de
Miranda, through the mediumship of Divaldo Pereira
Franco, among other books, could be cited as additional
sources of information about animals in the spiritual
world. In addition, it is not possible to underestimate
important reports arising from mediumistic experiences
and the emancipation of the soul of mediums such as
Francisco Candido Xavier, Divaldo Pereira Franco, among
others, which strengthens the perception that this
information about the existence and significant
permanence of at least some species of animals in the
spiritual world have significant support, tending to be
ratified by the so-called “control of universal
agreement on the teaching of the Spirits”. In this
context, it is recommended to read excellent articles
and analyzes of the present issue prepared by the
confreres Euripedes Kühl, Astolfo Olegario, Irvenia
Prada and Paulo Neto, which were published in the
electronic magazine “O Consolador”. With regard to the
modus vivendi (covering the possibility of intra- and/or
inter-species relationship life, the environment of the
spiritual world associated with animals or groups of
animals, the "physiological" and/or fluidic
characteristics of the animal perispirit and its
implications and so on) of animals in the spiritual
world, it is important to emphasize that this approach
was not the purpose of this article. In any case, any
considerations in this area also require the general
corroboration of quality mediumistic information, aiming
at the “universality of the teaching of the Spirits”. In
fact, all information considered original and/or unusual
requires support from other quality mediumistic
information, in order to be admitted as a reasonable
hypothesis within our studies of doctrinal value.
Bibliographic references:
Kardec, A. The Book of Spirits. Trans.
Evandro Noleto Bezerra. Third Commemorative Edition of
the Sesquicentennial. Brazilian Spiritist Federation.
Brasilia DF. 2007.
Luiz, A. Interviewing Andre Luiz. (insert
in) Spiritist Yearbook 2009. Spiritist Diffusion
Institute (IDE) Publisher. Macaws-SP. 2009.
Bozzano, E. Do animals have a soul?
(translation and preface by Francisco Klörs Werneck).
Second edition. Eco Publishing.
Pereira, Y. A. (by the Spirit Camilo
Candido Botelho) Memories of a Suicide. First Special
Edition. Brazilian Spiritist Federation. Brasilia DF.
2004.
Xavier, F.C. (by the Spirit of Andre Luiz).
Our home. First Special Edition. Brazilian Spiritist
Federation. Brasilia DF. 2003.
Xavier, F.C. and Vieira, W. (by the
Spirit of Andre Luiz). Evolution in Two Worlds. 27th
edition. Brazilian
Spiritist Federation. Brasilia DF. 2014.
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