Special

por Altamirando Carneiro

The pathways of evolution

In all eras of Humanity, different messengers came to Earth, with the mission to guide the procedure of Man, through the awareness and application of the Eternal Truths.

In the 19th century BC, Abraham, the patriarch of the Hebrews, led his people to an awareness of the one God; in the 13th century BC, Moses, who in addition to receiving the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai, created the civil and disciplinary law. One, immutable; the other, which is appropriate to the customs and character of the people, changes with time.

Approximately 20 centuries after Moses, the one who constitutes the spiritual guide of all mankind came to Earth: Jesus.

Someone said that the birth of Jesus was so important that His birthplace did not fit into the history of mankind. Jesus is not in history. He is History. The world He lived in is the Christian world, born of His teachings.

The setting for Jesus' coming was Galilee, located in northern Palestine.

Amidst this scene was Nazareth, on the shores of Lake Gennesaret.

Although He lived in Nazareth, Jesus was not born there. According to Messianic prophecies, His hometown was Bethlehem, the birthplace of King David.

At that time, in Nazareth, Joseph lived, with approximately 38 years of age. On the other hand, on the outskirts of Jerusalem, lived a young woman named Mary (Miriam, in Hebrew), who was, at that time, approximately 17 years old. Having lost her father at age 15, she lived with her mother, the widow Hanan, on the outskirts of Jerusalem.

Spirit of high virtues, Miriam was also a great medium. She had dreams and visions and in these dreams, the Spirits announced certain facts that were about to happen, such as, for example, that in a short time she would meet a young man named Joseph, from whose marriage the long-awaited Messiah would be born in Israel.

And on one of those nights when all was peace, Jesus was born in Bethlehem, with the manger as the starting point for the lesson of Christ, a true lesson in humility, because humility is the key to all virtues.

Jesus simplified the law created by Moses, based on an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, on laws based on charity, humility and love of neighbor. Jesus taught man to think. For example: when the so-called doctors of the law asked him a tricky question, he would initially respond with another question, forcing the inquirer to reason about the matter. This is the case, for example, with the question "which is the greatest commandment in the law?" (Matthew, 22: 34 to 40), (Mark, 12: 28 to 34), (Luke, 10: 25 to 27); of the issue of tribute to Caesar (Matthew, 22: 15 to 33), Mark: 12: 13 to 17), Luke, 20: 20 to 26).

Jesus taught man to think, the starting point for reasoned faith, adopted by the Spiritist Doctrine, or the interpretation of the Gospel in Spirit and Truth.

And as time went by, after Jesus, on October 3, 1804, the one who would come to codify a New Doctrine, the Spiritist Doctrine, was born in Lyon, France, which brought new and definitive light to the teachings of Jesus.

Thus, on April 18, 1857, the first book of the Spiritist Codification appeared, The Book of Spirits.

It was with The Book of Spirits that the six periods of Spiritism, classified by Allan Kardec, began.

The Spiritist Magazine, which circulated in the French capital for twelve consecutive years, from 1858 to 1869, and which was founded and directed by Allan Kardec, brings in the December 1863 issue a study made by Allan Kardec about the successive periods that would be experienced by the Spiritism: curiosity, philosophical, fighting, religious, intermediary and social regeneration.

The period of curiosity corresponds to the period of the turning tables, or talking tables, because they moved in different directions and ways and answered, by tapping (yes or no), to questions that were asked. It was a common phenomenon throughout Europe in the nineteenth century. From 1853 to 1855, they were a pastime to animate the frivolity of the salons and the curiosity of the masses, but they served, in fact, a determination from Above, awakening consciences to the immortality of the soul and the reality of the Spirit.

The philosophical period was marked by the publication of The Book of Spirits, its first edition appeared on April 18, 1857, with 501 questions by Allan Kardec and the Spirits' answers to important questions of human knowledge. It contains, written in bold, explanations by Allan Kardec, in addition to some related matters.

The second (and definitive) edition appeared on March 16, 1860, with 1,019 issues.

The period of struggle was marked by the Act of Faith in Barcelona, ​​which took place on October 9, 1861, with the burning, in a public square, of copies of The Book of SpiritsThe Book of Mediums, collections of the Spiritist Magazine and several Spiritist works and brochures, in a total of 300 volumes, sent by Allan Kardec to the publisher Maurice Lachatre, based in Barcelona. The books were intercepted at the Post Office by the Bishop of Barcelona, ​​Don Antonio Palau Y Termens, who ordered them to be burned at the stake of the Inquisition.

The infamous act was committed at half past ten in the morning on the hill of the city of Barcelona, ​​in the place where those sentenced to maximum punishment were executed.

The religious period is the one we are living in, when the guidelines for the moral regeneration of man are drawn up; when the lights of the Gospel spread in all directions, inviting everyone to live happier, in the example of the teachings of Jesus, who, as we said, taught man to think and laid the foundations for reasoned faith, valued by Spiritism.

The intermediate period will be the continuation of this period that we are living.

The period of social regeneration will take place when Earth passes from a world of atonement and trials and reaches the rank of a world of regeneration. It is when the Humanity that will populate the Earth will be made up of people who only wish for the good.

People who are currently focused on doing good will have the opportunity to return to Earth in the next reincarnation, to continue to do the good work they did here, in favor of the Earth's own progress. As for those who, today, are barbarizing and spreading violence, the great majority of them will no longer be able to return here, going to reincarnate in a backward world, which is in accordance with the evolution they managed to achieve here. It is not that, in these cases, the Spirit regresses. In its path, it never regresses. In this case, the Spirit remains in the stationary state in which it finds itself, from there to follow its path, towards its evolution.

In this period of social regeneration, Christian values​​based on charity, humility and love of neighbor will predominate. Men will only unfurl the flag of unity and solidarity.

Sociability is a natural tendency and obeys the imperative of the Law of Progress. It is in the life of relationships that man develops, enriches himself and satisfies the desire to share that characterizes the nature of his Spirit. It is in social life that the divine essence that inhabits the human Spirit is revealed.

Within these concepts, solidarity emerges, which can only be exercised by those who do not live only for themselves. It is a word that frightens selfish people, because it imposes the mobilization of resources in favor of others.

To be supportive is to feel an intimate need to share something with others. Solidarity is the feeling of identification with the problems of others, which leads people to help each other. It is the commitment by which we feel obligated to help each other.

At this point, the Spiritist solidarity is projected on the general social plan of the Spiritist community through Spiritist Groups, Centers and Institutions, involving all creatures, protecting them, supporting them, stimulating them in their daily struggles and needs, trying to help them without asking for anything in return, not even doctrinal sympathy, since those who help do not have the right to impose anything.

The Law of Society drives man to communion, to solidarity. And to love, divine spark that everyone, without exception, has deep in their hearts, having seen that a man, no matter how vile, gives someone, an animal or any object, a living and ardent affection.

Let's love each other. Let us be solidary. Let us exercise moral charity, supporting one another despite differences. Let's put into practice the advice of Lazarus (Spirit), recorded in item 8 of chapter 11 (Love your neighbor as yourself), of The Gospel According to Spiritism: "Happy is he who loves, because he does not know the anxieties of the soul, nor those of the body! His feet are light, and he lives as if transported outside of himself. When Jesus spoke that divine word, - love - he made the peoples tremble, and the martyrs, drunk with hope, went down to the circus."

Thus, let us make the beginning of a new way of life, with the daily and constant practice of love, union and fraternity, the only paths that lead man to the evolution of his Spirit, towards a better society and a happier world.


 

Translation:
Eleni Frangatos - eleni.moreira@uol.com.br

 
 

     
     

O Consolador
 Revista Semanal de Divulgação Espírita