During the
years 1862
and 1863,
Allan Kardec
devoted
significant
attention to
the
so-called
“Morzine’s
possessions”,
publishing
several
articles
about this
true
“obsessive
epidemic” in
his Revista
Espírita
(RE) (Spiritist
Magazine)
(SM). This
serious
process of
obsession
affected the
tiny French
town of
Haute-Savoie
called
Morzine (at
the time,
with
approximately
2,500
inhabitants,
according to
information
provided by
the Encoder
of Spiritism),
drawing the
attention of
the French
authorities.
Two articles were
published, in 1862; in
the April and December
editions of SM,
(subsequent articles on
“the possessed of
Morzine” would appear in
issues of 1863). Such
articles were important
for the deepening of the
study of obsession,
since, most likely, the
phenomenology that
occurred in Morzine was
associated with a
certain change in Allan
Kardec's position. In
fact, from then on, the
Encoder began to use the
expression “possession”
for the most serious
cases and with greater
physical consequences of
the so-called
“subjugation”. Until the
publication of The
Book of Mediums, in
1861, the Encoder did
not accept this.
Furthermore, the Morzine
episode also highlights
the so-called
“collective obsession”,
that is, an obsession
generated by many
Spirits, which, in
addition, affected a
large group of people in
a given region,
characterizing a kind of
“contagious” obsessive
process and place”.
These articles were
gathered to form part of
the relevant collection
of cases of obsession of
the Spiritist Magazine,
prepared by the Belgian
Spiritist Union, in
1950. It received the
name of A Obsessão (The
Obsession).
This complex
relationship between
multiple obsessors,
multiple obsessed people
and a single affected
region is analyzed in
detail by Allan Kardec,
who has occasion to
evaluate this type of
“geographic problem of
obsession” or, if we
prefer, a possible local
susceptibility of
obsession, even if
temporary, due to the
occurrence of an
“obsessive epidemic” in
that region.
Morzine's case provided
an opportunity for Allan
Kardec to carry out a
complete doctrinal
review of the theme of
"obsession", which
beautifully illustrates
the solidity of the
Spiritist Doctrine and
its ability to explain a
series of spiritual
processes with poorly
explained physical
consequences, or even
completely unexplained,
by other proposals of
thought. Kardec makes an
extensive evaluation of
the perispirit, of the
spiritual world,
mediumship and of
obsession. This should
not go unknown to all
Spiritism students.
The Spirit Erasto
(through the medium Mr.
D'Ambel), in turn, makes
an interesting comment.
Erastus correlated the
phenomena of possession
with those of Jesus'
time, suggesting that
both the appearance of
the Master from Nazareth
and the advent of
Spiritism accompanied
the occurrence of a
severe obsessional
epidemic. Furthermore,
Erastus emphasizes that
possession would bring
positive aspects, as it
would draw everyone's
attention to the
spiritual reality of
human beings as well as
to the most efficient
methods (which would be
those of a moral and/or
magnetic-spiritual
nature) for their
treatment. Now, just as
years before the
phenomenon of turning
and talking tables
attracted the attention
of serious researchers,
such as Professor Rivail
himself, the growth of
Spiritism could be
accentuated by studies
of processes like the
one that occurred in
Morzine.
Kardec concluded his
first article on the
subject, making very
objective and
enlightening comments. Let
us see:
"...the means taught by
Spiritism were enough to
make the obsession
cease..."
- "... It is
demonstrated by
experience that perverse
spirits not only act on
thought, but also on the
body, with which they
identify and which they
use as if it were their
own..."
- “...it's quite a kind
of madness, since this
name can be given to any
abnormal state, in which
the Spirit does not act
freely. From this point
of view, drunkenness is
a true accidental
madness...”
- “...It is therefore
necessary to distinguish
'pathological madness'
from 'obsessional
madness'.
Kardec also emphasizes
the role of Spiritism in
mental illness, but
stresses the historical
difficulty of this
action, since many “...
are always willing to
send to the asylum
anyone who has the
weakness of believing
that we have a soul and
that it represents a
role in vital functions,
survives the body and
can act on the living”.
- “...In the not too
distant future, medicine
will finally leave the
materialistic
routine...”
In fact, despite many
advances, this process
of "spiritualization of
medicine" is still being
processed and the
problems caused by
materialistic values
continue to harm various
areas of society, as
Allan Kardec already
claimed to happen in his
time.
In the article entitled “Study
on the possessed of
Morzine” (Causes of
obsession and means of
combat), Allan
Kardec presents several
subjects related to
magnetism, passes,
obsession,
self-obsession and
disobsession, among
other topics. Kardec
points out, right at the
beginning of the
article, that “to
support our opinion, we
must enter into
preliminary
explanations”. In fact,
the scope of this text
is impressive. The
Master of Lyon almost
summarized the Spiritist
Doctrine as a whole in a
single article. In this
second topic of this
article, we tried to
segment a good part of
Kardecian text and
present it as answers to
specific questions,
associating brief
explanations with such
questions, when we
consider that such
addendums would be
interesting.
Let us see the Kardecian
elucidations to
questions that we
elaborated in order to
highlight the depth and
scope of the content
elaborated by our
Encoder.
Does disincarnating, by
itself, cause the Spirit
to evolve? How is the
relationship between the
incarnated Spirits and
the disembodied Spirits
of the Earth, from an
evolutionary point of
view?
“After death, the soul
of a good man will be a
good Spirit; in the same
way, incarnating a good
Spirit, he will be a
good man. For the same
reason, when dying, a
wicked man will give a
wicked spirit to the
invisible world, and an
evil spirit, if
incarnated, cannot give
a virtuous man.
Therefore, as long as
the Spirit has not
purified itself or
experienced the desire
to improve itself.
Because, once he enters
the path of progress,
little by little he rids
himself of his bad
instincts: he gradually
rises in the hierarchy
of Spirits, until he
reaches perfection,
accessible to all, since
God could not have
created beings eternally
devoted to evil and to
unhappiness. Thus, the
visible and invisible
worlds interpenetrate
and alternate
incessantly; if we can
say so, they feed each
other; or, better said,
these two worlds
actually constitute one,
in two different states.
This consideration is
very important to better
understand the existing
solidarity between the
two.” (emphasis
mine)
How can we characterize
Earth in terms of
spiritual evolution?
“Since the Earth is an
inferior world, that is,
little advanced, it
follows that the immense
majority of the Spirits
that inhabit it, both in
the wandering state and
when incarnated, must be
composed of imperfect
Spirits, who do more
harm than good. Hence,
the predominance of evil
on Earth is, at the same
time, a world of
atonement. Men are then
unhappy due to the
dimension of evil. If
all men were good,
everyone would be happy.
It is a state not yet
reached by our globe:
and it is to such a
state that God wants to
lead it. All the
tribulations experienced
here by good men,
whether from men or from
spirits, are
consequences of this
state of inferiority. We
can say that the Earth
is the Botany-Bay* of
the worlds: there are
primitive savagery and
civilization,
criminality and
atonement.
*Botany-Bay,
English bay on the coast
of New South Wales, near
Sidney (Australia),
discovered by Cook
(1770). It was there
that the English made
their first attempts at
penal colonization”. (emphasis
mine)
How can we understand
the spiritual world
associated with planet
Earth?
“...it is necessary to
imagine the invisible
world as forming an innumerable
population, compact, as
it were, enveloping the
Earth and looming large
in space. It is a kind
of moral atmosphere, of
which the incarnated
spirits occupy the lower
part,
where they stir as in a
vase. Now, just as the
air of the lower parts
is heavy and unhealthy,
this moral air is also
unhealthy, because the
miasmas of impure
spirits corrupt it. To
resist this, moral
temperaments endowed
with great vigor are
needed” (emphasis
added).
Considering the
much-vaunted “planetary
transition”, which would
currently be in its
infancy on Earth, it is
very interesting to note
that Kardec already
signaled the preparation
of this phase, with a
very didactic, simple
and objective
explanation.
How will Earth pass from
classification as a
world of trials and
atonement to a world of
regeneration?
“... [The inferior
worlds] follow the law
of progress and,
reaching the precise
age, God heals them,
expelling the imperfect
spirits, which no longer
reincarnate and are
replaced by more
advanced ones. These
will make happiness,
justice and peace reign.
It is a revolution of
this kind that is
currently being
prepared” (my emphasis).
(This
article continues in the
next issue.)
Bibliographic references:
Kardec,
A. The Obsession –
Origin, symptoms and
cures [Translation by
Wallace Leal V.
Rodrigues]. Publishing
House “O Clarim”. Sixth
edition. 2000.
Kardec,
A. Spiritist Magazine (Fifth
Year – 1862)
[Translation by Salvador
Gentile]. Spiritist
Diffusion Institute
(IDE). First edition.
1993.
Kardec.
A. Spiritist Magazine
(Sixth Year – 1863)
[Translation by Salvador
Gentile]. Spiritist
Diffusion Institute
(IDE). Second edition.
2002.