The Spiritist Review - Journal of Psychological Studies - 1860

Allan Kardec

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Family Advices

Your readers certainly remember the article published last September under the title A Spiritist Family. The following communications are very similar to those. In fact, these are advices given in a private meeting, by an eminently superior and benevolent spirit. They are distinguished by the kindness and sweetness of the style, by the profoundness of thoughts and also by nuances of extreme compassion, appropriate to the age and character of the persons to whom they were addressed. Mr. Rabache, a businessman from Bordeaux, who served as an intermediary, has kindly authorized their publication. We can only congratulate the mediums who received similar communications. It is a demonstration that they have happy sympathies in the invisible world.
Pechbusque Castle, November 1859

FIRST SESSION

The guardian spirit of the family was asked if he could give a few advices to the members who were present. He responded:

Yes, may they have trust in God and seek enlightenment in the eternal and immutable truths taught by the book of nature. It contains the whole law of God and those who can read and understand only follow the true path of wisdom. May they never neglect anything that will be seen since everything has a teaching in itself and must elevate and approach the soul to God through reason. Try to distinguish the good from the evil in everything that may harm intelligence: the former is to be practiced; the latter is to be avoided. Before passing any judgment on anything may they turn their thoughts to God who will then guide them to the good path and WILL NEVER FAIL THEM!

SECOND SESSION

Good evening my children. If you love me then strive to enlighten yourselves. Gather frequently with that thought and unite your thoughts. It is an excellent way since we only exchange things that we believe are good to you. We are ashamed of the bad things, thus they are kept in secret or they are only communicated to those who we wish to turn into accomplices. Good thoughts are distinguished from the bad ones because the former can be unceremoniously transmitted to everyone whereas the latter could not be communicated but to a few only. When a given thought crosses your mind, in order to assess its value, ask yourself if you can make it public without inconveniences and if it would not cause harm to anyone. If your conscience authorizes you don’t be afraid for your thought is good. Give good advices to one another and always think of the well-being of the one to whom you give the advice and not yours. You will be rewarded by the satisfaction that you will feel for being useful. The union of hearts is the most fecund source of happiness. If a large number of people are unhappy it is because they only seek happiness for themselves. Happiness escapes them precisely because they think to be able to find it in selfishness only. I say happiness and not fortune because up until now this has only served as support to injustice and the objective of life is justice. Well, if justice were practiced among human beings, the most fortunate one would be the one who had done the highest number of good deeds. Then, my children, if you want to become rich, do practice many good actions. Never mind the worldly things. It is not the satisfaction of flesh that one must seek but that of the soul. The former is ephemeral; the latter, eternal. It is enough for now. Mediate about these advices and try to practice them. Such is the path of salvation.

THIRD SESSION

Yes, my children, here I am. Have trust in God, who never abandons those who do the good. What you consider wrong-doing frequently is so only with respect to your prejudices. Also, sometimes the real evil comes from a discouragement caused by a difficulty, which the calmness of spirit and thought would have avoided. Thus, think and as I have already told you, report everything to God. Whenever you experience any grief, far from giving in to sadness, on the contrary, resist and make all efforts to triumph, thinking that nothing is achieved without work and that very often success is followed by difficulties. Invoke the support of the benevolent spirits. As they teach you, they cannot do the good deeds in your place, nor obtain something to you from God, since each one must conquer perfection to which we are all destined, but they can inspire goodness in you, suggest a convenient attitude and help you with their presence. They don’t manifest ostensively but privately. Listen to the voice of your conscience, keeping in mind my preceding advices. Trust in God, be calm and have courage.

FOURTH SESSION

Good evening my children. Yes, it is necessary to continue the sessions, until a medium shows up replacing the one who is leaving us. His mission as an initiator among you has been accomplished. Continue what you have started, because you too shall one day serve to the propagation of truth, which at this very moment is proclaimed all over the world by the manifestations of the spirits. Be persuaded, my children, that what is generally understood as spirit on Earth is only spirit to you. After the separation of that spirit or soul from the dense body that surrounds it, as you see it, there is no more body because your material eyes can no longer see it, but it is still matter to those more elevated than that body. I will make a very imperfect comparison to you, my children, but which may give you an idea of the transformation that you improperly call death. Imagine a caterpillar that you see every day. Once the time is over for its existence in such a state, the caterpillar becomes the chrysalis; spending sometime in that state and then, when time is up, it leaves the cocoon behind, giving rise to the butterfly which flies away. Well, the caterpillar, by leaving behind her gross nature, represents human’s death. The butterfly represents the soul, which rises up. The caterpillar drags on the ground, the butterfly flies into the skies. It changed matter but it is still material. If the caterpillar could think, it would not see the butterfly; however, it would have left the rotten cocoon of the chrysalis. Thus, the body cannot see the soul, but the soul, surrounded by matter, is conscious of its existence and even the materialist sometimes feels it inside. Then, his pride precludes him from agreeing and he remains with his science without belief, not elevating, until the doubt arrives. Then, it is not the end, although there is a greater in-fight, but it is only a matter of time, because my friends don’t you forget, all children of God were created to achieve perfection. Fortunate are those who waste no time in their journey. Eternity is made of two periods: the trials, which could be called incubation, and the emergence or entry into the real life, that you call the happiness of the elected ones.

FIFTH SESSION

My dear children, I see with satisfaction that you begin to think about the advices I give you. I know that there is a lot to think about simultaneously, given the current development of your intelligences. However, I must take the present opportunity since in a short while it will no longer be available to me and it was necessary to excite your imagination, suggesting the means of moving on with the sessions until some of you may replace the current medium. I hope that these few sessions, which I urge you to consider carefully, may have been sufficient to awake in you the desire to acquire a deeper knowledge about this vast field of investigation. As a rule of thumb you should never try to simply satisfy a vain curiosity, but to seek enlightenment and improvement. It is useless to try to establish the difference between what I am going to teach you and what you already know. Every time you receive teachings ask yourself if it is fair and if it does correspond to the requirements of your conscience and equity. When the answer is positive don’t bother to find out if it is in agreement with what you have been told before. What does it matter? What is important is what is just, thoughtful and impartial. Anything that attends these conditions comes from God. Obey a good conscience; only do useful things; avoid everything that is useless, essentially not being a bad person, since doing something useless is already bad. Avoid scandals, even if in the path of your own betterment. There may be circumstances in which the simple observation of your changes may produce a negative effect. That is why, for example, someone who had been incarcerated in the darkness of the dungeons cannot afford sudden daylight without harming their eyes. Hence, may your progress never be a reason for investigation, unless advised by wisdom. May you improve continually, and may this only be seen when time is right. Those to whom I give this advice understand it, without the need for a more explicit explanation. Their consciences will tell them. Thus, courage and perseverance! These are the only rules of success.

OBSERVATION: The last advice could not have general application. It is evident that the spirit had a special objective, as he said it himself. Otherwise we could be mistaken with respect to the meaning and reach of his words.

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