Independent Spiritism - 1866
(Spiritist Magazine, April 1866)
A letter that was sent to us some time ago spoke about a project of initiating a periodical publication under the title “Independent Spiritism”. As this idea is the corollary of the Spiritism without the spirits, let us try to put this question in its true terrain.
What is independent Spiritism, to begin with? Another letter clearly states: It is a freed Spiritism, freed not only from the tutorship of the spirits but also from every personal direction or supremacy; from any subordination to a chief, whose opinion cannot make law since it is not infallible.
This is the easiest thing in this world, as it exists in fact, considering that Spiritism by proclaiming the absolute freedom of conscience does not admit any constraint in terms of belief, and that it has never contested to anybody the right to believe their own way in the matters of Spiritism, as in anything else. From that point of view we ourselves find us perfectly independent and we intend to enjoy that independence. If there is subordination, it is then entirely voluntary; more still, it is not subordination to a man but to an adopted idea because it is convenient; that outsurvives the man, if it is fair; that falls with him or before him, if it is false.
In order to be set free from alien ideas, we must necessarily have those of our own; we naturally try to make those ideas prevail, without which they would be kept within ourselves; we proclaim, sustain and defend them because we believe that they represent the truth, because we admit them in good faith, and not because our sole desire is to knock the existing ones down; the objective is to entice the largest possible number of followers, and now the one that does not admit a chief turns himself into a chief of the sect, trying to subordinate the others to his own ideas.
The one that, for example, says: “We should no longer receive instructions from the spirits”, doesn’t he issue an absolute principle? Doesn’t he exert pressure onto those who want those communications, persuading them from not receiving them? If he founds a gathering over that base he must exclude the adepts of the communications from that, since if the latter ones formed the majority, they would convert those communications into law. If he admits them and refuses to yield to their wishes, he goes against their freedom of complaining. If he writes as a motto of his program: “No word given to the spirits here”, then, those who wish to listen to the spirits shall not dare to object to the order and will not show up.
We have always said that an essential condition to every Spiritist gathering is homogeneity, without which there will be dissension. Whoever founded a meeting based on the rejection of the communications would be in their own right; if he only admits those who think as he does, he acts appropriately but doesn’t have the right of saying that because he doesn’t want that, nobody else would want. He is certainly free to act as he wishes but if he wants freedom for himself then he must also want the same to the others. Considering that he defends his ideas and criticizes those of others, if he is consequent with himself, then he should not find it bad that others defend their own and criticize his.
We generally forget that above any man’s authority there is another one to which anyone who is made a representative of an idea must not avoid: the authority of everybody. The general opinion is the supreme jurisdiction that sanctions or takes down the edifice of the systems; nobody can subtract the subordination that is imposed by that. Such a law is not less omnipotent with Spiritism. Whoever hurts the feeling of the majority and abandon it must expect to be abandoned by that too. That is the very cause of failure of certain theories and certain publications, abstraction made of the intrinsic merit of the latter ones, about which, sometimes, there is no illusion.
One should not lose sight of the fact that Spiritism is not entrenched in one individual, or in some individuals, or in a circle, not even in a city, but that its representatives are all over the world and that among them there is a dominating opinion that is profoundly credible. One is exposed to great deceptions by judging to be strong against everyone else because one only counts on the support of one’s own circle.
Spiritism has two parts: the material facts and their moral consequences. The first one is necessary as proof of the existence of the spirits, and it was through that that the spirits started; the second one, consequence of the first, is the only one that can lead to the transformation of humanity by the betterment of the individual. That betterment is then the essential objective of Spiritism. Every serious spirit must move towards it.
Having deduced these consequences form the teachings of the spirits we then define the duties imposed by such a belief. The first one we have inscribed in the Spiritism’s flag: There is no salvation outside charity, a maxim that has been acclaimed, since its emergence, as the sun of the future, that soon went around the world, becoming the connecting word of all those who see in Spiritism something more than a material fact.
That maxim was welcomed everywhere as the symbol of the universal fraternity, as a guarantee of safety in all social relationships, as the dawn of a new era, where hatred and dissensions must disappear. We understand so much its importance that the we are already harvesting its fruits; among those who made it a rule of conduct, reign sympathy and trust that make the enchantment of social life; in every Spiritist of heart we see a brother in whose company we feel happy, since we know that the one who practices charity cannot do or wish any evil.
Was it then by our own private authority that we promoted such a maxim? Even if we had done so, who can consider it bad? However no, it was not; it results from the teachings of the spirits, who learned it from Christ, where it is written with all words, as the cornerstone of the Christian edifice, but where it remained buried for eighteen centuries. Men’s selfishness made sure that it would remain forgotten, not coming to light, since otherwise it would have been the pronunciation of their own condemnation; they preferred to seek their own salvation in more accommodating and less boring practices. However, everybody had read and read again the Gospel and, with very few exceptions, nobody had seen that great truth left to a secondary role. Well, there we have it, through the teachings of the spirits it became immediately known and understood by everyone.
How many other truths do the Gospels contain and that will surge when it is time! (The Gospel According to Spiritism, Chap. XV)
By inscribing the supreme law of the Christ in the frontispiece of Spiritism we make way for the Christian Spiritism; we thus develop its principles as well as the characters of the true Spiritist under this point of view.
If others can do better than us we shall not go against it since we have never said:
“There is no truth beyond us”. Thus, our instructions are for those who find them good; they are freely accepted and without constraints; we trace a route and whoever whishes, follows it; we give advice to those who ask for that and not to the ones that think that they don’t need them; we give orders to nobody since we do not have the skills for so much.
As for the supremacy, it is all moral and based on the adhesion of those who share our way of seeing things; as we are not invested of any official power, even from those, we don’t solicit or demand any; we don’t attribute any title to ourselves and the only one that we would take with the partisans of our ideas is that one of brother in belief. If they take us by a chief it is by force of the position given by our activities and not as a consequence of any decision made. Our position is the one that anybody else could have taken before us; our right is the same as everybody else’s, to work as they wish and take the risk of the public trial.
From which troubling authority those who want the independent Spiritism wish to be set free, since there is neither formalized power nor hierarchy closing the door to anybody, once we have no jurisdiction over them and if they wish to break away from our route, there is nobody to force them to go back? Have we ever played the role of prophet or messiah? Would have them seriously taken the title of highest priest, sovereign pontiff, even pope, with which the critics have awarded us with? We have not only never taken them but also the Spiritists have never given them to us - is there ascendant in our writings?
The field is open to them, as to us, in order to captivate the public’s sympathy. If there is pressure, it does not come from us, but from the general opinion, that vetoes whatever is not convenient, and that suffers, itself, the ascendant of the teachings of the spirits. It is thus to these latter ones that one must definitely admit the state of things and it is perhaps precisely this that makes them no longer wish to listen - Are there instructions given by us? But nobody is forced to submit to them - Can they lament our censorship? We never mention people’s names unless we have to praise them, and our instructions are given generally as a development of our principles, for the use of all.
On another hand, if they are bad, if our theories are false, how can this obfuscate them? The ridicule, if there is any ridicule, will be us. Are they so much concerned with the interests of Spiritism that they fear for its safety in our hands? - Are we too absolute in our ideas? Are we hopeless knuckle heads? Ah! My God! Everyone has their own faults; ours is that of not thinking something white now and black later; we have a delineated route and we don’t move away from that to satisfy anybody. It is probable that we shall be like that to the end.
Will it be our wealth that they envy? Where are the castles, the cars and our servants? Had we had the fortune attributed to us it would not have had come during our sleep, and many people stack millions through a much lighter work - what do we do with the money that we earn? Since we don’t meddle into anybody’s business this is not anybody’s business either; what is positive is that it does not serve our pleasures. As for the matter of using that to sustain agents and spies, we return the calumny to its source. We have more important things to do than occupying ourselves with what this or that person is doing. If they are doing good deeds, they should not be worried about any investigation; if they are doing evil ones that is their problem.
If there are some who ambition our position, is it in the interest of Spiritism or in their own? May they take it then, with all its responsibilities and they won’t likely find it such a pleasant sinecure as they suppose. If they think that we don’t lead the boat properly, then what is it that prevented them from taking the rudder before us? And who prevent it today? Do they regret our restrictions to form adepts?
We wait until they come to us and we don’t go around soliciting anyone; we don’t even go after those that leave us, since we know that they cannot hinder the progress of things; their personality fades away before the crowd. On another hand we are not that vain to believe that they are personally attached to us; it is evidently for the idea that we represent. It is then to that idea that we refer the protests of sympathy that they kindly address to us.
In short, independent Spiritism would be senselessness in our view, since independence do exist in fact and right, and there is no discipline imposed onto anyone. The field of exploration is open to all; the supreme judge of the tournament is the public; the palm leaf is for those who know how to conquer it. It is too bad for those who fall before reaching the goal.
Wouldn’t that be giving too much importance, some will argue, to these things, speaking about such divergent opinions which in the end are reduced to a few individuals, and don’t form a real body anywhere, scaring away the followers and making them believe in scissions deeper than they really are? Isn’t that also to provide ammunition to the enemies of Spiritism?