The Poet Mage

from…
The Gospel According To Spiritism -
by Allan Kardec

INSTRUCTIONS FROM THE SPIRITS.
THE LAW OF LOVE

8. Through spiritual progress instincts become sentiments which are more or less elevated. Love, being the finest sentiment that exists, summarizes the complete doctrine of Jesus. At the starting point Man only had instincts; after some advancement and the onset of corruption, he has sensations; but when he becomes instructed and more purified he has sentiments. The most delicate apex of sentiment is love, not the vulgar sense of the word, but that inner sun which condenses and reconciles all aspirations and superhuman revelations at its ardent focal point. The law of love substitutes the selfishness of man with the harmonizing of all beings in brotherly love, thereby extinguishing social miseries. Blessed is the one who, having surpassed the state of being human, loves with an ample love all suffering fellow beings. Blessed are those who love because they know not the miseries of either body or soul. Their step is light and they live as if transported outside of themselves. When Jesus pronounced that divine word: ‘love’, it made the people tremble and the martyrs, inebriated with hope, descended into the amphitheatres. In its turn, Spiritism has come to pronounce the second word in the divine alphabet. Pay attention, because this word ‘reincarnation’, lifts up the tombstones from the empty graves, and triumphant over death, reveals to astonished people its intellectual patrimony. But it is not to this that Man is conducted, but rather to the conquest of his own being, already elevated and transfigured. Blood has redeemed the Spirit and today the Spirit has to liberate the Man from matter.118

CHAPTER 11

I have already said that in mankind’s beginning he had nothing but instincts. Therefore those in whom instincts predominate are still nearer the starting point than their goal. In order to advance towards this goal, each one must conquer their instincts to the benefit of their sentiments; that is to say, these can be perfected by suffocating all material tendencies. Instincts are the germination and the embryos of sentiments; they bring progress with them, just as the acorn contains within itself the oak tree; the less advanced creatures are those who, after emerging little by little from their chrysalises, continue to maintain themselves slaves to their instincts. The Spirit needs to be cultivated as you would a pasture. All the riches of the future depend on the present labour employed, which will earn much more than earthly goods, for it will offer glorious elevation. So, having understood the law of love which joins all creatures, you will seek to find within it the most sweet delights of the soul which are the preludes to celestial happiness. - LAZARUS (Paris, 1862).

9. Love is of a divine essence, and everyone, from the most humble to the most elevated, has a spark of this sacred fire in the bottom of their hearts. It is a many times proven fact that both men and women, however vile, base or criminal, are known to devote ardent affection to living creatures or objects. This sentiment is resistant to all attempts to diminish it and has frequently even been known to reach sublime proportions. I have purposely said that affection is given to living creatures and some objects, because amongst you are individuals whose hearts are overflowing with love, but who nevertheless expend a wealth of this sentiment upon animals, plants and even material things. These are a kind of misanthropist who, while complaining to themselves about humanity in general and resisting the natural inclinations of their souls, which is to seek sympathy and affection around themselves, they reduce the law of love to the condition of instinct. But no matter what is done, they will not succeed in suffocating the living seed which God deposits within every heart at the moment of creation. This seed will develop and grow, together with morality and intelligence, and although frequently repressed by selfishness, it will become the origin of saintly virtues which produce sincere and lasting affections, which in turn will help in crossing the rugged and arid pathways of human existence. There are those who repudiate reincarnation, believing that others will participate in the affections and sympathies of which they are jealous. My poor brothers and sisters! Your affections have made you selfish; your love has become restricted to the intimate circle of your friends and relatives, so that you are indifferent to all others. Well then, so that you may practise the law of love as God intended, it is necessary that you learn step-by-step to love all your fellow beings without distinction. The task will be long and difficult, but it will be fulfilled because God so desires. The law of love is the first and most important precept of the new doctrine, because one day it will destroy all selfishness under whatever form it may present itself, given that apart from personal selfishness there is also that of the family, the clan and nationality.119

LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOUR AS YOURSELF

Jesus said: “Love thy neighbour as thy self.” Well, what is the limit with regard to your neighbour? Is it the family, the sect, or the nation? No, it is nothing less than the whole of humanity. In the superior spheres and planets, reciprocated love harmonizes and directs the advanced Spirits which inhabit them. Your planet, which is shortly destined to make appreciable progress, will see its inhabitants practising this sublime law, which is a reflection of Divinity, in virtue of the social transformation through which it will soon pass. Moral betterment of the human race and happiness during terrestrial life are the results which the law of love will bring. The most rebellious and corrupt will reform themselves when they see the resulting benefits stemming from the practise of the precept: “Do not unto others that which you would not wish done unto you. On the contrary, do unto others all the good that it is within your power to do.” Do not believe then in the sterility and hardening of the human heart, for even against its own will, it must give way to true love which is like a magnet that is impossible to resist. Contact with true love revives and fertilizes the seeds latent in every heart The Earth, being a globe of probation and exile, will then be purified by this sacred fire. Then you will see practised upon its surface the acts of charity, humility, patience, devotion, abnegation, resignation and sacrifice, all of these being the offspring of true love. So do not tire of listening to the words of John the Evangelist. As perhaps you know, when sickness and old age forced him to stop teaching, he limited himself to simply repeating these gentle words: “My children, you must love one another.” Beloved brethren, make good use of these lessons because although it is difficult to put them into practise, the soul will reap great benefit from them. Believe me when I tell you to love one another and make the sublime effort that I ask of you, then you will soon see the Earth transformed into a Paradise, where the souls of the just may come for repose. -

FÉNELON (Bordeaux, 1861)

Image: The Raising of Lazarus by Alessandro Turchi