Questions 35 to 36 - Universal Space
Spirits's replies to Allan Kardec
"Infinite. If it had limits, what would be beyond them? I know this baffles your reason, yet reason itself tells you that it can be no other way. The same is true of the idea of the infinite – you will never be able to comprehend it from your tiny sphere of thinking."
"No, there is no void. What appears to you to be a void is actually occupied by matter that cannot be detected by your senses or instruments."
KARDEC, Allan. The Spirits’ Book. 3.ed. International Spiritist Council, 2011.
Preguntas 35 a 36 - Espacio universal
Spirits's replies to Allan Kardec
"Infinito. Suponle límites: ¿qué habría más allá? Eso confunde a tu razón, bien lo sé. Sin embargo, tu razón te dice que no puede ser de otro modo. Lo mismo ocurre con lo infinito en todas las cosas. En vuestro reducido ámbito no podéis comprenderlo."
Allan Kardec's remarks:
Si se supone que el espacio tiene un límite, por muy lejano que el pensamiento pueda concebirlo, la razón dice que más allá de ese límite hay algo, y así gradualmente hasta lo infinito, pues ese algo, aunque fuese el vacío absoluto, también sería espacio.
"No, nada está vacío. Lo que para ti es vacío se encuentra ocupado por una materia que escapa a tus sentidos y a tus instrumentos."
KARDEC, Allan. El libro de los espíritus. Consejo Espírita Internacional, 2011.
Always Ponder
"And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others." Paul (II Timothy, 2:2)
The disciples of the Gospel, in Christian Spiritism, often display uncontrollable enthusiasm, anxious to extend and express a renewed, contagious and ardent faith. Notwithstanding, such a mental activity requires extreme caution, not only because astonishment and admiration do not signify an interior evolvement, but also, because it is indispensable to understand the spiritual qualities of the terrain to which the power of knowledge is to be transmitted.
Naturally, we are not referring to the actual dissemination of the revealing truth, nor to the manifestation of fraternal kindness, that is implied through our natural obligations in our righteous actions. We emphasize the necessity of each brother to watch over the patrimony of spiritual gifts received from the superior plane, so that the celestial values are not relegated to evil or to ignorance.
Let us disburse the light of love to our companions on the journey; however, let us defend our intimate sanctuary against the thrusts of ignorance.
Let us remember that the Master Himself reserved different teachings for the popular masses and for the small community of students. He did not include all the disciples in the transfiguration of the Tabor, and in the Last Supper He waited for the absence of Judas, in order to comment on the anguish that was to follow.
It is important to place attention on those attitudes of the Christ, bearing in mind that not everything is destined for all. The noble spirits that communicate on Earth always adopt a selective criterion seeking out the honorable and faithful individuals that are suited to teach others. If they, who are already able to identify problems with an illuminated vision, act prudently in that regard, how much more vigilant should be the pupil who only sees with his physical eyes? Let us work for the benefit of all, extending fraternal arms, but understanding that each person has his own step in the infinite scale of life.
XAVIER, Francisco Cândido. Our Daily Bread. By the Spirit Emmanuel. Spititist Alliance for Books, 2003. Chapter 87.
Questions 29 to 34 - The Properties of Matter
Spirits's replies to Allan Kardec
"Of matter as you understand it, yes, but not of matter considered as the universal fluid. The ethereal and subtle matter that forms this fluid is imponderable to you, and yet it is the very principle of your ponderable matter."
Allan Kardec's remarks:
Ponderability is a relative property. Outside the gravitational pull of the globes, there is no weight – just as there is no up or down.
"One single primitive element. The bodies you regard as simple are not true elements, but rather transformations of the one primitive matter."
"From the modifications that the elementary molecules undergo as a result of their combining under certain conditions."
"Yes, of course; and they only exist due to the disposition of the organs that are meant to perceive them."
Allan Kardec's remarks:
This principle is proven by the fact that not all people perceive the qualities of objects in the same way: what one person finds tasty, another might find disgusting; what appears blue to one person may appear as red to another; something that is poisonous for some might be harmless or even healthy for others.
"Yes, and this is what you should understand when we say that ‘everything is in everything.’" (1)
Allan Kardec's remarks:
Oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, carbon and all the other elements we consider to be simple are only modifications of the one primitive substance. As it is yet impossible for us to go back to this substance except by thinking about it, the elements truly are elements to us, and without further ado we can consider them as such until further notice.
(1) This principle explains the phenomenon known by all magnetizers, which consists in using willpower to confer very different properties upon any given substance – water, for instance – a specific flavor or even the active qualities of other substances. Since there is but one primitive element, and since the properties of different bodies are but modifications of this one element, it follows that the most innocuous substance has the same underlying principle as the most harmful substance. Thus, water is made up of one part oxygen and two parts hydrogen but becomes corrosive if the proportion of oxygen is doubled. An analogous transformation may be produced through magnetic action directed by the human will.
"This opinion is correct, but it should also add: according to the arrangement of the molecules; this may be seen, for example, in an opaque body that becomes transparent and vice versa."
"Certainly, molecules have a form, but you are incapable of discerning it."
"Constant for the primitive elementary molecules but variable for the secondary ones, which are only aggregations of the former. However, what you term a molecule is still very far from being the elementary molecule."
KARDEC, Allan. The Spirits’ Book. 3.ed. International Spiritist Council, 2011.
To Intend and to Act
"Make level paths for your feet so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed." Paul (Hebrews, 12:13)
The well-intentioned individual will reflect intensively on better avenues, nurturing superior ideals inclined toward goodness and justice.
Let us agree, meanwhile, that good intentions will have negligible results if they are not in tune with the sphere of immediate realities, in the correct action.
It is necessary to meditate in righteousness; however, it is crucial that we put it into practice.
Divine Providence encircles the path of the individuals with the material for eternal edification, making possible the construction of those "level paths" that Paul of Tarsus made reference to. A similar accomplishment on the part of the disciple is indispensable because, pursuing his paths, the lame souls follow. The prisoners of ignorance and evil crawl as best as they can, alongside the margins of the services of superior order, and every now and then they approach the faithful servants of the Christ, proposing measures and activities in accordance with their inferior mentality. Only those who construct straight paths can escape their subtle assaults, defending themselves and also offering to them new basis, so that they will not completely deviate from the Divine Designs.
Always apply your good intentions, to the realistic practices so that your good work is illuminated with love, and your love does not become an orphan of good deeds. Accomplish this for yourself, as you need to evolve, and do it for those who seek you and who are still limping.
XAVIER, Francisco Cândido. Our Daily Bread. By the Spirit Emmanuel. Spititist Alliance for Books, 2003. Chapter 86.
Allan Kardec's remarks:
Suppose we were to imagine a limit to space. No matter how far out our thought may place it, reason tells us that there must still be something beyond it, and so on and so forth to infinity. Even if there were only an absolute void beyond that limit, there would still be space.