The cult of the dead dates back thousands and thousands of years to the period when humans inhabited caves and natural shelters.
Archaeological discoveries evidence the belief in the survival of the soul, as well as the possibility of returning to physical life, see mummifications, either through resurrection or reincarnation.
It is, therefore, innate in the human being to understand that something survives cadaverous decomposition, and in all cultures this something has been called Spirit.
Because it is the Spirits, who are in the world invisible to our eyes, who enlighten us, through the Spiritist Doctrine, about the mechanism of life and death of the physical body, as being a necessity for the spirit to continue its development in search of perfection. – condition of heaven – and full happiness, through reincarnation.
The numbers refer to the questions and answers contained in that book.
76 What definition can be given of spirits?
– It can be said that Spirits are the intelligent beings of Creation. They populate the universe, outside the material world.
84 Do spirits constitute a world apart, outside of the one we see?
– Yes, the world of spirits or incorporeal intelligences.
85 Which of the two is the main one in the order of things: the spiritual world or the corporeal world?
– The spirit world, which pre-exists and survives everything.
132 What is the purpose of the incarnation of Spirits?
– The Law of God imposes on them the incarnation in order to make them reach perfection. For some it is an atonement, for others it is a mission. But to reach this perfection, they must suffer all the tribulations of corporeal existence: it is atonement.
166 How can the soul, which has not reached perfection during the corporeal life, finish purifying itself?
“Suffering the test of a new existence.”
b) Does the soul then pass through many corporeal existences?
“Yes, we all count many lifetimes. Those who say the opposite intend to keep you in the ignorance in which they find themselves. That is their wish.”
149 What does the soul become after death?
– He returns to being a Spirit, that is, he returns to the world of Spirits, which he had temporarily left.
159 What sensation does the soul experience when it recognizes that it is in the world of spirits?
- That depends. If you have done evil with the desire to do it, you will be ashamed of having done it in the first place. For the just, it is quite different: it is like the relief of a great weight, because it does not fear any inquiring gaze.
320 Are spirits sensitive to the longing for those they loved and who stayed on Earth?
— Much more than you can suppose; if they are happy, this memory increases their happiness; if they are unhappy, this memory is a relief to them.
321 Does the day of commemoration of the dead have anything solemn for spirits? Do they prepare to visit those who will pray at their graves?
– Spirits answer the call of thought on this day as on any other.
321-a Is that day for them a meeting at their graves?
– They are there in greater numbers that day, because there are more people calling them. But each of them comes only for his friends and not for the indifferent crowd.
321-b In what form do they appear and how would they be seen, if they could become visible?
– In the form in which we know them when incarnate.
323 Does a visit to the tomb give more satisfaction to the Spirit than a prayer made for it?
– The visit to the tomb is a way of showing that one thinks of the absent Spirit: it is the image. I have already told you, prayer is what sanctifies the act of remembrance; it doesn't matter the place, when you pray with the heart.
325-a Is the gathering of the mortal remains of all the members of a family in the same place to be regarded as a futile thing?
- No. It is a pious custom and a testimony of sympathy for one who has loved. This meeting does not matter to spirits, but it is useful to men: the memories are concentrated in one place.
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327 Does the Spirit attend the burial of his body?
“He watches you very often, but sometimes, if he's still upset, he doesn't realize what's going on.
328 Does the Spirit of the one who has just died attend the meetings of his heirs?
— Almost always, this is allowed to him for his own instruction and for the punishment of the guilty. The Spirit judges at that time the value of the honorable manifestations made to him. All the feelings of the heirs become clear as they really are, and the disappointment he feels at seeing the greed of those who share his goods enlightens him as to these feelings. However, their turn will also come.
329 Is the instinctive respect that man, at all times and in all peoples, has for the dead the effect of the intuition of a future life?
– It is the natural consequence of this intuition, without it, this respect would be meaningless.
