Missionary Journeys
To provide a focus for these notes, it is fitting to highlight, first Allan Kardec's extraordinary intellect and second, his intense devotion to two causes: the sublime superiority of the Gospel of Jesus as an ethical code of behavior, and the primacy of reason and freedom of inquiry.
Allan Kardec was born to a family of lawyers in Catholic France and educated in traditionally protestant Switzerland. In spite of his upbringing, he was ill at ease with the religious establishment's intransigence toward free-inquiry and scientific theories. At that time, England, France, and Germany were the greatest centers of scientific progress.
After almost 10 years of uninterrupted work he published his most important books: The Spirits' Book in 1857, The Gospel Explained by the Spiritist Doctrine, in 1864, during this time he also published a monthly magazine called Revue Spirite. In a clear and scholarly manner, he advanced the concept of interacting with and learning from souls no longer in the physical body. Thus, his works expanded the horizons of human life and challenged the dogmas at the heart of Catholic and Protestant theologies. The books and periodicals that he made available to the public became the main forces behind the fast propagation of Spiritist ideas throughout Europe. The number of centers and study cells grew almost exponentially in France, Belgium, and the rest of Europe. Allan Kardec became a prominent figure and an authority on matters related to spiritual philosophy.
Because of continual communication with followers, mediums, and all others who felt comforted with the new ideas, he understood the importance of becoming a visible touchstone for the new vision. Hence, in 1862 he undertook a lengthy tour of France's major centers of Spiritist activity. He traveled by train, boat, and horse carriage; he visited 22 cities in 2 1/2 months, in a very intense effort to inspire and guide the new movement.
On one hand, there was the character of the religious currents that colored people's convictions, and on the other the acerbic materialism of the intellectual elites. Therefore, it is opportune that we revisit the genius of Allan Kardec's approach. He lectured in every city and spent precious time with workers and local leaders. The methodology he used had four components that later became the central focus of the Spiritist vision.
Christian Love and Charity
Christian charity is the corner stone of the Spiritist vision. Earthly life is an invitation for the human soul to do good and learn to care about all living beings. In God's designs, no expression of goodness is wasted. Every generous action produces fruits in time. It does not matter whether our actions are acknowledged by others; the pleasure of serving and giving is the reward of those who seek God. The sole purpose for the mentoring and caring work that enlightened spirits do is make human beings better, righteous, and loving. These devoted mentoring spirits inspire human beings on the path of self-knowledge, and sustain them in the struggle to overcome selfishness and pride. It is then understood why the long-standing dictum 'without the Church there is no salvation' changed into a universal hymn 'Without Charity there is no salvation'.
Spiritual Gifts Are Not An End
Spiritism values and nurtures this exceptional dimension of human nature. These gifts are not privileges reserved for a selected few, they happen naturally and almost randomly in the population. As any other human endowment, they must be developed further into sublime levels, much as painting or music writing is developed into masterpieces. Anybody can be a medium, but only the person, who exercises this faculty selflessly, in the service of love and the wellbeing of others, meets the standard of mediums in Christian Spiritism. A spiritual gift shall not be a source of pride, or a means to enjoy financial benefits. The true miracle is not that which transcends human knowledge, but that which results from the care and unselfish service one extends to his or her neighbor.
Religions Are Strengthened by Spiritism
As a spiritual philosophy, the Spiritist Doctrine stands as a new bridge to integrate science and religion, and further encourage people toward a communion with God. Spiritism does not adopt the liturgy and practices of any religion, or their points of dogma. It respects all expressions of human faith in the Divine, and works to raise awareness to the realities of the spirit and future life. The essential mission of Spiritism is to encourage all beings to join under the banner of Christian charity and love.
Spiritual Evolution Instead of Salvation By Grace
Evolution is a law of nature and the evolution of the physical forms on Earth follows precise laws. The spirit, or soul, lives for a few decades in the physical body, and later it continues its journey onward. Progress and evolution are part of the divine design in all realms. Thus, by learning about the future life and its laws, human beings realize the importance of self-knowledge and inner-reformation. Contrary to theological traditions, the Spiritist philosophy sees grace not as a state that one receives, but a state that one attains through personal effort, work, faith, and service. Accordingly, the Spiritist Doctrine fulfills its purpose by helping to raise the moral consciousness and overall goodness in humanity.
Allan Kardec's missionary journeys established Spiritism as a movement of social reform and spiritual transformation and became the public face for the movement. His keen intellect and breadth of scientific knowledge reinforced Spiritism's character as an open and rational philosophy. He completed five long missionary tours between 1860 and 1867. The trips he took in 1862 proved the most comprehensive and of greatest impact to the Spiritist community. The chronicles of his journeys are published in the Revue Spirite
