The Spirits' Book

Allan Kardec

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1014 [1013]. Why do spirits whose speech reveals them to be superior answer questions from serious individuals about hell and purgatory, according to common beliefs?
“They speak in a language that is understandable to the people who pose the questions understand. When these individuals are deeply immersed in preconceived ideas, the spirits avoid interfering with their convictions. If a spirit were to tell a Muslim, without the proper precautions, that Mohammed was not a true prophet, it would be poorly received.”


a) That is understandable for spirits who want to educate us. How is it that others, when questioned about their situation, reply that they are suffering the tortures of hell or purgatory?
“When they are inferior, and not completely dematerialized, they retain some of their earthly ideas, and describe their impressions using terms that are familiar to them. Their state allows them to obtain only a very flawed view of the future. This is why errant spirits, or those recently freed from their physical bodies, often speak in the same manner as they did during physical life. Hell means a life of extremely difficult trials, characterized by uncertainty with regards to improvement, while purgatory is a life of trials embarked upon with the certainty of a happier future. When you experience intense pain, do you not say that you are suffering as a cursed soul? The expression is only a figure of speech.”

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