The Spiritist Review - Journal of Psychological Studies - 1864

Allan Kardec

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We personally know a lady that is a medium gifted with a remarkable faculty of tiptology. She easily obtains, and something that is rare almost constantly, accurate things like name of places and persons in several languages, dates and private circumstances before which disbelief has been confounded more than once.

The lady, entirely devoted to the cause of Spiritism, dedicates all of her spare time to the practice of her mediumship with the object of propaganda and that with absolute selflessness particularly considering that her position and fortune places her closer to mediocrity. Since Spiritism is something very serious to her she always starts her work with a prayer said with great reverence, soliciting the assistance of the good Spirits and asking God to keep the bad ones away. Here is how she ends: - “If I am tempted to abuse this God given faculty by any means I ask you to have it removed from me instead of allowing it to be veered off from its providential objective.”

One day a rich foreigner – from whom we heard this story – sought that lady asking her for a communication. He had no idea about Spiritism and even less about the belief. He then put his wallet on the table and said: “Madam, you have here ten thousand francs, they are yours if you tell me the name of the person that I am thinking now.” That is sufficient to demonstrate the level of knowledge that he had about the Doctrine. The lady then made him see what every true Spiritist would have done in similar circumstances. Well, soon after he left she received much more difficult and complicated communications to other persons than the one that he had asked.

Such occurrence should have been a demonstration of sincerity and good faith of the medium, as we told him, because charlatans always have resources at their disposal when making money is involved. But other teachings may come from that too and of a different importance. The Spirits wanted to demonstrate to him that it is not money that make them speak when they do not wish to; besides, they demonstrated that if they did not respond to the question it was not for incapacity on their side for they responded to more difficult questions to persons that offered nothing. The lesson was greater still to the medium; it demonstrated its absolute impotence without the help of the Spirits and teach her humility because if the Spirits had served her, if the person’s will were sufficient to make them speak it was then the case of making it happen now or never.

That is a positive demonstration of the support we mentioned in the February last issue of the Spiritist Review regarding Mr. Home and about the possibility that the mediums’ faculty may fail them at the very moment when it was necessary.

Someone that has a talent and explore that talent is always certain that it will be available because it is inherent to the person but mediumship is not a talent; it only exists thanks to the help of third parties. If those deny support there is no mediumship. The aptitude may remain but its exercise is nulled. A medium without the assistance of the Spirits is like a violin without the violinist. The gentleman above was surprised that since he had come to be convinced the Spirits did not yield to that. We respond that if he can be convinced then he will be convinced by other means that will cost him nothing. The Spirits did not want him to say that he had been convinced but to a high price because if money were necessary to be convinced what would be the fate of those that cannot pay? Mediumship is not a privilege so that it can be found in the humblest dwellings. It is everywhere so that everybody, rich and poor, may find the consolation of communicating with their relatives and friends from beyond the grave.

The Spirits did not want him to be convinced that way because his opinion and that of his friends would have been falsified by the shine of gold regarding the essentially moral and religious character of Spiritism.

They did not want it in the very interest of the medium and of the mediums in general whose greed would have been super excited by such a result because they would have told themselves that if such a success was achieved in those circumstances then the same could happen on other occasions.

This was not the first time that similar offers were made; that prizes are offered but always unsuccessfully, considering that the Spirits are not servers and do not attend the highest bidder.

If that lady were successful would she have accepted or refused? We don’t know because ten thousand francs are very inviting, particularly in certain situations. In any case the temptation was great. And who knows if the refusal wouldn’t have been followed by regret that would have attenuated the merit of the achievement?

Notice that in her prayer the lady asks God to remove her faculty instead of allowing it to be used to veer off from its providential objective. Well, then? Her prayer was heard; her mediumship was subtracted for that special case so as to spare her the danger of temptation and all the unfortunate consequences that would have followed, first to herself and also for the bad effect that it would have produced.

But it is not only against greed that the mediums must be forearmed. Since there are mediums in all echelons of Society their majority is above such temptation. There is, however, a much bigger danger that all are exposed to: it is pride that loses such a large number. It is against that obstacle that the most beautiful faculties are shattered. Material selflessness is of no benefit if not followed by moral altruism. Humility, devotion, selflessness and abnegation are the qualities of the medium beloved by the Spirits.





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