Spiritist Review - Journal of Psychological Studies - 1865

Allan Kardec

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Moral Studies

The commune of Koenigsfeld, model of a future world



The Galneur de Colmar brings the following: “The commune of Koenigsfeld, near Villingen, in the Black Forest, with about 400 inhabitants, forms a miniature model state. For fifty years, since the formation of the commune, there has not been a single event involving any crime or police; there has never been any file suit or legal dispute in the commune. There is no beggar there.”

This interesting news was read at the Parisian Society and gave rise to the following spontaneous communication:

“It is nice to see virtue in a small and poor region; everyone knows everyone there, everyone sees everyone; charity there is simple and great. Isn’t that the most expressive example of universal solidarity given in that little commune? Isn’t that a model of what one day will result from true charity practiced by every human being? Everything comes down to this, Spiritists: charity and tolerance. Among you, with the exception of help to those in need that is practicable, the intelligent relationships are always exempt of envy, hardness and indifference.

Lamennais, medium Mr. A. Didier

What is behind the majority of evil events on Earth other than the permanent contact with bad and perverse people? Egotism kills benevolence, condescendence, indulgence, devotion, selfless affection and every quality that brings enchantment and confidence to social relationships. In a society of egotists nobody is safe because each one will sacrifice the neighbor for their own interests. Many people believe to be perfectly honest because incapable of killing or assaulting anyone in the streets. But the one that for greed or cold blood causes the bankrupt of an individual, leading that person to suicide; that reduces a whole family to misery and despair, isn’t that person worse than a murderer or a thief? A person like that kills with slow fire and since he is not condemned by law and is applauded by his peers for his skills and way of proceeding, that person believes to be exempt from censorship and walks with the head up! Besides, people are always suspicious of one another and life is a never-ending anxiety; if they are not afraid of the sword or poison they are concerned with astuteness, envy, jealousy and calumny, in a word, with a moral assassination. What would take to end such a state of affairs? The practice of charity. Everything comes down to that, as Lamennais says.



The commune of Koenigsfeld offers us a model of a regenerated world? Is it possible to have in large scale what happens in a smaller one? To doubt it would be the same as denying progress. There will come a day when mankind, defeated by the evilness of egotism, will understand that the wrong path is followed and that God wants them to find the right path on their own, because that is the reason for the free-will. The excess of bad will bring the need for good and people will turn to this side as their safe line. Who is going to drive humanity there? The serious faith in the future and not a belief in the nothingness; the trust in a God that is good and merciful and not the fear for the eternal punishments.

Everything is subject to the law of progress; the globes also progress physically and morally; but, if the transformation of humanity must wait for the improvement of the individual; if no force comes to speed up that transformation, how many centuries, how many thousands of years are still needed? Having Earth arrived at one of those progressive phases it will be enough not to allow inferior Spirits to incarnate here and that, at the measure of the extinctions, more advanced Spirits come to take the place of those that leave, so that in one or two generations the general character of humanity may change. Let us then suppose that instead of selfish Spirits humanity is, in a given time, formed by Spirits that embrace the feelings of charity. Instead of harming, they help one another. No more tyrant governs. Instead of judgement, justice and no more revolutions. No more the strong crushing the weak. Voluntary equity in all transactions, and therefore no more disputes and deception. That shall be the state of the world after its transformation. From a world of atonement and trials, from a place of exile to imperfect Spirits to a happy world, a resting place to good souls; from a world of punishment it will become a world of reward.

The commune of Koenigsfeld is formed by advanced Spirits, at least morally, if not scientifically, and that practice the law of charity and love towards their neighbor. Those Spirits gather by sympathy in that small corner of Earth, to leave in peace there, expecting that the same would happen all over the place. Now suppose that some deceiving, selfish and malevolent Spirits come to incarnate here. They will soon sow disturbance and confusion; the rebirth of disputes, processes and crimes. That is what would happen to Earth after its transformation if God opened the gates to the bad Spirits. Once Earth progresses they would be misplaced. That is why they will atone their hardening and be morally re-educated in less advanced worlds.



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