Spiritist Review - Journal of Psychological Studies - 1866

Allan Kardec

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Shipwreck of Borysthène



Most of our readers have, undoubtedly, read in the papers the moving report of a shipwreck in Borysthène, off the coast of Algeria, on December 15th, 1865. The following passage is an excerpt from a saved passenger’s account of the disaster, published by the Siècle, on January 26th:

“… At the same time a terrible and undefined crack sound was heard, followed by such violent tremors that I was taken down to the floor. I then heard a seaman screaming: My God, we are lost! Pray for us! We had just hit a rock and the ship had torn apart; water gushed into the hull. The soldiers sitting at the bridge tried their best to save themselves, at any price, screaming dramatically; semi naked passengers jumped from their cabins; the poor women sought any help they could get, begging to be rescued. They prayed desperately, saying goodbye. A businessman had a gun to his own head trying to commit suicide, but his gun was taken by others. The shakes continued; the alarm bell continued to ring but could hardly be heard fifty meters away given the power of the winds. There was screams, roars, prayers; it was truly horrifying, dismal, scary. I have never witnessed such a horrible, overpowering scene. It is terrible to be in that kind of situation, healthy and well but facing certain death! In that supreme and indescribable moment, Mr. Moisset, the vicar, gave everybody the blessings. The tearful voice of the poor priest delivering two hundred and fifty souls to God, unfortunate people to be swollen by the tumultuous waters of the ocean.”

Isn’t there a great teaching in the spontaneity of that prayer, before such an imminent danger? In the middle of that scrambled multitude there was certainly unbelievers that had not thought of God or their souls, but right there, before a death that they considered certain, turned their eyes to the Supreme Being, like the only lifeline. This is because, at the final hour, the most hardened heart involuntarily asks what next. The patient in his dying bed waits up until the last moment, and for that reason defies any supernatural power; most often, when hit by death, he is already unconscious. In the battlefield there is a super excitation that makes people forget the danger; not everyone perishes and there is always a chance of escaping. But in the middle of the ocean, when your ship is swollen, there is no more hope but the help of the forgotten Providence, to whom the atheist is ready to direct his scream for a miracle. But ah! Once the danger is over, many will thank chance and their good luck, ingratitude for which sooner or later they will pay dearly. (The Gospels According to Spiritism, Chap. XXVII, item 8).

In similar circumstance, what is the thought of a sincere Spiritist? “I know, he says, I must fight to preserve my corporeal life; I will therefore do everything I can to avoid danger, otherwise if I voluntarily let it go, it would be a suicide; but if it is God’s will to take me, what does it matter if it is in a way or another, a bit sooner or later? Death does not bring me any apprehension because I know that it is only the body that dies and that it is the entrance to the true life, of the free Spirit, and that I will meet again all the loved ones.”

In his mind he foresees the spiritual life, objective of his aspirations, from which he is kept apart by a few moments only, and to which the death of the body, that attached him to Earth, will finally give him access; instead of suffering, he rejoices, like the prisoner that sees the gates of the prison opening up. He is saddened by one thing only: leaving behind the ones he loves. But he is reassured by the certainty that he will not abandon them; that will be close to them more often and more easily than when alive; that he will be able to see and protect them. If, on the contrary, he escaped death, he will say: “If God still allows me to live on Earth it is for the fact that my task and my trials have not ended yet. The danger I faced is a warning from God for me to be ready to depart at any moment and proceed so that this may happen in the best possible way.” He will then be thankful for the stay and will endeavor to make the best of the opportunity for his own progress.

One of the most curious episodes of this drama is about the passenger that tried to blow his own head, giving the certain death, while there could be an unexpected help with the wreck. What could have led him to such a insensible act? Many will say that he was out of his mind, and that is possible; but he could have been involuntarily moved by an intuition that he was not ware about. Although we do not have any material proof of the true explanation that is given below, the knowledge of the relationships between the multiple existences gives it, at least, a high level of probability. The two communications below were given in the session of the Parisian Society on January 12th.

I

The prayer is the vehicle of the most powerful spiritual fluids, like a healthy balm to the ulcers of the soul and the body. It attracts all beings to God, and in a certain way, take them out of their lethargic state when forgetting their duties to their Creator. Faithfully said, it provokes in those that hear it the desire to imitate the ones that pray, for the example and words also carry the magnetic fluids of great power. Those said in the wrecked ship by the priest, with the accent of the most touching conviction, and the most sacred resignation, touched the hearts of those unfortunate people that judged their hour had come.

When that man wanted to kill himself, given the certainty of death, the idea came to him for an instinctive repulse of water, because it would be the third time that he would have died in such a way, and he went through some moments of terrible anguish. At the very moment he had the intuition of all his past miseries, that vaguely came to his mind, and that is why he wanted to end differently. He voluntarily drowned twice, dragging his whole family along. The confusing impression that remained of the ordeals gave him the apprehension of that kind of death. Pray for those unfortunate people, my good friends. The prayer of several persons forms a beam that sustains and strengthen the recipient soul. It gives them force and resignation.

St. Benedict, medium Mrs. Dellane

II

It is not uncommon to see people that have not thought of praying for a long time do that when threatened by a terrible and imminent danger. Where does this instinctive propension to get closer to God comes from, at critical times? From the same impulse that makes us get closer to someone that we know can defend us when in great danger. The soothing beliefs of the first years, the wise instructions and advices of the parents, come like in a dream to the memory of those shaking men that moments ago thought God was far away from them, or denied the usefulness of God’s existence. These strong spirits, turned weak, feel the more the anguishes of death the more the time they believed nothing. They thought they had no need for God and that they sufficed themselves. To make them feel the utility of his existence God allowed them to be exposed to a terrible end, without hope of being rescued by any human help. They then remember that they had prayed once and that the prayer dissipates sadness, gives strength to support sufferings with courage and attenuates the final moments of the agonizing. All that comes to the mind of the man in danger, making the one that prayed in the infancy to pray again. He then submits and pray to God from the bottom of the heart, with a lively faith that touches the limits of despair, to have his past errors forgiven. At that supreme moment he no longer thinks of the useless dissertations about the existence of God, for he doubts no more. At that moment he believes, and there you have a proof that the prayer is a necessity of the soul; that if it had no result it would alleviate less and for that reason it would be repeated more times; but fortunately it has a more positive action and it is recognized, as it was demonstrated to us, that the prayer has an immense utility to everyone, both to those that pray and to those to whom it is directed.

What I said is only true to the majority because there are some that, ah, they even do not recover their faith at the last hour; with the emptiness of the soul, they believe that they will fall into the abyss of nothingness, and through a kind of frenzy, they themselves want to precipitate into the void. These are the most unfortunate ones, and you that know all the utility and all the effects of the prayer, pray for them.

André, medium Mr. Charles B.

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