The Spirits Book

By Allan Kardec and Anna (translator) Kardec, Allan; Blackwell

Book Overview

'The Spirits Book' (1857), written by Allan Kardec, is widely regarded as the most important piece of writing in the 'Spiritist' canon. It is the first in a series of five books that Kardec wrote that are collectively known as the 'Spiritist Codification'. Although the other four books; 'The Medium's Book', 'The Gospel According to Spiritism', 'Heaven and Hell' and 'The Genesis According to Spiritism' are of great importance to the Spiritist movement it is 'The Spirits Book' that lays out the doctrine of the belief system. The Spiritist movement was founded by Allen Kardec and although its roots lay in Spiritualism there are differences in belief. The most important of these differences is the Spiritist belief in reincarnation. Although some Spiritualists believe in reincarnation and some do not, all Spiritists consider it as a basic truth of their ideology. In the 1850's, whilst investigating the afterlife, Kardec communicated in s ances with a collection of spirits named 'The Spirit of Truth' who discussed many important topics such as life after death, good and evil, the universe and the origin of spirits, amongst others. 'The Spirit of Truth' counted many of history's great thinkers amongst its number such as Thomas of Aquino, Voltaire and Augustine of Hippo. Over time and after several sessions with the group Kardec had gathered enough information to convince him of life after death and he was compelled to spread the teachings of 'The Spirit of Truth'. He 'codified' their comments and listed them as answers to questions and this is the content of 'The Spirits Book'. The subjects that Kardec discusses, via 'The Spirit of Truth', laid down the foundations for the Spiritist philosophy and all of the concepts that would become, and still are, key to the movement's thinking have their genesis in the book. The belief that there is one Supreme Being, God, who created everything in the universe, is postulated. According to the text the Devil does not exist and Jesus is a messenger of God. Although the book does not refer to Jesus as the son of God and no mention is made of the 'immaculate conception' he is considered God's perfect messenger and his teachings are to be adhered to. Reincarnation and the survival of the soul after death are vital beliefs and it is stated that it is through reincarnation that lessons are learnt that can be taken into the next life and that every life moves the soul closer to perfection. According to the book man is made up of three separate elements; the body, the spirit and the spiritual body. One's spirit also predates the matter of the universe and will outlast it. After the publication of 'The Spirits Book' Kardec's Spiritist doctrine began to take root, firstly in France from where it spread throughout Europe and found its way to North America. Most significant, however, was the reaction to Spiritism in South America. In Brazil the Spiritist movement swept across the nation and it is still one of the country's main religions to this day with millions of Kardec's followers from Brazil visiting his tombstone in Paris every year.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1907355987
• ISBN13: 9781907355981
• Release Date: May 2010
• Publisher: White Crow Books
• Length: 548 Pages
• Weight: 1.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Spirits book

spirits' book is a magnificent book because its a serious dialogue about the universe and its components. spiritism is not just a mystical approach to life. its scientific, dialogic, and intellectual approaches to the spirit world have broken boundaries that many westerners have failed to do. spirits' book is not a book that allows for dogma to formulate but more so a healthy dialogue about spiritist concepts, a dialogue that i believe is encouraged to continue as what Kardec had hoped for. spiritism is an awesome idea and way of being. and i would encourage people to read it. you may not agree with everything the book says. but the way to learn is to question and disagree.

One of the best

The book is clear and has logical explanations for the spirits world. It's one of the best books I've ever read.

The best book I've ever read!

This book was given to me as a gift from a dear friend, and I could never thank her enough for being the one to introduce me to Kardec's work. Growing up with many questions and being afraid of death, his book made sense and gave me all the answers that I was looking for. As a practioner of his doctrine, I truly believe that we're here temporarily to learn and move on to other levels. His teachings about love, respect, compassion and unity shows us that the time has come for the human race to stop with the violence and help one another before it's too late. This book, and many others written by him, have showed me that there's a true meaning for everything on this world, and that we all have free will to change our lives and achieve self-actualization without hurting anyone around us. It is a must read to anyone who's doing soul searching or are seeking answers to their questions. kreva@aol.com