The Fundamentals
What it reveals
• It reveals new and more profound concepts with respect to God, the Universe,
Human Beings, the Spirits, and the Laws which govern life itself.
• It reveals what we are; where we came from; where we are going; what is the
objective of our existence, and what is the reason for pain and suffering.
What it comprises
• By bringing new concepts about Human Beings and everything that surrounds
them, Spiritism touches on all areas of knowledge, human activities and behavior,
thus opening a new era for the regeneration of Humanity.
• Spiritism can and should be studied, analyzed, and practiced in all the fundamental
aspects of life, such as: scientific, philosophical, religious, ethical, moral,
educational, and social.
What it teaches
• God is the Supreme Intelligence, first cause of all things. God is
eternal, immutable, immaterial, unique, omnipotent, supremely just and good.
• The Universe is God's creation. It encompasses all rational and non-rational
beings, animate and inanimate, material and immaterial.
• In addition to the corporeal world inhabited by incarnate Spirits,
which are Human Beings, there exists the spiritual world, inhabited by discarnate
Spirits.
• Within the Universe there are other inhabited worlds, with beings
at different degrees of evolution: some equal, others more or less evolved
than Human Beings.
• All the Laws of Nature are Divine Laws because God is their author.
They cover both the physical and moral laws.
• A Human Being is a Spirit incarnated in a material body. The perispirit
is the semi-material body which unites the Spirit to the physical body.
• The Spirits are the intelligent beings of creation. They constitute
the world of the Spirits, which pre-exists and outlives everything.
• Spirits are created simple and ignorant. They evolve intellectually
and morally, passing from a lower order to a higher one, until they attain
perfection, where they will enjoy unalterable bliss.
• Spirits preserve their individuality before, during, and after each
incarnation.
• Spirits reincarnate as many times as is necessary for their spiritual
advancement.
• Spirits are always progressing. In their multiple physical existences,
they may sometimes become stationary but they never regress. The speed of their
intellectual and moral progress depends on the efforts they make to attain
perfection.
• Spirits belong to different orders according to the degree of perfection
they have attained: Pure Spirits, who have attained maximum perfection; Good
Spirits, whose predominant desire is towards goodness; and Imperfect Spirits,
characterized by their ignorance, their tendency towards evil, and by their
lower passions.
• The Spirits' relations with Human Beings are constant and have always
existed. The Good Spirits attract us towards goodness, sustain us in life's
trials, and help us bear them with courage and resignation. The Imperfect Spirits
induce us towards error.
• Jesus is the Guide and Model for all Humankind. The Doctrine He taught
and exemplified is the most pure expression of God's Law.
• The morality of Christ, as contained in the Gospels, is the pathway
for the secure progress of all Human Beings. Its practice is the solution for
all human problems and the objective to be attained by Humankind.
• Human Beings are given the free will to act, but they must answer
for the consequences of their actions.
• Future life reserves for Human Beings penalties and pleasures according
to the respect they do or do not show for God's laws.
• Prayer is an act of adoration for God. It is found in the natural
law and is the result of an innate sentiment in every Human Being, just as
the idea of the existence of the Creator is innate.
• Prayer makes Human Beings better. Whoever prays with fervor and confidence
grows stronger against evil temptations, and God sends the Good Spirits to
assist them. This type of assistance will never be denied when requested with
sincerity.