PDF version - Geae

gigantic books of stone with no eye of flesh to read them. But humanity will only have disappeared from earth
in order to pursue upon spheres better endowed other paths of ascension. The waves of progress will have
pushed all the terrestrial souls toward planets better suited for life. It is probable that prodigious civilizations
will flourish then on Saturn and Jupiter, and humanity reborn will there flower in a glory incomparable.
A new field of action will be given humanity to love and work toward perfection. In the midst of their
work, sad souvenirs of earth will perhaps come to haunt their spirits; but these souvenirs, with memories of
troubles overcome and sorrows endured, will be only a stimulant to greater heights. The voice of wisdom will
say to them: ‘What matters the shadow of the past! Nothing perishes; all life reforms itself, and mounts from
sphere to sphere - from sun to sun, up to God. Spirit is imperishable! Remember this - there is no death.’ The
teachings of the churches and their ceremonials have contributed not a little to the representation of death
under lugubrious forms, and to awakening a sentiment of terror in the minds of mortals.
Materialistic doctrines have not reacted against this impression. At the hour of twilight, when night
descends upon the earth, a certain sadness touches us. We drive it away, saying, ‘After darkness the light
returns; the night is but the herald of dawn.’ When the summer is followed by sad winter, we console
ourselves with the thought of future springs. Why, then, this fear of death - this poignant anxiety regarding the
act which is not the end of life?
The spiritualist knows death ends nothing. It is for him the entrance into a mode of life full of rich
impressions and sensations. Not only are we still in possession of spiritual joys, but they are augmented by
new resources and more varied powers of enjoyment. Death does not even deprive us of the things of the earth;
we continue to see those we loved and left behind us. From the bosom of space we follow the progress of this
planet; we see the changes which take place, and we assist in new discoveries, in the development of nations
politically, socially, and religiously: and until the hour of our return to flesh we participate, etherically, to the
measure of our power and our advancement, in the labors of those who toil for humanity.
Instead of avoiding the idea of death, we should look it in the face, and know what it is. Let us
disengage it from the shadows and chimeras with which it has been enveloped, and ask of it in what manner
we should prepare ourselves for this necessary and natural incident in the course of life. Necessary, we said. In
truth, what would happen if death were suppressed? This globe would become too small to contain the throngs
of humanity. Age and decrepitude would lend their aid to make life insupportable. A day would come, when,
having exhausted all the means of study - of travel and of useful cooperation, existence would assume for us a
character of overwhelming monotony.
Our progress demands that one day or another we should be relieved from this earthly envelope which,
after having rendered its service, becomes unsuitable for other plans of destiny. How can those who believe in
the existence of a Supreme Power think of death as an evil?
The universe cannot fail. Its aim is beauty, its means, justice and love. Let us fortify ourselves with the
thought of unlimited futures; confidence in the survival of life will stimulate our efforts and render them
fertile. No work done with patience and a high motive can fail of success on some tomorrow. Every time death
knocks at our door in its splendid austerity it is an invitation to us to live better, to act better, and to increase
the worth of our lives by ceaseless efforts.
Often the imagination of man peoples the Beyond with frightful creations. Certain churches teach that
the conditions of our future life are determined irrevocably at death, and this affirmation troubles the existence
of many believers. The revelation of spirits puts an end to all these apprehensions, bringing from beyond the
tomb precise information. It dissipates the cruel incertitude, the haunting fear of the unknown. Death, it tells
us, changes nothing in our spiritual nature or our character - that which constitutes the veritable ME. It simply
sets us free in the measure of our advancement. On that side as on this, we have the possibility of choosing
good or evil, and the faculty to advance, progress, and reform. Everywhere reign the same laws, the same
harmonies, the same divine powers. Nothing is irrevocable; the love which calls us to this world attracts us
later to the other; and in all places friends and protectors attend us. While here we weep over the departure of
those who are lost to us in seeming nothingness, above us beings glorified welcome their arrival in the light in
the same manner that we welcome the arrival of an infant whose soul comes to blossom newly on earth. Our
dead are the living in Heaven. Many people fear the physical phases of death, but the spirits tell us that the
moment of death is almost always painless. Death is but falling asleep. The knowledge which we have been
54