The Spirits Book facts for kids

First edition of the book, published in 1857.

The Spirits' Book is a very important book for people who follow Spiritism. It was first published in French as Le Livre des Esprits. A French teacher named Hippolyte Léon Denizard Rivail wrote it. He used the pen name Allan Kardec. The book came out on April 18, 1857. It is seen as one of the five main books of Spiritism. It was the first Spiritist book and is still very important. It covers all the big questions that Allan Kardec explored later.

The book is set up like a list of questions. These questions are about where spirits come from. They also ask about the meaning of life and how the universe works. Other topics include good and evil, and what happens after we die. Allan Kardec said that a group of spirits gave him the answers. They called themselves "The Spirit of Truth." He talked with them in special sessions in the 1850s. Kardec saw himself as an "organizer" of these ideas, not just an author. He put the questions and answers into groups by topic. Sometimes, he included longer talks that the spirits shared with him.

What Does The Spirits' Book Teach?

This book shares many core ideas about life and the spirit world. It helps people understand their place in the universe.

Key Ideas from the Book

• One God: There is only one all-powerful God. This God is the source of everything, both good and bad.
• God Created Everything: God created the basic ideas for everything. Things then grew and changed from there.
• Jesus' Teachings: The moral lessons taught by Jesus are very important and true.
• Life After Death: Our soul (spirit) continues to live after our body dies.
• Reincarnation: Spirits are born again into new bodies many times. This helps them learn and grow.
• God is Good: God and everything God created are good and fair.
• Life on Other Worlds: There is life all over the Universe, not just on Earth.
• Spirits Get Better: Spirits improve over many lives. They become more perfect through their experiences.
• Spirits Can Move: Spirits can move from one world to another to continue learning.
• Spirits Can Talk to Us: Spirits can communicate with living people. They do this through special people called mediums.
• Learning from Our Actions: Our actions in one life affect our experiences in future lives. This helps us learn from our mistakes.
• Good Actions Matter: Doing good deeds is important for spiritual growth. It's not just about what you believe.

How The Book is Organized

The Spirits' Book has four main parts, like four smaller books. Each part has several chapters.

Part One: About God and the Universe

This part talks about where the universe came from. It also describes what God is like.

• It explains the true nature of God.
• It discusses the difference between spiritual and material things.
• It looks at what makes living things different from non-living things. It also compares intelligence to instinct.

Part Two: The Spirit World

This section describes what spiritual life is like.

• It explains what spirits are and where they come from.
• It talks about why spirits are born into physical bodies.
• It describes what happens when a spirit leaves its body (when someone dies).
• It covers the idea of reincarnation, where spirits live many lives.
• It explains what the spiritual world is like after death.
• It discusses how spirits can sometimes interact with the living world. This can happen during sleep or near-death experiences.
• It also talks about how spirits might influence events in our world.

Part Three: Moral Laws

This part contains what Allan Kardec thought were the most important teachings. These are special laws that help people understand life. They can bring comfort during hard times. These laws include:

• The Law of God
• The Law of Worship
• The Law of Work
• The Law of Family
• The Law of Self-Preservation
• The Law of Destruction (how things change and end)
• The Law of Society
• The Law of Progress (how things improve)
• The Law of Fairness
• The Law of Freedom
• The Law of Justice, Love, and Kindness
• The path to becoming morally perfect

Part Four: Hopes and Comforts

This final part addresses common questions people have about religion. It tries to answer them in a new way.

• It talks about the meaning of good and bad experiences we have on Earth.
• It explains the rules for the future lives we will live after we die.

Important Ideas from the Book

The book teaches several key ideas about people and spirits.

• We Are Spirits: Humans are spirits who have a physical body. Our true self is spiritual, not just our body.
• Body, Spirit, and Perispirit: A living person has three parts: the spirit, the body, and a spiritual body called the perispirit. The perispirit connects the spirit and the physical body.
• Spirits Live Forever: Spirits existed before matter was created and will continue to exist after matter is gone.
• No Angels or Demons as Separate Beings: The book teaches that there are no separate groups of "angels" or "demons." Instead, there are only good spirits and imperfect spirits. Even a spirit that acts badly can eventually become perfect.
• Spirits Grow and Learn: All spirits start out simple and without much knowledge. They slowly grow smarter and kinder. They move from lower levels to higher ones until they become perfect.
• Spirits Keep Their Identity: Every spirit keeps its unique self before, during, and after each life. However, how much they remember depends on how much they have grown spiritually.
• Spirits Progress: Spirits always move forward, not backward. They can stay at one level for a long time, but they don't go back to a lower state. Their progress depends on how much effort they put into becoming better.
• Different Kinds of Spirits: Spirits are grouped by how perfect they are. There are three main types: Pure Spirits (who are perfect), Good Spirits (who want to do good), and Imperfect Spirits (who are still learning and may have bad impulses).
• Spirits Help Us: Good spirits try to guide us toward good actions. They support us during challenges. Imperfect spirits, however, might try to lead us to do bad things.
• Guardian Angels: Everyone has a spirit protector, like a guardian angel. This spirit watches over us as a mission. This mission also helps the guardian angel grow and improve.
• Jesus as a Guide: Jesus is seen as the best example for humanity. His teachings show God's laws in the purest way. However, some traditional ideas about Jesus, like the Trinity or the virgin birth, are viewed differently. His resurrection and death are also explained in new ways. His death is seen as an example of staying true to one's beliefs, not as a sacrifice for sins.
• Free Will and Consequences: People have the freedom to choose their actions. But they must also face the results of what they do.
• Future Lives: What happens in our future lives depends on how we behave and what we need to learn.

See also

• The Book on Mediums – Another important book by Allan Kardec, published in 1861.
• O Filme dos Espíritos – A Brazilian movie based on The Spirits' Book.
• Spiritism – An 1885 book about the topic.