The Spiritual Reality and the Illusion of Material Needs

The Spiritual Reality and the Illusion of Material Needs

 

Marco Milani

 

Published in Candeia Espírita magazine, no. 46, July 2025, pp. 7–8

 

The mediumistic account of Father Bizet, published by Allan Kardec in the Revue Spirite of June 1868, presents a striking description of a phenomenon that affects many Spirits after physical death: the illusory persistence of material sensations.

          Bizet recounts scenes of suffering among disincarnated Spirits who, overwhelmed by disturbance, believed they were subjected to excruciating hunger, reacting with despair, violence, and hallucination. Observing these Spirits, he clearly points out that there is no stomach to digest, nor organs to assimilate, since in the spiritual plane, organic physiology has no correspondence.

This realization refers to a doctrinal principle: disincarnated Spirits do not possess physical or similar organs. The persistence of perceptions typical of corporeal life stems from unresolved psychological conditioning and attachments, never from the existence of an organic spiritual structure. As early as April 1859, Kardec had already systematized this teaching in the article “Tableau de la Vie Spirite”, also published in the Revue Spirite, where he summarizes the main characteristics of spiritual existence, including the categorical assertion: “they have no material organs.” This implies that all perceptions, movements, and forms of communication of the Spirits occur through fluidic means, distinct from the biological functions of dense matter.

Understanding this distinction is essential for building a rational and dematerialized vision of life after death, as proposed by Spiritism. Sensations of hunger, thirst, or pain reported by suffering Spirits are, according to Kardec, psychic reflections generated by their moral and emotional state, resulting from material habits, guilt, attachment, or ignorance. As the Spirit becomes enlightened and frees itself from these bonds, such illusions vanish.

This understanding contrasts with certain descriptions found in contemporary mediumistic novels, which often portray the spiritual world as an extension of the physical one, with Spirits subjected to organic needs such as eating, sleeping, digestion, and even biological reproduction. A particularly serious example of this doctrinal distortion is the claim, found in a certain fictional mediumistic work, that cases of pregnancy occur in the spiritual world. Such an idea is absolutely incompatible with Spiritist theory, which makes any gestational process among disincarnated Spirits biologically and spiritually impossible.

Although such narratives may seem reasonable from the incarnate’s perspective, when critically analyzed, they violate the foundations established by the convergent teaching of the Spirits and can generate confusion among those more inclined toward spiritualist fiction.

The attempt to justify contradictions without any objective methodological basis using the phrase “Kardec did not say everything” represents a distortion of the precept of reasoned faith. As Spirit Erastus[1] warned, a single false theory can serve as the foundation for an entire system of errors, which will collapse under the slightest confrontation with truth. Spiritism admits progress and new knowledge, but always through rigorous validation criteria based on facts, logic, and objective method. Isolated revelations, no matter how eloquent the medium or Spirit delivering them, cannot override what has been universally taught, confirmed, and consolidated.

Spiritism, as a science of observation and moral philosophy, invites serious study and critical reflection, free of apprehension for contradicting popular authors or cherished narratives. It is the duty of the responsible Spiritist to distinguish between validated doctrinal teachings, products of reasoned faith and method, and mere literary creations or symbolic expressions lacking doctrinal value.

Examples such as Bizet’s account and the Tableau de la Vie Spirite, as well as the entire second part of Heaven and Hell by Allan Kardec, containing dozens of testimonies from disincarnated Spirits about their condition in the erratic state, remain essential references for those who wish to understand the spiritual life with fidelity and clarity. Recognizing that Spirits do not possess material organs is not merely a theoretical point, it is a logical and doctrinal requirement to maintain the coherence of Spiritist philosophy and the credibility of its educational and emancipatory project.

Only on this solid foundation can we build a rational, ethical, and illusion-free understanding of life after death, in harmony with the principles derived from Natural Laws.

[1] See The Mediums' Book – Part Two, Chapter XX, item 230.