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Unlike most
other major religions, Spiritualism does not tie its adherents to a creed or
dogma. Rather, the philosophy of Spiritualism is founded upon seven basic
principles which were developed and derived through the Mediumship of one of
Spiritualism’s greatest pioneers -
Emma Hardinge Britten, inspired in
1871 by the communicating spirit of Robert Owen (the founder, when alive in
the physical body, of the Co-operative movement).
These Seven Principles, which act as guidelines for the development of a
personal philosophy of how to live one’s life, are stated as follows:-
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THE FATHERHOOD OF GOD
Each of us has his or her idea
of God. To some, He is an austere personality instilling fear in his
believers and meting out wrathful judgement to wrong doers, seated on a
throne in heaven. To others he is a benign Father, caring for his vast
family of every colour and creed and personified in everything that is
beautiful around us. The latter is the broad Spiritualist viewpoint as
envisaging the one supreme power.
We regard Him as the author of a
divine plan, the natural law through which the universe which He created is
governed and based on love, not fear.
He is the controlling force of all
and “the Greatest Central Source of all life and love” as Andrew Jackson
Davis, another of our pioneers so forcefully proclaimed. When we transgress
these laws we are betraying a trust for which we shall have to pay, either
here, on in the life hereafter. Our relationship with God is therefore
determined by our obedience to these laws.
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THE BROTHERHOOD
OF MAN
If we accept the Fatherhood of
God then it naturally follows that we are his children, brothers and sisters
in one family of all race and colour. This confers upon us a dual
responsibility – to our Father and to each other, which we can sum up in one
word – SERVICE. The inequalities of modern society, the rich and the poor,
the weak and the strong, the wise and the ignorant, provide an incentive for
love and service. In our daily lives we meet those who need material help,
to whom a kind word or small act may work wonders.
If we would extend this call to
service beyond the confines of our family, our town, our country, out into the
wide world, pain and suffering, tumult and wars would cease and we would bring
into being “that peace which passes all understanding”.
It goes further than that. The
real meaning of our existence is not only our obligation to our fellow men.
Man being himself a spirit here on earth, is immortal and the brotherhood of
man is extended into the spirit spheres. Spiritualism therefore gives a new
and higher meaning to our mutual interdependence and to Brotherhood.
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COMMUNION OF
SPIRITS AND THE MINISTRY OF ANGELS
(This is the key Principle to our
Religion)
This is the key around which our
whole philosophy turns. Orthodoxy denies the reality of communion with
departed spirits, whereas for the past one hundred and twenty years we have
proved conclusively that man not only survives physical death but is able,
through mediums, to commune with those left behind. Not only that, they
spend quite a lot of their time giving us help and guidance in various ways
with our earthly problems.
There are certain persons among us
who are called mediums who are so highly sensitive to ‘spirit vibrations’ that
they are able to establish contact with those who have passed over and wish to
communicate with us. Each one of us has a spirit guide or helper – a ‘guardian
angel’ if you like, who uses the medium as an instrument through whom he can
talk.
We are thus able to learn how our
loved ones are faring in their new environment and in their new way of life.
This proof of survival is of great help to those who are bereaved.
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CONTINUOUS EXISTENCE OF THE HUMAN SOUL
There is a corollary of the
previous principle and serves to accentuate how much our Spiritualist
philosophy is so diametrically opposed to the materialist conception of
life.
All the great religions of the
world subscribe to some form of life after death in some nebulous heavenly
existence, but because they have failed to prove it to the satisfaction of
modern realists, they have lost their hold on the people.
Spiritualism on the other hand
does prove this fact in no uncertain manner and in so doing has profoundly
revolutionised our lives in that our behaviour is not encompassed within the
narrow limits of our earthly lives, but extends into eternity. Our mode of
living here will determine our spiritual status in the life to come.
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PERSONAL
RESPONSIBILITY
This is the major doctrinal
difference between Spiritualism and orthodox religions. The basis of the
Christian religion rests on the belief that Jesus died on a cross to save us
from our sins. This we most strongly repudiate. Jesus was put to death by
crucifixion for political reasons. This was the then normal method of
execution for most offences – including robbery. The Jewish priests were
afraid He would usurp their power through his teaching and healing and the
Romans that he might raise a rebellion against them – “He stireth up the
people”
Spiritualism asserts that no one
can save us from our wrong doing but ourselves. Man, through his conscience
knows the difference between right and wrong and is given free will to choose
which road he will take. No one, be he religious or an atheist can escape the
consequences of his own mistakes. God does not sit in judgement over us, we
have to be our own judges.
What the church calls sin, we
regard as the violation of the divine natural laws made by God, which Paul
interpreted when he wrote “Whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap.”
Man alone has to atone for his sins and not shirk his responsibilities.
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COMPENSATION AND RETRIBUTION HEREAFTER FOR ALL
GOOD AND EVIL DEEDS DONE ON EARTH
This follows on what has been said
above. The orthodox church would have us believe that on this awful “day of
judgement” God will sit on his throne and cast each one of us into heaven or
hell. Heaven and hell are states of mind of our own creation and not
celestial localities. Our code of life on this earth will determine our
spiritual status in the world of spirit.
It is equally wrong to think that
because one attends church regularly, or performs evangelical or “other good
works” one will automatically be given pride of place in the hereafter. It
will be our everyday deeds and motive for them that will count and how well we
have carried out the precept “Do unto others…” Neither is it true that after
our passing we will become a saint. Death does not make us spiritually aware.
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ETERNAL PROGRESS OPEN TO EVERY HUMAN SOUL
The idea of eternal progress may
seem hard for us to understand in this world where everything has an ending,
but in the world to come, where there are neither clocks nor calendars, time
is immaterial. Spiritualism points to the certainty of eternal progress, but
the rate of our own particular advancement will depend upon ones desire to
do so, remembering that we shall have free will as we have here.
We shall by no means be idle in
the spirit world, in fact, we shall be extremely busy pursuing those paths
which will lead us toward perfection – and we shall have eternity in which to
do it.
The transition from our earthly
world to our new existence in the higher life does not alter our present
make-up or character. We shall be just the same as we were before the
passing, retaining our free will to fashion our new life with the sure
knowledge that we shall be given the opportunity to make spiritual progress
with no limit to time or the heights we can reach. Once again, we come face to
face with our personal responsibility even on the other side.
These principles are the crux of our
philosophy. They are inter-dependent and their influence has transformed man’s
outlook on life.
As a
final note, Spiritualism, through an intelligent and thorough investigation
of its Seven Principles, reveals the understanding, the deepest significance
of service to others and transforms life from selfishness to unselfishness,
from individualism to social co-operation. Only on such a foundation
can love and truth and all other spiritual values have any practical meaning
or reality.
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