The first book of Spiritism is the Spirits’ Book. The Spirits’ Book was first published in 1857 and it has this name because it is a book by the Spirits and from the Spirits. It was written by the Spirits through various Mediums and the information received was analyzed, organized by Allan Kardec who compiled all information from the Spirits into a single book.
The Spirits Book is divided into four parts.
1. The first part is titled Primary Causes which discusses the beginning of everything and studies about the existence and nature of GOD.
2. The Second part is titled the Spirit world or the world of the Spirits and describes with logic and reasoning the after life, reincarnation as a natural law, what happens when we dream, the relationship of the Spirits with the physical world, the influence of the Spirits in our everyday lives, family ties, how someone plans their reincarnation and so on.
3. The third part is called the Moral Laws and describes in great details the laws which govern our moral lives, and the obligations we all have towards one another.
4. The forth part refers to our current state of being and the consequences of our actions in the after life. It gives unparalleled reasons to avoid suicide, ways we can deal with ingratitude, our ideal attitude when a loved one dies, and the hope that we can all have in our future.
After the publication of the Spirits’ Book, other four books were published in order to further develop the materials discussed in the four parts of the Spirit’s Book.
In 1861 the Mediums’ Book came to life and its main purpose was to develop the ideas brought in the second part of the Spirits’ Book about the spiritual world. The Mediums’ Book is an incomparable source of knowledge on the safe and moral practice of mediumship.
Then, in 1864, Allan Kardec published the Gospel According to Spiritism which demonstrates that Jesus is the perfect guide and model for humanity. This third book is mainly concerned about the Moral teachings of Jesus Christ and how we should apply it to achieve inner peace and free ourselves from suffering.
The forth book was published in 1865 and it is titled Heaven and Hell. This book brings the reader real accounts of those who died, or in Spiritist terms, disincarnated. These Spirits came back to relate the events of their afterlife, their state of mind, and where they are on the other side, to show us the concrete example of the consequences of our actions after the body dies. These communications are divided in 3 categories; Communications of inferior Spirits, which are from those who while in the physical body, did evil things; Communications from ordinary Spirits, which are from those who were not involved in evil things but at the same time never fully applied themselves to grow spiritually. The third category of communications is from highly evolved Spirits who were those individuals who solely dedicated themselves for the betterment of humankind. The book Heaven and Hell is the factual information of the consequences of our actions in the afterlife.
The last book, Genesis, was published in 1868 and broadens the information discussed in part 1 of the Spirits’ Book in relation to creation, the nature of the universe and the prophecies about the future of humankind found in the gospels.
We cannot emphasize enough the importance of these 5 books. They are the instructional manuals which will guide us to fulfill the purpose of our existence – the achievement of perfection.