Every movement or religion should have its own "legislator", whose task is to draw up clear rules that systematize certain ideas. This mission fell to the lot of the Frenchman Allan Kardek (1804-1869), a researcher of psychic phenomena, whose work in the field of spiritualism is considered fundamental. His work, but already in new historical conditions, was continued by Leon Denis (1847-1927). It is to these people that we owe the fact that countless disparate facts have been compiled into a coherent and comprehensive worldview.
The son of a French lawyer, Hippolyte Rivaille, was born in Lyon in 1804. A student and collaborator of Johann-Heinrich Pestalozzi, he spoke several languages, taught mathematics, astronomy, physiology, French, physics, chemistry and comparative anatomy.
Rivail was in his forties when he became interested in the phenomenon of telekinesis. Around this time, the first articles appeared about strange phenomena that were attributed to the "spirits" of the dead. According to these reports, during the sessions, movements of objects, rotation of discs, and also a kind of communication took place, when the alleged "spirit" answered questions using a predetermined code. It was this code that made it possible to give affirmative or negative answers.
At that time, Franz Mesmer's theory of animal magnetism was already known. Faced with the described phenomena, many researchers believed that this theory could serve as an explanation for what was happening. But Rivaille, observing such demonstrations, dismissed this hypothesis as insufficient to fully explain what was happening.
In an effort to figure out what caused the physical effects usually attributed to the action of spirits, Rivail decided to conduct his own research. Not being a medium, he made a list of questions and began to ask them to the "spirits" through invited mediums. As the quality of communication improved, the pseudonym Allan Kardek appeared: "spirits" informed the researcher that this was his name in one of his previous lives, when he was a "Gallic druid".
In 1857, Allan Kardek published the first book on spiritualism called The Book of Spirits, which later gained a reputation as a “spiritistic bible”. Written according to the author “in co-authorship with the spirits,” it included the answers of otherworldly respondents to 1,018 questions concerning the nature of the spirit, the relationship between the spirit world and the material world, death, reincarnation, etc., as well as the comments of Kardek himself.
Subsequently, Allan Kardek published four more books that later became classics of spiritualism: "The Book of Mediums", "The Gospel in Explaining Spiritualism", "Heaven (Paradise) and Hell" and "Fundamentals of Genesis". Until his death, Kardek headed the French Spiritualist Association, which published the journal Spiritual Review. Unlike many other authors, who before and after him touched upon occult topics, Kardek approached spiritualism from the standpoint of a cold reasoner and expressed his views in an extremely laconic language, without resorting to any "esoteric component". Nevertheless, many colleagues and researchers of the phenomenon criticized Kardek for his moralism and excessive reliance on automatic writing, which, as they believed, was an unreliable means of communication that did not allow separating the statements of the spirit from the thoughts of the medium and the people around him.
Allan Kardek died suddenly of a heart attack on March 31, 1869, while preparing for another seance. His grave in the Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris is a regular meeting place for French spiritualists. In France and some Latin American countries, Allan Kardek is still considered the most authoritative spiritualist author. Shortly before his death, he organized the "United Joint Stock Company for the Continuation of Allan Kardek's Work" with the right to buy and sell shares, accept donations and inheritances, and continue publishing "Spiritual Review".
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European spiritualism, which gradually faded away with the death of this person, was eventually replaced by a more advanced spiritualism, as well as the use of physical phenomena. The ideas and postulates of the famous legislator of doctrine still retain their influence in some countries, such as Brazil. True, Kardekist healing centers work there in conjunction with ordinary hospitals. Many Brazilians, as Catholics, hope to fully master the mysterious gift of "fellowship with spirits."