There Are Many Dwelling Places in My Father's House

Different states of the soul after death — Different kinds of inhabited worlds — The role of Earth and the causes of human suffering — Instructions from the Spirits about lower, higher, trial, renewal, and progress worlds.

1. Jesus taught: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God and also in me. In my Father's house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, I would have told you. I am going to prepare a place for you and then I will return so that you may be with me.” (John 14:1-3)

Different states of the soul in the spirit world

2. In this work, the “Father's house” represents the Universe. The “many dwelling places” can be understood as the different existing worlds and also as the different states experienced by the Spirit after the death of the body.

According to the Spiritist Doctrine, the Spirit's experience varies according to its level of development and how strongly it is still attached to material things. Some would remain connected to the environment where they lived; others would have greater freedom and spiritual perception. The work uses images of darkness and light to represent states of suffering or happiness.

Thus, there would be Spirits who face remorse, loneliness, and moral suffering, while others meet loved ones again and live in a condition of peace and happiness. The expression “many dwelling places” can also be understood as this diversity of spiritual situations.

Different categories of inhabited worlds

3. According to the teachings presented in the work, worlds would exist at different levels of material and moral development. Some would be less developed than Earth, others similar, and others more advanced. The greater the moral development, the less purely material impulses would dominate life.

4. Between the extremes there would also be many intermediate worlds, where good and evil still coexist in different proportions.

Kardec proposes a general classification to make the idea easier to understand: primitive worlds, linked to the Spirit's first experiences; worlds of trials and reparation, where evil is still very present; worlds of renewal, where there is greater peace and opportunity for recovery; happy worlds, where good predominates; and celestial or divine worlds, associated with pure Spirits. This classification represents degrees of progress, not rigid divisions.

In the view of the work, Earth belongs to the category of worlds of trials and reparation. This is used to explain why we still encounter so much suffering and conflict in our present experience.

5. Spirits would not remain forever connected to a single world. As they develop, they could live in worlds compatible with the new level they have reached. The work compares these worlds to stages in a long journey of learning.

Moving to a more developed world is presented as a consequence of progress. Remaining longer in difficult conditions, or returning to harder experiences, would result from resisting one's own moral growth.

The destiny of Earth and the causes of human suffering

6. When we observe so much violence, selfishness, illness, and suffering on Earth, we may quickly conclude that all humanity is in a very bad situation. Kardec considers this view limited. For the work, humanity would not be restricted to the inhabitants of Earth, but would include intelligent beings from many other worlds.

From this perspective, Earth's population would be only a small part of a much larger whole. Therefore, the moral and material condition of our planet should not be used to judge all creation.

7. Judging an entire city by looking only at its poorest neighborhoods, hospitals, or prisons would give an incomplete view of the city. These places concentrate certain kinds of difficulty and do not represent the whole population.

Kardec uses this comparison to explain Earth. In the view of the work, our planet brings together many difficult experiences because it receives Spirits who still need to learn, repair mistakes, and grow. This would help explain why suffering appears so frequently here.

Just as a person leaves the hospital when they recover or prison when their sentence ends, the Spirit, after overcoming certain moral difficulties, could move on to happier worlds.

Instructions from the Spirits

Higher and lower worlds

Summary of the teaching of higher Spirits

8. The expressions “lower world” and “higher world” are relative. A world would be considered more or less developed only in comparison with another. The central idea is the existence of different degrees of moral and intellectual progress.

In the less developed worlds described by the work, life would be centered on basic needs and strength would have great influence over relationships. The sense of justice, kindness, and social organization would still be in the early stages of development.

Even under these conditions, the work states that no being is abandoned by God. Each Spirit would have within itself the ability to evolve, even if that awareness is only beginning to awaken. For this reason, these beings are compared to growing children, not to creatures condemned forever.

Between the simplest stages and the highest ones there would be many levels of development. The comparison used by the work is similar to the difference between a child who is still developing and the adult that child may one day become.

9. In worlds considered higher, Kardec describes moral and material conditions different from those known on Earth. Bodies would be less subject to the limitations, illnesses, and wear we experience here, and spiritual perception would be broader.

The work describes these bodies as lighter and able to move with great ease. The comparison with angels and ancient mythological images is used to communicate the idea of an existence less bound to matter.

In this description, Spirits could retain features by which they are recognized, but their appearance would reflect their inner qualities more directly. The image of the halo around saints is used as a symbol of this spiritual light.

Life in these worlds would be longer and less marked by worry and suffering. Death would not be seen as a frightening end, but as a natural change, because there would be greater certainty about the continuation of life.

According to the work, the soul would be less limited by the body and would have greater clarity, freedom, and ease of communication through thought.

10. In the happy worlds described by Kardec, relations among peoples would be peaceful. There would be no wars driven by ambition, slavery, or privileges based only on birth. Differences in responsibility would be connected mainly to moral and intellectual development.

Elysian Fields: in Greco-Roman mythology, a place after death intended for heroes and people considered virtuous.

Editor's note.

Authority, in this description, would be respected because it would be based on merit and exercised with justice. The goal would not be to appear superior to others, but to overcome one's own limitations and continue to develop.

The desire for progress would continue to exist, but without envy or suffering. Feelings such as love, friendship, and solidarity would be stronger. Those who are more developed would help those who are still learning, and no one would suffer from lacking what is necessary. The work summarizes this state by saying that evil would no longer be part of these societies.

11. On Earth, we often learn to value something after experiencing its opposite: health after illness, light after darkness. In the happy worlds described by the work, these painful contrasts would no longer be necessary. Peace and goodness would be natural conditions of life.

Kardec observes that people can easily imagine scenes of suffering but have difficulty imagining a high form of spiritual happiness. For him, this happens because our experience is still limited. As the Spirit progresses, its understanding of goodness also increases.

12. These worlds would not be reserved for a privileged few. In the view of the work, God offers everyone the same possibilities for progress. Each Spirit will be able to reach happier states as it advances in its own moral growth.

Worlds of experiences of reparation and trials

Saint Augustine - Paris, 1862

13. Saint Augustine presents Earth as an example of a world of trials and reparation. The already developed intelligence of many people would show that we are not at the beginning of spiritual evolution. At the same time, the presence of selfishness, violence, and other moral problems would indicate that there is still much to learn.

From this point of view, life's difficulties offer opportunities to repair mistakes and develop new qualities until the Spirit is prepared for better experiences.

14. The message also states that not all Spirits incarnated on Earth would be living an experience of reparation. Some would be in earlier stages of learning and would develop by living alongside more experienced Spirits.

The original text uses human concepts and classifications typical of the nineteenth century to speak about peoples at different levels of development. In today's language, the central point can be understood like this: Spirits at different stages of evolution live together on Earth, some learning basic abilities and others bringing broader previous experiences.

According to the message, some Spirits would have come from other worlds after persisting in harmful behavior. At the same time, they could contribute to the intellectual development of the societies in which they live. The greater the sensitivity and awareness, the greater may also be the perception of one's own difficulties and responsibilities.

15. Earth is therefore presented as a world where still-imperfect Spirits face human and natural difficulties. The message understands these experiences as opportunities to develop intelligence, feelings, and moral responsibility. From this perspective, even a painful situation can contribute to the Spirit's growth.

Worlds of moral renewal

Saint Augustine - Paris, 1862

16. The message invites us to imagine that, among the many worlds in the Universe, there are planets under different conditions: some more difficult, others happier, and others functioning as stages of transition and renewal.

According to this view, the soul begins without fully knowing good and evil, but receives freedom and the ability to learn. When it makes mistakes, God would not destroy it or condemn it forever. New experiences would be offered so that it can change, repair its mistakes, and continue moving toward goodness.

17. Worlds of renewal would be a stage between worlds of difficult trials and happy worlds. There, a repentant Spirit would find greater peace and better conditions to continue improving. Material needs would still exist, but destructive passions such as pride, envy, and hatred would have much less force.

In these societies, love and justice would guide relationships. It would not yet be perfect happiness, because the inhabitants would continue learning and facing trials, but suffering would be much less than what is known in worlds of reparation.

Compared with Earth, these worlds would be much more peaceful. The message compares them to recovery after a serious illness or the calm after a storm. With fewer material worries, the Spirit could perceive the values of spiritual life more clearly.

The symbolic language of the text describes the soul as freer from material limitations and more sensitive to love, charity, and the presence of God.

18. Even in these worlds of renewal there would still be the possibility of error. The message teaches that it is necessary to continue choosing what is good, because interrupting one's own progress may lead again to difficult experiences. The starry sky appears in the text as an invitation to prayer and hope for better stages of the spiritual journey.

Progress of the worlds

Saint Augustine - Paris, 1862

19. For Saint Augustine, progress is part of the laws of Nature. Everything would be in transformation. What appears to be destruction would often be only a change of form and the beginning of a new stage. The evolution of beings and the transformation of worlds would be part of the same process.

If we could follow a planet from its formation to very distant ages, we would see continuous changes. At the same time that its inhabitants developed, the environment itself would become more suitable for new conditions of life.

The message expands this idea to all creation: people, animals, plants, and the worlds themselves would be involved in processes of transformation. In this way, Kardec seeks to move away from the idea that all divine attention would be focused only on Earth and its inhabitants.

In the view presented, Earth would also be changing morally and materially. The text announces a gradual transition from a world marked by trials and reparation to a condition of renewal, in which goodness and God's laws would have a greater presence in human relationships.