379- Is the spirit who animates the body of a child as developed as the spirit of an adult?
“Maybe more so if it is more evolved. Only its imperfect organs keep it from fully manifesting itself. It must act according to the instrument that serves it.”
380- In a very young child, and despite the obstacle that the imperfection of its organs imposes on its ability to freely manifest itself, does the spirit think as a child or as an adult?
“While a child, it is natural that the as-yet undeveloped organ of intelligence cannot provide it with all the intuition of an adult. Its intelligence is therefore quite limited until age matures its reason. The confusion accompanying incarnation does not cease suddenly at birth, but only dissipates gradually with the development of the organs.”
An observation supports this response: the dreams of a child do not have the character of the dreams of an adult. Their object is almost always childish, which is an indication of the nature of the spirit’s preoccupations.
381- With the death of the child, does the spirit immediately regain its former vigor?
“It should, since it has been disencumbered from its physical envelope. Nevertheless, it does not regain its former lucidity until the separation is complete, that is, until there is no connection between the spirit and the body at all.”
382- Does the incarnate spirit suffer from the constraint imposed by the imperfection of its organs during childhood?
“No. Childhood is a necessity. It is natural and corresponds to the designs of Providence. It is a time of repose for the spirit.”
383- What is the usefulness of a spirit having to go through childhood?
“A spirit incarnates in order to perfect itself. During childhood it is more accessible to the impressions it receives, and which may assist in its progress. Persons in charge of its education should contribute towards this goal.”
384- Why are a child’s first expressions those of crying?
“To incite the mother’s interest and ensure the care it needs. Don’t you understand that if it only expressed joy while still unable to speak, few would be concerned about its needs? Therefore, you ought to admire the wisdom of Providence in everything.”
385- What is the reason for the change that occurs in its character at a certain age, particularly upon leaving adolescence? Is it the spirit that changes?
“It is because the spirit recaptures its true nature and reveals who it really was prior to its present incarnation. You do not know the secrets that children conceal behind their innocence. You do not know what they are, what they have been or what they will be; nevertheless, you love and cherish them as though they were a part of you. This happens to such a degree that the love of a mother for her child is reputed to be the greatest love that one being may have for another. Why do even strangers feel sweet affection and display tender benevolence toward a child? Do you know? No? Well, I will explain it to you.
“Children are beings whom God has sent into a new existence. So that God is not accused of excessive severity, God gives them all the appearances of innocence. Even in children of an evil nature, their misdeeds are covered up because they are unaware of the quality of their acts. However, this innocence does not truly reflect their state of advancement in relation to what they previously were. In reality, it is a picture of what they ought to be, and if they are not, the blame falls on them alone.
“Nevertheless, it is not merely for the children’s sake that God gives them such an appearance; it is also and especially for their parents, whose love is necessary in their fragility. Such love would be extraordinarily weakened if the parents were faced with a quarrelsome and badtempered character. On the other hand, supposing their children to be good and gentle, parents give them all their affection and surround them with the tenderest care. However, when children no longer need the protection and assistance that has been given to them for fifteen or twenty years, their true and individual character emerges in all its nakedness. Their character remains good if it was fundamentally good in the first place, but it will always display nuances that were hidden during early childhood.
“You can see that God’s ways are always the best, and that when one has a pure heart, they are easily explained.
“In fact, ponder the possibility that the spirit of the child who is born among you may have come from a world on which it had acquired altogether different habits. How would you want this new being to remain in your midst with passions so diverse from yours, inclinations and tastes entirely opposite to yours? How would you want it to incorporate itself into your environment except in the way God wanted it to, that is, after having experienced the sieve of childhood? In this phase are mixed all the thoughts, all the characteristics and all the varieties of beings generated by that multitude of worlds on which individuals develop. Upon dying, you yourselves will also be in a sort of childhood in the midst of new family members. In your new non-terrestrial existence, you will be ignorant of the habits, the customs and the forms of relationships of that world, and you will have difficulty in managing a language you are not used to speaking – a language more alive than your thought is today. (See no. 319)
“Childhood provides yet another purpose: spirits only enter corporeal life in order to improve and purify themselves. The fragility of the early years renders them flexible and accessible to the counsels of experience and to those who should aid their progress. That is the time when one can best reform their character and curb their evil tendencies. Such is the duty that God entrusts to parents, a sacred mission for which they will have to answer.
“Consequently, childhood is not only useful, necessary and indispensable, but it is also the natural result of the laws that God has established, and which govern the universe.”
Site Espírita 