The title of this text, for many, could indicate an aberration, after all, how could a dead man come back and give a statement about his own suicide?

For those who do not believe in God, in immortality and in the continuity of life, the proposal suggests a fantasy, almost delirious, because they do not accept life after death. They believe it is literally impossible for a suicide to comment on his own crazy act and the repercussions, because, according to them, nothingness awaits him.

For some religious, the purpose of the writing is also unreasonable, since those who commit suicide go to the so-called Hell, a place from which they will never leave.

It is true that most of humanity does not recognize the possibility of a suicide returning from the realm of the dead and talking with those still alive, with the purpose of describing the circumstances faced, when they were still incarnated, which led them to disrespect the greatest gift given by the Creator: life.

To clarify some by teaching others, Jesus - our Governor -, even during His stay on Earth, decided that there should be one more stage of revelations to people thirsty for hope in the future, in addition to those that He himself brought us, translated by the advent of another Comforter. This prophecy materialized through the granite work of Allan Kardec structured in the 19th century – Spiritism.

From then on, anyone - believer or non-believer -, if they so wish, can become aware of reports of former suicides, addressing particularities about the life of each one, including the motivations and means used to commit what they supposed to be the final act of their lives.

However, we believe that the most important part of the information brought by the suicides relates to the consequences of what they did, as well as what the future holds for them in their new reincarnations, going against their expectations that with suicide they would be free of the issues that bothered them when they were still incarnated.

Some would say, impossible! Others would exclaim, nonsense!

All those who deny this reality are mistaken, clearly presented from the publication of the fourth fundamental work of the Doctrine of the Immortals: Heaven and Hell, or Divine Justice according to Spiritism.¹

Yes, through the correct use of mediumship, Spirits who made use of this deceptive providence, in order to get rid of unwanted situations, returned from beyond to instruct us and, above all, warn us about the implications of using this false door of escape from life.

This work includes in its second part several examples, or rather testimonies of the dead in various situations and, in particular, in reference to the theme under analysis, a set of reports describing the situation of some suicides, all evoked by Allan Kardec. Below is a summary of the reports to illustrate the continuity of life:

Motivations

One of the reasons that lead to suicide is the feeling of abandonment that the individual experiences, causing suffering and intimate torture. At the moment of suicide, he yearns for death, because finally he hopes to rest. As they do not believe in the future, they judge it better to withdraw, in advance, from the ungrateful present.

There are unique situations when a father kills himself - guided by paternal love - when he learns that his son has been called up for military service, certain that he would be killed in battle. By doing so, he intended to release him from presenting himself, under the allegation that, after his death, he would be the only son of a widow.

Hunger in helpless old age is another strong motivation – the proof of misery -, even more so when the unfortunate person chooses to drink to forget the hardships of existence.

Maternal love, when uncontrolled, can also lead to suicide, as was the case of a mother who, after the death of her son due to a serious illness, interrupted her own life in the hope of meeting him again in the afterlife.

Still citing love, there is the case of two lovers who killed themselves to avoid committing improprieties, as they were both married.

Fights and misunderstandings between lovers sometimes also end in suicide, as was the case with the couple who had a disagreement and had their commitment shaken. He opted for suicide due to her not forgiving him.

Materialism offered its contribution. There is a report of an atheist who killed himself under the empire of boredom and the lack of horizons for the future.

Issues related to material goods and fortunes unbalance people too, leading them to unexpected attitudes. One of the suicides had his possessions compromised and, since it was not possible to repair them due to his age, he gave in to discouragement and killed himself.

Places and means

Injury to the throat itself was one of the resources used. This was the case of the suicide of Samaritan. He killed himself inside a well-known department store located on the banks of the Seine in Paris.

Throwing oneself from high places onto rocks was another way of shortening the gift of life.

Hanging and drowning caused deaths in other cases.

Asphyxia was the modality used by the two lovers. They left a letter explaining why and asking to be buried together in the same grave.

Consequences

Those who launch themselves from the heights towards biological death experience a continuous vacuum below themselves when they find themselves alive on the other side. They find themselves falling over and over again, in a seemingly endless repetitive process.

One of them, after being evoked six days after the suicide, still thought he was alive, not knowing where he was, wanting anonymity, but knew he was a prisoner of the coffin. His soul was still attached to his body, feeling the worms eating away at him. This state is a consequence of the act, and the Spirit will remain connected for the equivalent time of the abbreviated life. However, this condition varies in duration and intensity according to the circumstances involved in the fault. The feeling of worms destroying the body is not exclusive to suicides, but common in those who lived more in material life than in spiritual life.

There are aggravating and mitigating factors in these processes, as was the case of the father who killed himself to save his son from certain death -according to his understanding-, when he had to act in the military. His motive was noble, a typical mitigating factor, but it does not entirely absolve him of responsibility. After all, the father could not be sure of the death of his son, and besides, a military career could be useful to his son.

Another mitigating factor is not premeditating suicide, which is the case of the groom who, in despair and out of love, kills himself because he understands that it would not be possible to reconcile with his bride. The penalty in these cases is attenuated. There are no uniform and constant punishments for offenses of the same type. On the other hand, the real merit would have been winning the challenge.

It should be noted that when an angry person kills himself, to be reunited with his loved one in space, it causes an effect opposite to the desired one, because on the other side it is not allowed for them to see each other, due to the laws that govern the Universe. Moreover, they will keep their distance for a long time, the opposite of what they expected, even during other reincarnations, in a fruitless search. The unexpected situation is the first punishment for the offender. This is the pity of lovers who believed they could meet again too after suicide, but experienced a kind of night where they also did not see each other and, on that occasion, they believed that reunion was impossible.

An unexpected situation for many suicides is the responsibility for the harm they caused in those who remain. For example, when children are lost due to the absence of the mother or father, or both, due to suicide, the children's mistakes and misadventures in conducting their lives as a result of the lack of parental guidance, will be partially imputed to the parents.

One of the serious repercussions on the evolutionary journey of suicides is that in future existences, when they find themselves in situations similar to those they would have had to face in the past - and this will happen. Moreover, a postponed commitment is not a settled commitment -, they will tend to kill themselves, once again, as they developed an inclination to do so.

In some reported cases, for those who could understand the surprising outcome, they asked the incarnates - relatives and friends - for prayers for them, one, mainly, to get rid of the horrible companions who, together with him, obsessed him with screams, smiles and infernal mockery. Providence always very opportune for those who are suffering on the other side, prayer is of extreme value, even more when they caused their own death.

Several of them lacked resignation, courage, humility, patience, virtues necessary to face life's difficulties, common to all, without exception, in the worlds of trials and atonement.

In no way did they solve their problems and difficulties by shortening their lives, complicating their evolutionary trajectories for the future, because in the next reincarnations they will have to face the old issues again, however, with aggravating factors. In these reports, none of them had yet understood that the method used to try to escape life had repercussions on their perispirits, would cause injuries and future birth defects that would not find a solution by official medicine, nor by spiritual treatments.

Therapies will be able to minimize the effects, but it will not be possible to fix the perispirit in the next existence. Thus, they will have to face the old trials and atonements – not fulfilled -, along with the new atonements that arose because of the committed suicide. In addition, we emphasize, everyone will have a latent inclination to destroy the physical body, in case they find the challenges of the current journey unbearable again.

Repentance is the first step towards rehabilitating the suicidal person. From the emergence of this feeling, it will be possible to start the process of personal reconstruction, under severe penalties; it is a fact, because after the commission of this crime, it is necessary, in addition to repenting, to atone and repair, and only then will one’s confidence be reassured.

Let us bear in mind that everything done to shorten one's life represents a suicide attempt, but it is not suicide to expose oneself to imminent death in order to save one's fellow man.

In addition, as a final message, says the Greater Law: you will come out of death, as many times as necessary, but never from life.²

References:

¹ KARDEC, Allan. Heaven and Hell, or Divine Justice according to Spiritism. Translation Evandro Noleto Bezerra. ed. 2. imp. 1. Brasília/DF: FEB, 2013. part 2. Examples. chap. V Suicides.

² XAVIER, Francisco C. Messages from beyond. By the Spirit Emmanuel. ed.1. IDEAL. 2021. Immortality.