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Ricardo
Baesso de
Oliveira |
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Is there really
life beyond
Earth? |
The existence of
organic life in
different worlds
in the Universe
is considered
one of the basic
principles of
the Spiritist
Doctrine.
Commenting on
the answer to
question 55 of
The Spirits'
Book, Allan
Kardec states:
God set living
beings in
several worlds
and all of them
concur for the
ultimate purpose
of Providence.
To believe that
these living
beings only
exist in our
planet would be
to doubt the
wisdom of God,
who has not done
one useless
thing.
Certainly, He
must have given
these worlds a
more serious
destination than
that of only
delighting our
sight. Moreover,
there is nothing
regarding the
position, the
volume, nor the
physical
constitution of
the Earth that
may lead us to
think that it
has the
privilege of
being inhabited
to the exclusion
of many billions
of similar
worlds.
This undoubted
principle of
Spiritism causes
discussions and
controversies
mainly arising
from psychic
information,
particularly
about details of
the physical
characteristics
and lifestyle
outside our
planet. At the
time of our
Encoder, some
psychic
messages,
excessively
imaginative,
caused confusion
on the subject.
Subsequently,
psychic messages
dealing on the
subject were
criticized for
going against
scientific
evidence.
In the edition
of the newspaper
Folha
Espirita in
August 1976
(text reproduced
in the book
Lessons of
Wisdom)
Chico Xavier was
questioned as to
the findings of
spacecraft
Viking 1 and 2
which showed
that there is no
life on Mars as
informed by some
psychic messages
received by him.
Our beloved
Chico answered
that such
psychic messages
probably
referred to
life in the
spiritual
dimension,
intense in
areas, which the
physical man
classifies as
desolated.
What Chico
Xavier said
about the matter
- Questioned
specifically
about the
message of the
Spirit Humberto
de Campos,
received in
1939, in which
the disembodied
benefactor
describes city
organizations in
Mars with
sophisticated
technology,
Chico said:
Humberto de
Campos, in the
spiritual
dimension, and
from the very
beginning of his
messages sent
through us,
always showed a
remarkable clear
thinking. It is
much more
reasonable to
assume that the
error, if there
was an error,
should be
attributed to my
carelessness or
incompetence in
dealing with
mediumship
because, at the
beginning of the
psychic task, I
was very much
concerned about
life on other
planets.
Carrying on,
Chico once again
mentions the
possibility that
these
descriptions
refer to the
spiritual
dimension,
where life
exists in
unfamiliar
vibrations of
science. And the
medium
concludes:
Nevertheless,
being sure about
this matter, I
ask myself if in
1939, therefore,
thirty-seven
years ago when I
began my work, I
did not
interfere in the
psychographics
of our
distinguished
writer,
unconsciously
changing names
or situations,
without the
least intention
to meddle in the
messages coming
from him.
Chico's
remarkable
answer shows
nobleness and
deep moral
straightness and
once again draws
the attention of
Spiritism
scholars to the
complex
interaction
Spirit/Medium.
Therefore, all
of us, we refer
to the details
of the possible
cosmic biology
we should be
careful not to
run the risk of
becoming
unrealistic and
relaying
misleading
information.
Evidence of life
beyond Earth
- What does
Science say
about this?
Hernani L. S.
Maia, a
chemistry
professor at the
University of
Minho in
Portugal,
through the book
Origin of
Life: Recent
Contributions to
a Scientific
Model,
recently gave an
important
contribution on
this subject.
Below we
reproduce the
main
considerations
of this work.
So far, no life
was found in the
solar system,
excluding our
orb. Soil
fragments
collected on the
Moon and Mars
found nothing.
Pictures of
different stars
identified
nothing. No
scientist
believes that
there may be
complex life
forms,
intelligent (an
intelligence
similar to
humans), in the
solar system,
but they do not
exclude the
possibility of
the existence of
primitive,
microscopic,
life forms.
As for the
evidence of
organic life
outside the
solar system,
there is nothing
tangible. It is
believed that a
considerable
number of
planets may have
the same
physical
characteristics
of the Earth in
terms of
harboring life
forms that may
be similar to
ours, but this
is just a
speculation,
without any
scientific
evidence.
Which is the
evidence
collected about
the solar system
with its eight
planets and some
satellites?
They are as
follows:
First -
Organic
molecules such
as amino acids,
sugars, and
nitrogenous
bases exist in
comets and in
interstellar
space. That was
one of the
greatest
discoveries in
decades.
Chemical
compounds found
in living things
exist outside
the Earth. About
140 organic
molecules have
been detected
floating through
interstellar
space. Such
findings led to
the reappearance
of the Cosmic
Panspermia
hypothesis,
according to
which life on
Earth could have
originated on
other planets.
The theory of
Leslie Orgel and
Francis Crick
- The English
astronomer
Frederick Hoyle
defended that
"spores of life"
are part of
interstellar
clouds and
comets would be
reservoirs of
these spores,
transporting
them to the
planets when
they collide.
The original
microorganisms
would have
arrived to Earth
aboard a comet.
In the mid-70s,
Leslie Orgel and
Francis Crick,
two renowned
scientists
proposed that
life appeared on
Earth by means
of spores
carried by a
spacecraft.
This ship was
sent by
intelligent
aliens to
colonize our
planet. This
idea caused many
discussions and
had a great
impact among
lovers of
science fiction,
at a time when
there was much
talk about UFOs
and
extraterrestrials.
However, it was
no more than
mere
speculation,
because there
was not and
there is still
not any evidence
of the existence
of intelligent
life beyond
Earth. These
ideas obviously
did not find
acceptance in
the scientific
community,
however the
possibility that
organic
molecules
brought by
meteorites may
be related to
the emergence of
the first living
beings on Earth
is being
considered
seriously.
However, if
there are
organic
molecules in
space or
circulating
along with
comets, life
could have
originated
elsewhere.
Interestingly
the Superior
Spirits,
responding to
the question
number 45 of
The Spirits'
Book,
said that
organic
elements, before
the formation of
the Earth, were,
so to speak, in
a state of fluid
in space, in the
midst of Spirits
or in other
planets awaiting
the formation of
the Earth to
begin a new life
in a new world.
Second -
The discovery of
living beings,
mainly bacteria,
living in
inhospitable
conditions -
called
extremophiles.
What is needed
so there is Life
- The discovery
of extremophiles
showed that life
can exist
outside of the
conditions that
heretofore were
believed to be
essential, as
acidity close to
neutrality (pH
7), temperatures
of about 37°C,
ionic strength
similar to our
blood, pressure
of one
atmosphere, the
presence of
oxygen and no
radiation.
The discovery of
microorganisms
able to violate
this "belief"
has shown that
life can exist
far from solar
energy and in
very different
environments of
those who were
thought to be
necessary for
biological
evolution.
Regarding this
matter, we also
found references
in Kardec's
work. In items
56 to 58 of
The Spirits'
Book,
the Superior
Spirits said
that
being different
the physical
constitution of
the worlds, also
the beings that
inhabit these
worlds must be
different too.
Third
- There is
strong evidence
of the existence
of water,
primary
condition for
life, as we know
it, in other
stars.
Scientists are
pretty much
convinced that
there is water
in the solid
state on the
Moon, on Mars
and on Europe,
one of Jupiter's
satellites. In
Europe, there is
the possibility
that water
exists in the
liquid state. If
microorganisms
living in such
adverse
conditions are
found on Earth,
it is quite
possible that in
places like the
polar ice caps
of Mars, the
oceans of the
icy moons of
Jupiter or the
possible ethanol
and methane seas
of Titan
(Satellite of
Saturn) can now
be found as the
habitat of
extremophile
species.
In conclusion,
conventional
science advances
in its research
and we,
Spiritists,
serenely look
forward to the
day in which
they proclaim
the existence of
organic life
forms outside
our planet. We
are convinced
that this day
will come.
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