Jack Darsa was born in Rio de Janeiro and lives in the Brazilian capital, Brasília. Since becoming a Spiritist 22 years ago, he has been very active in the Spiritist Movement. He is now a Spiritist speaker and coordinator of public talks and has other major roles at Brasília’s Comunhão Espírita. In the following interview, he speaks about his experience in the Spiritist Movement.
Para falar sobre sua experiência nas lides espíritas, Jack Darsa concedeu-nos a entrevista abaixo.
Tell us first about your experience in the Spiritist Movement.
Well, I was born into a Jewish family. My father is from Israel. He is a rabbi in Rio de Janeiro. I learned to read and write simultaneously in Portuguese and Hebrew. I studied the Old Testament in its original language. I was brought up in a Jewish school and lived in a traditional Jewish home. However, even though Judaism believes in reincarnation (to the surprise of many) I felt there was a gap as well as many unanswered questions. When I moved to the city of Florianópolis, I used to walk past the local Spiritist Federation and read a sign: “Public talks on Mondays and Fridays at 19h00”. Once on a Friday I thought: “I finish work at 18h30. I will stop by and see what this is about”. As a Jew, I never studied the life of Jesus or tried to find out about him and let alone about Spiritism. When the talk was over all I knew was: 1. That everything that was said there I already knew somehow; 2. That from then on I would be a Spiritist, not mattering I would have to face. I have never since stopped studying the Teachings and working in Spiritism.
You have walked El Camino de Santiago (The Way of St James). Tells about your experience and how it has influenced your life and your activities in Spiritism.
I finish the Camino twice, in 2013 and 2016. I was looking for Spiritual growth through an inner contact with myself. I walked for days in silence and after some time I realised that something changed inside me, without really noticing exactly what it was. The Camino made me understand what Saint Augustine says in response to question 919 of The Spirits’ Book: “Known thyself”. When I returned I was inspired to begin the project, Caminhando com Jesus (Walking with Jesus) at Comunhão Espírita in Brasília, helping people in their “walk”. I began the project after realising that there are so many Spiritist books that we can easily lose the focus and perspective. What really matter are the teachings of Our Master Jesus through the Gospels. But Kardec didn’t have time in his Gospel According Spiritism to make comments on some 8,000 verses of the New Testament. It is up to us to carry out that task.
What is the aim of the programme?
We strive to take basic information on theology, early Christianity and Spiritism to those who are interested, helping them to become better, more enlightened and, therefore, happier people. We have numbered weekly videos on a range of issues. I had the initiative inspired, obviously, by the Spiritual Benefactors. When I became a Spiritist, I wanted to find out more about this man, Jesus of Nazareth. Unlike most people, I didn’t even know what the Lord’s Prayer was, let alone the other teachings of Jesus. I think that has made a big difference. I wanted to find out, to get to know and to live the Christ.
What programmes have you already produced?
The two main ones are Caminhando com Jesus (Walking with Jesus) and Conversando com Mayse (Talking to Mayse). Please feel free to watch, to send to other people and send us your comments.
Caminhando com Jesus: https://goo.gl/7VudG3
Conversando com Mayse: https://goo.gl/E6e69d
What is your assessment of Spiritist programmes on Brazilian TV and the use of the Internet in general?
It is a very serious issue. Spiritism as a religion is very young and we need to be very careful to prevent it from being distorted. If we study the story of religions we will see that everything goes well in the beginning, but as time goes by people reinterpret the teachings according to their own assessment and you end up losing the original essence. Taking that into account, it is essential to use all media to take Spiritism to all of those who are interested or at least curious to know it. On the use of the Internet in general, I think that what Paul, the apostle, wrote in his first letter to the Corinthians (1Co 6:12 e 1Co 10:23) is very pertinent: “I have the right to do anything, but not everything is beneficial”.
What do you think is needed in order to make the most of the Internet and to improve the programmes already being broadcast?
Unfortunately for us, Spiritists, we lack an important element: financial resources. But let’s be resilient for the time being and use the tools that we already own. I believe that the path for a good dissemination of Spiritism goes through knowledge, common sense and the lack of vanity. We need to understand that we are nothing but tools used by the Spiritual Benefactors. They must make the most of the scarce resources available to them to take enlightenment, faith and consolation to our brothers and sisters.
