Special

por Marcus De Mario

Spiritism is a work of education

In 1939, during the 1st Congress of Spiritist Journalists, from November 15 to 24, in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Leopoldo Machado presented the thesis Spiritism is a Work of Education, which will be the object of our analysis in this text.

To put readers in context, Leopoldo Machado (1891-1957) is considered one of the great figures of Spiritism in Brazil. He was a writer, journalist, dramatist, poet, lecturer, and educator. Among his achievements is the creation of the Faith, Hope and Charity Spiritist Center (Centro Espírita Fé, Esperança e Caridade), as well as of the Allan Kardec Night Hostel (Albergue Noturno Allan Kardec) and Jesus’ Home (Lar de Jesus), all in the city of Nova Iguaçu (RJ). He held the 1st Congress of Spiritist Youth in Brazil (1948); participated in the Brazilian Unification Congress (1948); participated in the 2nd Pan American Spiritist Congress (1949); signed the Golden Pact with the creation of the National Federative Council (CFN) of the Brazilian Spiritist Federation (FEB) in 1949; he coordinated the Caravan of Fraternity (Caravana da Fraternidade), in the states of the Northeast and North, of Brazil in 1950, with the creation of Spiritist Federations in several states. He was a pioneer in the dissemination of the Spiritist Doctrine on the radio; he also encouraged the Spiritist Evangelization of children and young people, among other feats that raised his name in the gallery of Light Workers in the field of Spiritism and the Gospel.

Since 1930 Leopoldo Machado has been in charge of another of his creations, Leopoldo College (Leopoldo College, in the city of Nova Iguaçu (RJ), a secular and highly relevant school, existing to this day, showing how much he prioritized education.

We are now going to present and comment on his thesis. More than 80 years after its publication, it remains valid, deserving important analysis, study and reflections from the Spiritists.

Spiritism is a work of education

The title of the thesis is used to name his presentation, in which Leopoldo Machado shows that all human efforts to achieve happiness have failed, thus concluding:

“Human life runs, for those who examine it superficially, as in times of barbarism, if it is not more complicated, less easy, harsher. It would seem that the man of the “century of lights” has little or no distance from the savage and the barbarian, despite the veneer of civilization he presents.”

He asks: was it worth so much effort to progress in science, philosophy, religion, sociology, arts, literature, etc., in the face of so many life problems?

What are the causes?

Topic two of the thesis lists and comments on the possible causes of the ruin of human civilization. Successively it reflects on science, philosophy, religion, sociology, moral codes, literature, arts, technologies, social codes, economy, sports, culture. The inevitable conclusion is the same: it is not because of a lack of knowledge that the ills of Humanity can be explained, on the contrary, because in all areas of knowledge human beings have advanced and have a formidable range of options.

Leopoldo Machado then asks:

“Why, then, is it that when Humanity has everything, from a scientific and philosophical, religious and moral-social, sporting and artistic point of view, it cannot be happy? Why didn't it solve the problem of human happiness?”

The biggest cause

Opening the third item, we have a serious statement:

"The coarse and absorbing, proud and selfish materialism, which has seeped into everything and dominated all layers, is the biggest and worst cause."

In his thesis, he talks about the serious problem of being born, living and dying defended by science, as well as by the vagueness of religions regarding the soul and the future life, leading men and women to incredulity and materialism, dominating everything, and raising emotions and sensations as altars of living, after all, everything would end with death.

Bringing to our consideration the spiritualist idea about life, he ends his reflections with the common sense of Allan Kardec, in the following statement:

"To believe, it is not enough to see, but also, and above all, to understand."

Religion and science

Here Leopoldo Machado places science and religion as the two poles of spiritual life, showing that it is not possible to live with just one of them, as we need both to solve all the problems that life offers us, concluding that faith and reason, science and religion complete each other, they need each other.

After again quoting Allan Kardec, now about the alliance of science and religion, he concludes his thought:

"Science must be religious and religion scientific, if both are to dominate all consciences, preparing man for the solution of the most important problem: the problem of his own happiness."

The role of education

In this item, he begins by stating that "education is the only process to solve this problem (human happiness)."

He makes education the link between science and religion, concluding:

"It is necessary that science is worth much more and that religion prepares man so that, by spiritualizing properly, he can trust in a post mortem fortune, without neglecting happiness on Earth."

Lycurgus’ Lesson

It is the sixth item of the thesis, talking about the famous Greek passage in which the legislator Lycurgus was invited to speak on the purpose of education, for which he asked for a period of one year to prepare, which was considered an exaggeration, but accepted. After this period, Lycurgus presented himself in front of a huge audience, bringing two cages. In one there were two dogs, in the other two hares. Without saying anything, he freed a hare, and a dog, and the dog immediately hunted and shredded the hare, to everyone's astonishment. Then he released the other hare and the other dog, and, to everyone's surprise, the two animals fraternized, playing happily with each other. And he concluded: "I have brought you the example of what education can do."

The author of the thesis concludes:

“Are science and religion more enemies than the dog and the hare? If in cases of earthly competitions education can do so much, what cannot it in the domains of intelligence and spirit? Everything!"

Education and great men

Shows in this item that in all eras of Humanity there was concern, on the part of human beings, with education. He walks through several historical periods, citing several famous characters such as Confucius, Zoroaster, Solomon, Moses, Pythagoras, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Jesus, Condillac, Erasmus of Rotterdam, Rabelais, concluding:

"It is on their solution (of education) that the solution of all other human problems depends."

Who is man

Defining the vision that one has about the human being is of fundamental importance for the educational process. Thus, he first presents materialist thinking, demonstrating his inability to answer deeper questions about the being of man, concluding that the best view is the one presented by Jesus:

"For the Christ, the creature is able to do what He did and more, for He said: 'Ye are gods.' But, only if you will be a god, able to do what Christ did, through education. But for education in the rational and spiritual sense of the term.”

The work of education

Here Leopoldo Machado makes the definitive link between Education and the Gospel, showing that they cannot be dissociated, because in this way we will have the maintenance of materialist thinking, as we have seen.

But what is education? He answers:

"This is scientifically religious education, because of the philosophical-scientific religion that is embodied in the Spiritist Doctrine, whose function is, above all and essentially, to spiritualize, educating or re-educating man in the light of the Gospel of Jesus interpreted in spirit and truth.”

Other considerations

Below are some items in which Leopoldo Machado talks about Spiritism, Christianity, Judaism and Education, in sequence, starting from item 12, to address the Brazilian reality in the field of education and the dissemination of Spiritism and the Gospel, concluding that only the link between Education and the Gospel will be able to spiritualize the human being and Humanity.

With this in mind, he ends this study in item 16 with the following words:

“Complete and integral education, because it is based on peace and love, on forgiveness and justice, on renunciation and tolerance, above all on charity, because humanity has known it for twenty centuries. If this education that, despite being imperfectly applied, has already produced some ripe fruits, only good fruits will produce when fully practiced in spirit and truth.”

The greatest function of Spiritism

In this magisterial item, we learn that the purpose of Spiritism is not to cure bodies, to attend exclusively to the organic health of human beings, nor to carry out mediumistic exchanges with the disincarnated, or even to be a house of prayers.

Let us see:

“His real work, however, is that of education, that of teaching the Gospels in spirit and in truth. Teaching and education that put us in possession of the righteousness of God, that we may receive everything else in addition.”

And about the Spiritist Centers, he vehemently states:

“A Spiritism center must be, and is, above all, a house of studies, a true school, where the most difficult of sciences must be studied, - the Science of Immortality; the most complex of philosophies, - the Philosophy of Spirit; the most logical and sweetest of religions, - the Religion of Christ, interpreted in spirit and truth.”

The value of childhood education

Here we only have to hand the floor over to the author of the thesis under study:

“We have no doubt that the greatest work of Spiritism is education. Education that implies the necessary knowledge of the Doctrine, since no one can profess, logically and rationally, a doctrine without knowing it well. Education in the sense of guiding with our actions the teachings of the Doctrine that guides us. Education capable of respecting and tolerating all who follow and practice other doctrines; all who, within our Doctrine, do not think and feel like us! Education that leads us to work diligently for the Doctrine, always tolerant and solidary, within the coder's motto: work, solidarity and tolerance.”

Can we imagine what this education will do better for the new generations, who, thus educated, will transform humanity for the better?

For a conclusion

The final part of the thesis Spiritism is Education Work, by Leopoldo Machado, when he presents the Outline of an Education Program, The Decalogue of the Good Student and The Greatest Difficulty (the role of teachers at school), deserves a separate approach by its importance, being the practical part of the thesis. This is what we will do in the next approach, in a separate text.

We leave here what we consider useful reflections on Education, Gospel and Spiritism, bringing back a thesis forgotten in time, but very valuable, elaborated by someone who, from the bottom of his soul, loved this triad a lot, and did a lot to put it in practice.

 

Bibliography:

MACHADO, Leopoldo. Spiritism is a Work of Education. Thesis presented at the 1st Congress of Spiritist Journalists, held from 15 to 24 November 1939. Leopoldo College: Nova Iguaçu/RJ, 2nd edition, 1991.

 

Marcus De Mario is from Rio de Janeiro (RJ), where he coordinates the Spiritist Group Seara de Luz; maintains the Spiritist Guidance channel on YouTube; creator and director of Ibem Educa; speaker and writer with over 30 published books.


 

Translation:
Eleni Frangatos - eleni.moreira@uol.com.br

 
 

     
     

O Consolador
 Revista Semanal de Divulgação Espírita