The perspective of a Spiritist geriatric doctor on life and old age

Carlos Eduardo Accioly Durgante (photo) is a geriatric physician in the city of Porto Alegre. He is also a member of the Bezerra de Menezes Charity Society and first-secretary of the Rio Grande do Sul state Medical-Spiritist Society (AMERGS) and coordinator of Brazil’s Medical-Spiritist Association. In this interview, he speaks about his experience as a medical doctor and his work in the Spiritist Movement, especially the books he has published:

How did you become a Spiritist?

I began my journey in the Spiritist Movement 20 years ago, after going through a painful separation and a number of other personal problems. I had to learn from pain, like most people. 

And where does your interest in Medicine, especially Geriatrics, come from?

It started more than 45 years ago, when I was still a child and used to go along with my mother to visit and provide assistance to her elderly friends. That was in the 1970s. My mother used to give them injections and prepare bandages. She really enjoyed spending time with older people and I’ve learned that from her!

What is the best way of associating Spiritism to Geriatrics?

Many studies show that most elderly people, especially those who suffer from physical or mental illnesses, are religious and resort to their religious beliefs and practices to overcome their problems. That’s why it’s so gratifying to connect Spiritism to old age. As elderly people place such high value on their faith, our work, as professional doctors who value their beliefs, becomes easier. 

How many books have you published? And which one is your favourite?

I have published so far 15 books: seven of them as an author and eight of them as an editor. Well, I have a special affection for each one of them, as they were written at different stages of my life. But I have a preference for O que temos de melhor em nós (The Best We Have in Each One of Us), because of the issues it deals with. It talks about solidarity, empathy, compassion, gratitude and benevolence, among other virtues that are inherent to human beings. 

Your books convey a clear and kind concern with several human challenges, especially the aspect of solidarity. Tell us a bit more about that.

The practice of solidarity and other virtues helps reduce the levels of human inequality. Human kindness, generosity and solidarity can, indeed, surprise us and make us believe in a better world, inhabited by people who give the best they have in them to others. Even though we are going through wars between peoples and nations, we are experiencing huge contrasts between those who have too much and those in absolute poverty – something unparalleled in more than half a century –, not to mention a wave of refugees, homelessness and starvation, there is still a place in human hearts for those who come to us asking for help and suffering from physical and spiritual hunger. 

What does your book The Best We Have in Each One of Us say about the current moral standards of humankind?

Well, we are all able to make a difference in the process of building a fairer and better world, through acts of kindness. We must take into account the endless possibilities that we have at our disposal to carry out good deeds, as well as the personal efforts that we can make to become better people. Solidarity, compassion and empathy are the feelings that best demonstrate what we have inside each one of us. 

Another one of your books is entitled Velhice culpada ou inocente (Innocent or Guilty Old Age). How do you think most of your patients feel at this state of their lives? 

This title is a metaphor for how we deal with our ageing process. Our old age may be a burden if we choose to focus solely on the material aspect of life, like our physical body, illnesses, frailty and limitations. In sum, losses in general. But for those who continue to have goals and projects in life, regardless of their chronological age, old age can be, yes, a generous period of their lives. 

What memories stand out from all your professional experience in this area?

In more than 30 years practising medicine in the field of Geriatrics I have noticed that the factors that have a more positive impact on a better quality of life in old age are friendships and faith, especially for those who are involved in religious or spiritual activities. Old age tends to be a happy period for those, who, despite facing physical decline, which is natural at this stage, manage to maintain a purpose in life and find a spiritual meaning for this important period of human life. 

Is there anything you would like to add?

I really like these brief and profound words by the great Spiritist master, Léon Denis: “No period of life is entirely deprived of the gifts of nature, least of all the blessings of God!”

“When we reach old age, the process of Spiritualisation has begun!”