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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.
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