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Interview Portuguese Spanish    
Year 5 - N° 233 -  October 30, 2011
ANA MORAES
anateresa.moraes2@gmail.com
Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brasil)
Translation
Leonardo Rocha - l.rocha1989@gmail.com

 
Oswaldo Coutinho:

“The Spiritist Doctrine is the redeeming lighthouse that will lighten up on our path”

Our fellow Spiritist from the northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia
 talks about the Spiritist Movement there and the next
regional Spiritist Conference
 

Oswaldo Coutinho (photo) is engaged in the Spiritist Movement in his hometown of Serrinha. In this interview he talks about his experience there and the 15th Spiritist Conference of the state of Bahia, which will discuss the importance of the spirit over matter. 

How did you become a Spiritist? 

I was born in a Spiritist family and was taught the principles of Spiritism from an early age – first at home, later in a Spiritist Centre. 

When did Spiritism first come to

this remote inland part of Bahia? 

It all began with Lourival da Silva Lima, who was born in a farm in the nearby town of Biritinga, in the beginning of the 20th century. When he was 17, he began showing signs of his mediumship and began to receive the assistance of a Spiritual Benefactor, Brother Estrela, who encouraged him to study the five core books of Allan Kardec with a small group of Spiritists. On October 3rd 1946, they opened here in city of Serrinha the Spiritist Centre Deus, Cristo e Caridade (God, Christ and Charity), where I work as a volunteer. 

And how is the Spiritist Movement in Serrinha now? 

Its foundations are solid, as we highlight the importance of studying and putting into practice the core values laid out by Jesus and Allan Kardec. And it enjoys good reputation in the local community.  

What are your main activities and services provided? 

We offer a number of activities and services, including mediumship groups, healing, study groups and open meetings, fraternal assistance, fund raising campaigns to help the poor and we have a special group dedicated to help pregnant women. It’s a beautiful work, carried out by many volunteer women who give up much of their time to sew and prepare clothes for the new babies. 

How about the Spiritist Movement in this vast inland area of Bahia? How is the work of dissemination of the Doctrine in the region? 

It’s going very well. I travel the region – and many others do – to give speeches and lectures, reinforcing the message of Jesus on the planet. We also publish articles on the main Spiritist publications in Brazil and on the Internet. 

You are the author of a book, Artigos de Luz (Articles of Light). Tell us more about it. 

The book is the result of an idea of my friend and Spiritual Mentor, Maria da Glória, who inspired me so we could write about the noblest values of life and also passages of the life of Jesus. The aim is to help the moral transformation of the planet. And whenever I feel her presence near me and catch her thoughts, I write it down for later publication. 

We’ve had a great number of dodgy Spiritist books, written through automatic writing, in the last few years in Brazil. What do you think should be done about it by those ahead of the Spiritist Movement? 

Those who are in positions of power within the Spiritist Movement should be as rigorous as possible in their analysis. We can’t afford to ignore the firm guidelines of Jesus and Kardec, which are expanded and explained further in many respectable books, such as those by the spirits Emmanuel and André Luiz and the mediums Yvonne do Amaral Pereira e Divaldo Franco. 

Tell us about the 15th Spiritist Conference of Bahia, due to take place next month. 

We have the highest expectations towards that event. The main theme will be the importance of the Spirit, its predominance over matter. It’s an invitation to reflect on our true nature, which is the spiritual nature. We must bear in mind that our presence in the flesh is transitory, a stage before our return to our spiritual home. Among those coming to the conference are the great medium, Divaldo Franco. 

Anything else you would like to add? 

I would like to thank you for the opportunity to say once again that Jesus is our guide and our aim, to follow and to reach, and that the Spiritist Doctrine is the redeeming lighthouse that will lighten up our path. Let’s not forget that we have made commitments with our Master. In name of that commitment, we must work harder and harder to reach our plenitude and to search for the great light. 


 

 


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