Adriano Cezar
Runho:
“Herculano Pires
lived in full
the principles
of Spiritism
that he so
dearly praised”
Our fellow
Spiritist from
Brazil’s São
Paulo state
talks about
his
studies on the
work of José Herculano Pires
on the
100th
anniversary of
his birth this
year
 |
Adriano Cezar
Runho (photo)
was born in a
Spiritist family
in the city of
Araraquara, in
São Paulo state.
He now lives in
the city of São
Carlos, also in
state of São
Paulo, where he
is a volunteer
worker and
public speaker
at the Spiritist
Centre Portal da
Luz. Adriano
Runho is an
electric
engineer with a
degree in Law.
Asked once to
|
|
deliver a talk
on the work of Herculano Pires,
he discovered
the legacy of
the great
Spiritist writer
and was so
amazed by it
that decided to
study his work
in depth. This
is the main
theme of this
interview: |
Let us begin by
introducing our
readers to
Herculano Pires.
Who was he?
José Herculano
Pires was born
on September 25th
1914 in the town
of Avaré, in São
Paulo state.
From a very
young age, he
manifested his
literary gift.
Aged nine, he
wrote a sonnet.
He got a
university
degree in
Philosophy in
1957 and worked
as a journalist.
At the age of
22, he read for
the first time
The Spirits’
Book and, in
his own words,
“became a
Spiritist by
reason”. He
became,
according to the
great medium,
Chico Xavier,
the living
person with the
deepest
knowledge of
Spiritism.
In the
celebrations
marking the
centenary of his
birth, what
aspect of his
life should be
highlighted?
His great
friend, Jorge
Rizzini, said
that his main
mission was
clearly to
safeguard the
purity of the
Spiritist
Teachings and
consolidate
Spiritism in
Brazilian lands.
That is clearly
the main aspect
we should
highlight in the
celebrations.
What has struck
you the most in
your studies
about the work
and life of
Herculano
Pires?
I was amazed by
the vast amount
of knowledge
contained in his
works. He was a
perfectionist in
everything he
did, as a
philosopher, a
parapsychologist,
an educator, a
novelist, a
poet, a
journalist or
translator, as
well as in his
dissertations on
Spiritist
themes. But what
really surprised
me was finding
out that he put
into practice in
his life every
single aspect
that he defended
in his works,
and that is
something really
hard to find in
anyone.
What was
Herculano’s
biggest legacy
for Spiritism?
He showed us
that we must
persevere in
order to prove
that Spiritism
is consistent
and rational. He
also praised the
critical and
probing approach
employed by
Allan Kardec in
the Codification
and he fought
against
misconceived
interpretations
of the core
works of
Spiritism. And
finally, as he
said in one of
his books, he
always put the
Spiritist ethics
above the ethics
of this world.
How many books
did he publish?
Which one of
them would you
recommend above
the others?
He published
more than 80
books, including
dissertations,
essays, poetry
and other
genres. I have
not been able to
study all his
work, but I was
particularly
impressed by his
book,
Pedagogia
Espírita (Spiritist
Pedagogy),
as it shows in a
clear and
concise manner
that Spiritist
Education is
aimed at
encouraging and
enabling the
full development
of all of us.
What can we do
to raise
awareness among
Spiritists to
the work of such
an important
author?
The late
Francisco
Cândido Xavier,
better known as
Chico Xavier,
inspired by his
mentor,
Emmanuel, said
that José
Herculano Pires
was “the best
tool that
measured Allan
Kardec”. Only
that, coming
from Chico
Xavier, would be
enough for us to
study the work
of Herculano
Pires. But I
would add that
his work is
particularly
rich for the
fact that it
puts together
the analysis of
a philosopher, a
parapsychologist,
an educator, a
novelist, a poet
and a
translator, all
in one person.
Moreover, the
study of his
biography shows
that Herculano
Pires lived in
full the
principles of
Spiritism that
he so dearly
praised.
Is there
anything else
that you would
like to
highlight from
your research?
In my studies, I
discovered that
Herculano Pires
was one of the
authors, or the
author, who
remained most
faithful to the
work of Allan
Kardec. I then
set out to find
something in the
core works of
Kardec that
described
Spirits in the
same manner as
Herculano Pires
did. In question
842 of The
Spirits’ Book,
I found the
following answer
to a question
about which set
of Teachings
amongst so many
claiming to
bring the truth
should be
accepted as the
real one. The
Spiritual
Benefactors
answer: “The
truest doctrine
will be the one
which makes the
fewest
hypocrites and
the greatest
number of really
virtuous people,
that is to say,
of people
practicing the
law of charity
in its greatest
purity and in
its widest
application. It
is by this sign
that you may
recognize a
doctrine as
true; for no
doctrine, of
which the
tendency to make
divisions and
demarcations
among the
children of God,
can be anything
but false and
pernicious.”
José Herculano
Pires is
undoubtedly one
of those
virtuous people
who came to
proove that
Spiritism is the
true Consoler
promised by
Jesus Christ.
