Interview
By Marcel Bataglia Gonçalves

Spiritism is a religion that encourages putting into practice what we preach 

Juan Carlos Orozco (photo), has a university degree, a masters and a PhD in Military Sciences. He was born in the city of São Paulo and, because of his profession, lived across Brazil before settling down in the capital, Brasília, in 2014. He is a public speaker in three local Spiritist Groups and a columnist for Brasília Espírita, O Consolador and O Imortal. In this interview, he talks about good Spiritist habits and explains the important role Spiritism plays in the spiritual development of humankind and the universe:


When did you have your first contact with Spiritism? 

It was in 2014, during a meeting at a Spiritist Centre in Brasília, when a Spiritual Benefactor recommended that I read Allan Kardec’s The Gospel According to Spiritism. As much as I tried it initially, I wasn’t able to fully understand it. A friend of mine, who worked as a volunteer at this Spiritist Centre, asked me then to prepare a presentation about one of the book’s chapters. It was a big challenge, but the effort I made to overcome that marked the beginning of my journey in Spiritism. I felt the urge to read the whole of the Gospel, as though wanting to make up for all the lost time, and I haven’t stopped reading and studying more and more Spiritist books since then. 

And why did you go to that Spiritist Centre in the first place?

People often say that you seek a Spiritist Centre moved either by love or pain. And pain was the reason that took me there. I went to the GEFRAMA Spiritist Centre for the first time to ask for Spiritual help for a relative of mine, who required urgent assistance at the time. 

Which of the three aspects of Spiritism – science, philosophy and religion – strikes you the most? 

What attracts me the most about Spiritism is its religious aspect, which focuses on the moral impact of going against the scientific and philosophical principles that it teaches. The moral and ethical values preached by Jesus are, according to Spiritism, the guidelines that human beings need to develop spiritually and get closer to the Creator. Spiritism isn’t a traditional religion, as it’s not based on rituals, sacraments, dogmas and hierarchy, but it must be said that it focuses on the way we must approach life and how we must behave. Spiritism says we will find a connection with God if we live a straight life, of dignity and fraternity. That connection won’t be established by exterior, artificial and theatrical acts and gestures. The great Spiritual Benefactor, Emmanuel, sums up what we need to do as we strive for perfection, having our Master Jesus as our model, when he says: “Truth is light. Love, however, is life itself.” Emmanuel’s words place truth and love next to each other, as essential and complementary elements on our sublime journey of wisdom, marked by hard work and continuing progress. In order to reach the Truth, we will need to work hard and long to help other people as well as ourselves. The scientific and philosophical explanations contained in the Spiritist Teachings, therefore, are essential to shed light into our inner selves. They will help purify our hearts and show us the pathway to good deeds. But we will only be able to truly move forward on our journey of moral and spiritual development when we put love into action. When we do that, we will be acting according to the word and the practice of Our Master Jesus. This religious aspect of Spiritism is what will foster the practice of divine love as taught by Christ. 

Is there anything else you would like to add?

We find many obstacles along the way as we move forward. These obstacles are like rocks on the road and can be problems of any kind. They are capable of stifling our faith, confidence, the talents that we have received from God and our hope that better days will come as we seek our goals and ideals. Those rocks may also come in the shape of habits or prevailing aspects of our personalities, which manifest themselves as passing interests and fads that leave no lasting legacy. We may get rid of them through the liberating truths that Spiritism brings us. Our success or failure will depend on our understanding of those truths and our behaviour. Every time we stumble or trip on a stone, every time we fall down and stand up again, we will be learning a great deal. We will have the opportunity to learn and grow by moving the stones we find along the way and using them to build our future. We will stumble but what happens in the future will depend on understanding the lessons from those incidents. We very often think about the challenges and huge efforts required to achieve something in life. In our minds, we go through the  big stumbling blocks that may come in the way of the journey we had previously planned. We plant the seeds of doubt over our capability of pursuing our goals and overcoming the challenges of life. We end up feeling insecure and we lack self-belief. And that makes our task of reaching the higher peaks of spiritual progress even more difficult. People who carry those stones or rocks inside them generally struggle to remain faithful to the Teachings of Jesus as they face the smaller obstacles on the pathway to good. We visualise big stumbling blocks but we end up tripping up on the smaller stones that we come across every day. The biggest stumbling blocks, in fact, need to be removed from inside us, where they will be found. When we consider the different stages of spiritual progress and realise that each of them will come at the right time, we then understand that all Spirits will eventually wake up to their consciences and will get a clearer view of how the universe works and the reasons behind our existence. That process of transformation will only go ahead, however, when we carry out our inner reform, exercising self-knowledge and self-discovery. Hard work and merit are essential parts of that process. Every Spirit will understand, after all, that the stones we find along the road are necessary to show us the pathway ahead. And we must bear in mind that Jesus is our model and guide. No one will get to Our Father without Him. So, the stones along the road may make us slow down, stagnate or move forward quicker, depending on how we see them and use them. Move the stones away from your pathway and build your future with them. 

 

Translation:

Leonardo Rocha - l.rocha1989@gmail.com


  

     
     

O Consolador
  Revista Semanal de Divulgação Espírita