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Our interviewee
this week is
Dalva Silva
Souza (photo).
She was born in
the city of
Volta Redonda,
in the state of
Rio de Janeiro,
where she has
been deeply
involved in the
evangelisation
of children and
young people.
Since 1982 she
has lived in
Vitória, capital
of the state of
Espírito Santo,
where she´s
involved with
the work of the
local spiritist
federation and
the group
Comunidade
Espírita
Esperança.
Dalva Silva
Souza is the
author and
co-author of
several
spiritist books,
on issues such
as healing,
marital problems
and a guide for
parents and
teachers of
teenagers. She
had close
contact with the
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well respected spiritist
researcher,
Lamartine
Palhano Júnior. |
O Consolador:
Please summarise
for our readers
the achievements
of Lamartine
Palhano, his
biography, his
professional
career and his
work with
Spiritism.
Lamartine
Palhano Júnior
was one of the
most brilliant
researchers on
Spiritism in
Brazil. He was
born in Minas
Gerais, in the
town of Coronel
Fabriciano, on
15 December,
1946, but moved
still as a child
to the city of
Vitória. He was
passionate about
the Doctrine. In
1964, at the
young age of 18,
he was already
playing an
active role at
the Spiritist
Federation in
the state of
Espírito Santo.
He had a very
productive
academic life.
He had a degree
in Pharmacy, a
master´s degree
in Bacteriology
and a PhD in
Science at the
Federal
University of
Rio de Janeiro.
He produced
important
articles on
tuberculosis and
published
extensivelly on
international
science
magazines. He
was a lecturer
on Microbiology
and Pathology at
universities in
the state of
Espírito Santo.
O Consolador:
How did you meet
him?
I met him soon
after I moved to
Espírito Santo,
in 1982, at the
Sunday meetings
of Casa Espírita
Critã, in Vila
Velha. We became
friends a few
years later, in
1988, when he
went to a
different
spiritist centre
in the city of
Vitória to
launch his book,
“The Truth of
Nostradamus”. At
the occasion, he
invited me to
join a research
in an area I was
working with. He
told me he was
selecting poems
dictated by
“dead” artists
and sending them
to several
mediums, in
order to compare
those works with
texts written
before they
disincarnated.
His intention
was to prove the
survival of the
soul. I became
very excited
about the task
and we began to
work together,
in that and
other projects.
That particular
study was later
published, it
became the book
“The Imortality
of the Dead
Poets”.
O Consolador:
What books did
he publish, how
many?
It´s difficult
to list all his
books, as they
were so many.
Palhano produced
a wide range of
books, for a
number of
different
readers. He
catered for the
young, the
experienced and
mature reader,
for the
researcher. He
published books
on subjects as
diverse as
Nostradamus, the
ghost of
Hydesville, John
the Baptist, on
prayers, time
travelling. I´m
very proud to
say that I took
part in the
research for
three of his
books: the one I
mentioned about
poetry, another
on Healing (Magnetismo
Curador) and
called Spiritism,
the Natural
Religion. Some
were published
by Lachâtre,
other by CELD.
O Consolador:
Where drove him
to write so many
books?
Palhano was very
enthusiastic
about studying
continuously,
about sharing
knowledge. I
think that´s the
motivation
behind the books
he wrote, the
will to share
all that he
learned from his
research. He
founded two
institutions
that became a
reference for
the research of
Spiritism in
Brazil (FESPE
and CIPES). In
all those years
we worked
together, I
could experience
the strength of
his idealism and
his love of the
Doctrine. He
used to say that
“Spiritism has
been for me a
flag pointing to
the sky, but
with its mast
firmly stuck to
the Earth.”
O Consolador:
What are in your
view his most
relevant books?
It´s difficult
to pick on
particular book
or even to
highlight a
particular area
of knowledge
from his
extensive
bibliography and
wide range of
interests. He
worked in so
many areas –
courses,
campaigns,
research, the
doctrination of
young people. In
other words, he
was an
enthusiastic
worker, dealing
with the
subjects that
really
interested him.
O Consolador:
How was the
spiritist group
he worked with?
FESPE (Espírito
Santo State
Foundation of
Spiritist
Research) was a
unique spiritist
organisation. It
wasn´t a proper
spiritist group
or an institute,
it was a body
dedicated solely
to resarching
Spiritism and
taking its
message to the
wider public. It
was an
organisation
which nurtured
and encouraged
the development
of spiritist
ideas. Among
those who took
part in FESPE´s
activities from
its foundation
were Walace
Fernado Archanjo,
Hélio Bergo and
others. FESPE
manage to
produce a great
deal in the few
years it was
active. It even
went beyong the
borders of
Brazil, when the
researche Maria
do Carmo
Schneider
presented her
work at the
World Spiritist
Congress in
Madrid, in 1992.
Her paper
analysed the
poems of Victor
Hugo and talked
also about the
concept of
Spiritism as a
natural
religion, a work
which began with
the research
carried out by
Palhano and me.
O Consolador:
What was the
strongest point
of his research?
The consistency
with the
theoretical base
of the Spiritist
Doctrine and the
Pentateuch of
Kardec, the five
core works of
the Doctrine.
O Consolador:
Tell us
something about
his personal
life...
Palhano went
through a very
hard time when
he got cancer
and had to
undergo a very
invasive
treatment. But
the pain didn´t
affect his mood,
it didn´t stop
him either. On
the contrary. At
that time, he
came up with the
idea of setting
up the research
group, gathering
around him
people with same
passion for
research and
Spiritism.
O Consolador: Of
all the research
he carried out,
which one would
you like to
mention?
The work that
came out ot the
mediunic
laboratory he
set up. He wrote
several books on
the issue.
O Consolador:
What would you
like to add?
This great
companion, whose
departure to the
Spiritual World
took place in
the year 2000,
is deeply
missed. He left
a huge gap, but
Palhano remains
among us. Not
only in the
extensive
biography he
left, but also
in his frequent
messages through
different
mediums. He let
us know that he
continues to
work, but in
another stage
and in another
dimmension,
without the
constraints and
challenges he
had to face when
he was
incarnated.
O Consolador:
What are your
final words?
It would be very
important for
all of us to
rescue the
memory of those
who dedicated
their lives to
Spiritism, like
Palhano, so we
can continue to
brandish the
flag they
carried with
such bravery.
That would be an
important
contribution
towards the
spiritual
renewal of the
human being, the
ultimate goal of
Spiritism.
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