The Spiritist Channel and Spiritism
“Canal Espírita”, by Luiz Fernando Amaral, on YouTube, is a channel that already has almost eight hundred thousand followers, with thousands of views. Due to its size and the expressiveness it has in this environment, it is worrying to see, there, the circulation and dissemination of certain ideas that are even contrary to the Spiritist Doctrine. In a way…
In no way do I doubt Luiz Fernando's good intentions. I just don't understand why there is resistance to studying and promoting Spiritism as it really is, since this knowledge helps us make fewer mistakes and be more useful.
By leaving Kardec, we leave aside the efforts of the Spirit of Truth himself
Many do not think that, by leaving Kardec aside to focus on “news” that do not come from the scientific method, they leave aside the efforts of superior Spirits and the Spirit of Truth himself, who coordinated the initiative for the birth of the Spiritist Doctrine. This is not about the opinion of one man, but about the Comforter promised by Jesus. Kardec did not end up in his position by chance: it was planned by a superior effort. The method he developed — universal agreement submitted to the criterion of reason — is required and cannot be abandoned!
Now, do we want to treat Spiritism as something lesser? As a minor “effort”, surpassed by the mere ideas of anyone who comes to give their opinion? Now, spiritists, let us put our hands on our conscience!
I am not of the opinion, because it is not a fact, that Spiritism was ended with Kardec; however, because it is a science, to be continued, it necessarily lacks the scientific method, so that we cannot simply accept any ideas and communications as if they were true, no matter which medium they are given or what name the Spirit presents.
In the same way, we cannot simply discard communications from Spirits outside of coding. Once again: we need a scientific and rational method, not just blind acceptance or denial.
False ideas, arising from isolated opinions
Luiz Fernando, on Canal Espírita, among some videos in which he returns to Kardec, frequently makes videos promoting and reinforcing false ideas that have infiltrated the Spiritist milieu. We count, among them, those linked to karma or even the “exile” of Spirits, in addition to the ideas linked to Umbral, unverified generic psychographics, spiritual animal colonies, etc. Ideas that the study of Spiritism quickly demonstrates as uncertain or misleading. And what's the problem with that?
The problem is that, slowly and persistently, blindly accepted ideas are undermining Spiritism and increasingly hindering its progress and its real potential to advance humanity. Due to a lack of knowledge and commitment to science born from the efforts of elevated Spirits, but also due to an attachment to ideas born in novels, slightly inferior, or even imperfect, Spirits are allowed to spread their harmful ideas in the Spiritist environment.
Allan Kardec was emphatic in demonstrating, as a result of his long years of studies, that the Spirits, after leaving the body, continue to be who they were. Many, the vast majority, continue to carry false ideas and attachments. They do not gain full knowledge of the world of Spirits simply by leaving the body. Others are declared enemies of Spiritism, because they find in it the demolition of the ideas they cling to, out of ignorance. This is the reason why many of them present ideas contrary to what has been demonstrated by the study of thousands of evocations and communications from thousands of Spirits, by thousands of mediums, everywhere.
Reluctance to study
But Luiz Fernando, on Canal Espírita, unfortunately seems to choose only to be reluctant, and I say this because of the way he has already responded to me by highlighting inconsistencies between Spiritism and certain ideas disseminated by him, born from isolated opinions. He recently recorded a video criticizing anyone who recommends returning to Kardec, because it seems to be more pleasant to disseminate ideas born from novels and supposed unverified psychographics. Instead of deciding to open Revista Espírita and study, he chooses to affectively refute criticism of his videos with ideas contrary to Spiritism and believes that, being a medium, he would only be guided by good Spirits. Furthermore, he tries to form the idea that criticizing him is giving rise to “low vibrations”.
Yes, we need to resume the development of spiritist science. But, to do so, we first need to revisit it as a science, understanding its principles and methods, developed at the expense of Kardec's health and resources, for years on end. Today, due to the reluctance to study, people make mistakes in the most insignificant, most absurd things, while so simple they could be avoided with a more careful study of Spiritism.
Once again, we recommend everyone to return to study the Spiritist Magazine and Kardec's other works, especially when speaking to many. Even when we study, sometimes we make mistakes, but at least we won't have our conscience accusing us of not having sought to know the knowledge that we insistently used to knock on our door and which, today, is three clicks away.
I hope that my colleague is touched on his conscience as soon as possible. You have huge potential on your channel. All that remains is to use this potential to spread real Spiritism, away from false ideas. Furthermore, I hope he stops taking these issues personally, especially when it comes to science. I myself receive a lot of criticism and I am grateful for it, as there are frequent opportunities to consult my conscience about what I do, never believing that I would be free from mistakes because I believed that only good Spirits would be around me.
“You want to do good, I have no doubt. He wants to talk about Spiritism, because he believes it is good content. But the Spiritism you know is that of the novels, and not the original. It thus reproduces ideas born from the isolated opinions of certain Spirits, which are often incomplete, misleading and even contrary to Spiritism and reason. The effect is the opposite: far from helping people climb steps, it often keeps them away from the stairs.
Spiritism exists in the works of Kardec, well described in Revista Espírita, and was developed based on the scientific method. It has not been completed, but, to be developed, it needs the same method.”
Paulo Degering R. Junior
If spiritists knew what the Spiritist Center is, what its function and significance really are, Spiritism would be the most important cultural and spiritual movement on Earth today. We have in Brazil – and this is a universal consensus – the largest, most active and productive spiritist movement on the planet. The expansion of Spiritism in our land is incessant and continues at an accelerated pace. But what we do, throughout this vast spiritist continent, is an immense effort to churchify Spiritism, to pair it with decadent and outdated religions, forming mystical and, therefore, fanatical nuclei everywhere, disconnected from immediate reality.
José Herculano Pires — The Spiritist Center