by Maria José Cunha.
On the 14th July 2007, starting at 9:00 am, Prof. Dr. Luis de Almeida gave a lecture in the University of Cambridge, at the ‘Isaac Newton’ Scientific Institute, being a department of the Mathematical Faculty (presently directed by Prof. Dr. Steven Hawking), entitled “What is Spiritism and what is not Spiritism”. A second lecture, beginning at 14:00 hrs. was devoted to the subject: “The Role of Spiritism in present day Society and the importance of Spiritism in the life of a scientist”.
This was the first time the University of Cambridge had willingly opened its doors to a Scientist who would speak openly about Spiritism.The public, composed exclusively of European scientists, professors and university pupils, virtually filled the 500 seats in the room.
Taking advantage of the work transference of the Portuguese Scientist to the said university, a group of English, Irish and Scottish colleagues had organised the conference, without any previous knowledge of Professor Luis de Almeida, being curious as to the way he always talked to them in private about the Spiritist Doctrine.
The manner he used to approach the theme allowed for a constant parallelism between Spiritism and Science, in the domain of Astrophysics and Cosmology. This being a unique science, in which there can only be observations and not experiments – like trying to obtain a sample of the fabric of the universe, or to pull off a piece from the Sun, to place it on a slide and to put it under a microscope – just as Professor Allan Kardec created a method for a better understanding of the spiritual reality that involves us all. It is not necessary to observe black holes, stars in the confines of the dark universe or dark matter to know that they exist. In a similar way, it is not necessary to visualise Spirits and sense their influence to know that they exist. In Science and Spiritism, observation, philosophical reflection and spiritual revelation (Spiritism) or intuition (Science) are means that co-operate in the search for the truth, and each one controls the other. It is precisely the allotment of this principle that makes a Spiritist or a Cosmologist have a sense of critical analysis of spiritual phenomena. Since the beginning of the history of Mankind, to those that awakened the curiosity of the English Chemical-physicist Sir William Crooks, the French Astronomer Camille Flammarion and the French Teacher Hippolyte Leon Denizard Rivail (Allan Kardec), amongst many other men and women of science, it has been the phenomenology that awoke the true soul of scientists: curiosity.
Continuing in his line of analogy between Science and Spiritism, the Portuguese Scientist affirmed that to be a Spiritist is the same thing as being a scientist, “… to be men and women who ask “Why…?”. We always want to know more and more, to come to understand, so as to better know about Life and to come to know our own selves; this is the proposal that the Spiritist Doctrine has to offer. It is a rational and logical doctrine that liberates and comforts (…) that consoles the heart through reason and frees the mind with love (…), declared Luis de Almeida in a surprising manner, causing the audience to interrupt with a round of applause. Luis de Almeida then commented to the audience that Spiritism began in France, and that various well-known figures from England and world-wide culture, such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the English mathematicians Lord Rayleig and Prof. De Morgan, Sir David Brewster, the Russian doctor Alexander Aksakof, Prof. Butlerof, the German astronomer Frederic Zollner, the French physiologist Charles Richet, the English Naturalist Alfred Russell, the English Physicist Sir Oliver Lodge and the German Scientist Von Braun, amongst hundreds of other European individualities, had studied these phenomena. And he added that today, in both England and the U.S.A., various first class researchers were working on the continuity of these studies, seeking greater knowledge of the questions that all scientists are asking: who are we, where do we come and where will we be going.
With rational and objective language he explained that, in the case of the Portuguese, the Bial Foundation in the town of Porto, offers grants to researchers who intend to study “the Spirit”, and that as a result of this the congresses of the Bial Foundation are the most highly thought of in Europe. In Brazil, the Psychiatric doctors Alexander Moreira-Almeida, Prof. Doutora Dora Incontri e o Eng. Hernâni Guimarães de Andrade (already discarnated) all from Sao Paulo gave, and are giving, enormous contributions towards a more serious Spiritism with a rigor that is more directed towards the academic field.
Without forgetting the life of the greatest Spiritist automatic-writing medium of all times, Francisco Candido Xavier, with more than 400 books on the greatest variety of topics, that have been studied by NASA. But, he explained, for the English public that hear speak of Spiritism for the first time, sometimes badly-intentioned people and/or people linked to the occult, such as: tarot, astrology, fortune-telling and other superstitions, give themselves the title of ‘Spiritist’ to take advantage of the seriousness and respectability that Spiritism possesses.
In a brief historical journey regarding the European Spiritist Movement, Dr Luis explained that Portugal, Spain, France, England, Belgium, Russia and Sweden, amongst other European countries, had an appreciable number of adepts at the beginning of the twentieth century. But the two Great Wars greatly affected the foundations of European Spiritism and that, for the rest, in Portugal and Spain the dictatorships of Salazar and Franco almost extinguished what was still remaining in those countries and some Spiritists were even shot by orders of Franco.
Due to the great interest that was created, the conference continued until 13.30 hrs. – beginning again at 14.00 hrs. During the afternoon the Portuguese researcher explained, as a scientist, the importance of peoples personal, social and professional lives. He then told about some facts of a more personal nature, having had many of his colleagues come to tell about similar facts, and informed his audience that in England there exists a Spiritist Federation, known as: the British Union of Spiritist Societies.
The success and enthusiasm generated amongst members of the audience resulted in various colleagues from English Universities asking to have similar talks in their respective Universities. Due to the necessity of fulfilling his work calendar it was only possible to organise one other session at the University of Oxford, that took place on 16th July 2007, at 15:00 hrs., at which 250 British academics were present. During this talk, whose theme was “Why I am a Scientist and a Spiritist”, Prof. Luis had the opportunity to explain in great detail the importance for a Scientist to have ‘a compass’ in their social and academic life, like a “philosophical science that has moral consequences.
When asked about the receptivity of his words, the Portuguese Scientist replied: “Europeans are very receptive to the Spiritist Doctrine”.
Prof. Dr. Luis de Almeida is a Portuguese scientist belonging to the European Space Agency (ESA) and the North American Space Agency (NASA) took the Spiritist Teachings to the academic severity of the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge.
Note from the Editor: Professor Dr. Luis de Almeida also lectured at Sorbone University in the Le Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Departement MPPU – Mathematiques, physique, planete et Univers. The conference was held on September 4th and the topic was The Importance of Spiritism to the Science of the Twenty First Century.
Source: The Spiritist Messenger, 16th Year, Number 88, October 2007
