Why are environmental education and ecology relevant to the Spiritist movement?

Andre Luiz and Aniceto. Scene of the movie "The Messengers".  

For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in the hope that[a] the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. (Romans 8, 19:21)

Translation from the original post in Portuguese: Por que educação ambiental e ecologia são relevantes para o movimento espírita? (Parte II). Link (2024): https://eradoespirito.blogspot.com/2024/04/por-que-educacao-ambiental-e-ecologia.html

Aniceto's environmental class

Environmental education and ecology are practical duties of the Spiritist (and Spiritualist) movement and not merely a fact of intellectual interest. It is the product of Spiritist ethics applied not just to our fellow humans and our relationship with the Higher Power, but also to creatures that appear lesser than us. To this day, we believe we can dispose of and destroy these beings because they are "our property."  Given that the law of love cannot yet be imposed on the hearts of most men, we must educate ourselves about it. We should start by learning about how we view all of the creatures and natural resources around us. Repeated thousands of times by reason and comprehended by the intellect, this law may find refuge in our hearts one day.

But, are there explicit references in Spiritist literature about the need to preserve the environment? The subject was too new for Kardec in the 19th century. There are, however, some indirect references in it, like Kardec's work Genesis according to Spiritism [1]:

Everything in the Universe is connected, everything is linked, and everything is subject to the great and harmonious law of unity.

Question 750 of The Spirits' Book (read online here: https://www.febnet.org.br/portal/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/the-spiritis-book.pdf) is another example of this requirement, but it is still formulated as a lesson that challenges the reader to determine whose side he should take in the debate over environmental preservation. We are aware of the argument that Spiritism's goal is not to interfere with any material part of existence, but rather to provide teachings that aid the soul's moral evolution.

Other more recent works have already treated the importance of ecology. André Trigueiro, for example, has recently written Spiritism and Ecology [4], which is an important resource for this consciousness awakening. Other researchers emphasized the importance of the theme to the Spiritist Movement [5]. In Emmanuel's O Consolador [6], an entire section "Biology" (First Part) is dedicated to Nature, with special emphasis on questions 27, 28, and 29.

The Spirit Aniceto's 1944 lecture on "The Gospel in the Rural Environment" in Chapter 42 of Os Mensageiros ("The Messengers") [3] is sometimes overlooked, yet it is a more direct approach. The Messagers is the second book written by the medium Francisco C. Xavier by automatic writing. I'm not sure if the passage was explored in this new movie release The Messengers based on the same book, because I didn't see the movie. Here, I study a piece directly from this book that provides numerous topics for reflection. 

After quoting a passage of the Epistle to the Romans (8:19-21, at the beginning of this post), Anicetus begins his comments:

For millennia, nature has waited for human understanding. She has not only eaten on hope, but he also lives in ardent expectation, waiting for the insight and assistance of the Spirits incarnated on Earth, who are more correctly referred to as children of God. However, natural forces continue to be oppressed by all human vanity. This, my friends, happens because the Lord also hopes for the liberation of the beings enslaved in the Earth crust, so that freedom can be seen in the splendor of man. (My emphasis)

This demonstrates that there is a bond of fraternity that connects Humanity to all beings of Nature and that this collective of beings (and non-biotic resources) awaits our consideration as childrens of God. For now, she is still subjected to the "oppression of all human vanities."

I know your sacrifices firsthand, devoted spiritual workers of the earthy soil! Many of you remain here, and in other parts of the world as well, assisting other incarnates who are trapped by the illusions of material greed. How many times has your aid resulted in low-level exploitation in the realm of worldly affairs? (My emphasis)

It is a reference to the assistance of Spirits in human actions (question 459 of The Spirits' Book), which has been distorted by "low exploitation" in Earth's affairs. The lecture proceeds even more vigorously:

The majority of land cultivators wants everything without offering anything back. While you carefully watch over the maintenance of the foundations of life, you have seen civilization function as a vigorous grinding machine, converting men, our brothers, into little Moloches of bread, meat, and wine, completely immersed in the addiction of feelings and excesses of food, unconcerned about the enormous debt to loving and generous Nature. (My emphasis)

This is an explicit reference to exploitative farming methods and the nearly unquenchable human desires that fuel this unsustainable exploitation. Despite technical improvement, civilization continues to dispose of natural resources as a "grinding machine." "Moloches of bread, meat, and wine" is an image and reference to the god Moloch from the Old Testament, a well-known terrible entity who demanded child sacrifice. Aniceto therefore accuses modern society of "addiction to feelings and excesses of food," as well as a disregard for "the loving and generous Nature."

They oppress inferior creatures, harm the benevolent forces of life, are ungrateful to the sources of good, serve rural industries more out of vanity and ambition to earn than out of love and usefulness, and are nothing more than unhappy servants of wild passions. They create false wealth programs that lead to their demise; they write economic policy treaties that lead to destructive war; they develop the trade in undue gain, reaping the international complications that cause misery; and they dominate and exploit the weakest, only to awaken later among the monsters of hatred! (My emphasis)

Even though it was written in 1944, this appears to be a pretty accurate assessment of the current situation. Since then, environmental conditions have only deteriorated, and our globe is now facing potential unforeseen climate disruptions. The corruption that causes pollution and environmental imbalance is the product of these lesser forces seeking "undue gain". In this paragraph, Aniceto also discusses the repercussions of the "compulsory harvest" to which unrestrained exploiters of natural forces are vulnerable to exploitation without due regard for Nature's resources.

Finally, Aniceto describes the spiritual destiny of the "sacrificed beings":

The Lord reserves sublime evolutionary values for sacrificed beings. He will never forget the useful tree, the killed animal, or the humble being that was eaten for the sake of another creature!

I believe these are the most direct remarks ever made in Spiritist literature about environmental preservation and reverence for natural resources.

Final remarks

The formal property relationship as a right, even if transitory, carries with it the duty of preservation. Preserving the environment and living sustainably are thus manifestations of the law of love applied to the "weakest".

In the same way that the current generation suffers the result of previous faulty environmental acts as seen in climate change, the Spirit incarnated or not, will be unable to live up to a better home in the future if these new principles are ignored. Just as there is a "law of cause and effect" in human interactions and affairs, the same law applies to the environment.

If we may attribute some of our past ignorance to a lack of understanding of environmental responsibility, this is no longer possible today. And this is achieved by both accessing the scientific proofs of the consequences of unrestrained material exploitation and denying materialism, which overlooks the affinity relationship that links all beings.

If Spiritism's aim is to eradicate materialism, it is also its mission to explain why it is critical to respect all creatures and natural resources by reducing addiction to unrestrained feelings and excessive food consumption. For the materialist, preservation is important for present survival; for the spiritualist, it is a chance for fresh opportunities on Earth beyond death that demonstrate the brotherhood and links among all things and living creatures.

References

[1] Kardec A. La Genese selon le spiritisme (Genesis according to Spiritism). See version in English here: https://www.oconsolador.com.br/linkfixo/bibliotecavirtual/ingles/Genesis.pdf 

[2] FEB (2023). O Espiritismo e a consciência ecológica (Spiritism and ecology consciousness). Acessado conforme disponível em março de 2024:  https://www.febnet.org.br/portal/2023/04/22/o-espiritismo-e-a-consciencia-ecologica/

[3] Xavier F. C. (2023). Os Mensageiros (The Messengers), Ed. FEB. 47a Edição.

[4] Trigueiro A. (2022). Espiritismo e Ecologia (Spiritism and ecology). FEB Editora; 5ª edição.ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-6555704372

[5] Miguel S. H. (2023). Espiritismo e desenvolvimento sustentável: caminhos para a sustentabilidade (Spiritism and sustainable development: sustainability paths). Revista Brasileira de História das Religiões. ANPUH, Ano XV, n. 45

[6] Xavier F. C (1940). O Consolador. 4a Edition, FEB (Brazilian Spiritist Federation).