- ANNA KINGSFORD, BUDDHIST CHRISTIANITY AND VEGETARIANISM (1)
Arnaldo Sisson Filho
[Presentation by Viviane Pereira]
“Raised in a Roman Catholic family, Arnaldo Sisson Filho began his search early for answers to the questions that guide our existence. He studied at Roman Catholic schools and, in his late teens, questioning everything he had learned up to that point, he became a materialist, an adherent of Marxism.
Within this context, he chose to study Economics to better understand the political and social issues of the world. Later, seeking answers to paranormal phenomena, he met the Theosophical Society and became a member, traveling to various parts of the world, seeking and disseminating knowledge. It was at a lecture of this organization that he met the person who would lead him to vegetarianism in 1973.
After witnessing paranormal, or psychic, phenomena, he immersed himself in the search for knowledge, studied religions, and found in the work of Dr. Anna Kingsford (considered the mother of modern vegetarianism) and Edward Maitland the answers he sought. There he discovered essential information to rescue Christianity. “It is religion that is at the base of Western civilization, which today dominates the world, for good or for evil,” he assesses.
In addition to spreading the work of those he considers great prophets, Arnaldo’s mission is to share the knowledge acquired in his pilgrimage. His new challenge is a work he is preparing on Buddhist Christianity: “Buddhism and Christianity are traditions that were born to complement each other.”
In this interview, he talks a little about these projects, the importance of religiosity in the current moment the world is experiencing, and vegetarianism within this context.”
Why did you become a vegetarian?
I was 19 years old, concerned about having a healthy body; I had quit smoking and drinking. I encountered paranormal phenomena, or psychic phenomena. For example, I had lost a friend in a car accident, and she began to appear to other friends, and I didn’t believe any of it. I thought it was all an illusion, a fantasy. And some friends I had known for many years said: this is happening, she is manifesting herself. I went to check it out and realized that there was some truth behind it. It was a time when I wanted to investigate all this phenomenology called paranormal or, in my language, psychic phenomenology – which concerns the psyche, the supra-physical part of our human constitution.
In the context of this questioning, I went to a lecture by the Englishman, Mr. John Coats – he was an international speaker for the Theosophical Society and later its international president. After the lecture, I spoke with him and presented questions that intrigued me. He invited me for a chat, and the next day I had lunch with him at the home of a vegetarian yoga teacher where he was staying.
We spent the whole afternoon talking; he had been a vegetarian for many years and showed me that if I was on the path, on the search, becoming a vegetarian was the natural next step. As a good gaucho, raised on barbecue, I believed that meat proteins were important for good health. Calmly, I asked him: “Mr. John, isn’t meat necessary for our good nutrition?”
With the same kindness, he took out a file containing a series of articles, reports, and data on vegetarianism and began to show me that it was possible to live very well, and even better, as a vegetarian. He addressed the aspect of animals, the cruelty implicit in it, told me about his journey, and all these things made a deep impression on me. He even showed me arguments of an economic nature, about how the solution to world hunger might be linked to vegetarianism.
I am very grateful for how much this person helped me, for the good example and positive influence he had in my life. At that moment, I decided to study the issue scientifically and that if I found a scientific basis for becoming a vegetarian, I would never eat meat again. I looked for some books on nutrition and in less than a month I had come to the conclusion that I could be a vegetarian and live very well. I never ate meat again.
Does the Theosophical Society have any inclination towards vegetarianism?
Yes, although the founder of the Society, Madame Blavatsky, was not a vegetarian. In the Theosophical Society there is a strong tendency in favor of vegetarianism. It is not mandatory, but the Society has already done a lot for vegetarianism and, just as I am grateful to Mr. John Coats, by extension I am grateful to the Theosophical Society for bringing this beneficial influence into my life. Many authors of this Society have done a lot for vegetarianism.
You encountered the work of Dr. Anna Kingsford, considered the mother of modern vegetarianism. In her work, the defense of vegetarianism is very evident. What is her main argument in this defense?
Dr. Anna Kingsford went to study medicine at a time when women were not even accepted into medical schools in England – we are talking about the mid-19th century. At the University of Paris, women had only recently been accepted. There was controversy among the professors: many said that women were not suited for the study of medicine, that they did not have the emotional constitution for it.
The few women who studied had to be very good students to pass the subjects whose professors believed that women were not suited for the study and practice of the medical profession. She did this because she wanted to scientifically promote vegetarianism. Her thesis was called “On Vegetarian Nutrition for the Human Being”. It was a scientific defense of vegetarianism – perhaps its first major academic defense.
This work is a landmark in the history of vegetarianism and is impressive because the arguments she uses are the main arguments of vegetarianism to this day. Later, she translated this work into English and published it in 1881 in England under the title “The Perfect Way in Diet” – an adaptation of the thesis for a more general audience (this work is free, in its entirety, on the Anna Kingsford website –www.annakingsford.com).
What does she address in this work?
She discusses the social aspects of vegetarianism, as well as humanitarian aspects, including cruelty to animals. As a doctor, she also addresses health issues, such as how the consumption of meat and animal fat is associated with certain illnesses; she discusses obesity, alcoholism, among many others. She even talks about environmental factors – such as how the leather industry affected the health of rivers in England.
It is a work approved by the University of Paris and a landmark in the history of contemporary vegetarianism. The arguments she uses are impressive for their time, from the philosophical and religious foundation, through the medical and general health issues, to the socioeconomic aspects.
Regarding religion, why is it important to be vegetarian?
All religions worthy of the name tell us that God is love and that religion means approaching and living love to the point where we become, or merge with love and the will of God.
As the philosopher Plotinus said, “the eye only managed to see the Sun because it assumed its miniature form” – it’s an analogy that demonstrates that if we want to approach the great love that is at the heart of this universe, we must begin by being a tiny love in this universe. We must assume this form of God, of loving-kindness, even in miniature.
Vegetarianism is the natural expression of love, of sensitivity, of not inflicting unnecessary suffering in our lives. This is the most obvious aspect of vegetarianism that is directly associated with religiosity – developing within yourself, even in miniature, divine love.
We must remember the great law of action and reaction: if we are sowing cruelty and pain towards animals in the world, we will reap pain. That is what we are reaping: increasing violence, aggression, ever-greater environmental instability, and emerging diseases.
Do you think religion can help spread vegetarianism and love for animals, this feeling of protecting and defending animals?
Not only can it, but it should. One of the things I find most fascinating about Dr. Ana Kingsford’s work is that she, as a Christian, understood the importance of rescuing this knowledge within the context of Christianity, knowledge that has been lost over the centuries. A text by her and her great colleague Edward Maitland shows that vegetarianism was an integral part of true Christianity. That true Christianity is vegetarian. And not in the distorted way they want to present it to us today. The text is titled “Vegetarianism and the Bible,” and it’s free on Anna Kingsford’s website: www.annakingsford.com
Religion not only can but should help promote vegetarianism because true religion is that which makes us, even in miniature, mirrors of divine love. And vegetarianism is a natural expression of divine love.
At what point in Christianity was this idea of vegetarianism lost, and why did this loss occur?
The history of Christianity is complex and full of conflicts. We find this conflict already evident in the letters of Saint Paul: he shows Jewish-Christian communities that were in favor of vegetarianism and others, within Christianity, that were not vegetarian.
These communities began to argue among themselves from that time, and there are letters from Saint Paul seeking to harmonize, indicating that they should not accuse each other. With these conflicts already existing within Christianity, as it became the official religion of the Roman Empire, it became corrupted. Christianity, since then, has renounced things that were essential, and has become influenced by vulgar politics, making concessions to the world and its dominant status quo, especially in Rome, and from there, forcibly imposing this degeneration.
Christianity adapted to the prevailing reality.
It adapted in a degenerate way. And, in this way, we have what we call Christianity today, which is not true Christianity; it is a distorted and anti-Christian form. Today, only a few sacred symbols and a few still divine things remain of true Christianity.
In this stage of becoming the religion of the Roman Empire, Christianity began to be used by politicians and priests in a distorted way, in conflict with the true prophets who were linked to divine will and wisdom. These changes ended up excluding the fundamental knowledge of vegetarianism from Christianity.
Do you perceive a greater awareness regarding the vegetarian option today?
There is no doubt about it. It’s a palpable thing in the world. I think that even within Christianity itself we can observe this in an initial way.
To what reason do you attribute this progress?
I attribute it to the work of people who have given and continue to give their lives for it. It’s always like that. Humanity’s progress always depends on a few who sacrifice for it. Around the world, there are people who dedicate their time and energy to promoting vegetarianism. In our time, there’s a movement to reclaim a more genuine religiosity, and vegetarianism naturally emerges within this movement, although still in its initial stages. We need to make much more progress.
Many people say that energetically, eating meat is harmful, for meditation, for connecting with one’s inner self. Have you found this to be true in your studies?
It has a significant influence. This is ancient knowledge of humanity: in antiquity, true mystics, saints, and prophets already spoke of this. It’s nothing new. If there is anything new, it’s this degeneration that has occurred. Eating meat heavily affects our psychic and psycho-spiritual capacity. As a student, I learned this from many sources, both in the East and the West.
Within Christianity, there is Good Friday, when one cannot eat red meat. In the past, there was Lent, a 40-day period of restriction. What was that like, and what has it become?
These are remnants; this recognition of not eating meat is something that has remained. In Orthodox Christian communities, which separated from Rome many centuries ago, this knowledge is more explicit, and fasting takes place throughout Lent – they don’t eat meat during the entire Lent period, but they can on Sundays. In Roman Catholicism, Good Friday remains, even then only with red meat.
Why? What is the argument?
The argument used is that during this period it is necessary to participate in the sacrifice of Christ, to combat gluttony, for example. Today, and for centuries, it has been considered a penance. It’s a remnant of a way of saying: this is the best, it should be like this. But the idea has become so lost that for several centuries, not eating meat has been considered a sacrifice, a penance.
Being vegetarian is merely a preliminary foundation, a recognition of the importance of benevolence in our lives. For people who want to delve deeper into true religious life, vegetarianism is a base, and these people need to move towards a purer diet.
Dr. Ana Kingsford brings the knowledge that we should not only migrate to vegetarianism, but also increasingly consume raw foods in our diet, as they have tremendous importance for the psychic vitalization of our bodies. To become more psychically sensitive people, it would be very important for us to eat more raw foods, as much as possible.
What is the basis of Dr. Ana Kingsford’s defense of raw food?
She addresses this topic in several texts, within the limitations of resources imposed at the time. There is a text, translated on our website, called “The Banquet of the Gods.” This text is a dialogue between her and demigods. It is an account of a perception, a psychic vision. In it, she describes a banquet where the gods say that the diet of those who want to draw closer to them, who want to advance to the more advanced stages of spiritual realization, must be basically raw food. She tells us that Ephaistos, the god of fire, is a destroyer, and that as he passes through food he leaves dead, lifeless things, with very harmful effects on health and psycho-spiritual perception.
Today, with scientific knowledge, we can go further. We can know, for example, that enzymes and many vitamins are destroyed by cooking, that many vitalizing properties of food are lost with a large increase in temperature.
Why do you dedicate yourself to philosophy and religion? Why did you take this path in your life?
Out of a search for justice, to bring, especially to the most needy people, well-being, happiness not only in physical terms, but also psychological and spiritual happiness, that is, true inner peace.
In my search for solutions to the conflicts of excessive social inequality, I came to realize that the economic question depends on the political question, which depends on the philosophical question, which depends on the religious question. It’s like a domino effect where one inevitably influences the other.
Mr. Krishnamurti, that great thinker and prophet of the 20th century, stated that religion is the foundation of any civilization. The ultimate questions and ideas – why we are here, what we came to do, what the constitution of the human being is, these deeper ideas that define a purpose for our existence – are fundamental because they determine the rest of our existence, both individually and collectively. If religion is the foundation of any civilization, then the great institutions of the world, as they exist today, are the “children” of religious degeneration, or of materialism, which in many aspects is even worse. This is a fact. Thus, if we want to find solutions to the world’s problems, we need to recover philosophical and religious truth before anything else.
Is religion at the base of this social transformation?
When we deny religion, as materialists try to do, we don’t renounce metaphysical ideas, but simply end up with a bad metaphysics. Even so, you need ideas that are beyond the physical. You can’t live without them, either individually or collectively.
Regarding animals, does animal rights also involve awareness in this area, of equality, of equity?
Yes, it does. If we defend animals based on a materialist philosophy, we end up making a mistake. A religious philosophy is like a map that guides our lives. If you have a bad map, you’ll follow the wrong paths. If you have a good map, you still have a chance of not arriving, because the road is still difficult, full of challenges. But if you don’t even have a decent map, how will you get there? Then there’s no chance at all. The world today is guided by very flawed maps, both in the religious and socio-political fields.
Within philosophy and religion, ethics is very present; it’s at the core. Ethically speaking, it doesn’t seem right that an animal like a cat or dog should be treated with affection while another animal is tortured or murdered.
How do people resolve this within their religions to justify these attitudes, people who live within a certain religious ethic?
It doesn’t resolve itself. They live their lives with this incongruity, this contradiction, even in the case of so-called religious people. In one area of life they believe in one thing, in another they believe something else. One day they act one way, another day another way. In one place they act one way, at work one way, at home another way, at church another way. People’s lives are full of incongruities because the philosophy that governs their lives is deficient, misguided. That’s why this work of seeking improvements, seeking greater truthfulness, more light, in the philosophical and religious field is so important.
You created Dr. Kingsford’s website (www.annakingsford.com) to spread her work. What are your future plans within the objective of projecting this message?
The work of spreading and continuing the message of these prophets is vast. The objectives of the “New” Gospel of Interpretation (as Kingsford and Maitland called this message) are as broad as “opening the Bibles of the world,” “raising the level of the religious ideal, removing it from the external and physical plane to the internal and spiritual plane, and thus defeating the dominion of materialism over moral life,” or even, “the restoration of true Christianity, esoteric and spiritual.”
Today, our plans are to continue translating the main works of Kingsford and Maitland, writing and publishing works, especially those presenting this message, and also developing websites, videos, and holding meetings and lectures.
We are finalizing the translation of Anna Kingsford’s text on the Creed of Christianity, which will soon be available on the website. We are also publishing a work on Buddhist Christianity (The Wheel and the Cross: An Introduction to Buddhist Christianity), because these prophets taught us that Buddhism and Christianity are traditions that were born to complement each other, as two aspects of the same great Catholic gospel, that is, universal.
Since resources are needed to do this more broadly, we are developing some projects that aim, among other things, to provide us with more resources for this work in the future. One of these projects is a farm for planting trees. This project aims both to generate resources and to transform this farm into a center for environmental education, as well as a retreat, peace, and the dissemination of spiritual forces. The location is in the Federal District, next to the Fundamental Stone Monument.
NOTE
(1) Interview conducted by journalist Viviane Pereira on May 2009. Published in summary form in Revista dos Vegetarianos (June 2009). Year 3, Number 32, pp. 18-20.