Categoria: Espiritualidade

    &The reunion of the Eagle and the Condor

Leonardo Boff1 comentário

                                           Leonardo Boff

Planet Earth, due to the systematic aggression of the last centuries, is in a clear and dangerous decline. The intrusion of Covid-19, directly affecting the entire planet and exclusively the human species, is one of the severe signs that the living Earth is sending us: our way of life is too destructive, leading to the death of millions of human beings and nature beings. We have to change our way of producing, consuming, and living in the only Common House, otherwise we may experience an ecological-social armageddon.

Curiously, in the opposite of this process that some see as the inauguration of a new geological era – the Anthropocene and the Necrocene – that is, the systematic destruction of lives perpetrated by the human being itself, the native peoples are emerging, bearers of a new consciousness and a vitality that has been repressed for centuries. They are biologically remaking themselves and emerging as historical subjects. Their way of relating amicably with nature and Mother Earth has become our masters and doctors. They feel so united to these realities that by defending them they are defending themselves.

The European invaders made a big mistake by calling them “Indians” as if they were inhabitants of a region in India that everyone was looking for, but in fact they called themselves by several names: Tawantinsuyo, Anauhuac, Pindorama, among others. The name Abya Yala prevailed, given by the Kuna people of northern Colombia and Panama, which meant “mature land, living land, land that flourishes”. There were peoples with their names such as Taínos, Tikunas, Zapotecs, Aztecs, Mayas, Olmecs, Toltecs, Mexicans, Aymara, Incas, Quechua Tapajos, Tupis, Guaranis, Mapuches, and hundreds of others.

The adoption of the common name Abya Yala is part of the construction of a common identity, in the diversity of their cultures and expression of the joints that unite them in an immense movement that goes from the north to the south of the American continent. In 2007 they created the Abya Yala Peoples’ Summit.

But over them weighs a vast shadow that was the extermination inflicted by the European invaders. One of the greatest genocides in history took place. About 70 million representatives of these peoples were killed by wars of extermination or by diseases brought by the whites against which they had no immunity, by forced labor and forced crossbreeding.

The most reliable data were gathered by sociologist and educator Moema Viezzer and Canadian sociologist and historian living in Brazil Marcelo Grondin. The book, with preface by Ailton Krenak, is entitled Abya Yala: genocide, resistance and survival of the original peoples of the Americas (Editora Bambual, Rio de Janeiro 2021). They collect the data on the genocide of the two Americas. We have given a short summary:                                                                                                 

In the Caribbean in 1492 when the colonizers arrived, there were four million indigenous people. Years later there were none left. They were all killed, especially in Haiti.

In Mexico in 1500, there were 25 million indigenous people (Aztecs, Toltecs and others).

In the Andes in 1532 there were 15 million Indians, in a few years only one million remained.

In Central America in 1492 in Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Panama there were between 5.6-13 million indigenous people, of which 90% were killed.

In Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Paraguay, on average about one million Indians died, in some countries more, in others less.

In the Lesser Antilles such as in the Bahamas, Barbados, Curaçao, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Virgin Islands, they experienced the same almost total extermination.

In Brazil when the Portuguese arrived in these lands, there were about 6 million original peoples of dozens of ethnic groups with their languages. The violent mismatch reduced them to less than a million. Today, unfortunately, due to the carelessness of the authorities, this process of death continues, victims of the coronavirus. A wise man of the Yanomami nation, the shaman Davi Kopenawa Yanomamy relates in his book The Fall of Heaven what the shamans of his people are glimpsing: the race of humanity is heading toward its end.

In the United States of America there were about 18 million native peoples in 1607, and soon after only two million survived.

In Canada in 1492 there were two million native inhabitants, and in 1933 there were only 120,000.

The book tells not only of the immeasurable tragedy, but especially of the resistance and, in modern times, of the various organized summits between these native peoples, from the south and the north of the Americas. In doing so, they reinforce each other, rescue the ancestral wisdom of the shamans, the traditions, and the memories.

A legend-prophecy expresses the reunion of these peoples: the one between the Eagle, representing North America, and the Condor, representing South America. Both were generated by the Sun and the Moon. They lived happily flying together. But fate separated them. The Eagle dominated the spaces and almost led to the Condor’s extermination.

However, this same destiny willed that in the 1990s, when the great summits began to take place between the different native peoples, from the south and the north, the Condor and the Eagle met again and began to fly together. From their love was born the Central American Quetzal, one of the most beautiful birds in nature, a bird from the Mayan cosmovision that expresses the union of heart and mind, art and science, masculine and feminine. It is the beginning of a new time, of the great reconciliation of human beings with each other, as brothers and sisters, caretakers in nature, united by the same beating heart and dwelling in the same generous Pachamama, Mother Earth.

Who knows, in the midst of the tribulations of the present time in which our culture has found its insurmountable limits and feels urged to change course, this prophecy may be the anticipation of a good end for us all. We will still fly together, the Eagle of the North with the Condor of the South under the beneficent light of the Sun that will show us the best path.

Leonardo Boff wrote The Marriage between Heaven and Earth: tales of the indigenous peoples of Brazil, Mar de Ideias, Rio de Janeiro 2014.

O reencontro entre a Águia e o Condor

Leonardo Boff1 comentário

O planeta Terra devido à sistemática agressão nos últimos séculos está num franco e perigoso declínio. A intrusão do Covid-19 afetando diretamente  todo o planeta e exclusivamente a espécie humana é um entre os sevros sinais de que a Terra viva nos está enviando: nosso modo de vida é demasiadamente destrutivo levando à morte a milhões de seres humanos e a seres da natureza. Temos que mudar nosso modo produzir,de consumir e de morar na única Casa Comum, caso contrário podemos conhecer um armagedon ecológico-social.

Curiosamente, na contramão desse processo que alguns o veem como  a inauguração de uma nova era geológica – o antropoceno e o necroceno – quer dizer, a sistemática destruição de vidas perpetradas pelo próprio ser humano, irrompem os povos originários, portadores de uma nova consciência e de uma vitalidade, reprimida por séculos. Estão se refazendo biologicamente e surgindo como sujeitos históricos. Sua maneira de se relacionar amigavelmente com a natureza e a Mãe Terra fazem-se nossos mestres e doutores. Sentem-se tão unidos a estas realidades que defendendo-as estão se defendendo a si próprios.

Foi grande o equívoco dos invasores europeus de chamá-los de “indios” como se fossem habitantes de uma região da Índia que todos buscavam.Eles, na verdade,  se chamavam por vários nomes:Tawantinsuyo, Anauhuac, Pindorama entre outros. Prevaleceu o nome de Abya Yala  dada pelo povo Kuna do norte da Colômbia e do Panamá que significava “terra madura, terra viva, terra que floresce”. Eram povos com seus nomes como taínos, tikunas, zapotecas, astecas, maias, olmecas, toltecas, mexicas, aimaras,incas quíchuas tapajós, tupis, guaranis, mapuches e centenas de outros. A adoção de nome comum Abya Yala faz parte da construção de uma identidade comum, na diversidade de suas culturas e  expressão das articulações que os unem num imenso movimento que vai do norte o sul do continente americano. Em 2007 criaram a Cúpula dos Povos de Abya Yala.

Mas sobre eles pesa uma vasta sombra que foi o extermínio infligido pelos invasores europeus. Ocorreu um dos maiores genocídios da história. Foram mortos por guerras de extermínio ou por doenças trazidas pelos brancos contra as quais não possuíam imunidade, por trabalhos forçados e mestiçagem forçada, cerca de 70 milhões de representantes destes povos. Os dados mais seguros foram levantados pela socióloga e educadora Moema Viezzer e pelo sociólogo e historiador canadense radicado no Brasil Marcelo Grondin. O livro, impressionnte, com prefácio de Ailton Krenak leva como título Abya Yala: genocídio, resistência e sobrevivência dos povos originários das Américas (Editora Bambual, Rio de Janeiro 2021). Recolhem os dados do genocídio das duas Américas. Demos um pequeno resumo:                                                                                                  

No Caribe em 1492 quando chegaram os colonizadores, havia quatro milhoes  de indígenas. Anos após não havia mais nenhum. Todos foram mortos especialmente no Haiti.

No México em 1500 havia 25 milhões de indígenas (Astecas, toltecas e outros) depois de 70 anos restaram apenas dois milhões.

Nos Andes existiam em 1532 15 milhões de indígenas, em poucos anos restou apenas um milhão.

Na América  Central em 1492 na Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, Nicarágua, El Salvador, Costa rica e Panamá havia entre 5,6-13 milhões de indígenas, dos quais 90% foram mortos.

Na Argentina, no Chile, na Colômbia e no Paraguai morreram em média, em alguns países mais em outros menos, cerca cerca de um milhão de indígenas.

Nas Antilhas menores como nas Bahamas, Barbados.Curaçao,Granada, Guadalupe, Trinidad- Tobago e Ilhas Virgens conheceram o mesmo extermínio quase total.

No Brasil quando os portugueses aportaram  nestas terras, havia cerca de  6 milhões de povos originários de dezenas de etnias com suas línguas. O desencontro violento os reduziu a menos de um milhão. Hoje, infelizmente, devido ao descuido por parte das autoridades, esse processo de morte continua, vítimas do coronavírus. Um sábio da nação yanomami, o pajé Davi Kopenawa Yanomamy relata no livro A Queda do Céu o que os xamãs de seu povo estão entrevendo:a corrida  da humanidade está rumando  na direção de seu fim.

Nos Estados Unidos da América viviam  em 1607 cerca de 18 milhões de povos originários e tempos depois sobreviveram apenas dois milhões.

No Canadá havia em 1492 dois milhões de habitantes originários e em 1933 se contavam apenas 120 mil.

O livro não narra apenas a incomensurável tragédia, mas especialmente as resistências e modernamente as várias cúpulas organizadas entre esses povos originários, do sul e do norte das Américas. Com isso se reforçarem mutuamente, resgatam a sabedoria ancestral dos xamãs, as tradições e as memórias.

Uma lenda-profecia expressa o reencontro desses povos: aquela entre a Águia, representando a América do Norte  e o Condor a América do Sul. Ambos foram gerados pelo Sol e pela Lua. Viviam felizes voando juntos. Mas o destino os separou. A Águia dominou os espaços e quase levou ao extermínio o Condor.

No entanto, quis esse mesmo destino que a partir da década de 1990, ao se iniciarem as grandes cúpulas entre os distintos povos originários, do sul e do norte, o Condor  e a Águia se reencontraram e começaram  a voar juntos. Do amor de ambos, nasceu o Quetzal da América Central, uma das mais belas aves da natureza, ave da cosmovisão maia  que expressa a união do coração com a mente, da arte com a ciência, do masculino com o feminino. É o começo do novo tempo, da grande reconciliação dos seres humanos entre si, como irmãos e irmãs, cuidadores na natureza, unidos por um mesmo coração pulsante e habitando na mesma e generosa Pachamama, a Mãe Terra.

Quem sabe, no meio das tribulações do tempo presente em que nossa cultura encontrou seus limites intransponíveis e se sente urgida a mudar de rumo, esta profecia possa ser a antecipação de um fim bom para todos nós. Ainda voaremos juntos, a Águia do Norte com o Condor do Sul sob a luz benfazeja do Sol que nos mostrará o melhor caminho.

Leonardo Boff escreveu O Casamento entre o Céu e a Terra: contos dos povos indígenas do Brasil, Mar de Ideias, Rio de Janeiro 2014.

Inmitten der Pandemie: Die Dringlichkeit des Geistes des Lebens

Leonardo BoffDeixe um comentário

Leonardo Boff

Inmitten der Pandemie, die täglich Tausende von Toten fordert, feiern wir das Pfingstfest, das Fest des lebensspendenden und heilenden Geistes. Sein Wirken mit all denen, die im Kampf gegen Covid-19 an vorderster Front stehen, ist dringend notwendig, um sie am Leben zu erhalten, beschützt und gewappnet mit dem heldenhaften Geist, um ihre Mission, Leben zu retten, fortsetzen zu können, wobei sie  ihr eigenes aufs Spiel setzen.

Der liturgische Hymnus des heutigen Festes spricht von ihm als den “großen Tröster und süßen Erquicker”. Mehr denn je muss er sich mit diesen Gaben allen zur Verfügung stellen, die in Krankenhäusern arbeiten

Lasst uns einen Moment über das Wesen des Heiligen Geistes und seine Bedeutung für das Leben und den gegenwärtigen dramatischen Moment nachdenken.

Zuallererst ist es wichtig zu sagen, dass der Geist der erste war, der in diese Welt kam und immer noch kommt. Er kam und schlug seine Zelte bei Maria von Nazareth auf. Das heißt, er richtete seine ständige Wohnstätte in ihr ein (Lk 1,35) und erhob das Weibliche auf die Höhe des Göttlichen.

Aus dieser Gegenwart ist die heilige Menschheit des Gottessohnes entstanden. Das Wort schlug sein Zelt auf (Joh 1,14) in dem von Maria empfangenen Menschen Jesus. In einem Moment der Geschichte ist sie, die einfache Frau von Nazareth, der Tempel des lebendigen Gottes: Zwei göttliche Personen wohnen in ihr: der Geist, der sie “gesegnet unter allen Frauen” (Lk 1,42) macht, und der Sohn Gottes, der in ihr heranwächst und dessen Mutter sie wahrhaftig ist.

Dann kam der Geist bei der Taufe durch Johannes den Täufer auf Jesus herab und entzündete ihn für seine befreiende Mission. Er kam auf die erste Gemeinde herab, die sich am Pfingstfest, das wir heute feiern, in Jerusalem versammelte, und gebar die Kirche. Er kam weiterhin herab, unabhängig davon, ob die Menschen Christen waren und sich taufen ließen oder nicht, wie es bei dem römischen Beamten Kornelius geschah, als er noch ein Heide war (Apg 11,45).

Und im Laufe der Geschichte ist er immer schon vor den Missionaren gekommen und hat dafür gesorgt, dass in den Herzen der Menschen die Liebe herrschte, die Gerechtigkeit gepflegt und das Mitgefühl gelebt wurde. Einmal in die Geschichte eingetreten, hat er sie nie wieder verlassen. Er nimmt, was zu Jesus gehört, gibt es weiter, verkündet aber auch “Neues, das kommt” (Joh 16,13).

Es geschieht mithilfe des Geistes, dass Propheten hervorbrechen, Dichter singen, Künstler geschaffen werden und Menschen das praktizieren, was gut, gerecht und wahr ist. Vom Geist werden die Heiligen geformt, besonders jene, die ihr Leben für das Leben anderer geben, wie jetzt jene, die fast bis zur Erschöpfung in den Krankenhäusern Brasiliens und der Welt arbeiten.

Es ist ebenfalls auf den Geist zurückzuführen, dass alte und schrumpfende Institutionen sich plötzlich erneuern und den Gemeinden den nötigen Dienst erweisen, wie es Papst Franziskus tut und auch andere christliche Kirchen.

Die Welt geht schwanger mit dem Geist, auch wenn der Geist der Ungerechtigkeit beharrlich sein Werk fortsetzt, feindlich gesonnen gegenüber dem Leben und allem, was heilig und göttlich ist. Dies geschieht in unserem Land mit einer Regierung, die dem Tod freundlicher gesonnen ist als dem Leben.

Die Armen fühlen sich in diesem Moment am meisten bestraft, ohne ein angemessenes Haus zum Leben, ohne zu wissen, was sie am nächsten Tag essen werden, ohne Arbeit und ohne jegliche Sicherheit gegenüber den Angriffen des tödlichen Virus.

Heute gibt es Millionen von ihnen. Die Armen schreien auf. Und Gott ist der Gott des Schreis, d.h. derjenige, der auf den Schrei der Unterdrückten hört. Er verlässt seine Transzendenz und kommt herab, um ihnen zuzuhören und sie zu befreien, wie im Fall der Gefangenschaft in Ägypten (vgl. Ex 4,3). Es ist der Geist, der uns dazu bringt, “Abba, lieber Vater” zu rufen (Röm 8,15; Gal 4,6). Deshalb ist der Geist der Vater und der Pate der Armen (pater pauperum), wie die Kirche heute an diesem Fest singt.

Er tut es sicher nicht auf wundersame Weise, aber er gibt ihnen Mut und Widerstand, den Willen zu kämpfen und zu siegen. Er lässt die Arme nicht sinken. Er schickt das Licht in die Herzen der Armen, damit sie die richtigen Initiativen entdecken, damit sie ausharren und tatsächlich bis heute lebendig werden; wenn die Ureinwohner nicht völlig ausgerottet werden konnten und jetzt, wegen der Nachlässigkeit der offiziellen Behörden, ernsthaft gefährdet sind, wenn die Afro-Nachfahren nicht der Last der Sklaverei erliegen konnten, dann deshalb, weil in ihnen eine Energie des Widerstands und der Befreiung war, das, was der Hymnus die Gaben und das Licht der Herzen nennt: der Heilige Geist, egal welchen Namen wir ihm geben.

Den Verzweifelten zeigt er sich als ein Tröster ohnegleichen. Er steht ihnen nicht von außen bei. Er ist gekommen, um als Gast in ihnen zu wohnen, um ihnen zu helfen und sie zu beraten, denn das ist seine Mission. In den großen Schwierigkeiten und Krisen verkündet er sich als Bezugspunkt des Friedens, der Ruhe: ein Erquicker, denn so sagt es der Pfingsthymnus, den ich hier wörtlich zitiere.

Er erscheint als der große Tröster. Wie oft treiben uns in diesen dunklen Zeiten die Nöte des Lebens Tränen in die Augen! Wenn wir einen geliebten Menschen verlieren, ohne uns zu verabschieden und ohne die notwendige Trauerarbeit zu leisten, oder wenn wir tiefe Frustrationen erleben, affektiv oder beruflich, oder wenn wir arbeitslos sind, scheinen wir in einen Abgrund zu fallen. Es sind diese Momente, in denen wir flehen müssen: “Komm, Geist, sei unser Trost; wische unsere Tränen ab und kühle unser Schluchzen.

Der Heilige Geist kam einmal und kommt noch immer ständig. Aber in dramatischen Momenten wie dem unseren, unter Covid-19, müssen wir rufen: “Komm, Heiliger Geist, und erneuere das Antlitz der Erde und rette unser Land und die Welt.

Wenn der Geist nicht kommt, werden wir dazu verdammt sein, die vom Propheten Ezechiel (c.37) beschriebene Landschaft zu sehen: die Erde bedeckt mit Leichen und Knochen überall. Aber wenn er kommt, werden die Leichen mit Leben bekleidet, und die Wüste wird zu einem Garten. Die Armen werden ihre Gerechtigkeit erhalten, die Kranken werden Gesundheit erlangen, und die Sünder, die wir alle sind, werden Vergebung und Gnade empfangen.

Das ist unser Glaube und mehr noch, unsere unsterbliche Hoffnung, verbunden mit einer tiefen Solidarität mit allen Opfern von Covid-19.

Leonardo Boff Theologe und Autor von “Der Heilige Geist: Feuer Gottes – Lebensquell – Vater der Armen“, 2014, Herder.

Übersetzt von Bettina Gold-Harnack

In the midst of the pandemic: the urgency of the Spirit of Life

Leonardo BoffDeixe um comentário

                           Leonardo Boff

In the midst of the pandemic with thousands of deaths every day, we celebrate the feast of Pentecost, of the life-giving and healing Spirit. His action with all those who are on the front lines in the fight against Covid-19 is urgent to keep them alive, protected, and with the heroic spirit to continue in their mission of saving lives, putting their own at risk.

The liturgical hymn of today’s feast speaks of him being the “great comforter and the sweet refresher”.More than ever he must show himself with these gifts to all who work in hospitals.

Let us reflect for a moment on the nature of the Holy Spirit and his relevance to life and to the present dramatic moment.

First of all it is important to say that the Spirit was the first to come into this world and is still coming. He came and pitched his tent on Mary of Nazareth. That is to say, he fixed his permanent dwelling place in her (Lk 1:35) and raised the feminine to the height of the Divine.

From this presence, the holy humanity of the Son of God originated. The Word pitched his tent (Jn 1:14) in the man Jesus, begotten by Mary. At one moment in history, she, the simple woman of Nazareth, is the temple of the living God: Two divine Persons dwell in her: the Spirit who makes her “blessed among all women” (Lk 1:42) and the Son of God, growing within her, whose mother she truly is.     

Then the Spirit descended on Jesus at the baptism by John the Baptist and inflamed him for his liberating mission. He descended on the first community gathered in Jerusalem on the feast of Pentecost that we now celebrate, giving birth to the Church. He continued to come down, regardless of whether the people were Christians and baptized or not, as happened to the Roman official Cornelius, still a pagan (Acts 11:45).

And throughout history He has always come before the missionaries, making sure that in the hearts of the people love prevailed, justice was cultivated, and compassion was lived out. Once he entered history, he never left it. He takes what belongs to Jesus, passes it on, but also “announces new things to come” (Jn 16:13).

It is by the Spirit that prophets burst forth, poets sing, artists are created, and people practice what is good, just and true. From the Spirit are shaped the saints, especially those who give their lives for the lives of others, like now those who work, almost to the point of exhaustion, in the hospitals of Brazil and the world.

It is also by the Spirit that old and crepuscular institutions suddenly renew themselves and provide needed service to communities as Pope Francis is doing and also other Christian churches.

The world is pregnant with the Spirit even as the spirit of iniquity perseveres in its work, hostile to life and all that is sacred and divine. This is happening in our country with a government that is friendlier to death than to life.

The poor feel most penalized at this moment, without an adequate house to live in, without knowing what they will eat the next day, without a job and without any security against the attacks of the lethal virus.

Today there are millions of them. The poor cry out. And God is the God of the cry, that is, the one who listens to the cry of the oppressed. He leaves his transcendence and comes down to listen to them and to free them, as in the case of the captivity in Egypt (Cf. Ex 4:3). It is the Spirit who makes us cry out Abba, dear Father (Rom 8:15; Gal 4:6). That is why the Spirit is the father and the godfather of the poor (pater pauperum), as the Church sings today on this feast.

He certainly does not do it miraculously, but he gives them courage and resistance, the will to fight and to conquer. He does not let his arms go down. He sent the light to the hearts of the poor to discover the right initiatives, to persist, and in fact to come alive until today; if the indigenous people could not be totally exterminated and now, because of the negligence of the oficial authorities, are at serious risk, if the Afro-descendants could not succumb to the weight of slavery, it was because inside them there was an energy of resistance and liberation, what the hymn calls the gifts and light of hearts: the Holy Spirit, no matter what name we give it.

To the desperate He shows Himself as a comforter without equal. He doesn’t assist them from outside. He has come to dwell within them as a guest to help and advise them, for this is His mission. In the great difficulties and crises, He announces Himself as a reference of peace, of calm: a refresher, for so says the Pentecost hymn that I am quoting verbatim.

He appears as the great comforter. How often, in these dark times of epidemics, the hardships of life make us fill our eyes with tears. When we lose a loved one without saying good-bye and without doing the necessary mourning, or when we experience deep frustrations, affective or professional, or when we are unemployed, we seem to fall into an abyss. It is in these moments that we must plead: “Come Spirit, be our comfort; wipe away our tears and cool our sobs.

The Holy Spirit came once and keeps coming permanently. But in dramatic moments like ours, under Covid-19 we must cry out, “Come Holy Spirit and renew the face of the earth and save our country and the world.

If the Spirit doesn’t come, we will be condemned to see the landscape described by the prophet Ezekiel (c.37): the earth covered with corpses and bones everywhere. But when he comes, the corpses are clothed with life and the desert becomes a vergel. The poor will receive his justice, the sick will gain health, and the sinners, which are all of us, will receive forgiveness and grace.

This is our faith and even more, our undying hope, united with a deep solidarity with all the victims of Covid-19 around the world.

Leonardo Boff is a theologian who wrote The Holy Spirit: inner fire, giver of life, and father of the poor, Vozes 2013, Orbis Books 2014..