Nas Laranjeiras: a viagem de Krishnamurti e Maritain ao Brasil e os conceitos de território e ritornello (1935-1936)

Abstract

n 1935 and 1936, two of the greatest figures in the religious world visited Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay: the Hindu mystic Jiddu Krishnamurti, who had been appointed by the Theosophical Society as the “Instructor of the World”, but had abandoned this organization to spread a message of harmony, self-knowledge and personal liberation; and the philosopher Jacques Maritain, the leading Catholic advocate of religious pluralism, dialogue with society, defense of freedom and democracy. The approximation between the two thoughts did not go unnoticed by the radicals: both suffered fierce criticism and persecution by Catholic reactionaries and fascists in newspapers, magazines, and on the streets of the cities they passed through. Even today, Krishnamurti’s spiritualism and Maritainian thought are pointed out as a hoax or heresy by those Catholics. However, the criticisms of these groups, apparently hegemonic in Catholicism, were immediately opposed and the conciliatory ideas ended up prevailing in the following decade. Seeking to understand the convergence of Maritainian thought with Krishnamurti’s inputs and the unexpected acceptance of these positions in Brazil, we sought to analyze correspondence, periodicals and other sources through Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari’s inputs, with an emphasis on the concepts of territory and ritornello, which we sought to relate to the original conceptions of these intellectuals. We understand that the passages by Krishnamurti and Maritain established the cross-fertilization between Theosophy and Catholicism, resulting in the possibility of inserting Brazilian Catholicism into pluralism, democracy and broad coexistence with other religions and various political ideologies.