Miguel Vives y Vives

Miguel Vives y Vives

Miguel Vives y Vives was a philanthropist and dedicated medium belonging to the second generation of spiritualism disseminators in Spain, along with Amalia Domingo Soler, Viscount Torres-Solanot, Manuel Navarro Murillo, Joaquín Huelbes Temprado, and Manuel Sanz Benito, etc. Miguel, like his brother Augusto, exemplified the philosophy of universal brotherhood. A staunch republican, he was a model of virtue and dedication to the cause he believed in, to the point of being nicknamed the ‘apostle of good.’ He was the author of a small work in terms of pages, but enormous in ethical content, the Practical Guide for Spiritualists, which brings together his experiences and advice for a life in harmony with spiritualist philosophy.

The early years marked by orphanhood

The first information about Miguel Vives' life comes from his parents and older brother, as recounted by Armengol Farrás, a friend of Augusto Vives, in an article published in the magazine Luz y Unión in March 1913, on the occasion of his death on 24 February of that year. To understand Miguel Vives' childhood, we must therefore look back at the early years of his older brother Augusto, who acted as a true father to Miguel.

The Vives family was very poor. And in 1835, when his brother Augusto was two months old, his mother, in a moment of despair, decided to commit suicide. She ultimately did not do so thanks to the providential crying of the baby, who, just as his mother was about to throw herself into the sea, began to cry and prevented the fatal outcome. A few years later, his brother Miguel was born in Barcelona. The information provided by Armengol Farrás places us at the historical moment of Miguel Vives' birth:

Seven years passed, and during the days when General Espartero was bombarding the city of Barcelona, his brother Miguel was born. They were forced to sleep in the countryside for several days to escape the shrapnel until they took refuge in a neighbouring village, where his mother died when Miguel was two years old.

The historical reference to the bombing of Barcelona on the orders of General Espartero leads us to place Miguel's birth around 3 December 1842 in Barcelona. His father remarried, and circumstances led them to Sabadell. His second mother added two more daughters to the family, and Augusto was put to work at the age of nine to help support the family.

Thus, the early years of Miguel Vives' life were marked by the pain of seeing his loved ones die. When he was only two years old, he lost his mother, and at eleven, his father died, leaving him in the care of his brother Augusto, who was nineteen and took on the role of father to his three younger siblings, Miguel and the two girls.

Marriage and the loss of a beloved wife

Miguel married in 1868, at the age of 26. This happy event would trigger the greatest crisis he ever suffered, as he would once again be deprived of a loved one. In the midst of their honeymoon, the woman he had chosen as his life partner suddenly passed away.

This event led Miguel into a deep depression, which resulted in a serious illness that kept him completely inactive for five years. Not only was his mental health affected, but also his physical health, resulting in him finding himself bedridden with a weak and sickly body during the best and most vigorous years of his youth. He himself describes this stage of his life in his book, referring to the cause that gave him the strength to overcome that deplorable situation:

My God! What was I before I became a Spiritist? An ignorant and completely incapable creature. So much so that I found myself lost in the most critical and miserable situation a man can find himself in, during the most beautiful days of his youth. I lost my health, my friends had distanced themselves from me, I had no strength to work, and I spent five years without leaving my house.

His physical and mental state was dire. His wife's family took care of him and brought him with them when they moved from Sabadell to Tarrasa.

Knowledge of Spiritism

Miguel Vives was introduced to spiritualism by his brother Augusto, who had discovered it in 1870. Shortly afterwards, Miguel followed in the footsteps of his admired brother, as he himself recounts in his Practical Guide for Spiritualists:

It was 1971. After spending six months in Tarrasa, I returned one day to Sabadell, and my brother told me about spiritualism. At first, the subject seemed very strange to me. But as he spoke to me in a serious manner, and I knew his seriousness and integrity in all matters of his life, I understood that there was some truth in what he was telling me. I asked him for some explanations, and he, as his only response, gave me the works of Allan Kardec.

Reading the first few pages and understanding that this was something great, sublime, immense, took only a moment. ‘My God!’ I exclaimed, "What is happening? I, who had already given up everything, now perceived that everything is life, that everything is progress, and that everything is infinite? I fell prostrate and in awe before such greatness, and I made the decision to become a true Spiritist, to study Spiritism and to devote all my energies to spreading a doctrine that had restored my life and taught me, so clearly, the greatness of God.

By studying the philosophy of spiritualism in the works of Allan Kardec, Miguel finds the reason for his suffering and the pain of humanity. The doctrine of reincarnation and the law of cause and effect penetrate his mind and heart. They restore his lost faith and hope. Life is presented to him not as a chain of unjust events, but as a path of permanent progress. Each being reaps the fruit of their past actions. Nothing dies; only the body disintegrates when its time comes. But the soul, the immortal spirit, remains, lives above matter, and reincarnates to continue its learning, its infinite evolution.

God is mercy, His laws are just. Truth is not inscrutable except to those who stubbornly remain in their rigid and immovable positions, those who think that everything revolves around them, those who live only to satisfy their own ego. These ideas resonate with Miguel Vives, revitalising him and restoring his will to live and fight. His illness stemmed from the despair that tormented him when he could not find a logical and reasoned explanation for the problem of death.

A few years later, having fully recovered, he followed the advice of some friends and remarried a woman who shared his beliefs. Shortly afterwards, he began to gather several friends who sympathised with his ideas at his home. They soon began to hold study meetings and mediumistic sessions in which Miguel's mediumship began to emerge.

Creation of the Human Fraternity Study Centre

In 1872, together with a group of friends who used to meet at his home, he founded a centre for spiritualist studies called Fraternidad Humana (Human Fraternity), of which he was president for thirty years. Amalia Domingo Soler often participated in the meetings in Tarrasa, just as Vives attended those at the La Buena Nueva Centre in Gracia. It was at the centre in Tarrasa where he carried out most of his mediumistic work. Recalling those years, he wrote:

‘I am not a writer, but a medium. Thus, I can never claim to have done anything good solely on my own. If anything that comes from my pen deserves the approval of my brothers, it will come from the good spirits who assist me. Anything that is lacking in my writings is the work of my own intelligence.’

The Fraternidad Humana centre was based in 1900 at 77 San Isidro Street in Tarrasa (Luz y Unión). Miguel Vives worked there as a semi-conscious medium for many years, demonstrating his reliable mediumship.

Relationship with Amalia Domingo Soler

Miguel Vives and Amalia Domingo Soler were colleagues and friends. They visited each other. For Amalia, listening to Miguel was like listening to an apostle of Christianity, as she herself recounts in her memoirs:

‘The communications that filled me with innocent joy were those of Miguel Vives, who occasionally attended the sessions of La Buena Nueva. It seemed to me that I was listening to an apostle of Christianity; I was transported back to the time of Jesus, and slowly my soul became accustomed to that atmosphere of peace and humility’ (Amalia Domingo Soler).

Another loss of a loved one

In 1882, his nine-year-old son, the fruit of his second marriage, died suddenly of illness. Once again, he felt the discouragement and despair of years past, but this time he was able to counter those feelings with his deep convictions. He had already acquired the certainty that death is only a change of abode, a return to the spirit world, the abandonment of the flesh, but never the end of life, because life has no end and never will, there is only evolution, continuous and permanent transformation of the forms of life that populate the Universe. He knew all these things not only through rational knowledge, but also through experience. The development of his mediumship allowed him to perceive states and experiences unknown to most humans, and he described these states as follows:

The spread of spiritism

While carrying out this medical work, he devoted himself to promoting Spiritism; such was his conviction, his ardour and enthusiasm, that every day he won new followers. This caused a real revolution in his environment and relentless hatred began to be directed against him:

‘My head became a volcano of boiling ideas. Before becoming a Spiritist, I was incapable of saying a short prayer for a dozen people. As a Spiritist, I acquired such courage and serenity that nothing impressed me, nor does anything impress me now.’

This is how he recalled those early days of his public service years later.

He actively participated in spreading Spiritism through various media, such as newspapers and federations. In 1882, he founded the Vallés Spiritist Federation, which brought together Spiritist associations and centres in this region of Barcelona. Then, in 1885-89, he edited the magazine El Faro Espiritista, which was the organ of the Federation. The Vallés Spiritist Federation then gave rise to the Catalan Federation, whose organ was the old Revista de Estudios Psicológicos (Journal of Psychological Studies), founded by José María Fernández Colavida, until the Federation's Boletín (Bulletin) was created.

He also actively participated in the International Spiritism Congresses held in Barcelona in 1888 and Paris in 1889. At the Barcelona Congress, which was the first, he was part of the organising committee and served as its vice-president. This Congress was attended by representatives of Spiritist societies from France, Italy, the United States, South America, Belgium, etc. The following year, a new International Congress was held in Paris. Miguel also attended this one, along with other prominent Spanish Spiritists. In Paris, in addition to the European and American delegations, others from India, Egypt and even Australia attended.

Miguel Vives and the Spiritist experience

Miguel Vives always showed particular sensitivity towards prisoners, believing that prisons should be transformed into institutions for moral improvement, treating criminals as sick people who needed to be healed and rehabilitated. On one occasion, as a result of his work with prisoners, and on the occasion of the International Spiritist Congress, he received the following letter from 32 convicts:

Mr Miguel Vives:
Dearest brother. We are grateful for your exhortations and feel immense joy at the news that the International Spiritist Congress is to be held. We are very sorry that we cannot take part in it, but since it is not possible for us, we beg you to kindly represent us and tell the congress that these thirty-two individuals who were criminals are now repentant, forgive their enemies, and wish to return to a life of freedom to demonstrate the change that Spiritism has brought about in them.
Today we only think about our moral reform and the moral reform of humanity.
Thirty-two convicts greet him and wish him God's protection.

Miguel Vives' final years in Barcelona

In May 1891, he moved to Barcelona to see if his poor health would improve; shortly afterwards, in January 1892, he was elected President of the Barcelona Centre for Psychological Studies. In Barcelona, despite his poor health, his activity did not diminish, and he continued to participate actively in events and conferences. His energy, his ideas, his willpower did not come from his weak body. He was able to overcome his physical limitations and express the strength he felt, the power of the soul that radiates conviction, faith, and love, which he felt and spread through his works. This was his strength, a strength that captivated all who listened to him. However, in Barcelona, his speeches had a different tone than when he was at his centre in Tarrasa. This fact was observed by a journalist who admired him, who described it as follows:

I observed a remarkable phenomenon: since he has been living in Barcelona, his speeches no longer have that special flavour, that sweet sentiment that, captivating the audience, carried his listeners to the gates of the glorious, heavenly cities where the righteous receive the reward for their good deeds.

In Barcelona, his speeches contain more truths than words, but those same truths have a bitter taste. The reality of life affects him so painfully that the highly inspired medium, protected by elevated spirits, becomes infected with the epidemic of human realism and weeps over the miseries of humanity, not with sadness, not with bitterness, not with discouragement, but rather, he laments with energy, he courageously rebukes the weak for their lack of faith, he loudly criticises our lack of charity...

A massive farewell

Despite the change of residence, his health did not improve substantially, until he passed away on 23 January 1906. He received a heartfelt farewell from a town that truly loved him. A crowd of people gathered around the funeral procession. Many factories and workshops closed their doors to allow their employees to say their final goodbyes to a man they had admired for his undeniable virtues.

Behind the hearse was a marching band. The procession formed a compact cordon of more than five thousand people. The civil cemetery, the access road, and the tops of the walls were overrun, and it took more than an hour for the body to be brought in. This was the farewell given by his fellow citizens to a man, a medium, a Spiritist who was known by the nickname ‘apostle of Goodness.’