The Story of Hoasca yesterday and today: 65 years of the União do Vegetal

Edison Saraiva Neves*

| July 22^nd, 2026

The story revealed by Mestre Gabriel—and recounted for over 60 years during the festive sessions held on July 22nd by the Centro Espírita Beneficente União do Vegetal in 14 countries, including Brazil—manifests in two dimensions. In one way time is measured in a constant flux, and in another, more mysterious way, time is manifested in the eternity of its main characters. In recent times, the União do Vegetal (UDV) – with its ancient beginning – was re-created in 1961 by a simple and humble rubber tapper named José Gabriel da Costa, in a rubber-tapping forest named Sunta, on the banks for the Abunã river.

Unlike the traditions of Ayahuasca-using peoples—with their myriad identities—which teach that an Amerindian created Ayahuasca through intuition, the UDV teaches that it was King Solomon, the King of Israel, who united the Mariri vine with Chacrona leaves. This Great King, endowed with divine wisdom, ruled one of the most conflict-ridden regions on Earth, bringing Light to all the people who lived there. He knew how to generate wealth and distribute prosperity with justice and peace.

In the story of Hoasca, another figure from the same era—a person of remarkable quality—is Caiano, the assistant to the Holy King, a name unknown until recently to most of the world’s population. Now, with the expansion of the UDV, this name is increasingly becoming known and revered. Mestre Caiano, throughout his incarnations, has been gathering and training disciples in fulfillment of the mission entrusted to him by the wise King of Israel.

As time passed – approximately a thousand years later – the moment arrived for the Spirit to manifest in the power of the Savior, Jesus (which is written and pronounced “Yeshua”, with an open “a” sound), a name that, with the change in language means Salvation in ancient Hebrew. Jesus descends from the house of David through his mother, Mary, and through his father, Joseph. His divine teachings are constantly remembered and revered in the Salon of the Vegetal.

Today, the UDV radiates His teachings through the Beneficent Spiritist Center União do Vegetal, much like a body that reflects a Spirit. It is incumbent upon us to state that, over many years—starting in Porto Velho—we have successfully fought various battles before national and international authorities to gain recognition as a Religion.

Our Center’s doctrine is founded on Christian principles and non-negotiable moral values, with a hierarchical organization that lacks the rigidity of a pyramid; instead, it resembles a staircase that one can ascend through merit. There is firm yet loving justice, unconditional giving, and a smiling, hardworking people who earn their daily bread by the sweat of their brow—people who support each other in times of pain and share in the joy of one another’s victories; there is a code of rights and duties that complement each other and are meant to be practiced in the daily lives of its thousands of members.

We are orderly people who receive our wages in communion with our sacred Tea and our blessed doctrine. Our Nucleos multiply from the densest forests of the Amazon to populous cities such as São Paulo, Fortaleza, Curitiba, Salvador, and Brasília, where our General Headquarters is located. We are tree planters by trade, with over 240 planting sites—most of them in forests we have planted across the country. It should be emphasized: forests planted by thousands of hands.

We are educators by virtue of the work we do, and today, the Department of Spiritual Orientation—working alongside parents—supports and serves more than 10,000 children and young people. Our guiding example is the life and work of our Great Mestre Gabriel—a family man who supported his household through the strength of his labor and the sweat of his brow, and who faithfully cherished his home, respecting and honoring the importance of his wife, Mestre Pequenina, as a woman, mother, Counselor, and companion.

As a Spiritual Guide, he did not receive any remuneration for his religious work. His donation to his brothers and sisters, without distinction of rich or poor, black or white, man or woman, is summarized in one sentence.: “Do good without looking at whom it is being done to”, and our symbol: Light, Peace, and Love.

–
*Edison Saraiva Neves is a General Assistant Mestre of the Beneficent Spiritist Center União do Vegetal and a permanent member of the Counsel of General Administration (Conage).