Our History
The União do Vegetal was created by José Gabriel da Costa, or Mestre Gabriel, as he is called by his disciples.
Mestre Gabriel was born on February 10, 1922, the eighth child in a family of 14 children. In the 1940s, he worked as a rubber tapper in the Amazon. He drank Hoasca® for the first time on April 1, 1959, in the Amazon forest and began distributing the tea to associates and disciples shortly thereafter.
In 1961, while still in the forest, Mestre Gabriel announced the creation of the União do Vegetal. Since then the União do Vegetal has worked for the improvement of the human being, developing moral, intellectual and spiritual virtues, and is considered by its members to be a place of peace, goodness, and harmony on earth.
Mestre Gabriel founded the União with the intention of making it an example of seriousness and transparency, focused on respect for the laws of the country, as well as for spiritual laws, in order to fulfill his goal: to bring peace among men.
Mestre Gabriel
In the UDV we seek to emulate the life example lived by Mestre Gabriel, a man who, despite having little formal education, brought to humanity the most noble virtues of human relations. He is considered a model example of a father, husband and friend to those who had the opportunity to know him.
As a spiritual leader, he did not receive any remuneration for his religious services. He was a volunteer in his spiritual work for his entire life, while simultaneously supporting his family through his hard work as a rubber tapper and later a brick maker.
Mestre Gabriel used the five pointed star as a symbol of the perfected human being, with his feet firmly planted in earthly reality, opening his arms in a gesture of fraternity and elevating his head and mind to the highest. Likewise, the UDV is firmly developing, steadfastly participating in charitable works and contributing, in a relevant manner, to the development of the human being.
Mestre Gabriel’s life practice and words of justice and kindness are a permanent source of strength and inspiration for all those who seek to follow his steps on a path of Light, Peace and Love.