Santo Daime - Urban
Communities
José Murilo C. Carvalho Jr.
A Heaven under Construction
I have always dreamt of putting
into practice all I have seen brilliantly set forth in theoretical terms. Some way or
other, that is what the Santo Daime doctrine has been providing me. Through this line of
work and under the guidance of Fernando de La Rocque Couto, an anthropologist famed for
having expounded his studies about shamanism in last years Meeting for a New
Consciousness, a group of people decided to go for a communal experience. Thus the Céu do
Planalto community was created, now gathering around 40 inhabitants and about 90 guests,
among collaborators, followers, and visitors.
The word Céu (heaven, sky) has
become a standard designation after the Céu do Mapiá, the doctrines headquarters
at the banks of the Mapiá "igarapé", Purus River, Amazonas State. Padrinho
Sebastião was intent on making Heaven real on Earth, and, following in his footsteps (but
definitely with no modesty), we got together to form the Céu do Planalto. Five years ago,
some of us were already aware that the individual inner revolutions taken place while
spiritually working with the Daime would require a special communal space so that they
could be externalized and turned into a transformed group performance. There was no clear
idea, however, of how this would unfold.
We were also aware that the
preconceived idea of what a community meant bore a number of clichés that would have to
be demystified. Some of the people from the original group had already experienced other
self-development paths, bringing with them both the valuable accomplishment background and
the realization of how difficult it is to succeed in such a task, mainly when it is a
joint project. Above all, we had to practice the doctrines four cornerstones:
Harmony, Love, Truth, and Justice, so as to build up the ideal space for each ones
self-encounter. We had to truly seek how to achieve such an elevated stage of love whereby
our inner Higher Self is recognized and to live the certainty that all our sisters and
brothers are able to share this same (contagious) process.
The main idea, therefore, was that
we should get together. Eight families set some savings aside in order to buy some land in
an area near the city and with a privileged view, but protected enough from massive urban
access. That is where we built the Church, at the lands highest spot. Then we began
to hold our spiritual sessions, which traditionally take a long time (5 to 12 hours,
depending on the kind of work). The places beauty and proximity to the city were
attractive enough to move some people into settling around the valley. Thus the
Brasilias Santo Daime community was founded.
The first thing to decide was how
to deal with the communitys economic support. Since almost all the groups
members were already satisfactorily employed, it was not difficult for them to help cover
the expenditures deriving from the Churchs activities. Led by Fernando La Rocque,
they agreed on paying the Church a monthly fee and sharing any financial commitments
thereof and on keeping their original professional positions so as not to directly depend
on the doctrines structure for a living.
Although some members, influenced
by the above mentioned communal clichés, began to think of "living on the
land", aiming at a bucolic life style revival, it was clear for most of us that such
a proposal would be artificial and would not take into account each members
specialized professional background. Any agricultural effort would have to be as
professional as every other already duly accomplished skill. Besides, our goal was to
highlight our communal project on the basis of a spiritual experience, and not otherwise.
Therefore, we realized that agricultural or any other economic projects might deviate us
from our main focus, which is to consecrate the Daime together. This realization also
helped us see our integration role as regards our colleagues, family members, friends, and
Brasilia.
So, from the very beginning that
touchstone showed us which work should be developed. Through the Santo Daime, our
headquarters in the rainforest, the Céu do Mapiá, radiates a new light of spirituality
in harmony with nature. We were there and could testify to the strength of their heavenly
message. Then we brought it to the city - something many believed would not be possible. A
formula was worked out after which the urban community Céu do Planalto, the Santo Daime
Church in the Central Brazilian Plateau, gradually built up its own identity and was
thereby able to become an ideal tool for the spreading of that message in the city of
Brasilia.
The need for again approaching
nature and the basic survival values while in direct contact with the land, a feature
which is always stressed by the Daime experience, became communally manifest through the
cultivation of "rainha" and "jagube" gardens ("rainha" and
"jagube" are the plants used for preparing the Daime beverage), and the
preservation of the landscape in and around the community area. On the other hand, this
same endeavor towards an ecologically conscious urban action fostered the group to form an
NGO for the purpose of local environmental protection.
A quite complex and specialized
infrastructure is required for us to strictly focus on providing people with the Santo
Daime spiritual experience - and that is the joint task carried out by the Céu do
Planalto community members. From guests greeting, which involves introductory lectures and
evaluation interviews and anamnesis, to the spiritual sessions themselves, held by around
120 people and involving a staff of musicians, singers, inspectors, treasurers and
receptionists, and the maintenance and handling of the Daime stock as well, all is carried
out by turns of community members.
Apart from the sessions, the group
living in the community is aware that the Santo Daime experience implies a dynamic inner
pattern recycling which will naturally bring visitors closer to community members. The
following question often arises: "What am I supposed to do next?" Therefore,
visitors and followers usually look for community members in their houses, which makes the
process of radiating a new relationship pattern easier and creates a specific kind of
group identity. Each member living in the community is today aware of their role of
providing everyone else with the material facilities for the smooth development of the
spiritual sessions.
After all, what is this
transformation all about? It sounds somewhat absurd to imagine that simply by taking a
beverage people make up their minds and begin to live a new life together. Something seems
to be missing for this process to be better understood. And that is one of the keys to the
mystery - the spiritual means of communication which has a very specific configuration
within the Santo Daime doctrine: the hymns inspired by the spiritual dimension (or
"received" from the spiritual dimension). Since Master Irineu had his initial
revelation, each "fardado" (initiate) member is considered as a repository of
the doctrine which radiates in the form of hymns to be chanted while special awareness
moments are provided by the sessions harmony and the Daime consecrated within it.
Os hinos são as correntes
Tu bem vistes em mim
Que sai da tua boca
E transmite em ti |
[The hymns are the currents]
[You could see them in me]
[They come out of your mouth]
[And spread out through you] |
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