Santo Daime

Doctrine

Princípios Religiosos

Santo Daime's doctrine names four core religious principles — Harmonia, Amor, Verdade, and Justiça (Harmony, Love, Truth, and Justice) — with roots that Mestre Irineu traced to an esoteric circle he belonged to in the 1950s.

Das virtudes em que chegueiCanto, ensino, vem comigoCanto, ensino, é com amorCom prazer e alegria
Concerning the virtues that I attainedI sing and teach them, they come with meI sing, I teach with loveWith pleasure and joy
O Cruzeiro · Mestre Raimundo Irineu Serra78. Das Virtudes

Four principles

According to the account given in Vera Fróes and Marco Imperial's book Santo Daime: Cultura Amazônica, the doctrine's four basic principles — Harmonia, Amor, Verdade, and Justiça — trace back to teachings Mestre Irineu received through his affiliation with the Círculo Esotérico da Comunhão do Pensamento (Esoteric Circle of the Communion of Thought), a group headquartered in São Paulo. Mestre Irineu is recorded as receiving honors and certificates from that organization in 1955.

A later affiliation

Some years afterward, Mestre Irineu also joined the Rosicrucian Order (Ordem Rosacruz), an older esoteric and mystical tradition. Santo Daime doctrine treats the four principles as a foundation running through its teaching and ritual, with each explored as its own subject within the tradition.