Benjamin Creme is a Scottish artist, author, esotericist, and editor of
Share InternationalShare International Foundation is a spiritual movement founded by Benjamin Creme with its main offices in London, Amsterdam, Tokyo and Los Angeles...
magazine, a monthly non-profit magazine and website.
He asserts that the
second comingIn Christian doctrine, the Second Coming of Christ, the Second Advent, or the Parousia, is the anticipated return of Jesus Christ from Heaven, where he sits at the Right Hand of God, to Earth. This prophecy is found in the canonical gospels and in most Christian and Islamic eschatologies...
prophesied by many religions will come in the form of "
MaitreyaIn the Neo-Theosophical teachings of Benjamin Creme, founder of Share International, it is promulgated thatthe near-future coming of Maitreya sometime in the 21st century will fulfill not only Buddhist prophecies about the appearance of a future great teacher named Maitreya, but also the...
", the World Teacher.
MaitreyaMaitreya , Metteyya , or Jampa , is foretold as a future Buddha of this world in Buddhist eschatology. In some Buddhist literature, such as the Amitabha Sutra and the Lotus Sutra, he or she is referred to as Ajita Bodhisattva.Maitreya is a bodhisattva who in the Buddhist tradition is to appear on...
is the name Buddhists use for the future
BuddhaIn Buddhism, buddhahood is the state of perfect enlightenment attained by a buddha .In Buddhism, the term buddha usually refers to one who has become enlightened...
, but Creme claims that Maitreya is the teacher that all
religionReligion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
s point towards and hope for. Other names for him, according to Creme, are the
ChristChrist is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
, the Imam Mahdi,
KrishnaKrishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...
, and the
MessiahA messiah is a redeemer figure expected or foretold in one form or another by a religion. Slightly more widely, a messiah is any redeemer figure. Messianic beliefs or theories generally relate to eschatological improvement of the state of humanity or the world, in other words the World to...
. Creme says
MaitreyaIn the Neo-Theosophical teachings of Benjamin Creme, founder of Share International, it is promulgated thatthe near-future coming of Maitreya sometime in the 21st century will fulfill not only Buddhist prophecies about the appearance of a future great teacher named Maitreya, but also the...
is the "
AvatarIn Hinduism, an avatar is a deliberate descent of a deity to earth, or a descent of the Supreme Being and is mostly translated into English as "incarnation," but more accurately as "appearance" or "manifestation"....
for the
Aquarian AgeThe Age of Aquarius is either the current or new age in the cycle of astrological ages. Each astrological age is approximately 2,150 years long, on average, but there are various methods of calculating this length that may yield longer or shorter time spans depending upon the technique used...
" and is currently living in
LondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
since 19 July 1977.
Early life
At the age of fourteen, Benjamin Creme says he became interested in the
occultThe word occult comes from the Latin word occultus , referring to "knowledge of the hidden". In the medical sense it is used to refer to a structure or process that is hidden, e.g...
when he read
With Mystics and Magicians in Tibet by
Alexandra David-NeelAlexandra David-Néel born Louise Eugénie Alexandrine Marie David was a Belgian-French explorer, spiritualist, Buddhist and writer, most known for her visit to Lhasa, Tibet, in 1924, when it was forbidden to foreigners...
.
Benjamin Creme was the vice president of the
Aetherius SocietyThe Aetherius Society was founded by Dr George King , an English-born Master of Yoga, occultist, alleged spiritual healer and UFO Contactee. The society was first established in London in 1955, and later becoming incorporated in America as a not-for-profit organisation in 1960. Its guiding...
(a
UFO based new religious movementUFO religion is an informal term used to describe a religion that equates UFO occupants with gods or other semi-divine beings. Typically, the UFO occupants are held to be extraterrestials and that humanity either currently is, or eventually will become, part of a preexisting extraterrestrial...
) between 1957 and 1959. In 1958 he personally met
George AdamskiGeorge Adamski was a Polish-born American citizen who became widely known in ufology circles, and to some degree in popular culture, after he claimed to have photographed ships from other planets, met with friendly Nordic alien "Space Brothers", and to have taken flights with them...
and Creme says he can personally vouch for the authenticity of Adamski's UFO contacts.
Assigned his mission by his Master
Creme says he was first contacted telepathically by his
MasterThe Masters of the Ancient Wisdom are reputed to be enlightened beings originally identified by the Theosophists Helena Blavatsky, Henry S. Olcott, Alfred P. Sinnett, and others. These Theosophists claimed to have met some of the so-called Masters during their lifetimes in different parts of the...
in January 1959, who asked him to make tape recordings of his messages to Creme. He first began to speak publicly of his mission on 30 May 1975, at the Friends Meeting House on
Euston RoadEuston Road is an important thoroughfare in central London, England, and forms part of the A501. It is part of the New Road from Paddington to Islington, and was opened as part of the New Road in 1756...
in
LondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
,
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. His central message announced the emergence of a group of enlightened spiritual teachers who could guide humanity forward into the new
Aquarian AgeAquarian Age may refer to:* Age of Aquarius - astrological belief that the sign Aquarius has sovereignty over civilization during its part of the Great Year* Aquarian Age TCG collectible card game...
of peace and brotherhood based on the principles of love and sharing. At the head of this group was would be a great
AvatarIn Hinduism, an avatar is a deliberate descent of a deity to earth, or a descent of the Supreme Being and is mostly translated into English as "incarnation," but more accurately as "appearance" or "manifestation"....
,
MaitreyaIn the Neo-Theosophical teachings of Benjamin Creme, founder of Share International, it is promulgated thatthe near-future coming of Maitreya sometime in the 21st century will fulfill not only Buddhist prophecies about the appearance of a future great teacher named Maitreya, but also the...
, the World Teacher, expected by all the major religions at this time as their “Awaited One” – the
ChristChrist is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
to the Christians, the Imam Mahdi to the Muslims, the
MessiahA messiah is a redeemer figure expected or foretold in one form or another by a religion. Slightly more widely, a messiah is any redeemer figure. Messianic beliefs or theories generally relate to eschatological improvement of the state of humanity or the world, in other words the World to...
for
JewsThe Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
, and the 5th Buddha (
MaitreyaMaitreya , Metteyya , or Jampa , is foretold as a future Buddha of this world in Buddhist eschatology. In some Buddhist literature, such as the Amitabha Sutra and the Lotus Sutra, he or she is referred to as Ajita Bodhisattva.Maitreya is a bodhisattva who in the Buddhist tradition is to appear on...
) for Buddhists.
1982 prediction
In the spring of 1982 Creme placed advertisements in newspapers around the world saying, "The Christ is now here". According to Creme the "Christ", whom he also called "Maitreya", would announce his existence on world wide television broadcasts. Creme stated in these newspaper advertisements that the Second Coming of Christ would occur on Monday, 21 June 1982 (the
summer solsticeThe summer solstice occurs exactly when the axial tilt of a planet's semi-axis in a given hemisphere is most inclined towards the star that it orbits. Earth's maximum axial tilt to our star, the Sun, during a solstice is 23° 26'. Though the summer solstice is an instant in time, the term is also...
in the
Northern hemisphereThe Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is north of its equator—the word hemisphere literally means “half sphere”. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator...
). On 14 May 1982 Benjamin Creme held a press conference in Los Angeles, USA. Over 90 members of the media attended and heard Creme announce that Maitreya was living within the Asian community, in the
Brick LaneBrick Lane is a street in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, in the East End of London. It runs from Swanfield Street in the northern part of Bethnal Green, crosses Bethnal Green Road, passes through Spitalfields and is linked to Whitechapel High Street to the south by the short stretch of...
area of East London. Creme stated in this press conference when asked "what if someone tried to kill him?" that Maitreya could not be killed because he is
invulnerableVulnerability refer to the susceptibility of a person, group, society, sex or system to physical or emotional injury or attack. The term can also refer to a person who lets their guard down, leaving themselves open to censure or criticism...
. He presented the journalists with a challenge: if media made a serious attempt to seek Maitreya in London, he would reveal himself to them.
Creme has stated that when the "Day of Declaration" occurs, "The
ChristIn the Neo-Theosophical teachings of Benjamin Creme, founder of Share International, it is promulgated thatthe near-future coming of Maitreya sometime in the 21st century will fulfill not only Buddhist prophecies about the appearance of a future great teacher named Maitreya, but also the...
will come on the world's television channels, linked together by satellite. All those with access to television will see... [His face]. He will establish a telepathic rapport with all humanity simultaneously". While the Christ is speaking... [everyone will feel far more love than they've ever felt before, that massive outpouring of love will cause] hundreds of thousands of 'miracle' cures [to] take place simultaneously."
After 1982
Since Maitreya's failure to appear in 1982, Creme has made a number of additional predictions and announcement of the imminent appearance of Maitreya based on his claims of receiving telepathic messages from a
Master of WisdomThe Masters of the Ancient Wisdom are reputed to be enlightened beings originally identified by the Theosophists Helena Blavatsky, Henry S. Olcott, Alfred P. Sinnett, and others. These Theosophists claimed to have met some of the so-called Masters during their lifetimes in different parts of the...
.
In 1997 Creme made similar predictions that Maitreya would appear on television and be interviewed around the world. This time there was far less media interest.
On 14 January 2010 Benjamin Creme announced that Maitreya had given his first television interview on US television. Soon afterwards several people in the USA, working from Creme's predictions, concluded that British-American journalist and author
Raj PatelRaj Patel is a British-born American academic, journalist, activist and writer who has lived and worked in Zimbabwe, South Africa and the United States for extended periods. He is best known for his 2008 book, Stuffed and Starved: The Hidden Battle for the World Food System...
was Maitreya. After newspaper articles around the world wrote about this story, Benjamin Creme responded that Raj Patel was not the coming World Teacher in an article in The Guardian newspaper called “Raj Patel is not Maitreya, but the World Teacher is here – and needed.”
Creme, who claims that time is now very near for Maitreya's emergence, does not receive any money for this work or royalties from his 14 books, and has for over 30 years given lectures around the world by invitation only. A worldwide network of volunteers works with Benjamin Creme to give his views out to the public.
Crop circles and UFOs
During an interview in 2006, Creme confirmed his views on the importance of crop circles: "The UFOs have an enormous part to play in the security of this planet at the ecological level. [The crop circles are part of] a new science that will give us energy directly from the sun. Oil will become a thing of the past. No one will be able to sell energy in the future."
Creme has explained how crop circles are made by UFOs in his magazine: "The crop circles are there to draw attention to the fact that the
Space BrothersNordic aliens are said by self-described contactees and some UFOlogists to be a group of humanoid extraterrestrials who resemble European racial images, or more specifically Nordic-Scandinavians....
are there. They are amazing constructions. They are made in seconds by the ‘ships’ of the Space Brothers. They are complex and beautiful constructions which cannot be made in any other way. They appear all over the world but the majority are in the south of England. Why? Because Maitreya is in London."
Creme's predictions--criticism and reply
Creme has made a case for the imminent appearance of Maitreya based on his claims of receiving telepathic messages from a Master of Wisdom. Skeptics have ridiculed the story presented by Benjamin Creme, or have taken issue with the possibility that his predictions might have come true. Others have treated Creme’s story with serious interest and are waiting to see what happens.
Between 1989-91, Share International magazine published a series of forecasts given to two journalists by an associate of Maitreya, which Share claims came about with uncanny accuracy. These forecasts included the fall of the Berlin Wall, the ending of Communist rule in the Soviet Union, the release of Nelson Mandela and the ending of Apartheid in South Africa, the release of kidnapped prisoner Terry Waite, the premature resignation of Margaret Thatcher, and many more. These predictions were distributed as press releases were included in a book published by Share International Foundation called ‘Maitreya’s Teachings – the Laws of Life’.
Criticism by Christians
Some Christian Evangelical sources and other detractors have accused Benjamin Creme of being part of a satanic conspiracy and place him amongst a larger list of “
antichristThe term or title antichrist, in Christian theology, refers to a leader who fulfills Biblical prophecies concerning an adversary of Christ, while resembling him in a deceptive manner...
potentials”.
Further reading
- Bailey, Alice A. The Reappearance of the Christ. Lucis Publishing, 1948.
- Bailey, Alice A. The Externalisation of the Hierarchy. Lucis Publishing, 1957.
- Bistrich, Andrea. Maitreya: "I Come to Change All Things". Eine moderne Heilserwartung im interkulturellen Vergleich. (Münchener Ethnologische Abhandlugen 17) Akademischer Verlag München, 1996.
- Brown, Mick. "Messiah is alive and well and in London." The Sunday Times, 23 October 1988, p. A15.
- Brown, Mick. The Spiritual Tourist. Bloomsbury publishing, 1998.
- Carey, Howard Ray. The Joy of Christ's Coming: From Traditional Religion to Ageless Wisdom. Share International Foundation, 1988.
- Cumbey, Constance E. The Hidden Dangers of the Rainbow. Huntington House, 1983.
- MacDonald-Bayne, Murdo. Beyond the Himalayas. L. N. Fowler, 1954.
- Muto, Nyaga wa, and Ben Mitukaa. "Did Jesus Visit Kawangware?" [Kenya] Sunday Times, 26 June 1988, pp. 12, 17.
- Mutungi, Job. "Did Jesus Christ Come to the City?" Kenya Times, Wednesday, 22 June 1988, pp. 16–17.
- Peterson, Wayne S. Extraordinary Times, Extraordinary Beings. Hampton Roads Publishing, 2003
- Spalding, Baird T.
Baird Thomas Spalding was an American writer. He is the author of the spiritual book series : Life and Teaching of the Masters of the Far East.-Early life:...
Life and Teaching of the Masters of the Far East. 5 vols. De Vorss & Co., 1924-55.
- Stammer, Larry B. "Years After Apparition Claims Fizzled, Creme Keeps the Faith." Los Angeles Times, Saturday, 3 July 1993, p. B10.
External links