Background Information
Who is Maitreya?
In every age, or in times of exceptional crisis, great spiritual teachers have come forth to show humanity its next evolutionary step. We have known some of them as Hercules, Rama, Krishna, Mohammed, Buddha, and the Christ. Now, at the dawning of the Aquarian age, Maitreya, the head of the Masters of Wisdom and our eldest brother, has returned to the everyday world for the first time in thousands of years to inaugurate the age and to guide us out of the perilous situation we have created for ourselves.
He has been expected for generations by the major religions under different names—as the Christ by Christians, Krishna by Hindus, the Imam Mahdi by Muslims, the Messiah by the Jews, Maitreya Buddha by the Buddhists. His coming fulfills each of their prophecies, but he is not a religious teacher. Rather, he is here as an educator in the broadest sense—as the World Teacher for all humanity, religious or not. He has not come to judge, but to inspire us to make the inner and outer changes necessary for our own survival and further evolutionary growth.
Maitreya descended from his ancient retreat in the Himalayas in July of 1977 to take up residence in the Asian community of London, England, which continues to be his point of focus in the modern world. From there, as an apparently ordinary man, he works behind the scenes, directing his transforming energies to every corner of the earth. His primary concerns are the economic, political and social imbalances in the world today, and the spiritual crisis at their root.
Who are the Masters of Wisdom?
The Masters of Wisdom, together forming our Spiritual Hierarchy, are the custodians of the Divine Plan for this planet. They have inspired all the great human achievements age after age, working from behind the scenes through their disciples in every field of endeavor. The Masters guide and teach, but it is humanity itself, responding of its own free will to their stimulus, which creates each new civilization.
The existence of the Masters of Wisdom became public knowledge after 1875 through the writings of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, who lived among the Masters in the Himalayas for three years and later founded the Theosophical Society. In the 1900s, Alice A. Bailey wrote 24 volumes on the Ageless Wisdom teachings, most under the telepathic impression of a Tibetan Master. These books discuss topics such as the nature of the soul, the Spiritual Hierarchy of Masters, meditation, esoteric psychology, and the reappearance of the Christ. Benjamin Creme continues the Ageless Wisdom tradition in over a dozen books, simplifying and bringing the teachings up to date for a modern public, and announcing the entry of the World Teacher into our everyday lives.
We are at the 11th hour. Soon, Maitreya will present us with two alternative scenarios of the future from which we must choose. We can continue in the selfish, greedy ways of the past and destroy ourselves and all life on earth, or we can accept the Principle of Sharing and create a brilliant new civilization that will guarantee a peaceful and prosperous future for humanity.
Although it is our decision which path to take, Maitreya assures us, “My heart tells me your answer, your choice, and is glad.” He foresees that we will accept his guidance and rebuild our world along more just and compassionate lines—the only basis for lasting peace.
Maitreya’s Priorities
Maitreya will emphasize the utter necessity for peace and a total renunciation of war. This can only be achieved through the creation of justice for all people and trust among the nations.
The immediate priority will be the saving of millions of people now starving to death in the developing world. Maitreya will propose a crash program of international aid to alleviate this suffering.
Inspiring humanity to see itself as one interdependent family, he will help us understand that the world’s food, raw materials, energy and technological resources belong to everyone and must be shared equitably. These resources, he says, are given by divine right for the sustenance of all humanity—not for the use and misuse by a relative few. He will recommend a re-ordering of economic priorities so that adequate food, housing, education and medical care become universal rights.
As we begin to accept the Principle of Sharing and call on governments to implement this principle, each country will make an inventory of its assets and needs. These statistics will provide a United Nations agency set up for this purpose with the information required for a rational redistribution of the world’s resources. That which each country has in excess of its needs will be put aside, in trust for the world.
The plans for such a redistribution program—drawn up by economists, financiers and industrialists of great achievement—are already in existence, awaiting only our demand for their implementation. A sophisticated form of barter on a global scale will eventually replace the present economic system.
Another top priority will be saving, protecting, and healing the environment. This will require the creation of economic systems based on the principles of sustainability and sufficiency, rather than the present system of overproduction and waste. The goal is to supply the needs of all while maintaining the planet’s health.
Ageless Wisdom Teachings
Benjamin Creme
The main inspiration for our work has come from Benjamin Creme (1922-2016), a British artist and long-time student of esoteric philosophy. Following many years of training, Creme developed a moment-to-moment contact with a Master of Wisdom, which allowed him to become the principal source of information about the emergence now of Maitreya, the World Teacher, and the Masters of Wisdom.
To help make known this information on a worldwide scale, Creme started the nonprofit group Share International. Many local Share International groups, like ours in the western United States, made up entirely of volunteers, formed in response to this message, and present this information to the public. Creme lectured worldwide and published 16 books on the emergence of Maitreya and the Masters of Wisdom. He also founded and served as Editor-in-Chief of Share International magazine until his passing in 2016 at the age of 93. Benjamin Creme summarized here the choice humanity faces today:
Benjamin Creme speaking at the UN, July 2006
“The potency of His [Maitreya’s] energy of Love – the ‘Sword of Cleavage’ – has produced the polarization which now exists, and will show clearly the way forward for humanity. Around Him will gather all those who stand for inclusiveness and love, justice and freedom of the human spirit. Those who stand for separativeness and exploitation, competition and greed will likewise stand revealed, and the choice before humanity will be crystal clear: between love and hate, between sharing and greed, peace and war, life and death.
“... Responding to His Love energy, people in every country...will form themselves into groups demanding justice and peace and right relations. Soon these groups will become the largest and most potent force in the world, ushering in the new era of peace and goodwill.”
— Benjamin Creme
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