Maitreya (Theosophy)

The Maitreya or Lord Maitreya is described inTheosophical literature of the late 19th-century and sub-sequent periods as an advanced spiritual entity and high-ranking member of a hidden Spiritual Hierarchy, theso-called Masters of the Ancient Wisdom. According toTheosophical doctrine, one of the Hierarchy’s functionsis to oversee the evolution of humankind; in accord withthis function the Maitreya is said to hold the so-called Of-fice of the World Teacher. Theosophical texts posit thatthe purpose of this Office is to facilitate the transfer ofknowledge about the true constitution and workings ofExistence to humankind. Humanity is thereby assisted onits presumed cyclical, but ever progressive, evolutionarypath. Reputedly, one way the knowledge transfer is ac-complished is by Maitreya occasionally manifesting orincarnating in the physical realm; the manifested entitythen assumes the role ofWorld Teacher of Humankind.The Theosophical concept of Maitreya has many similar-ities to the earlier Maitreya doctrine in Buddhism. How-ever, they differ in important aspects, and developed dif-ferently. The Theosophical Maitreya has been assimi-lated or appropriated by a variety of quasi-theosophicaland non-theosophical New Age and Esoteric groups andmovements. These have added, and advanced, their owninterpretations and commentary on the subject.

1 Development of the Theosophicalconcept of the Maitreya

The first mention of the Maitreya in a Theosophicalcontext occurs in the 1883 work Esoteric Buddhism byAlfred Percy Sinnett (1840–1921), an early Theosoph-ical writer.[1] The concepts described by Sinnett wereamended, elaborated on, and greatly expanded in The Se-cret Doctrine, a book originally published 1888.[2] Thework was the magnum opus of Helena Blavatsky (1831–1891), one of the founders of the Theosophical Societyand of contemporary Theosophy. In it, the messianicMaitreya is linked to both Buddhist and Hindu religioustraditions.[3] In the same work Blavatsky asserted thatthere have been, and will be, multiple messianic (ormessianic-like) instances in human history.[4] These suc-cessive appearances of “emissarie[s] of Truth”[5] are ac-cording to Blavatsky part of the unceasing oversight ofEarth and of its inhabitants by a hidden Spiritual Hierar-chy, the so-called Masters of the Ancient Wisdom.[6][7]

1.1 Maitreya and the Spiritual Hierarchy

Main article: Masters of the Ancient Wisdom

Following Blavatsky’s writings on the subject, otherTheosophists progressively elaborated on the SpiritualHierarchy.[8] Its members are presented as guardians andguides of Earth’s total evolutionary process,[9] knownin Theosophical cosmology as the doctrine of PlanetaryRounds. According to Theosophists, evolution includesan occult or spiritual component that is considered ofa higher order of importance than the related physicalevolution.[10] The Hierarchy presumably consists of spir-itual entities at various evolutionary stages – these stagescorrespond to ever increasing ranks within the Hierarchy.Lower ranks are populated by individuals who can func-tion more or less normally on the physical plane, while inthe highest known rankings are highly evolved beings ofthe purest spiritual essence and consciousness.[11]

According to the Theosophical exposition, in the currentstage of Planetary Evolution the position of Maitreya inEarth’s Hierarchy is that of the so-called Boddhisatva,originally a Buddhist concept.[12] Since this position isthought to be at an exalted state, the Maitreya may haveno direct or sustained contact with the physical realm. Atthis evolutionary level he is below only two other beingsin the current Hierarchy: at its apex, the Sanat Kumara,(also referred to as The Lord of the World), followed bythe Buddha; as such the Maitreya is held in high rever-ence and regard by Theosophists.[13] He is additionallydescribed as having among other duties overall respon-sibility for humanity’s development, including its educa-tion, civilization, and religion.[14]

Blavatsky held that members of the Hierarchy, oftencalled the Masters or the Mahātmās in Theosophical lit-erature, were the ultimate guides of the TheosophicalSociety.[15] The Society itself was said to be the resultof one of the “impulses” from the Hierarchy. These “im-pulses” are believed to be a regular occurrence.[16] Fur-thermore, Blavatsky commented in her widely read 1889work The Key to Theosophy on the next impulse, the “ef-fort of the XXth century” which would involve another“torch bearer of Truth”. In this effort the Theosophi-cal Society was poised to possibly play a major role.[17]More information regarding the future “impulse” was thepurview of the Theosophical Society’s Esoteric Sectionwhich was founded by Blavatsky and was originally led byher.[18] Its members had access to occult instruction andmore detailed knowledge of the “inner order” andmission

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2 2 LATER CONCEPTS OF MAITREYA

of the Society, and of its reputed hidden guides.[19]

1.2 Maitreya and the “Christ Principle”

Blavatsky also elaborated on a so-called Christ Prin-ciple, which in her view corresponds to the spiritualessence of every human being.[20] After Blavatsky’s deathin 1891 influential Theosophist Charles Webster Lead-beater (1854–1934), whose knowledge on occult mat-ters was highly respected by the Society’s leadership,formulated a Christology in which he identified Christwith the Theosophical representation of the Buddhist de-ity Maitreya. He maintained that an aspect of Maitreyawas the prototype for the Christ Principle described byBlavatsky. Leadbeater believed that Maitreya-as-Christhad previously manifested on Earth, often through spe-cially prepared people who acted as the entity’s “vehi-cles”. The manifested Maitreya then assumed the roleof World Teacher, dispensing knowledge regarding un-derlying truths of Existence.[21] This knowledge, whichaccording to Theosophists eventually crystallized in reli-gious, scientific and cultural practices, had been reputedlydisseminated to groups as small as a few carefully selectedInitiates and as large as Humanity as a whole.

1.3 Maitreya’s incarnations

In Theosophical texts, the Maitreya is said to have hadnumerousmanifestations or incarnations: in the theorizedancient continent of Atlantis; as a Hierophant in AncientEgypt;[22] as the Hindu deity Krishna;[23] as a high priestin Ancient India;[24] and as Christ during the three yearsof the Ministry of Jesus.[23]

1.4 Maitreya’s reappearance

Annie Besant (1847–1933), another well-known and in-fluential Theosophist (and future President of the Soci-ety) had also developed an interest in this area of Theos-ophy. In the decades of the 1890s and 1900s, alongwith Leadbeater (who became a close associate) and oth-ers, she became progressively convinced that the “nextimpulse” from the Hierarchy would happen sooner thanBlavatsky’s timetable. These Theosophists came to be-lieve it would involve the imminent reappearance ofMaitreya as World Teacher, a monumental event in theTheosophical scheme of things.[25] Besant had startedcommenting on the possible imminent arrival of the next“emissary” in 1896, several years before her assump-tion of the Society’s presidency in 1907. By 1909 the“coming” Teacher was a main topic of her lectures andwritings.[26]

After Besant became President of the Society the beliefin Maitreya’s imminent manifestation took on consider-able weight. The subject was widely discussed and be-came a commonly held expectation among Theosophists.

However not all Theosophical Society members acceptedLeadbeater’s and Besant’s ideas on this; the dissidentscharged themwith straying from Theosophical orthodoxyand, along with other concepts developed by the two,Leadbeater’s and Besant’s writings on the Maitreya werederisively labeled Neo-Theosophy by their opponents.[27]The Adyar (India)-based international leadership of theSociety eventually overcame the protests and by the late-1920s the organization had stabilized, but in the mean-time additional World Teacher-related trouble was brew-ing.

1.5 The World Teacher Project

Main article: Order of the Star in the East

In 1909 Leadbeater encountered fourteen-year-old JidduKrishnamurti (1895–1986) near the Theosophical Soci-ety headquarters at Adyar, and came to believe the boywas a suitable candidate for the “vehicle” of the expectedWorld Teacher.[28] Soon after, Leadbeater placed Krish-namurti under his and the Society’s wing. In late 1909Besant, by then President of the Society and head of itsEsoteric Section, admitted Krishnamurti into both;[29] inMarch 1910 she became his legal guardian.[30][31] Krish-namurti was subsequently groomed extensively for his ex-pected role as the future World Teacher, and a new orga-nization, the Order of the Star in the East, was formed in1911 to support him in this mission. The project receivedwidespread publicity and enjoyed worldwide following,chiefly among Theosophists. However it also encounteredopposition within and without the Theosophical Society,and led to years of upheaval, serious splits within theSociety, and doctrinal schisms in Theosophy. The Ger-man branch of Theosophy led by Rudolf Steiner secededfrom the movement and became the AnthroposophicalSociety.[32] Additional negative repercussions occurredin 1929, when Krishnamurti repudiated the role theTheosophists expected him to fulfill, and completely dis-associated himself from theWorld Teacher Project; soonafter he severed ties with the Society and Theosophyin general.[33] These events reputedly prompted Lead-beater to declare, “the Coming [of theMaitreya] has gonewrong”,[34] and damaged Theosophical organizations andthe overall standing of Theosophy.[35][36][37]

2 Later concepts of Maitreya

Following the Krishnamurti debacle, major Theosophi-cal organizations and writers became increasingly muted,at least publicly, on the subject of the reappearanceof Maitreya and on the possible next “impulse” fromthe Spiritual Hierarchy.[36] However the concepts ofWorld Teacher, of a hidden Spiritual Hierarchy, andof Masters of Occult Wisdom as described in Theo-

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sophical literature, continued to have vocal supporters.These were found among Theosophical Society mem-bers and increasingly, among near-theosophical and non-theosophical New Age adherents.[38]

2.1 Alice A. Bailey

Main article: Alice A. Bailey § Teachings regardingMaitreya

A major proponent was Alice Bailey (1880–1949), wholeft the Theosophical Society in the 1920s to establishthe quasi-theosophical Arcane School. She expandedLeadbeater’s work and his Christology,[39] and referred toMaitreya as the Cosmic Christ, claiming his Second Com-ing would occur sometime after the year 2025.[40]

2.2 Ascended Master Teachings

The Theosophical Maitreya also holds a prominentposition in the so-called Ascended Master Teachings.These encompass original Theosophical literature, as wellas later additions and interpretations by various non-Theosophical commentators and groups – such as theI AM Activity,[41] and Elizabeth Clare Prophet (1939–2009);[42] however, the validity of this later commentaryhas been disputed by Theosophical writers.

2.3 Benjamin Creme

Main article: Maitreya (Benjamin Creme)

Benjamin Creme (b. 1922), a follower of Alice Bai-ley and founder of Share International, an organizationwhose doctrines have similarities with those of main-stream Theosophy, is a later promoter of the Maitreya.In 1975 Creme claimed to have started to telepathicallychannel the Maitreya. Creme stated that Maitreya com-municated to him that he had decided to return to Earthearlier than 2025.[43] Other claimed communicationsfrom the Maitreya followed, and Creme eventually an-nounced that Maitreya materialized a physical body forhimself in early 1977 in the Himalayas and then moved toLondon.[44] Creme has made a number of extraordinarystatements and predictions based on reputed telepathicmessages from theMaitreya that have failed to come true;as a result he has been considered a figure of amusementin the press.[45][46][47]

3 See also

• Hodgson Report

• Messiah

• Theosophy

4 References

[1] Sinnett, Alfred Percy (1883). Esoteric Buddhism (2nded.). London: Trübner. p. 144. OCLC 2014685. GoogleBooks Search. Retrieved 2011-05-16.

[2] Blavatsky, Helena (1888). The Secret Doctrine: The Syn-thesis of Science, Religion, and Philosophy. London: TheTheosophical Publishing Company. OCLC 8129381.

[3] Blavatsky 1888. Volume I: Cosmogenesis. p. 384.2005. Phoenix, Arizona: United Lodge of Theosophists.Retrieved 2011-04-13. “MAITREYA is the secret nameof the Fifth Buddha, and the Kalki Avatar of theBrahmins—the last MESSIAH who will come at the cul-mination of the Great Cycle.”

[4] Blavatsky 1888. Volume I: Cosmogenesis. p. 653.“Why see in the Pisces a direct reference to Christ – oneof the several world-reformers, a Saviour but for his directfollowers, but only a great and glorious Initiate for all therest – when that constellation shines as a symbol of all thepast, present, and future Spiritual Saviours who dispenselight and dispel mental darkness?" [Emphasis in original].Blavatsky is referring to the actual constellation of Pisces(Latin for fish), as well as to its astrological meaning. Afish symbol, Ichthys, had been used in religious represen-tations in several ancient cultures and it was an importantsymbol in Early Christianity. According to Blavatsky’swritings and those of other Theosophists, cosmogony andtheogony are intimately related, and significant events ofa spiritual nature (such as the appearance of a messiah)correspond to physical, cosmological phenomena.

[5] Blavatsky, Helena (1889). “The Future of the Theosoph-ical Society”. The Key to Theosophy. London: The Theo-sophical Publishing Company. pp. 304–307. OCLC315695318. Wheaton, Maryland: theosophy.org. Re-trieved 2011-04-13.

[6] Blavatsky 1888. Volume I: Cosmogenesis. p. 612.“From the very beginning of Eons – in time and spacein our Round and Globe – the Mysteries of Nature (at anyrate, those which it is lawful for our races to know) wererecorded by the pupils of those same now invisible 'heav-enly men,' in geometrical figures and symbols. The keysthereto passed from one generation of 'wise men' to theother.”

[7] Blavatsky 1888. “Our Divine Instructors”. Volume II:Anthropogenesis. pp 365–378. 2005. Phoenix, Ari-zona: United Lodge of Theosophists. Retrieved 2011-04-13.

[8] Leadbeater, Charles W. (2007). [Reprint ed. originallypublished 1925. Adyar, India: Theosophical PublishingHouse]. The Masters and the Path. New York: CosimoClassics. ISBN 978-1602063334.

[9] Leadbeater 2007 pp. 296–297.

4 4 REFERENCES

[10] Sinnett 1883 “Chapter IV: The World Periods” pp. 45–65. Blavatsky 1888. “Our world, its growth and devel-opment"; “Theosophical misconceptions"; “Explanationsconcerning the Globes and Monads”. Volume I: Cosmo-genesis. pp. 136–191 [cumulative].

[11] Leadbeater 2007 pp. 4–5, 10, 34; “Part IV: The Hierar-chy” pp. 211–301.

[12] Leadbeater 2007 pp. 31-32, 36, 277–278. Like other as-pects of Theosophy, the doctrine of Earth’s Spiritual Hi-erarchy expands or interprets many Buddhist and Hinduconcepts within an occult or esoteric framework.

[13] Leadbeater 2007 “Diagram 8” p. 256; “Chapter XIV: TheWisdom in the Triangles” pp. 261-295.

[14] Leadbeater 2007 pp. 74, 251.

[15] In this context, the Masters refer to specific members ofthe Hierarchy, and not to the Masters of Ancient Wisdomas a group.

[16] Blavatsky 1889. “But I must tell you that during the lastquarter of every hundred years an attempt is made bythose 'Masters,' of whom I have spoken, to help on thespiritual progress of Humanity in a marked and definiteway. Towards the close of each century you will invari-ably find that an outpouring or upheaval of spirituality –or call it mysticism if you prefer – has taken place. Someone or more persons have appeared in the world as theiragents, and a greater or less amount of occult knowledgeand teaching has been given out.” [p. 306]. In the samework Blavatsky lamented the fact that the idea of myste-rious “Masters” dispensing occult “impulses” had becomethe foundation for unscrupulous practices. “Every bogusswindling Society, for commercial purposes, now claimsto be guided and directed by 'Masters,' ...” [p. 301].

[17] Blavatsky 1889. Context at pp. 306–307.

[18] Blavatsky, Helena (August 1931). “The Esoteric Sectionof the Theosophical Society: Preliminary Memorandum,1888”. The Theosophist 52: 594–595. (Adyar: Theo-sophical Publishing House). ISSN 0040-5892.

[19] Lutyens, Mary (1975). Krishnamurti: The Years of Awak-ening. New York: Farrar Straus and Giroux. pp. 10–11.ISBN 0374182221.

[20] Blavatsky 1889 pp. 67, 71, 155; “Glossary: C": Chrestos.Wheaton, Maryland: theosophy.org. Retrieved 2011-04-13.

[21] Leadbeater 2007 pp. 31, 192, 232; “Chapter XII: TheTrinity and the Triangles” pp. 250-260.

[22] Besant, Annie & Leadbeater, Charles W. (1913). Man:How, Whence, and Whither; a record of clairvoyant inves-tigation. Adyar, India: Theosophical Publishing House. p.520. OCLC 871602.

[23] Leadbeater 2007 p. 278.

[24] Besant-Leadbeater 1913 p. 339.

[25] Blavatsky’s views on the specific matter of the reap-pearance of Maitreya (as opposed to the regular appear-ances of other, lower-ranked emissaries) were thoughtto be in general agreement with mainstream Buddhisteschatology. Blavatsky 1888 Volume I: Cosmogenesisp. 470. “He will appear as Maitreya Buddha, the last ofthe Avatars and Buddhas, in the seventh Race. This beliefand expectation are universal throughout the East. Only itis not in the Kali yug, our present terrifically materialisticage of Darkness, the 'Black Age,' that a new Saviour ofHumanity can ever appear.” [Emphasis in original].

[26] M. Lutyens pp. 11–12, 46.

[27] Thomas, Margaret A. (c. 1930s) [Originally compiled byThomas c. 1920s]. “Section I: Differences in Teaching”(PDF). Theosophy or Neo-Theosophy?. London: Mar-garet A. Thomas. pp. 1–34. OCLC 503841852. “Re-produced from typewriting.” [Note at Worldcat listing].Tucson, Arizona: Blavatsky Study Center. Retrieved2011-05-15.

[28] M. Lutyens pp. 20–21.

[29] M. Lutyens p. 30.

[30] M. Lutyens p. 40.

[31] Wood, Ernest (December 1964). “No Religion HigherThan Truth”. The American Theosophist 52 (12): 287–290. (Wheaton, Illinois: Theosophical Society in Amer-ica). ISSN 0003-1402. Groningen, Netherlands: katinka-hesselink.net. Retrieved 2011-04-13. Eyewitness ac-count of Krishnamurti’s “discovery”, and comments onrelated events and controversies, by one of Leadbeater’sclose associates.

[32] Tillet, Gregory J. (1986). “Chapter 15: Conflict over Kr-ishnamurti”. Charles Webster Leadbeater 1854-1934: ABiographical Study [Thesis (PhD)]. Volume I. Sydney:Department of Religious Studies, University of Sydney.pp. 506–553. OCLC 271774444. hdl:2123/1623. 2007.Sydney escholarship. Retrieved 2010-10-03. Informa-tion on the contemporary controversies regarding Krish-namurti, inside and outside the Theosophical Society.

[33] M. Lutyens pp. 276, 285. Krishnamurti went on to be-come a respected, independent speaker and writer on spir-itual and philosophical issues.

[34] M. Lutyens pp. 277–279, 315 [in “Notes and Sources":(notes to) pp. 278–279] of same.

[35] Campbell, Bruce F. (1980). Ancient Wisdom Revived:History of the Theosophical Movement. Berkeley, Califor-nia: University of California Press. Hardcover. p. 130.ISBN 0-520-03968-8.

[36] Vernon, Roland (2001). Star In The East: Krishnamurti:The Invention of a Messiah. New York: Palgrave. pp.188–189, 268–270. ISBN 0-312-23825-8.

[37] “Krishnamurti”. Alpheus. Carol Stream, Illinois: GovertW. Schuller. Retrieved 2011-04-16.

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[38] Schuller, Govert W. (1999). “The Masters and TheirEmissaries: From H.P.B. to Guru Ma and Beyond” (2nded.). Alpheus. Carol Stream, Illinois: Govert W. Schuller.Retrieved 2011-04-13.

[39] Bailey, Alice A. (1989). [Originally published 1957]. TheExternalisation of the Hierarchy (4th ed.). New York: Lu-cis Publishing. Paperback. ISBN 978-0853301066.

[40] __ (1996). [Originally published 1947]. The Reappear-ance of the Christ. New York: Lucis Publishing. ISBN978-0853301141.

[41] Godfré Ray King [pseudonym of Guy Ballard] (1934).Unveiled mysteries. Chicago: Saint Germain Press.OCLC 6785156.

[42] Prophet, Elizabeth Clare & Prophet, Mark (1986).Maitreya: on the image of God: a study in Christhood bythe Great Initiator. Livingston, Montana: Summit Univer-sity Press. ISBN 978-0916766955.

[43] Creme, Benjamin (1990). [Originally published 1986].Maitreya’s Mission (2nd ed.). Amsterdam: Share Interna-tional Foundation. ISBN 978-9071484063.

[44] Creme p. 46.

[45] “Francis Wheen’s Diary”. The Independent (London). 27January 1991. ISSN 0951-9467. Alas and alack, onthe great issue of the day poor Mr Maitreya seems tohave stubbed his toe rather badly. After Saddam sent histanks across the border last August, Maitreya suggestedthat 'a mystical power and force in nature will make Iraqwithdraw totally and unconditionally from Kuwait'. InNovember, his message was unequivocal: 'The Gulf Cri-sis: Maitreya has made it clear from the beginning thatthere will be no war'.

[46] “Kiwis prove to Aussies they're not that gullible”. TheEvening Post (Wellington, New Zealand). 4 December1995. OCLC 220471141. But it’s not just the eruptions atissue. Benjamin Creme, based in London and a five-timevisitor to New Zealand as ambassador for Maitreya, thesaviour he claims is awaited by all religions, has extendedthe connection. John O'Donnell of the New ZealandTransmission Meditation Network said Mr Creme hadtold him the 5.9 South Island quake on Friday, Novem-ber 24 had been caused by the fourth French atomic testtwo days before. Nobody has yet predicted plagues of lo-custs, frogs, flies, rivers of blood or other disasters for thefifth and subsequent tests.

[47] Ron Rosenbaum (15 August 2005). “Voices in Our Head:Where Is Good Old American Weirdness?". New YorkObserver. ISSN 1052-2948.

5 Further reading

• Godwin, Joscelyn (1994). The Theosophical En-lightenment. Albany, New York: State Universityof New York Press. ISBN 978-0791421512.

• Johnson, K. Paul (1994). The Masters Revealed:Madam Blavatsky and Myth of the Great WhiteLodge. Albany, New York: State University of NewYork Press. ISBN 978-0791420638. – The au-thor contends that the “Masters” as described byBlavatsky were idealized depictions of her humanmentors. The “Great White Lodge” (or Great WhiteBrotherhood) is related to the Theosophical SpiritualHierarchy.

• Melton, J. Gordon ed. “Chapter 18: The AncientWisdom Family of Religions”. Encyclopedia ofAmerican Religions (5th ed.). 1996. New York:Gale Research. pp. 151–158. ISBN 0-8103-7714-4. In same, see “Section 18” pp. 717–757.

6 6 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

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