Charles Webster Leadbeater was one of the great clairvoyants and master occultists of the twentieth century. He was a clear channel for the Great White Brotherhood at a time when very few people were acquainted with it. He was also a master of astral travel; he said he had visited and explored most of the planets in this solar system while his physical body remained on Earth. He had penetrated the depths of the atom with his psychic powers. He would take disciples to see the Masters in the Himalayas in their astral and mental bodies and had almost total recall of everything that happened.
He was a prolific writer on occult matters and, in my opinion without his books most of Theosophy would almost be not under-standable. He was an incredibly controversial figure. I am not claiming he was a total saint, for he wasn’t. What I am saying is that I do have the highest respect for him, and that his work did an enormous service to mankind to bring forth the teachings of the Great White Brotherhood and Spiritual Hierarchy.
Leadbeater was able to see thoughtforms and was an authority in his time on the chakras and human aura. He was quite proficient at communicating with the dead, and the after life states. He often told of visiting the heaven, hell and purgatory states of existence. He was able to see into, basically, the inner side of anything he looked at.
His disciples considered him the world greatest occultist seer and psychic. Annie Besant, the head of the Theosophical Society at that time, called him, "A man on the threshold of divinity". He wrote over forty books. His book, "The Masters and the Path", I consider to be one of the classics in the field.
He, in essence popularized Theosophy because of how easy to read he made his books. This was the exact opposite of the books of Madam Blavatsky and even Annie Besant. Annie Besant held him in the highest esteem, even when he was under enormous attack by half of the Theosophical Society.
Leadbeater was the man who found Krishnamurti, and even Krishnamurti admitted he would have died, had not Leadbeater found him. It was also Leadbeater, not Alice Bailey (Djwhal Khul channelings) who first announced that Lord Maitreya would be reappearing in the world.
C.W. Leadbeater was born on February 17th, 1847. It was in 1883 that an old school friend who was the captain of a British steamer, told him some extraordinary stories about Madam Blavatsky. He saw her strike a match to light a cigarette in a howling gale. Secondly she accurately predicted that he would be appointed captain of the ship when at the time he was only the second officer. When the ship reached Calcutta her prophecy proved accurate.
Leadbeater immediately went home and read A.P. Sinnet’s book, "The Occult World" which was dedicated to the Master Kuthumi, and many of the Theosophical teachings. It also spoke of Madam Blavatsky’s ability to actually materialize things at will right out of the ethers. It made reference to letters Sinnet had received from the Mahatmas or Ascended Masters. Leadbeater eventually became initiated into the Theosophical Society and began attending meetings religiously.
Upon attending a seance through another organization, the spirit guide spoke of the Masters of Wisdom and told Leadbeater that he could take a letter to them. Leadbeater took him up on the offer and wrote a letter to the Master Kuthumi, requesting to become His disciple.
It wasn’t until he first met Madam Blavatsky that he got his reply. Madam Blavatsky told him one evening that the Master Djwhal Khul had just given her a message that a reply to his letter would be forthcoming. The Master Kuthumi did respond and requested that Leadbeater go to India for a few months to the main Theosophical Center there.
Leadbeater was willing to devote his life to the Masters, however, it would take him three months to clean up his affairs and he didn’t know if this would be okay. Madam Blavatsky told him to stay close to her for the next 48 hours and a reply would come immediately. Sure enough that evening a letter materialized right out of her hand from etheric substance right before his eyes.
The letter was addressed to Leadbeater and read; "Since your intuition lead you in the right direction and made you understand that it was my desire you should go to Adyar (Theosophical Center in India) immediately, I may say no more. The sooner you go, the better. Do not lose one day more than you can help. Sail on the 5th if possible. Join Madam Blavatsky at Alexandria. Let no one know that you are going, and may the blessings of our Lord and my poor blessings shield you from every evil in your new life. Greetings to you, my new chela. KH (Master Kuthumi)."
Leadbeater immediately resigned from his position in the Anglican Church of England where he had been a Bishop. Madame Blavatsky later materialized another letter for Leadbeater as he traveled to India, which read, "Tell Leadbeater I am satisfied with his zeal and devotion." (I want to acknowledge here that the quotes from these letters and all following quotes in this chapter I have obtained from a book by Gregory Tillet called "The Elder Brother" a biography of Charles Webster Leadbeater.)
He was later to have another remarkable experience in the presence of Madam Blavatsky when out of nowhere the Master Djwhal Khul materialized right out of the ethers. Madam Blavatsky proceeded to ball Leadbeater out by saying, "A novice occultist! You will not go far on the path of occultism if you are so easily startled at a little thing like that."
Blavatsky requested that Leadbeater be officially initiated into the Buddhist faith. Djwhal Khul, Kuthumi, El Morya, all were Tibetan Buddhists, although very universalistic in their approach. These three great Masters were all physically incarnated in the Himalayas and all lived close by to each other.
Leadbeater went through the Buddhist initiation and renounced the Christian faith as he once understood it, (although later in his life he was to reconnect wth it in a new and innovative way, becoming a Biship in the Liberal Catholic Church.) The vows he took were:
“I reverence the Blessed One, the Holy one, the Perfect in Wisdom…
I take the Lord Buddha as my guide
I take His law as my guide
I take His order as my guide
I observe the precept to refrain from the destruction of life.
I observe the precept to refrain from taking that which is not mine.
I observe the precept to refrain from unlawful sexual intercourse.
I observe the precept to refrain from falsehood.
I observe the precept to refrain from using intoxicating liquors or stupefying drugs.”
A lock of hair was cut from his head and he was officially initiated into the Buddhist faith. On another occasion Leadbeater was on the roof of the headquarters when the Master Kuthumi materialized Himself right before Leadbeater’s eyes. Leadbeater prostrated himself before his Master, however, Kuthumi said that that kind of devotion was not necessary for European devotees for it was not part of their culture to give salutations in that manner.
Now up to this time it must be understood that Leadbeater had no clairvoyant abilities. The story of how he obtained these abilities is a fascinating one. In Gregory Tillett’s book he quotes a passage from Leadbeater’s writings on how his clairvoyant abilities came about.
"One day, however, when the Master Kuthumi honored me with a visit, He asked me whether I had ever attempted a certain kind of medita-tion connected with the development of the mysterious power called kundalini."
"I had, of course heard of that power, but knew very little about it, and at any rate supposed it to be absolutely out of reach for Western people. However, He recommended me to make a few efforts along certain lines, which He pledged me not to divulge to anyone except with His direct authorization, and told me that He would Himself, watch over those efforts to see that no danger should ensue." "Naturally, I took the hint and worked away steadily, and I think I may say, intensely, at that particular kind of meditation day after day. I must admit that it was very hard work and sometimes distinctly painful, but of course, I persevered, and in due course began to achieve the results that I had been led to expect. Certain channels had to be opened and certain partitions broken down. I was told that forty days as a fair estimate of the average time required if the effort was really energetic and persevering."
After practicing the exercises for forty-two days the Master Kuthumi visited Leadbeater again. It was the Master Kuthumi who "performed the final act of breaking through which completed the process and enabled me thereafter to use astral sight while still retaining full consciousness in the physical body". This is equivalent to saying that the astral consciousness and memory became continuous whether the physical body was awake or asleep.
Many Masters came to help Leadbeater train in his new found clairvoyance. His principal teacher at this time was the Master Djwhal Khul. Leadbeater had been Djwhal Khul’s student in a past life when Djwhal Khul was the chief pupil of Pythagoras.
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