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A BRIEF HISTORY OF A FALSE MESSIAH
Now that in the previous chapters there has been [ "The East in the Light of the West" ] there has
been a consideration of the problems that arose in the Theosophical Society between the streams of Western and Eastern esotericism on account of the fundamental difference in their understanding of the Christ Being, and now that the view of Western esotericism in this regard has been characterised at some length ( see previous articles ), in order to arrive at a full picture the view of the Eastern esoteric stream – as it was represented by the official leadership of the Theosophical Society at that time – must now be examined, even if only briefly.
As has been mentioned, one consequence of the erroneous view on the part of Eastern occultism of the Christ Being was the identifying of His divine Being with the human being of the Maitreya and the proclaiming of the imminent arrival of a new world teacher — who was to be at once both the Christ and also the Maitreya – in the person of the Indian boy Krishnamurti, who had been discovered by Leadbeater in Adyar in 1909 . Through his clairvoyant faculties he had beheld the aura of the boy as he was bathing in the sea and had immediately decided that he was destined to become the bearer of the future world Teacher.
Before we turn to the subsequent history of Krishnamurti ( see further in Thomas Meyer's book " The Bodhisattva Question" ), a few words need be said about Leadbeater and those occult personalities whom he regarded as his spiritual teachers. It has already been mentioned that as a result of his involvement with spiritualism he came in contact with a teacher whom he called Kut Humi, received several letters from him and was soon received into the ranks of his personal pupils.
Subsequently, however, according to Leadbeater's own statement, it was not Kut Humi but his most intimate pupil of Tibetian origin, who had since Blavatsky's times been known in theosophical circles under the name Djwhal Khul ( D.K. ), who took the development of Leadbeater's clairvoyant faculties in hand. This mahatma is of particular interest since he later became the main inspirer of the books of Alice Bailey. In the last book of Agni Yoga Helena Roerich also mentions her meeting with him in Sikkim in Northern India.
[ She does so in the penultimate book of "Agni Yoga" ( "Brotherhood", Part Two ).
The "mahatma" dictates to her the following: "We have never withdrawn from life. When we appeared, we did not distinguish ourselves from average people. They can themselves attest that Djwhal Khul, when he appeared in order to meet you, did not distinguish himself from the Lamas"].
In his brief autobiography "How Theosophy Came to Me", which Leadbeater published at the end of his life and where he makes every effort to place his devotion to the theosophical mahatmas and his boundless reverence to them in the foreground, the entire last chapter — entitled "Psychic Training" — is devoted to the training in clairvoyance which he had personally received from D.K.
One encounters the name Djwhal Khul very frequently in the earliest theosophical documents, especially in the letters of the mahatmas Kut Humi and Morya to Sinnett. As Blavatsky, Olcott, Leadbeater and other theosophists attest, he often appeared to them in astral vision and in materialised form, sometimes with the two "older" mahatmas and at other times without them.
[ In his autobiography and also in his book "The Masters and the Path", Leadbeater describes such a materialisation of D.K. which took place in Blavatsky's presence in her hotel room in Cairo. Leadbeater was at that moment sitting on the floor and looking through some papers by the firmly locked door when he suddenly saw the mahatma standing in the middle of the room. He cried out in surprise, whereupon Blavatsky laughed and explained to him:
"You will not go far on the path of occultism of you are so easily startled by a little thing like that", and she went on to introduce him to their materialised visitor". ( "How Theosophy Came to Me" ) ]
He ( D.K. ) reached the stage of adept ( the so-called "fifth initiation" ) relativity late, around 1875 or even later ( D.K. himself mentioned this year to Alice Bailey, although Leadbeater gave a later date probably the beginning of the twentieth century ). In accordance with theosophical conceptions the attaining of this stage gave him the right not only to take over the tasks of his teacher K.H.but also to lead his own occult school ( a spiritual ashram ) and to have his own spirit-pupils.
As various theosophical sources report, he was at that time preparing to receive in future the "sixth initiation" and then take the place of his teacher K.H. in the Hierarchy of the Himalayan Masters, whereas the latter was for his part to rise higher, attain the bodhisattva stage and relive the Maitreya Bodhisattva from his office.
D.K. himself informed Alice Bailey in the 1920's that it was he who dictated to Madam Blavatsky "significant parts" of the "Secret Doctrine", although Blavatsky herself, and also those around her, reckoned that this work was inspired by the "older" mahatmas M.and K.H., which — to be sure — does not rule out the possibility of a mediating role on the part of D.K.
That D.K and Helena Blavatsky had a close connection is in any case borne out by the fact that the founder of the Theosophical Society once asked D.K. to draw for her that mysterious valley in the Himalayas where all theosophical mahatmas live, avoiding all contact with the outside world. In this valley – as she said herself – she also received her 'initiation" during the three years that she was permitted to reside there. D.K. complied with her request, and Leadbeater subsequently ( 1925 ) published this drawing in his book "The Masters and the Path".
Mahatma Morya's — little – house can be clearly seen in it, beside it its occupant on horseback and in the distance, standing up to his knees in the water of the lake and with a staff in his hand, D.K., who had been included in the picture at the personal request of Blavatsky. Mahatma K.H.'s house is not visible, whereas in Leadbeater's book its plans and internal furnishings are described in detail.
According to Leadbeater's description in this book, the inhabitants of this or the neighbouring Himalayan valley included further mahatmas and also their leader, the Maitreya Bodhisattva, the leader of Mahatma K.H., and the Vaivasvata Manu ( the Manu of the present fifth root race ), the leader of Mahatma M.
As Leadbeater describes in his autobiography the karmic threads connecting him with Mahatma K.H. and his most illustrious pupil D.K. went back to the sixth century B.C.when K.H. was incarnated as Pythagoras and D.K as his pupil Kleineas. In the year 504 the future Leadbeater ( who at that time was an Athenean by descent ), "to our great and awed delight" visited Pythagoras on one of the Greek islands not long before his death.
When Pythagoras died, his pupil Kleineas went to Athens and founded a school of philosophy, there, of which the future Leadbeater goes on to state in his autobiography that when they met in the nineteenth century the Mahatma K.H. had immediately recalled the words that Pythagoras had spoken to him when they parted. This incident was to convince Leadbeater of their centuries-old connection. And just as was the case in their Greek incarnation, so on this occasion too K.H. entrusted the responsibility for Leadbeater's occult development to his most advanced pupil ( D.K. ), who at that time was a fully fledged adept ( or almost so ).
However the fruits of this instruction were more than dubious. Quite apart from the highly problematic method of occult research which Leadbeater learnt from his "teacher" ( whoever he may have been ), a mediumistic, atavistic method which by its very nature Rudolf Steiner uncompromisingly condemned, probably the most important feature of the esoteric training experienced by Leadbeater was that he, who in the past had been an Anglican priest, became an occultist who – in Rudolf Steiner words — "actually knows nothing whatsoever about Christ" ( Lecture 15th July, 1914: GA 155 : "Christ and the Human Soul" ).
Despite all this — and quite possibly because of it — Leadbeater became very soon after his return to the Theosophical Society, the second most important person after Annie Besant, or in an occult sense even the most important in the Theosophical Society. For according to Schuré's words from the letter quoted in the previous chapter:
"The President needed Leadbeater for her occult research, "since his collaborative work seemed to her necessary in order to bolster her authority".
One result of this collaboration was, among others, the extensive three-volume work "Conversations About the Path of Occultism", in which the President and her spiritual adviser tried to develop further, and make more accessible to members of the Society, those methods of spiritual training and occult research which had already caused the scandalous and absurd situation involving Krishnamurti.
The extent to which Leadbeater's influence was decisive for the subsequent destiny of the Theosophical Society becomes clearer visible from the fact that, after Annie Besant's death, two protégés and pupils were named successively as President: first, George Arundale, the founder of the Order of the "Star of the East", and then S. Jinarajadasa, who subsequently edited and wrote a commentary upon Leadbeater's letters.
Now that we have briefly characterised Leadbeater's relationship to those individuals whom we named as his spiritual teachers and honored with the title of mahatma, we can now turn to the Krishnamurti affair. For its most significant trait was without doubt the participation of a whole series of mahatmas, as not only Leadbeater and Anne Besant maintained but also Krishnamurti himself attested on the basis of his own occult experiences.
The occult career of this Indian boy — who was at the time still a minor — began with the so-called "first initiation", which took place on 10/11th April 1910.
In order to carry this out, Leadbeater and Krishnamurti were locked up together in Anne Besant's rooms in Adyar ( she was present at the time ) and, according to their own statements, were throughout ( one day and two nights ) outside their physical bodies. Balfour-Clarke, a playmate of Krishnamurti's, who witnessed these events and stood guard at the door, from time to time bringing warm milk which he put beside Leadbeater and Krishnamurti, described everything that happened in Adyar at that time in his recollections, which were published under the title of "The Boyhood of Krishnamurti" ( Russell Balfour-Clarke: published in 1977 ).
After the two days both of those involved left their place of seclusion. In this short time Krishnamurti had changed considerably and appeared as though "radiant" ( Balfour-Clarke ). Together with a small group of enthusiastic listeners who had received him at the entrance, he went at once to the next grove, where he shared with them his spiritual experiences. Later that same year he recorded them for Annie Besant In writing. As Balfour-Clarke attested, the written text – which is still preserved — corresponded precisely to Krishnamurti's oral account.
Krishnamurti reported that, after he had left his physical body, he found himself immediately in the Himalayan valley described above at K.H.'s house, where the two other mahatmas, M. and D.K. were expecting him. Then they all made their way to the Maitreya Bodhisattva, in whose house the candidate for initiation saw five other theosophical Masters, Krishnamurti's account continues:
"Then the Master ( Kut Humi) took my right hand, and the Master Djwhal Kul my left, and they led me in front of the Lord Maitreya, you ( Besant ) and uncle ( Charles Leadbeater ) standing close behind me" ( "The Boyhood of Krishnamurti" ).
Then a short conversation with the Maitreya took place, during which the latter demanded that the two mahatmas would have to vouch for the candidate. K.H. did this, and Krishnamurti held them by their hands. At the end of the conversation the Maitreya "called towards Shamballa", whereupon a "great Silver Star' lit up over the candidate's head and on each side of it the figures of Gautama Buddha and the Mahacohen appeared ( a picture that represents a kind of parody of Christ's Transfiguration" ).
Then the process of initiation unfolded further and was finally completed with the solemn words of the Maitreya: "In the name of One Initiator ( Sanat Kumara ), whose star shines above us, I receive you into the Brotherhood of Eternal Life".
Whereupon Krishnamurti received the personal blessing of the Maitreya, and the ceremony ended.
However, the culmination of the initiation process was reached only during the following night, when — as Krishnamurti reported – he stood before the Lord of the World, before Sanat Kumara, whose silver star he had beheld the previous evening. "And that was the most wonderful experience of all, for he stood before me in the form of a boy not much older than I am, but the handsomest I have ever seen, all shining and glorious, and when he smiles it is like sunlight'.
And the "Lord of the World" said to Krishnamurti, turning to him, that "I must never forget His presence, for His strength would be always behind me, and His Star would shine over me". At the end of his report Krishnamurti went on to state that behind the "Lord of the World" were standing three other figures. However, he did not look at them, as he was unable to tear himself from Sanat Kumara's gaze. ( Krishnamurti's full account is included in Balfour-Clarke's reminiscences ).
We have given such a full account of Krishnamurti's first initiation because virtually the whole Himalayan Hierarchy of which detailed characterisations were subsequently given in Bailey's and Leadbeater's books participated in it. Also of significance is the fact that in Krishnamurti's visions those two teachers whom Leadbeater and then also Alice Bailey considered to be K.H.and D.K. appeared before the Maitreya to vouch for the candidate.
For Leadbeater and Besant this report of Krishnamurti's constituted an irrefutable proof that the Maitreya had received the neophyte and would shortly use his physical body to appear before human beings as the world Teacher. Hence, said Balfour-Clarke, Annie Besant explained for the first time on 29th October 1911, at the members' conference of the Theosophical Society in Adyar that "after what they had seen and felt, it was no longer possible to make even a pretence of concealing the fact ( from the members of the Society ) that Krishna's ( Krishnamurti's ) body had been chosen by the Bodhisattva".
The so-called "second initiation" took place on Walpurgis Night from 30th April until 1st May 1912. This resembled the content of the first ( again there was an astral vision of the mahatmas and of the Maitreya and so forth ). However, it took place not in India but in Sicily, whither Krishnamurti was taken by Leadbeater and Arundale specifically for this event.
Already the place and the time of its execution speak for themselves ( see further in Thomas Meyer "The Bodhisattva Question" ), and anyone who knows even a little about occultism needs no further comment. In Leadbeater's view the initiation was – to all appearances — fully successful, so that the preparation for the coming of the "world Teacher" needed to happen on a completely different scale, far transcending the limits of the — as regards its numbers — still very modest Order 'Star of the East".
Two of the most powerful world organisations were to be used for the purpose: Freemasonry and the Catholic Church. In order to penetrate the former, use was made of the "Order of International Co-Freemasonary" established already in 1893 under the auspices of the Theosophical Society in Paris, an Order to which both men and women belonged. According to the plans of its founders, this Order was eventually to fulfil a leadership role for all true Freemasons. Now, however, it was — so Leadbeater intended — to serve as a means of transforming Freemasonry into an instrument for the world Teacher.
In order to penetrate the Catholic Church, a member of the Theosophical Society, James Ingall Wedgewood, somewhat later ( in 1917 ) founded the so-called "Liberal Catholic Church" in London ( as a new branch of the Old Catholic Church of Utrecht ), which Leadbeater led from the same year, becoming its "presiding Bishop" ( as we have seen, he had already transferred his allegiance from Christianity to Buddhism:
[ Subsequently, after the failure of the Krishnamurti episode, Leadbeater continued to be active as a Catholic bishop in Australia. He even wrote several books on the subject. One of these, which describes his clairvoyant observations during the Catholic Mass, includes a coloured illustration on the frontispiece which is entitled: "the true form of the Last Supper" and on which is a "spiritual form" reminiscent of a Buddhist stupa, engirdled by four narrow minarets like the towers of an Islamic place of worship ].
Similarly, George Arundale, the founder of the "Star of the East" and the future President of the Theosophical Society ( after Annie Besant ), became a Bishop. According to Leadbeater's plans this organisation was gradually to become a new, all-embracing Church and at the same time the second instrument for the earthly activity of the "world Teacher" ( who would be at the same time both the Christ and also the Maitreya ). In this capacity it was gradually to replace the Roman Catholic Church ( or to subordinate it to itself, since the incarnated Messiah has a higher standing than any Pope ) and, in time, all other Churches ).
The plan of making use of both organisations ( Freemasonry and the Liberal Catholic Church ) in order to win as many people as possible for the "world-Teacher" was a consequence of an address that Bishop Wedgwood gave in 1925 at the conference of the "Star of the East" in Omman ( Holland ). A. Methorst-Kupier summarised this as follows by including some extracts in his publication "Krishnamurti":
"It may be seen from this and other such addresses just how earnestly convinced were the leaders of the Liberal Catholic Church and other related movements ( for example, Freemasonry ), that the coming Teacher would use them and their work in a special way to reach the people".
Moreover, the leadership of the newly established Church explained that after a short while that "the Christ works essentially through the Liberal Catholic Church" ( A.J. G. Methorst-Kuiper: "Krishnamurti" ). Thus not only the falsification of the founder of Christianity was being prepared from this quarter but also of all Christian Churches.
Krishnamurti's "third initiation" occurred without Leadbeater's help. In 1922, during his stay in California, Krishnamurti became seriously ill. However, this illness ended with a unique sudden recovery ( as with the first two initiations ) and by "vibrations" of Gautama Buddha. The result of this experience was the candidate's inner conviction which he at once communicated to Leadbeater in a letter:
"I feel once again in touch with Lord Maitreya and the Master K.H.and there is nothing else for me to do than to serve Them".
However, in 1925 some initial doubts to his mission began to arise within Krishnamurti. These doubts were called forth by the sudden death of his beloved brother, with respect to whom the Mahacohan himself had in the astral vision promised Krishnamurti at the beginning of his illness that "he will be well" ( Quoted from Krishnamurti: "The Years of Awakening" by Mary Lutyens ).
Despite all this, however, his doubts rapidly diminished, and on 28th December 1925 Krishnamurti gave a public address about the world Teacher at the regular congress of the "Star of the East", after a Catholic Mass had been held in a Hindu temple. During this address his voice suddenly changed, and he began for the first time to speak in the first person in the name of the world Teacher, and in a completely strange voice that was not his own ( see Balfour-Clarke "The Boyhood of Krishnamurti" ).
Then Annie Besant officially proclaimed "The Coming of the world Teacher has begun" ( Ibid ). And in 1927 she declared in an interview with the agency of the Associated Press of America: "The World Teacher is here." The extraordinary influence that Krishnamurti was able to exert upon his followers at such moments is borne out, for example, by the fact that the 92-year-old Balfour-Clarke, in recalling the scene many years later, called Krishnamurti's sudden transformation during his address "an unforgettable, unique spiritual experience" for his entire life ( "The Boyhood of Krishnamurti" ).
Nevertheless, over the coming years Krishnamurti's doubts overwhelmed him more and more often. Moreover, he was as an Indian strongly repelled by the ritual of the Catholic Mass, in which he had to participate anew again and again. When he was asked directly whether he would make use of the Liberal Catholic Church as his own organisation, he answered in the negative.
Not long afterwards Balfour-Clarke personally heard Leadbeater say during an address by Krishnamurti: "Talks more nonsense every day" ..."Leadbeater continued to try finding a way out of the difficult situation by asserting that the Maitreya had expressed the wish that the listeners should not take everything that Krishnamurti said literally" ( "The Boyhood of Krishnamurti" ). But nothing could prevent the total destruction of the illusions.
Thus the tragi-comedy neared its end. The individuality of Krishnamurti, which was gradually awakening to an independent life, was slowly able to shake off the bonds of the false role of world Teacher that had been foisted upon him from without. In 1929 he publicly renounced it, dissolving the Order "Star of the East", left the Theosophical Society, the Esoteric School and also the Freemasonic Order. From now on he wanted to be himself and follow his own path. Only Annie Besant believed to the end of her life ( 1933 ) in his identity with the world Teacher. "Everything that Krishna does is good", were her last words ( Quoted from Fred Poeppig "Rudolf Steiner der gope? Unbekannte ") when Krishnamurti left her with the Theosophical Society.
