The online edition of Share International magazine presents a selection of items from the printed edition. Each online edition includes a complete article by Benjamin Creme's Master. Most other articles reproduced here, covering a wide range of topics, are excerpts. The online edition usually also includes a selection of Questions and Answers, Readers' letters, and photographs of Signs of Maitreya's presence.
See the full table of contents of the printed edition at the foot of the page.
From the inception of Share International magazine, Benjamin Creme’s Master provided an article every month for nearly 35 years. These were intended to be published not only at the time they were written, but also whenever appropriate according to world circumstances.
At the beginning of this New Age which is dawning it is difficult for many to imagine the kind of civilization and culture which will grace the succeeding centuries. Most attempts to do so remain enmeshed in a materialistic vision; seldom does one see the effort made to embody the aspiration of mankind for a life of spiritual meaning and expression.
Let us try to envisage the future in terms of the new civilization and culture. Soon, the first steps will be taken in the direction of the new dispensation. Soon, the new signposts will be set, indicating the way ahead for humanity. At first, the changes will be gradual but eventually, in quickening momentum, all will be re-fashioned.
Let us consider the nature of the elements which will make up the new civilization. The outstanding attitude of the new time will be the attempt to create right relationships, to express goodwill. A massive shift in emphasis from the individual to the group will re-orientate humanity along more fruitful lines, and will reflect itself in the creation of structures more in keeping with the Plan of God. A further characteristic of the future time will be the desire to know better the nature of God and to come into closer relationship with that Divinity. From being peripheral to men’s lives, as is the case today, this aim will become paramount in the lives of millions. Accompanying this new approach to God will be a new reverence for all manifestations of life, thus bringing men into better alignment with the sub-human kingdoms. This new sense of responsibility for the lower kingdoms will speed their evolution and so serve the Plan.
Before long, a new approach to science will open the way for a complete re-adjustment in men’s attitude to the Reality in which we live. The new science will show humanity that all is One, that each fragmented part of which we are aware is intimately connected with all others, that that relationship is governed by certain laws, mathematically determined, and that within each fragment is the potential of the Whole. This new knowledge will transform men’s experience of the world and of each other and confirm for them the truth that God and man are One. Thus, the new science will demonstrate man’s divinity and will lead to the establishment of the New World Religion. The ancient schism between religion and science will be healed and a new impulse given to man’s spiritual growth.
In this fertile climate, the hidden psychic powers of man will unfold naturally and the vast potential of the human mind will conquer space and time and control the energies of the universe itself. The resources of the human spirit are unlimited. In a crescendo of revelation, the glory of the unseen worlds will be revealed to man’s astonished gaze and the full magnitude of the divine creation will be realized.
All this awaits man as he stands on the verge of the Aquarian experience. The waters of life of Aquarius, channeled to him by the Christ, will awaken in him his dormant divine consciousness and show him to be the God he is. Under the wise guidance of the Christ and His Brothers, man will attain the full stature of revealed divinity which is his birthright, did he but know it.
Stage by stage, century following century, man will build a civilization which will demonstrate his growing manifestation of divinity; a culture in which the beauty of the divine creation will be expressed in all its aspects, a mirror in which the Divine Idea will be reflected in all its glory.
Thus will man take his true place in the scheme of things under the Divine Plan. Thus, under the inspiration of the Christ, will he transform this world — separated by fear, dogma and hate — into that in which the Law of Love governs, in which all men are brothers, in which all that pertains to the divine nature engages man’s attention and controls his life. Thus will man’s dreams of divinity be realized, his potential be achieved, his destiny fulfilled.
(Share International, August 1982)
These articles are by a senior member of the Hierarchy of Masters of Wisdom. His name, well-known in esoteric circles, is not yet being revealed. Benjamin Creme, a principal spokesman about the emergence of Maitreya, was in constant telepathic contact with this Master who dictated his articles to him.
At every lecture he gave around the world, and virtually every day of his life, Benjamin Creme was asked numerous questions covering a vast range of topics. We draw on this large recorded resource and present here a selection of previously unpublished answers provided over the years by Mr Creme and his Master.
Share International has a large reserve of unpublished letters which were confirmed by Benjamin Creme and his Master to be genuine encounters with Masters, or a ‘spokesperson’. Other letters, such as the one presented below, are new, and while we cannot confirm or indicate whether a Master is involved, we present these letters for your consideration.
On Saturday 20 June 2022, I was working at the Benjamin Creme Museum of Art in Los Angeles and just before we opened our doors there were four Tibetan monks standing on our sidewalk right in front of our entry door. I stepped outside to ask them if they would like to come inside to see the original Benjamin Creme painting Thangka for the coming Buddha Maitreya. They said, “No.” I had a bit of a laugh and thought about finding closed minds everywhere and anywhere.
An hour or so later, a woman entered and said she was a Theosophist and had read several of Madame Blavatsky’s books. We talked about HPB for a bit, and then we spoke of the works of Alice Bailey, Helena Roerich and, of course, Benjamin Creme’s books. She mentioned several times how thrilled she was to find this esoteric art museum and that she could hardly believe it. And she said this was the perfect location for the museum. She spent some time looking at each painting and reading the description placards. Eventually, she came to Thankga for the coming Buddha Maitreya and declared that this was her favorite and that she loved it. Over and over she said she just couldn’t believe this museum existed and how perfect it was for the neighborhood.
After she had a good visit with the Thangka she said very quietly, “Now is the time.” What is interesting about this comment is that, while I usually tell visitors about Mr Creme’s multi-decade work writing and touring the world, telling of the advent of Maitreya, the World Teacher, in this case I did not as she had said she was a Theosophist and had reviewed the Museum website before coming. After her comment I said, “I hope you’re right.” She said “It is,” again very quietly. This has meaning to me as I often observed Benjamin Creme at the US Transmission Meditation Conferences saying some of the most important things, very quietly, and with a complete absence of force. One had to really be paying attention to even hear them. I have long thought these types of comments to be unusually important, and as they were said without any force, no effort at all to convince, that there must have been in them something having to deal with our free will not being infringed. This woman also spoke like that with no effort to convince me that this is the time. She asked about events that we put on, talks and such, and I mentioned that we used to put on quarterly talks but the pandemic brought them to temporary suspension. I said that we might start them up in the early fall season if the pandemic allows. She thanked us for being there and I invited her back anytime.
We present here “signs of hope” and “signs of the time” which have not been confirmed by Benjamin Creme’s Master. We present them for your consideration only since we are unable to verify their ‘miraculous’ nature.
We present a selection of quotations on the theme of ‘A new awareness’. The quotations are taken from Maitreya (Messages from Maitreya the Christ), Benjamin Creme’s Master (A Master Speaks Volumes One and Two), and Benjamin Creme’s writings.
All expansions of consciousness are preceded by periods of tension, and this time of conflict and difficulty through which mankind is now passing will be succeeded by one of tranquillity and poise, which will set the stage for the gradual flowering of the intuition. When that happens, man will know directly, past all gainsaying, his true nature as a soul created in the image of God. (Benjamin Creme’s Master, from ‘Reason and intuition’)
The following correspondence with a member of the Parliamentary Group for World Government provides a fascinating insight into how Benjamin Creme approached various groups and organizations as he started his public work — creating opportunities to build bridges with them and to convey Maitreya’s priorities for a just new world.
June 1975
Dear Mr A.,
I read with interest the leaflet ‘The Case for World Government’. To my mind, the crucial problems facing the world today are economic — the distribution of the world’s food, raw materials, and energy sources to meet the needs of all. No world government or federation is possible until these first steps have been taken, and no peace can be assured until the economic needs of all peoples are served on a just basis. There is no other course open to us and very little time left before millions of people in the underdeveloped countries face starvation and disease on an unprecedented scale. The education of people towards a sense of this global responsibility is the first priority.
It seems to me that the overwhelming necessity at the present time is to present to the nations and governments of the world not a complete blueprint for a world-government structure but some basic principles which would be the minimum requirements for a new world order. To my mind these could be summarized roughly as follows:
- The recognition that there is one humanity.
- The recognition that the principle of sharing in economic affairs is the only way out of man’s present dilemma, and must be implemented on a world-scale by some United Nations economic organization representing all nations, developed and undeveloped.
- The necessity of a state of peace to enable all nations to develop the well-being of their peoples.
- The necessity of all nations to recognize their mutual dependence in the fields of finance, economics, and scientific and technological discovery.
Were these few basic principles to be presented with sufficient effort and conviction and on a world-wide scale, the peoples of the world would be enabled to see their fundamental practicality and sound sense, and it would not be long before the necessary structures were erected to implement them, thus automatically bringing about a World Federation of Nations based on mutual dependence and economic justice.
Yours sincerely,
(signed) Benjamin Creme
House of Commons,
London SW1
9 September 1975
Dear Mr Creme,
Thank you for your letter. We seem to be in substantial agreement. The difficulty lies in the human race having as its spokesmen national governments which can only express a sectional point of view vis a vis humanity. So they will sign almost anything and do nothing. Unfortunately, people not in government (with the exception of organized labour) have little influence as yet. The main task, as we see it, is to create a mouthpiece for the general interest — something much more effective than the UN Secretary-General. We would then hope that the mouthpiece would utter the kind of principles you have outlined, and they would be acted upon.
The mouthpiece seems to some of us most unlikely to emanate from government. Historically such people have emerged from priesthoods of one kind or another. Certainly the spokesmen for mankind should not be representatives of particular bits of territory.
If you have ideas on this problem of representation I hope you will let me know.
Thank you again for your interest and constructive suggestions.
Yours sincerely,
(signed) P.A.
12 September 1975
Dear Mr A.,
Thank you for your most interesting letter. I entirely agree that it is not to governments that we may look for the kind of representatives which we both envisage, with a broad inclusiveness of vision transcending national boundaries and interests. Such spokesmen do exist. They are not yet in a position to enter the international arena but we may look for their emergence in the near future. To make their emergence possible, and their action fruitful, it is in the first place necessary for all men of goodwill, and all men with the interests of the one humanity at heart, to erect a platform from which these spokesmen can work and can inspire the peoples of the world. This platform must have as its base the principles of co-operation and sharing for the good of all which I outlined in my previous letter, and on which we seem to be agreed.
How can this platform be built? It is necessary that over the next one to two years (there is a definite time factor involved) as many groups and agencies as can be mobilized throughout the world should take their stand on, and make known, their acceptance of these basic principles. They should base all their propaganda on these few desirable aims and quickly establish them as the normal, practical, and only solution to our problems. This is a very difficult but not, I think, impossible task if tackled with energy and conviction. There are enough men and women in all countries now in positions of influence and relative power who accept these principles and wish to see them implemented. They should now make contact with each other, through the groups and agencies to which they belong, and give aid and support to each other in a world-wide declaration of their belief that therein lies the solution.
The large majority of humanity would quickly respond to such a lead, and contribute their voice and aspiration for a better, more just life. Nothing, no government, could for long withstand the united voice of such an informed public opinion. Then those who are waiting for just such a time can emerge and co-ordinate and guide the efforts towards fusion and justice.
The problem of power and influence to implement such principles is more apparent than real. My own view is that there exist, precisely in the world trade union movement, men of vision and broad humanity who are ideally placed to propagate these ideas and aims if correctly approached, not in their capacity as sectional leaders but as representing the increasingly articulate masses of ordinary people throughout the world. They also wield, albeit not always constructively, real power. Given a lead by such groups as yourselves, they could accomplish much.
I was most interested in your view that “The mouthpiece seems to some of us most unlikely to emanate from government. Historically such people have emerged from priesthoods of one kind or another. Certainly the spokesman for mankind should not be representatives of particular bits of territory.” I entirely agree.
Events have a way of proving the continuity of purpose in history.
Yours sincerely,
(signed) Benjamin Creme
This is an astonishing book from 26 year old Vanessa Nakate of Uganda, a relatively new voice in the world of climate activism. Her story as a climate activist began in the spring of 2018 when she was about to graduate from a Business Administration program at Makerere University Business School in Kampala. She was planning to fill the few months between the end of her course and her graduation ceremony with some type of volunteer work, but hadn’t yet decided on what it would be.
Excessive rains began falling in East Africa in March 2018 following a year of severe drought. This caused massive flooding in 7 countries — Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda, Somalia, Djibouti, and Burundi – affecting millions of people and causing hundreds of thousands to lose their homes, their farms and their livelihoods. Hundreds died when houses as well as roads and bridges were washed away. Several dams failed and overflowed. Landslides caused more death and displacement. …
All of this made Vanessa realize that climate change — something she had been taught in secondary school would arrive in the future and to other people in other places — was happening now, in Africa, in Uganda, in her home city of Kampala. …
She learned that we were on course for potentially a 3°C temperature increase by 2050, and 7°C by 2100 — which would mean the end of human civilization.
This filled her with worry, sadness, fear, anger, bewilderment and frustration. She was stunned by the inaction of world leaders in the face of this climate emergency. And she discovered Greta Thunberg, who seemed one of the only people to recognize that this was indeed an emergency.
She learned what a climate activist is, and this, along with her indignation at the lack of action from world leaders, is what inspired her to begin her own activism. In her first climate strikes, she stood at busy crossroads in Kampala with her brothers, cousins and friends, holding signs they had made with slogans in English: “Trees are important for us”; “Nature is Life”; “When you plant a tree, you plant a forest”; “Climate Strike Now” — and a sarcastic slogan: “Thanks for the Global Warming”.
She posted photos of these strikes on social media. In time, her photos were noticed by other climate activists, including Greta Thunberg, and led to invitations from the UN, Greenpeace and others to attend international climate conferences. …
A scant 18 months after her first climate strike, she was in Davos, one of a group of young climate activists invited by Arctic Basecamp (a team of Arctic experts and scientists who spotlight the Arctic’s rapid warming) to engage in ‘outside’ advocacy and awareness-raising in parallel with the World Economic Forum’s meetings there that year.
In addition to her Arctic Basecamp activism, she also participated in a Fridays for Future press conference along with four European climate activists, including Greta Thunberg. Associated Press (AP) took a photo of the five of them standing in a row, but the published photo she saw at lunchtime of the same day didn’t include her. She had been cropped out of it. She immediately tweeted a question to AP, asking why she had been removed.
Although Arctic Basecamp’s staff said they were sorry about what had happened, they didn’t issue a formal statement or make a complaint to AP. And this is where the story gets interesting: Vanessa Nakate does not back away from a challenge, nor give in to her fear. She takes action, and her action comes from her heart. She recorded a live stream in which she expressed her feelings and spoke about what she thought had happened. …
She was not trying to capitalize on what had happened to generate media attention or capture the interest of global news outlets. But the result of her speaking was that the issue of environmental racism and injustice came to the attention of the wider climate activist movement, empowering it and focusing attention on voices which had previously been ignored or marginalized.
“Climate activists of color are erased. I [had] activists who messaged me to tell me that the same thing happened to them but they didn’t have the courage to say anything.”
Since that moment, she has expanded the range of her activism to encompass not only climate change and its effects locally in Uganda and further afield in Africa, but also women’s rights, the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals, and the need for African voices within the climate justice movement.
Saru Jayaraman is the president of One Fair Wage, a nonprofit advocacy organization in the US working for fair wages in the service sector, where workers who receive tips from customers are often paid a subminimum (less than minimum) wage. One Fair Wage organizes workers and employers, conducts research, publishes books and makes films on this issue. They also meet with legislators to enact legislation that would ensure everyone is paid no less than the minimum wage. …
A legacy of slavery
Share International: The US government allows businesses to pay their employees as little as $2.13 an hour if they get tips from customers, instead of the federal minimum wage of $7.25. Where did the idea come from to pay workers who receive tips a subminimum wage instead of a full wage with tips on top?
Saru Jayaraman: It came from slavery but originated in feudal Europe. Tips were always an extra or bonus on top of a wage. It came to the United States right before Emancipation (the abolition of slavery in the 1860s). The restaurant industry wanted to hire Black Americans but did not want to pay them anything; basically continue slavery and have them live on tips alone. In 1938, as part of the New Deal (a series of programs created by the Roosevelt Administration to combat the effects of the Great Depression), everyone got a minimum wage for the first time except for tipped workers who were told they get a zero dollar wage as long as tips bring them the full minimum wage. Over the last 150 years, it has been the lobbying of the National Restaurant Association that has maintained that practice.
SI: How are people of color affected by the subminimum wage today?
SJ: There are 14 million restaurant workers in America — about 60 per cent of them are tipped. And out of tipped workers, about two thirds are women, disproportionately women of color who tend to work in more casual restaurants where they earn far less in tips. But even if they’re working in fine dining, where there are more male waiters, they will earn less than men, white men in particular, because of the implicit bias of customers. So, forcing ‘tip workers’ (women and women of color) to rely on tips as the majority of their income subjects them to the effect of the biases of customers who tip white people better, even if the server of color provided better service.
SI: Could you talk about the use of prisoners as cheap labor?
SJ: Incarcerated workers in state and federal prisons are often required to work. Sometimes they work for internal prison matters like cleaning jail cells, but quite often they are asked to work for private companies or other state agencies. For example, in California we’ve had an increase in wildfires. One-third of our firefighting workforce consists of incarcerated people paid 11 cents an hour to fight wildfires, which is very risky work.
Then there are situations where people in federal and state prisons are asked to work for private companies ranging from Victoria’s Secret [a women’s clothing retail company], to telephone companies, to companies that produce garbage cans for parks. And they are asked to do this work that would otherwise be done by workers who are paid a full minimum wage and they are being asked to do it for less than a dollar an hour.
This is a direct legacy of slavery. It comes from the exception in the Thirteenth Amendment of the US Constitution, ratified in 1865, prohibiting slavery, which allows for slavery in the case of incarceration. It has resulted in a lot of private companies and state agencies profiting from cheap labor. Not even cheap. When you are paying 11 cents an hour, it’s pretty much free labor.
July/August 2022
Full contents of the printed edition
- The Master —: The new civilization
- Kenny Stancil: UN food chief: ‘Hell on earth’ looms from hunger crisis triggered by Ukraine war
- Standing up to big oil – and winning!
- Benjamin Creme: An open letter to spiritually-oriented groups
- Benjamin Creme: The varied work of a modern disciple
- The Master —: The need for synthesis
- Alexander Douwes Dekker: An esoteric approach to history and psychology (part one)
- “God gave you a voice. Use it.”
- Reaching a just and lasting peace in Ukraine
- Sabina Qureshi: Book review: A Bigger Picture — My Fight to Bring a New African Voice to the Climate Crisis, by Vanessa Nakate
- New fabric analysis method dates Shroud of Turin to time of Jesus
- Signs of the time: Light phenomena worldwide
- Julia Conley: Goldman Prize awarded to activists who showed nature’s ‘amazing capability to regenerate’
- Jason Francis: A fair wage for all US workers — Interview with Saru Jayaraman
- Graham Peebles: Killing Palestinian journalists and the silence of Israeli apartheid
- Aart Jurriaanse: Ideas
- Adriane Trottner and Håkan Ekvall: Rebelling on behalf of the planet and democracy
- Compilation: A new awareness
- Michael Tayles: Sacred Acoustics
- Letters to the editor
- Benjamin Creme: Questions and answers
