Creme, Benjamin (1922-)

Scottish-born professional artist who paints images of an inner reality perceived through meditation and claims to be a herald of "the reappearance of the Christ" at the end of the twentieth century. Born in Glasgow in 1922, early in his life Creme became attracted to theosophical literature, especially the writings of Alice A. Bailey. In the 1950s he also joined the Aetherius Society, an occult-oriented flying saucer contact group founded by George King, in which he learned a form of meditation called "transmission" meditation.

Throughout the 1950s Creme was in direct contact with the Great White Brotherhood, the assembly of beings believed by Theosophists to guide the destiny of humankind. Creme claimed that in 1959 he received a telepathic communication from his own master, a member of the divine hierarchy, who told him that he would have a part to play in the return of Maitreya, the Christ. (In Theosophy, the person who walked the earth as Jesus, and is called the Christ by Christians, is identified as Maitreya, the bodhisattva whom many Buddhists expect to appear in the near future.) A constant and conscious telepathic link was established with this master, by which Creme received precise and up-to-date information about the reappearance of the Christ, which Bailey had predicted to occur toward the end of the twentieth century.

In 1974 Creme began to lecture extensively on the subject throughout Europe and North America. Also in 1974 Creme formed Share International Foundation, a group to prepare for the coming of the Christ, and according to Creme, messages and contacts with the Christ took place soon afterward. In an information sheet, "The Reappearance of the Christ and the Masters of Wisdom," Creme noted:

"There now lives among us a man who embodies in Himself the hope and aspiration of the religious groups as well as the practical aspirations of the political and economic thinkers for a better life for all.

"Awaited also by Buddhists as the Lord Maitreya, by Moslems as the Imam Mahdi, as the Bodhisattva by Hindus and as the Messiah by the Jews, the World Teacher made known in June 1945 … His intention to return to the world at the earliest possible moment. In Palestine, 2000 years ago, He manifested through His Disciple Jesus (Who is now the Master Jesus) by a process of overshadowing. This time he comes Himself, as World Teacher for the Aquarian Age.

"On July 19, 1977, Maitreya, the Christ, entered the modern world. Since then, He has been living as a member of the Asian Community of East London: an ordinary man, not known as the Christ, and not using His name Maitreya….

"A number of TV and radio programs in which the Christ has taken part have already been broadcast. The Plan was that through media coverage of His public meetings He would gradually become well-known, first nationally and then inter-nationally. However, due to the lack of response on the part of the media, this has not taken place.

"As part of a contingency plan, therefore, Benjamin Creme was allowed to disclose the Christ's location. At a press conference in Los Angeles on May 14, Benjamin Creme announced that the Christ had been living in London since 1977…."

Creme predicted the appearance of the Christ in 1982 and offered many hints to the press as to where he could be found. Some journalists searched the Indian community in London for him, but the person did not appear. Benjamin Creme subsequently claimed that "materialistic forces, seen and unseen, planetary and cosmic" had opposed the appearance, and a decision was made to postpone the actual appearance. Afterward, Creme was dismissed by many people and through the remainder of the 1980s he redirected the program of the Share International Foundation and made few public appearances. In the 1990s he again made announcements of the presence of Maitreya and has even published photographs of his appearances to different groups around the world.

Creme has published a number of books about the reap-pearance of the Christ. However, the identity of the Christ has yet to be revealed, and there is still some doubt about the ultimate direction that Creme and the group will take.