Share International

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Share International is a worldwide network of volunteers who believe the prophesied Master of Wisdom Maitreya has already returned and is currently living in the Asian community in London, specifically in the Bangladeshi Brick Lane area.

1 Concepts
2 See also
3 External links
4 Bibliography and references

[edit] Concepts

They claim that Maitreya is not a religious leader, but rather an educator in the broadest sense of the word, whose coming signals the dawn of a golden age. Share International's publications claim that the coming of Maitreya fulfills not only Buddhist prophecies about the appearance of a future great teacher, but also the prophecies of a number of other world religions- including Christianity (the second coming of Christ), Hinduism (the Kalki avatar of Vishnu), Islam (the Imam Mahdi) and Judaism (the Jewish messiah).

Share International was founded by Benjamin Creme in the 1970's, while he was travelling and lecturing about the return of Maitreya. Creme continues to serve as the chairman of the Share International Foundation, and as editor of the organizations monthly magazine. Creme makes no personal profit from his publications or lectures. The foundation is registered as a non-profit organization, and derives its funding from individual donations and the sale of books and magazines. The Foundation has offices in London, Amsterdam, and Los Angeles.

Share International claims that Maitreya has already come, and is currently active in the world. The group claims that he appeared in a Christ-like form before a gathered crowd in Nairobi, Kenya in June of 1988. Pictures from that event purporting to be of Maitreya/Christ show a bearded Middle Eastern or South Asian man in a white robe and turban, carrying what appears to be a fly-whisk. Although, this appearance is only one of many different kinds, as he has also been said to have spoken to many other groups or individuals in various guises and speaking different languages.

Share International publishes a monthly magazine, also called Share International, that is read in more than 70 countries. Creme has published a number of articles that he claims were dictated to him telepathically by an intelligence known only as 'the Master', with whom he has been in contact since 1982. This belief in Masters of Wisdom who are able to make contact with the world of the living through psychic and meditational abilities is rooted in the theosophical tradition, which provides much of the background for Share International's beliefs. Creme himself was strongly influenced by the teachings of theosophists and occultist Alice A. Bailey. Other notable conceptual components are brought from traditional religion, as well as broad-sense New Age and urban legends. This large variety of elements is perhaps typical of religious movements in their early formative stages.