• A saner view of life, by the Master —
• Questions and answers
• Tony Benn interview
• Letters to the editor
• Signs of the time
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Master's article:

A saner view of life

by the Master —, through Benjamin Creme

At first sight, it would appear that the world is now in deeper crisis than ever before. War and terrorism have quickened the pace of events and filled the hearts of millions with fear. Were this the true reading of the present situation there would indeed be cause for fear and lamentation. Happily, this view is superficial and hides the many changes for the better which, quietly, with little attention, are likewise taking place. War and terror are sensational and make potent news. Far-reaching actions which enhance the lives of millions seldom make headlines, and are lost amid the tumult of imperious governments and uneasy dictators.

United Nations agencies
The world is deeply indebted to the many United Nations agencies whose careful, selfless work goes steadily on amid the rhetoric and bravado of the power-drunk politicians. The time is fast coming when men will realize that the needs of the world are the needs of men and women everywhere: for food and work, for health-care and education. These are the priorities which should guide men’s actions and engage their energy and resource. These are the perennial needs of all; humanity neglects them at its peril.

Specialist non-governmental groups likewise add their insights and researches, awakening men to the dangers in the headlong rush to further abuse this already ailing planet.

Many see who erstwhile did not. Many walk who formerly sat and watched their brothers run and play. For the first time in their lives, the world is full of hope for many who suffered in silence.

To these quiet and patient ones, life is opening its windows, letting in the sunshine and fresh air. Through the work of the many agencies new, invigorating energy now flows, and the people respond and rejoice. These, the servers, are the true heroes of this time. Not those who drop the bombs from the high clouds but those who sense the needs of their brothers and sisters, and act, no matter the cost.

War 'for the sake of peace'
When Maitreya makes His appearance, openly, to all, He will inspire the creation of a saner attitude to life grounded in serving the needs of men and women everywhere. He will show that the conflicts of the present are not inevitable. That leaders of nations have a responsibility to humanity at large, and not alone to their subjective feelings or ideology. He will call for caution and wisdom with regard to today’s weapons of terrible power, and warn of the fruitlessness of war ‘for the sake of peace’.

Peace, He will show, is not difficult to find if honestly sought. Peace, He will say, will be achieved only with justice and freedom for all. Thus will Maitreya set the target for change. Thus will men be inspired to take the simple step into the unknown and to see the fulfilment of the dreams and longings for peace which men have for long held in their hearts.

Questions & Answers:

Q. (1) Is war with Iraq now inevitable? (2) Do you think Saddam Hussein will survive the war?
A. (1) No, but more likely than not. Mr Bush and his entourage seem absolutely determined to get rid of Saddam Hussein. (2) Yes. He has a specially built ‘bunker’ which is literally impregnable to the heaviest bombing, and in which a sizeable army can live for many months.

Q. Is there a connection between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda?
A. No.

Q. Has Saddam Hussein been receiving any contact/advice from Maitreya during this current crisis?
A. No.

Q. Many believe that oil is a major factor behind what passes for foreign policy and also on the world’s stock markets: (1) Is it? (2) And will it play a key role in bringing the world’s economic structure down?
A. (1) Yes. (2) No. Essentially, the catalyst for collapse and change is the insatiable greed of the currency speculators who exist in every country.

Q. Was the loss of America’s Columbia space-shuttle and crew on 1 February 2003 a tragic accident, or a karmic event?
A. A tragic accident.

Q. I find it incredible that no one on the ground was injured when the space shuttle broke up. Did the Masters protect the people on the ground from the falling debris?
A. No.

Q. Are the Space Brothers helping in the clean-up of any toxic elements in the atmosphere?
A. No.

Q. There is talk in the media that some toxins may leak into the ground thus affecting cattle grazing and groundwater. Will toxins from the shuttle pose a problem to the environment?
A. Little, if any.

Q. Did Maitreya help the astronauts not to experience any fear of what was happening?
A. Yes.

Q. (1) During Benjamin Creme’s recent radio interview on Coast to Coast, some of us experienced a blessing from Maitreya. I also believe that I experienced a healing of an ear problem. Was Maitreya giving a blessing to the listening audience? (2) Was this also to give an experience or blessing to those who fear His emergence?
A. (1) Yes. (2) Yes.

Tony Benn interview

“Hope is the key”

Tony Benn, born in London in 1925, the son, grandson and father of Members of Parliament, retired from the House of Commons in 2001, after fifty years in Parliament — the longest serving Labour MP in the history of the party. He was a Cabinet minister in the Wilson and Callaghan governments and was Chairman of the Labour Party from 1971-2. He is a member of the Transport and General Workers Union and the National Union of Journalists, and an honorary member of the National Union of Mineworkers. His published Diaries in seven volumes cover the period from 1942 to 1990, and the latest volume Free at Last from 1990 to 2001. He is also the author of seven other books.
The holder of seven honorary Doctorates from British and American universities, he is a Visiting Professor at the London School of Economics, a regular broadcaster and recently has been undertaking an immensely successful lecture tour in the UK. Throughout his career he has consistently campaigned for peace and justice in the UK and abroad, and is well-known for his independent and candid views.
Gill Fry interviewed him for Share International.

Share International: What has been the guiding principle behind your anti-war stance throughout the years — does it have a religious, social, humanitarian basis — or all of them?

Tony Benn: I think all of them. I was brought up a Christian, my mother was a student of the Bible and she taught me that the stories in the Bible were about conflict between the Kings who had power and the Prophets who preached righteousness. I was taught to believe in the Prophets, not the Kings, and it got me in a lot of trouble, but at the same time I think that is how you should read it. As I get older I think of Jesus as a teacher. The risen Christ, who was a figure created after the crucifixion, doesn’t interest me very much, but the teachings of the man when he was alive, so far as it was reported, seem to me to be relevant and helpful: “Love thy neighbour as thyself,” and so on. Those principles applied in daily life give you some indication of what you should and shouldn’t be doing. The structures of religion with their mullahs, and rabbis and bishops and so on, I don’t care for very much because I think they are using the teachings of the Prophets or teachers just to create power structures. Then you get into a war situation where we are told there’s a crusade, and inevitably Muslims feel now this is an attack on the Muslim faith by what they laughingly call the ‘Christian nation’. I can’t say that the United States strikes me as being particularly Christian.

Then there is the practical element. I lived through the war, during which I lost a brother and many friends. I was in London during the Blitz and saw a little bit of war, not as much as many, but enough to make me hate it.

Then I think of war in terms of social justice — what brings about conflict? It is of course injustice. It’s not the only explanation — there are gangsters who go to war to gain things for themselves — but in general violence is created by injustice. Then you ask what is the role of law in that, and you look and see whether global systems overall might not be relevant. That’s why I am interested in the Charter of the UN.

Then there is democracy — after all, if we are all children of God why should we have to wait to go to heaven until that is recognized. If we’re all brothers and sisters we are entitled to equal rights now. The combination of all those factors which have a socialist, religious element shape my opinion.

SI: You have been working for peace all your political career?

TB: I have always been in favour of peace, even as a child in the 1930s, because I remember the Nazis coming to power. The desire for peace has always been very strong. When I got into Parliament my first campaigns were on the anti-colonial movement, trying to bring about independence for the British colonies. Then I was involved in the first campaign against nuclear weapons called the Hydrogen Bomb National Petition, which we launched in the Albert Hall at the end of 1955. Later CND (the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament) was formed and I joined that. All my work has been about peace because war is brutalizing and never solves any problems.

Also, you have to recognize that there are some people for whom war is very attractive. If you make arms it is marvellous: political leaders who are weak can strengthen themselves by victories abroad; newspapers boost their ratings by having lots of picture of our boys in action; and television companies are engaged in it as well. So you see it isn’t just that everyone likes peace; most people want peace, but there are people who have a vested interest in conflict, and so you try and understand why they are doing it, to help you see how to deal with the problem.

SI: What in your opinion is the root cause of terrorism?

TB: I don’t differentiate between terrorism and war. I can’t see the difference between a stealth bomber and a suicide bomber. Both are prepared to take innocent lives for political purposes, and historically the way you deal with threats of violence is to get to the root of it. You can take many examples — for instance, Nelson Mandela in South Africa. Mrs Thatcher called him a terrorist, and indeed he was. I spoke in Trafalgar Square in 1964 at the time of the Rivonia trial, when he was imprisoned for violent campaigns against the apartheid regime. The next time I met him he had a Nobel Peace Prize and was President of South Africa.

If you look at Northern Ireland, the talks with Martin McGuiness and Gerry Adams created the background against which the Belfast Agreement was reached so I think you have to deal with the cause of it. It is the violence that is objectionable, not the fact that the violence is conducted by desperate individual suicide bombers, because violence by the state is on a much bigger scale. A million people died in Vietnam in which the Americans were involved. Now, was that terrorism or not? I would have thought you could argue that it was violence on a scale that made individual acts of terrorism seem quite small — I’m not justifying either.

So it seems you have to find the roots and negotiate settlements that make the people not want to go to war. You will never stop the man who is utterly determined, but you can separate the individual terrorists from the body of public support they need in order to be successful. And that is the political response to it.

SI: What do you see as essentials for peace in the world?

TB: There are a number of things. First of all, justice. I don’t think you can ever have peace between master and servant. Secondly, you have to have respect for human rights. Thirdly, I think people have to have some feeling that they have some role in shaping their own future and that they are not just spectators on the [lives] of kings, presidents, prime ministers and so on which is on the whole what modern democracies — America, Britain, Europe — tend to do. They turn people into spectators. Spectators who can be bought by clever advertising to appear to support [the people] — but once they’ve granted their support then they’re expected just to sit back for five years and watch the great and the good they’ve elected governing the country. That is not democratic in the proper sense, but it’s better than not being able to get rid of people who govern you. So it’s a very imperfect democracy: it has no industrial elements, no democracy in the media or business, and not necessarily much democracy in education. The conclusion I’ve reached over the years is that democracy is the most controversial idea. Nobody in power wants democracy. The Pope didn’t want it: he picks all the cardinals. The Church of England doesn’t have it because the Prime Minister picks the leader. Stalin didn’t like it. Hitler didn’t like it, New Labour doesn’t like it. They just want to use an idea to control.

SI: What is your idea of the requirements of democracy, and how important is democracy to your political thinking? I suppose democracy is just a word for something we haven’t achieved yet?

TB: I have tried to define democracy, and worked out five criteria. If you meet a powerful person, ask them five questions: What power have you got? Where did you get it from? In whose interest do you exercise it? To whom are you accountable? How could we get rid of you?

Because if you can’t get rid of the people who have power over you they don’t have to listen to you. The reason the members of parliament and prime ministers, with all their defects, have to listen is because the Day of Judgement comes on polling day, whereas the bankers, the World Trade Organization, the IMF, the Pope, the mullahs, the rabbis, don’t have to listen — because they are there. Some of them say they’re there because God gave them power, others say they are following the inescapable conclusions of a market-related society. But whatever justification they give they aren’t accountable and can’t be removed — and I will not be governed by people I can’t get rid of. For that very reason, people who do have power don’t like democracy because it will undermine the security they think they have.

SI: How can we bring about popular participation in government?

TB: They say people are apathetic, but I’m very sceptical about that. I think that [the idea of] apathy is very convenient to people at the top – if you can say: “People aren’t interested in politics. I’m not going to bother them with serious arguments. I’ll pump out my propaganda and they’ll take it and shut up.” The media think: “If people aren’t interested in politics I can trivialize and dumb everything down, and sensationalize because people aren’t interested.” But I think people are not apathetic. I think a lot of people are very angry because they don’t feel anyone listens to them and feel that they are treated disrespectfully. They are distrustful of what they are told and say: “People are just lying to us.” Therefore their reaction to the political system is not one of:“I don’t care what happens, go ahead and do it and count me out,” but: “Why am I not having any role in this?” So the term ‘apathy’ is a funny term to use. It’s actually an acute dislocation of people’s desire to change things, together with their feelings that it can be achieved. And yet, outside, there is the peace movement, the pensioners’ movement, the anti-globalization movement, the environmental movement — there are masses of movements, but they don’t get covered on the media.

SI: And they seem to be growing.

TB: Yes, they are growing, and I think that’s part of the reaction to what I call the decay of the semi-democratic system we have. Of course, increasingly, as power gets globalized, whoever you vote for won’t necessarily be able to do much. In a sense now, you elect a prime minister not to govern the country but to be your shop steward in dealing with the people who govern the world. Once you get that straight, it makes the problem a bit clearer.

People at the top do not want to share their power. They’ve always got some marvellous reason: I’m following my religion; I’m following the laws of economics. Even Stalin: I’m representing the vanguard of the working class, so please don’t cause trouble. That is the battle that every generation has, and yet we mustn’t be pessimistic about it because, in much less favourable circumstances than we have today, trade unions got themselves organized. Although the Tolpuddle Martyrs were punished, the chartists won, the suffragettes won, anti-apartheid won in South Africa. So all you have to do is study history to see how it’s done and not look for some saviour who’s going to do it for you.

SI: Do you think world leaders are at a loss as to what to do next?

TB: Yes. I ask myself: how is progress really made? I think of a caterpillar. The demand for change comes from the back. The back of the caterpillar pushes, and its back arches. The motive at the front is not to make progress but is for realism. It’s passion and justice that push the back and realism that pushes the front of the caterpillar. And then the caterpillar says we can’t go on like this, we’ll all fall over. Then enough concessions [are made] to defuse it: leaders of the peace movement, the trade union movement and the Labour Party are put into the House of Lords and they co-operate. Then they decapitate the radical movement. They’re very clever — the establishment wouldn’t have lasted as long as it has if they didn’t know exactly what they had to do. They have to respond to pressures, but not too quickly because that would mean giving up things they didn’t want to give up. They respond to pressure, wait until the moment they can recover the losses they had to concede, then recapture them. Then the pressure builds up again. It’s a very interesting process, and understanding it is very important.

SI: What do you see as the main threat to world peace at the present time?

TB: We live now in a period when the largest and most powerful empire the world has ever known is in position. The United States has enough military hardware and technology to obliterate any country militarily, or, for that matter to destabilize and secure a regime-change in almost any country. They got rid of Allende in Chile; tried to get rid of Castro and didn’t succeed; would like to get rid of Chavez in Venezuela; are not very happy about Lula [in Brazil]; and tried to kill Gaddafi. Frankly, if Mr Blair were to take a stand against the United States, I would not be surprised if there wasn’t a slow but persistent desire to replace him as Prime Minister, through putting him down in the media. Regime-change is for those countries where you can’t actually find justification for going in and obliterating it militarily, and that is the greatest danger.

I was born in an Empire in 1925 when 20 per cent of the population of the world was governed from London and now I live in [Britain] an American colony. One of the ways colonies can get free themselves is by working with the progressive forces in the imperial country. We had progressive people working with Mandela, Nkomo, and many African leaders and helped them to secure [the transition] peacefully. There’s a tremendously powerful peace movement in America, and we have to work with them because they have more direct influence on American opinion. We have to make it absolutely clear that we will not put up with what Mr Bush wants, but the danger is very great because the power is so overwhelming and the American capacity to bully, bribe and blackmail people into going along with their wars is something you mustn’t underestimate.

The Palestinian situation is also a classic example. Here is Sharon, with weapons of mass destruction, breaking UN resolutions, armed to the teeth by the Americans, engaged in joint military and naval exercises in the Mediterranean with Turkey, Israel and America, and then pretending to be in favour of a peace process.

SI: What are your thoughts on commercialization and market forces and how they are impacting on the world?

TB: Multinational companies now aim to run the world, and the United States has got such strong economic interests that it is prepared to go to war to safeguard its resources — exactly the same as the British Empire. We occupied huge chunks of the world because we wanted cheap raw materials. The multinationals have no loyalty to the United States any more than they have any loyalty to Britain, but the way they express their interest is by buying both political parties in America and expecting a pay-off whichever one wins — and that is totally anti-democratic.

SI: Who are the politicians or statesmen you admire?

TB: I am interested in people who explain the world and people who organize to improve the world. I’m not looking for a new man on a white horse or a new Saviour to do it for us. I think there’s something very undemocratic about putting your confidence in Mr A, or Mrs T, or waiting for a Saviour.

The trade unions have done a great deal to improve the condition of the working people, and women have organized to improve conditions for women. I’m not looking for heroes, but Castro and Mandela would both fit that category — they explained the world and organized to change it. I admired Willy Brandt very much; he was a remarkable man. There are few people you meet in life who make an impact, but Willy certainly did.

SI: Do you see the UN playing a crucial role in world affairs?

TB: The UN has really been taken over by the Americans. In the most recent case, Resolution 1441, calling for Saddam Hussein to reveal his weapons of mass destruction, Saddam issued a report of 12,000 pages, the Americans seized it, removed 8,000 pages and gave a sanitized version to the non-permanent members. The pages removed include details of the American companies who have supplied weapons of mass destruction to Saddam and all Kofi Annan said was that it was unfortunate. If the Americans can seize and censor UN reports they can’t really justify a war based on what’s happened, because people will say: “We never saw the facts.”

I do believe in the UN, but like Parliament in this country 200 years ago only 3 per cent of the population had the vote and the power rested with the landowners … [The UN] has a potentiality but you’d have to elect all the members of the General Assembly and General Assembly would have to elect the Security Council, and so on.

SI: Have you ever felt as if you were knocking your head against a brick wall in your fight for what you believe?

TB: At night when I write my diary I am sometimes sunk in the deepest gloom. It’s partly psychological — everybody gets depressed, particularly looking at the world now. On the other hand, you say to yourself that fear and gloom are prisons in which you imprison yourself. Hope is the key to the prison door and gives you the energy to try and change it. So hope is the fuel of progress and fear is a self-imprisonment. You just have to keep hope alive — it’s the only way anything will be done.

SI: Is humanity making positive developments along the lines you hope for?

TB: With modern technology people know a lot more than they did. People are beginning to recognize the difference between globalization — the free movement of capital — and internationalism, where people from other countries work together.

I think the world’s religions have much to think about. All the religions, if you cut away the structures, began with teachers teaching how to live and that provides a common base. If you excavate religions you come to the same block of granite upon which the whole thing rests. But if you argue about whether the rabbis are right in saying that God was an estate agent who gave Palestine to the Jews — well, that’s a difficult argument to deal with, and absolutely nothing to do with Moses, Jesus and Mohammed. I’m very interested in theology. I met someone the other day and asked him: “What’s your religion?” He said: “I’m a lapsed atheist.” I thought that was a lovely phrase. He said: “I don’t really believe in God but I do think there’s more in life than just having a nice car, and a home and a video.” There is a spiritual dimension in life which you can’t disregard, or if you do you just miss the point in life.

SI: How do you see the direction that the world is going in? Are you optimistic or pessimistic about the future?

TB: You have to be an optimist. In every stage in history there have been surges of hope that have overwhelmed the people at the top, who have an interest in spreading gloom. Remember, the guys at the top don’t want people to get excited, so they say: “Now just leave it to us, and anyway you’re apathetic and couldn’t do anything.” I think the most powerful political phrase in the whole of my life was Mrs Thatcher saying: “There is no alternative.” What she was saying was: whatever you think, whatever you do, whatever you organize, you’re bound to fail, don’t even try — and she did persuade a lot of people not to try. The alternative — “Another world is possible” — [was the phrase] used at the recent Port Alegre Conference in Brazil. Of course I am an optimist — you have to try.
I don’t differentiate between terrorism and war. I can’t see the difference between a stealth bomber and a suicide bomber. Both are prepared to take innocent lives for political purposes, and historically the way you deal with threats of violence is to get to the root of it.

We live now in a period when the largest and most powerful empire the world has ever known is in position.

There’s a tremendously powerful peace movement in America, and we have to work with them because they have more direct influence on American opinion. We have to make it absolutely clear that we will not put up with what Mr Bush wants …

Hope is the key to the prison door and gives you the energy to try and change it. So hope is the fuel of progress and fear is a self-imprisonment. You just have to keep hope alive — it’s the only way anything will be done.

There is a spiritual dimension in life which you can’t disregard, or if you do you just miss the point in life.

Letters to the editor

Over a number of years, some of the Masters, in particular Maitreya and the Master Jesus, have appeared, in different guises, to large numbers of people around the world. They also appear at Benjamin Creme's lectures and meditations, giving people in the audience the opportunity to intuitively recognise Them. Some people recount their experiences to Share International magazine. If the encounters are authenticated by Benjamin Creme's Master, the letters are published. These experiences are given to inspire, to guide or teach, often to heal and uplift. Very often, too, the Masters draw attention to, or comment on, in an amusing way, some fixed intolerance (for example against smoking or drinking). Many times They act as saving 'angels' in accidents, during wartime, earthquakes and other disasters. The following letters, previously published in Share International magazine, are examples of this means of communication by the Masters.

The January/February issue of Share International included eight letters describing encounters with an elderly man called ‘Egon’. Four of the letters are reproduced below.

Dear Editor,
Shortly before the Munich lecture I watched an elderly man walk straight to Benjamin Creme’s table. He had a trolley with a thermos flask poking out of it. As all the front seats were taken he took a seat further back. He was dressed simply in a short coat and a round light brown cap which he kept on the whole evening. During the break he stayed in his seat, quiet in meditation.

Later, as all the people left, he remained seated. I was almost in the vestibule yet I turned back. If it were Maitreya would he give me a clue? After a while he came to the book table and remained concentrated on the cards of Maitreya’s ‘hand’. He pulled out a small purse with a zip and put a few coins in his hand. Quickly I got the card and put it in front of him and asked: “May I present this card to you?” and he accepted. I said: “This hand will bring you luck and blessings”, to which he answered in a Bavarian dialect which I could not hear as it was noisy. I was very touched and moved. He put his hand on the card once and lowered his face so that the tip of his nose almost touched the ‘hand’ for approximately one minute. Was this man a normal Munich citizen or Maitreya?
MR, Langenselbold, Germany.

(Benjamin Creme’s Master confirms that the ‘elderly man’ was, in fact, Maitreya.)

Dear Editor,
At the beginning of Benjamin Creme’s lecture in Munich (November 2002) a tall man walked down the central aisle towards the stage. He was dressed in a long, brown, old-fashioned coat and wore a light-brown beret. He was pulling a shopping trolley behind him with just the metallic frame with a bundle tied to it. The bundle was so small that he could easily have carried it. When he turned I could see his face: he had very smooth shining skin and a prominent nose. He sat down one row behind me.

I forgot about him until Mr Creme said that Maitreya was in the audience. I immediately felt the impulse to turn around and I saw him sitting there in a very casual manner, legs wide open, his shoulders lopsided. He had his eyes closed and both hands were forming a mudra. I looked at him several times, but he never paid much attention to his surroundings. At the end of the lecture I looked directly at him — I knew he was aware that I was looking, but kept his head inclined and did not address anybody. I left thinking he preferred not to talk and saw him later in the crowd close to the Share International photographic exhibition. Was he Maitreya?
AH, Berlin, Germany.

(Benjamin Creme’s Master confirms that the ‘tall man’ was, in fact, Maitreya.)

Dear Editor,
In October 2002 I helped at a fair in Rosenheim near Munich with Dunja Mueller. A man called Egon came to our stand and talked to her. I greeted him; he was not a stranger to me but I had no idea where I had seen him before.

At another fair, three weeks later in Augsburg, Egon again visited our information-table. We talked a little and he told me that Dunja and he went “hunting” circles of light together last year in Augsburg. He stood a little time at our stand and looked at Benjamin Creme’s books. I noticed that he was quite smelly and I told myself to be more tolerant. He told me that he was also at the Salzburg fair and I asked him how he could afford to travel across the country from fair to fair and pay the admission fees. He said he managed somehow. He bought a card of Maitreya’s ‘hand’.

Egon was also present at the large esoteric fair in the centre of Munich a week before Mr Creme’s lecture. I remember him picking up some advertisement flyers and holding them in his hands very close to his eyes to study the words very carefully, as if he was a botanist without a magnifying glass examining a rare plant. I thought: “You are a strange man. Travelling from one fair to another, just to see nearly always the same exhibitors.” Was he Maitreya or a Master?
CK, Munich, Germany.

(Benjamin Creme’s Master confirms that the elderly man calling himself ‘Egon’ was, in fact, Maitreya.)

Dear Editor,
Our group had a stand at an esoteric fair in Munich a week before Benjamin Creme’s lecture in Munich (November 2002). When an elderly man passed our stand I recalled that at every esoteric fair I have been to in the last three years I had seen him and that he always wore exactly the same clothes. I thought how strange it was. I even met him at an esoteric fair in Austria. Was he Maitreya or a Master?
JA, Regensburg, Germany.

(Benjamin Creme’s Master confirms that the ‘elderly man’ was, in fact, Maitreya.)

Perfect timing

Dear Editor,
On 3 January 2003 I was a bit late in fulfilling a meeting for an interview with Tony Benn at 4pm. Running down the hill to the underground I decided to catch a taxi if I saw one — but they are rare in the area. I watched two full taxis go by and was heading for the tube when I saw another. It’s bright apple-green colouring caught my attention — a favourite colour of mine.

I flagged it down and jumped in, briefly wondering if the driver might be Maitreya or a Master. He was smiling and looked around 50 years old, eastern European and had a slight Cockney accent. He was friendly and began blasting the back with warm air — it was freezing outside. I relaxed, relieved that I didn’t have to run with my heavy bags. I almost mentioned that I was in a hurry, but thought better of it and just thought: “Trust him.” Then I settled in — it was so comfortable. I put the light on and began reading the interview questions and melted into a feeling of calm. The second I felt warm enough, the driver checked with me and turned off the extra warm air.

We had 30 minutes to get to the interview and it was rush hour. Now and again I looked at my watch and then at the driver. Our eyes met on his mirror and then I’d read again. He seemed not to mind that I didn’t talk — I was so intent on preparing for the interview.

A couple of times I felt anxious about arriving in time but thought: “Trust him.” And I got a sensation of “Don’t worry — we’ll get there in time.” He was a brilliant driver and took an unusual route, bypassing busy areas, cutting through the back streets. At a traffic light he gave directions to an adjacent driver and for a second I thought: “Don’t miss the lights!” — but he didn’t. Inwardly I chastised myself for my lack of patience and chuckled to myself.

As we neared Tony Benn’s address, I thought we needed to turn right, but he turned left and slowly drove up checking the house numbers. I was sure we needed to turn back but he calmly insisted and soon found the right house. I realized that I’d made a mistake and apologized. The time was 3.55 — perfect timing! I was so relieved and happy. He said: “I suppose you’ll be wanting a receipt?” and gave me one with apple-green colouring! I thanked him and explained that I had a 4 o’clock meeting and was so grateful to him for getting me there on time. He was gentle and light-hearted. He asked if I’d like to check whether it was the right house, but I said I was sure it was OK. As we waved goodbye I felt composed and looking forward to the interview.
Afterwards I thought about a recent comment from Benjamin Creme on Maitreya’s emergence: “You will find Maitreya’s timing is perfect.” Since then I have been pondering on the need for faith in the timing of events — especially with so many people stressed out about the current world situation and longing to see Maitreya. Was this perfect taxi driver Maitreya or a Master? (Incidentally, it was my birthday that day.)
Gill Fry, London, UK.

(Benjamin Creme’s Master confirms that the ‘taxi driver’ was, in fact, the Master Jesus.)

Puppet-bird

Dear Editor,
In 1993, we had a curious experience. We had received an invitation from a friend to sow some summer crops in his vegetable garden, something we had never done before. In addition, we started the sowing process quite late regarding the optimal sowing period. Our neighbours from the adjacent gardens thought that nothing would sprout, but we continued with our work, coming daily to care for the vegetables.

One summer afternoon we were working with the cane framework of the tomatoes when we saw a magpie, gliding, then finally landing not far from us. One of the men in an adjacent garden tried to catch it, but the bird took flight and finally rested close to us. We continued working so as not to frighten him. To our surprise, he jumped into the cane frame, just beside our hands, and started playing. With his beak, he picked out strings and pulled them, trying to take them away from us. Moments later he landed on the ground and played with my son’s shoestrings. He was like that all afternoon, getting between our hands and pulling our strings.
When we finished our work, we were worried what to do if the bird would not go away. We started to walk toward our car, and as if he knew it, he flew up and landed on the car roof. We were really sad that we had to leave, we felt that the bird wanted to be with us. We got into the car and left. The bird flew over the car till we arrived at the main road. We have not seen him since, but, by the way, we had a splendid harvest of peppers, onions and unusually big tomatoes, and all of them at the right harvest period. Every time I see a magpie, I remember him. Could you please tell us why this bird was with us without fear? Was there something he wanted to show us?
MZ, Valencia, Spain.

(Benjamin Creme’s Master confirms that the magpie was manifested, and of course manipulated, by Maitreya.)

Signs of the time

Indian sun-gazer baffles ophthalmologists  

A man in India's north-eastern state of Assam has baffled ophthalmologists by gazing at the sun for hours without blinking. For 24-year-old Dimbeswar Basumatary in the village of Balimari, 290 kilometres west of Assam's capital Guwahati, sun-gazing has become a passion. On some days he stares directly at the sun from dawn until sundown. "I love watching the bright sun on its journey across the sky, although it all started by chance some five years back," Basumatary said.

According to experts, a person gazing at the blazing sun for a maximum of 90 seconds runs the risk of having a solar burn or retina damage. "We have examined Basumatary a number of times and it is really surprising to find him having good colour vision with no significant problems detected so far," said Biraj Jyoti Goswami, a senior ophthalmologist at the Sankardev Netralaya, a premier eye hospital in Guwahati.

Basumatary’s demonstrations before journalists and photographers have met resistance. "I was at the Indian Gate in New Delhi before an army of photographers some time back when police prevented me from continuing on medical grounds," Basumatary said: "But I know nothing would happen to me as I have been doing this without any problems for the past five years."

He says gazing at the sun gives him food for survival in the form of solar energy. "The sun for me is a meal in itself and I have tried not eating anything for four days in a row and still show no signs of hunger or thirst," Basumatary said. (Source: Islamic Republic News Agency)

(Benjamin Creme’s Master comments that this is not to be recommended except for Avatars!)

Pregnant woman regains sight 

Mona Ramdal had only 15 per cent vision, but in the course of her last pregnancy she gradually regained her sight and recently passed her driver's test. Eye doctor Per Hvamstad has treated 29-year-old Mona since the end of the 1970s, and has never heard of a similar case.

"It is really quite unbelievable. It is a miracle. I cannot explain what has happened," says Hvamstad. Mona was born with toxoplasmosis, an infection which can cause eye or brain damage in infants. Her right eye has always had severely limited vision. When Mona turned 13 her left eye also began to fail, and gradually her vision was reduced to 15 per cent in that eye. But when she became pregnant the sight in her left eye began to return. By the time her daughter Anne-Marthe, now a year old, was born, Mona could see. She has since earned her driver's licence on her first try.

"The retina is by definition a part of the brain. That which is destroyed is destroyed for ever. That is why someone who has been terribly visually impaired suddenly seeing normally cannot be explained," Hvamstad said. (Source: Aftenposten, the Netherlands)

(Benjamin Creme’s Master confirms that Mona Ramdal was healed by the Master Jesus.)

UK releases 1980 UFO report 

In 1980, US airmen reported seeing a "strange glowing object" near a British air base in the early morning of 27 December. The detailed report was recently released as part of a UK declassification programme. Before the report’s release, the information was widely spread by UFO researchers, but the document itself had only been seen by about 20 people, who requested access to it through the US Freedom of Information Act.

The report reveals that two US security officers saw an object emitting a "red sun-like light", moving through the trees of Rendlesham forest. The two men, along with a third patrolman, investigated the lights. "The individuals reported seeing a strange glowing object in the forest," wrote Lt Colonel Charles Halt, then deputy base commander at RAF Bentwaters. "The object was described as metallic in appearance and triangular in shape, approximately 2-3 metres across the base and approximately 2 metres high. It illuminated the entire forest with a white light. The object itself had a pulsing red light on top and a bank of blue lights underneath. The object was hovering or on legs. As the patrolmen approached it, it manoeuvred through the trees and disappeared. At this time the animals on a nearby farm went into a frenzy."

An hour later, the UFO was again seen near the back gate of the base. Halt's report says: "Later in the night a red sun-like light was seen through the trees. It moved about and pulsed. At one point it appeared to throw off glowing particles, broke into five separate white objects and then disappeared. Immediately thereafter, three star-like objects were noticed in the sky, two objects to the north and one to the south, all of which were about 10 degrees off the horizon. The objects moved rapidly in sharp angular movements and displayed red, green and blue lights. The objects to the north appeared to be elliptical through an 8-12 power lens. They then turned to full circles. The objects to the north remained in the sky for an hour or more. The object to the south was visible for two or three hours and beamed down a stream of light from time to time."

The next morning, Halt and his men discovered three circular depressions, 7 inches in diameter, in the ground. A radiation level 10 times higher than normal was recorded in the depressions. The airmen tried to capture the sightings on camera, but decided their film was not working correctly. Also, nothing showed up on radar.

A Ministry of Defence memo included in the report says: “No evidence was found of any threat to the defence of the United Kingdom, and no further investigations were carried out. No further information has come to light which alters our view that the sightings of these lights was of no defence significance. No unidentified object was seen on radar during the period in question, and there was no evidence of anything having intruded into UK airspace and landed near RAF Woodbridge … In the absence of any hard evidence, the MoD remains open-minded about these sightings."
(Source: CNN, USA; www.unknowncountry.com)

(Benjamin Creme’s Master confirms that the object was a ‘sensor’ and storer of information rather than a space-ship. It was engaged in what could be called a ‘scientific survey’. Its base is Mars.)

Weeping statue in Australia

A weeping Madonna statue is drawing thousands of Roman Catholics to Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Rockingham, 50 kilometres south of Perth, Australia. The statue, two-and-a-half feet high and made of fibreglass, was bought in Thailand in 1994 by Patty Powell, 47, who paid $82 (Aus$150) for it.

According to Powell, the statue first began shedding tears in March 2002 during the Feast of St Joseph, and then wept from Good Friday to Easter Sunday. In August, the tears fell almost non-stop, at which point Powell contacted church authorities. The oily tears are said to smell variously like rose-water, vanilla and Vaseline.

The Catholic Archbishop of Perth, the Reverend Barry Hickey, has visited the statue. "I went along with a few misgivings and was probably a bit sceptical, but after I saw it, I was very impressed," he said.

Independent scientists from two Western Australian universities have recently analysed the statue. X-rays found the statue to be porous but sealed on the outside, with no holes or scratches on the surface to allow the oil to seep out. Medical imaging was used to analyse whether there was anything unusual inside the statue, such as a sponge for holding the oil, but found no evidence of such.

Sceptics believe the statue to be a fake, but so far no-one has been able to prove it. Murdoch University chemist Doug Clarke, who tested the oily liquid, told reporters he thought someone had been "very tricky", but he could find no proof the statue was fake. He said the tears were a vegetable oil, probably olive, scented with a rose-oil mix, but a cat-scan would show definitively whether there was oil inside.

Powell has said that she feels vindicated by the results of the tests: "I had such a peace before, I knew in my heart what is the truth. If I was going to try and pull the wool over people's eyes, I wouldn't have had the statue tested in the first place."

The statue is also being linked to healings. One case involved a dying priest who was anointed with the oily tears and two hours later was sitting up in bed “as cheerful as anything", according to parish priest Finbarr Walsh. (Sources: UPI; The Independent, UK; De Volkskrant, the Netherlands; BBC News Online, UK)

(Benjamin Creme’s Master confirms that the Master Who was the Madonna is manifesting this miracle.)