Benjamin Creme announced on 30 May 1975 at the Friends Meeting House in London that humanity was entering the Aquarian Age. A Scottish painter and esoteric author born in Glasgow in 1922, he spent his life bridging the divide between modernist visual arts and the conviction that a spiritual hierarchy was actively guiding global human evolution.
Artistic Beginnings
Creme began painting at age thirteen, drawing early influence from the work of Rembrandt. To focus entirely on his craft, he left school at sixteen. He developed a modernist style, often described as abstractly representational, which eventually gained international exhibition. Throughout his career, he maintained a network of collaborators spanning British art, literature, and music, treating his artistic development as a path parallel to his metaphysical inquiries.
Twenty questions, eight minutes on the clock, and a percentile measured against everyone who has taken it. No sign-up.
Take the IQ test →Spiritual Foundations
His interest in the occult emerged at age fourteen. He eventually studied the works of writers including Helena Blavatsky, Alice Bailey, Charles Webster Leadbeater, and George Gurdjieff, alongside eastern thinkers like Patanjali and Krishnamurti. He posited that a Spiritual Hierarchy existed, composed of Masters of Wisdom who had achieved self-mastery over multiple lifetimes. By January 1959, he claimed to begin receiving telepathic messages from his own Master, leading him to record these communications for public dissemination.
The Advent of Maitreya
Creme asserted that the figure prophesied by major religions—the Christ, the Imam Mahdi, the Messiah, or the 5th Buddha—had returned as Maitreya. He maintained that this teacher arrived in London on 19 July 1977. In 1982, Creme launched a global campaign, including newspaper advertisements declaring that the Christ was present, to prepare the public for an impending emergence, though he acknowledged that widespread political and social change regarding resource sharing was a prerequisite for full public acceptance.
Media and Public Reception
Following the lack of media investigation, Creme reported further efforts to facilitate Maitreya's public debut, including a 1987 interview with Cable News Network that remained unbroadcast in the United States. He noted that opposition to his claims largely originated from those invested in existing economic and social power structures.
Fast facts
- Born: 1922, Glasgow
- Died: 2016, London
- Citizenship: United Kingdom
- Occupations: writer, painter, esotericist
- First public talk: 30 May 1975
- Maitreya's arrival in London: 19 July 1977
- Language: English
Questions readers ask
What was the core of Benjamin Creme’s message?
He taught that Maitreya, the World Teacher, had arrived in London to guide humanity toward an Aquarian Age defined by peace and the equitable sharing of resources.
Did Creme believe in a spiritual government?
Yes, he described a Spiritual Hierarchy or Fifth Kingdom on Earth, composed of Masters of Wisdom who have guided human evolution since the inception of humanity.
.jpg)
