Maitreya appears now, actually ahead of schedule, as the Agent of Divine Intervention, to mitigate the effects of earthquakes which have been mounting in frequency and intensity throughout the world over the past 150 years. If He were to come before the world, uninvited, He would infringe, to some degree, human free will. This He is reluctant to do (and would do only as a last resort) because it would limit, to some extent, His ability to act as the Agent of Divine Intervention. The result would be greater human suffering from earthquake activities.

The media in London have informed the authorities and certain representatives of religious and governmental bodies, with a view to ascertaining their reactions to an announcement of Maitreya’s presence. In each case the response has been rather negative, and in some cases hostile. In this way, an atmosphere not conducive to bold action has been generated and a policy of ‘wait and see’ has developed. How long this can be maintained is difficult to say. It depends very much on which faction within the media involved has its way. (p. 20)

According to esoteric teaching, the Christ manifested Himself 2,000 years ago in Palestine by ‘overshadowing’ His disciple Jesus, now the Master Jesus. This time Maitreya (the personal name of the Christ) comes Himself, as World Teacher for the Aquarian Age. From an astronomical viewpoint, we are now in the transitional phase between the Age of Pisces and that of Aquarius. To guide us safely through this difficult period, Maitreya has taken the extraordinary step of entering the modern world. (p.13/14)

All the great religions posit the idea of a further revelation to be given by a future Teacher. Christians hope for the return of the Christ, the Buddhists look for the coming of another Buddha (the Lord Maitreya), while Moslems await the appearance of the Imam Mahdi, the Hindus a reincarnation of Krishna, and the Jews the Messiah. Students of the esoteric tradition know these as different names for one and the same individual, the World Teacher, the head of the Spiritual Hierarchy of Masters, and they look for His imminent return now.

In every age great teachers have emerged from the Spiritual Hierarchy to guide humanity through its next evolutionary step. We know Them historically as (among others) Sankaracharya, Krishna, the Buddha, the Christ and, later, Mohammed. (p.13)

He comes as the head of that group of enlightened men known as the Spiritual Hierarchy of Masters. The existence of such a group was first made public in the writings of H. P. Blavatsky and later Alice A. Bailey, whose book, The Reappearance of the Christ describes the events which are now unfolding.

Maitreya, the Christ, has been in London since July 1977. He lives as an ordinary man concerned with modern problems ---- political, economic and social. Since March 1978, He has been emerging as a spokesman for the Pakistani-Indian community there. He is not a religious leader but an educator in the broadest sense, pointing the way out of the present world crisis.

The coming stock market crash will inevitably cause much unemployment. This will lead to a complete change of government priorities: the supplying of adequate food, shelter, health-care and education will become paramount responsibilities of all forward looking nations. The waste of resources as today, in armaments and competitive practices, will cease. A rational and sustainable economic structure based on sufficiency will become the norm. Leisure will be the natural by-product of such a structure. p.156

After the preliminary shock, the nations will meet together to discuss the means of coping with the future in ordered fashion. Those who have stood most emphatically behind the rule of market forces will find themselves outvoted in the dispensation which will pertain, and those advocating co-operation will gain the ascendancy. This will not happen overnight. The process will be gradual, but will not be long delayed. p.137

The stock market crash which Maitreya says is inevitable will obviously lead to changes. These have been predicted to take the form of a reorientation of priorities by governments around the world. Adequate food, housing, health care and education, as universal rights, will become the aim. This can hardly be called ‘‘hardship.’’ To achieve this for all, of course, will require a fairer distribution of the world’s resources and therefore some sacrifice on the part of the presently richer nations

Maitreya will present the nations with an alternative way of living, of conducting economic and political affairs... The new government which will emerge after the stock market crash will reflect the will of the people and stand for the people. Chapter 4, Economic Change

After the stock-markets crash the number one priority will be the provision of adequate food for all the people; two, the provision of adequate housing for all the people; thirdly, the provision of adequate healthcare and education for all the people. These are the basic human rights needed everywhere by all people, yet there is no country in the world in which all of these pertain as a universal right. When the economic collapse occurs, humanity will begin to recognize its oneness, and the need to co-operate and share the world’s resources.

The Mystery Schools are the schools in which the training and disciplines for initiation are received... The Mystery Schools themselves will be of two categories: preparatory and advanced... There will be a preparatory school in Japan, an advanced one in China; a preparatory one in Scotland, an advanced one in Ireland; a preparatory one in the American Midwest, an advanced one in California; a preparatory one in New Zealand, and advanced one in Australia; a preparatory one in Greece, an advanced one in Egypt; a preparatory one in Sweden, an advanced one in Russia; a preparatory one in France, an advanced one in Italy. Thus, the world as a whole will be covered to give precise teaching to those disciples who are ready for preparation for initiation. p. 181

Hope, in the more occult sense... is the realization of the inner connectedness of all things; of your life and your daily activity with the cosmic scheme of things. The awareness of who you are, that you are the Self – that gives you faith or hope. Faith and hope stem from the same inner, intuitive realization of who you are, that you are here for a purpose and that nothing on Earth can shake that.... To have hope is to have complete faith in life. It does not mean to say that everything is going to go smoothly. It does not mean that on the outer, physical plane you will have a life of ease... and when you are telephoning people they will always be there and you will never have to try again. Many people think that if everything works easily and smoothly they are somehow on the right track. Following the line of least resistance is not necessarily the right way to live one’s life...

Hope, I would say, is of two kinds: there is the hope which is a wish-fulfilling fantasy... It can go a long way in sustaining the person in difficult circumstances. It is the kind of hope of Mr Micawber, a famous Charles Dickens character. He was always in dire straits, impecunious, but always living in hope, waiting “for something to turn up”. That kind of hope is astral desire, and will take you, as it took him, through a whole book, but will not of itself do other than sustain your ability to live life from day to day.