Charles Webster Leadbeater (; 16 February 1854 – 1 March 1934) was a member of the Theosophical Society, Co-Freemasonry, an author on occult subjects, and the co-initiator, with J. I. Wedgwood, of the Liberal Catholic Church.
Originally a priest of the Church of England, his interest in spiritualism caused him to end his affiliation with Anglicanism in favour of the Theosophical Society, where he became an associate of Annie Besant. He became a high-ranking officer of the Society and remained one of its leading members until his death in 1934, writing over 60 books and pamphlets and maintaining regular speaking engagements."Authorwise index of all books", Anandgholap.net. Accessed November 9, 2022."Adyar Pamphlets", Theosophical.ca. Accessed November 9, 2022.
Early life Leadbeater was born in Stockport, Cheshire, in 1854. His father, Charles, was born in Lincoln and his mother Emma was born in Liverpool. He was an only child. By 1861, the family had relocated to London, where his father was a railway contractor's clerk.1861 Census of England.
In 1862, when Leadbeater was eight years old, his father died from tuberculosis. Four years later a bank in which the family's savings were invested became bankrupt. Soon after leaving school Leadbeater sought work in order to provide for his mother and himself. He worked at various clerical jobs.Tillett, Gregory John; Charles Webster Leadbeater 1854–1934, A Biographical Study, 1986, http://hdl.handle.net/2123/1623 During the evenings he became largely self-educated. For example, he studied astronomy and had a 12-inch reflector telescope (which was very expensive at the time) to observe the heavens at night. He also studied French, Latin and Greek.
An uncle, his father's brother-in-law, was the well-known Anglican cleric William Wolfe Capes. By his uncle's influence, Leadbeater was ordained an Anglican priest in 1879 in Farnham by the Bishop of Winchester. By 1881, he was living with his widowed mother at Bramshott in a cottage which his uncle had built, where he is listed as "Curate of Bramshott".1881 Census of England He was an active priest and teacher who was remembered later as "a bright and cheerful and kindhearted man".Warnon, Maurice H., "Charles Webster Leadbeater, Biographical Notes". About this time, after reading about the séances of reputed medium Daniel Dunglas Home (1833–1886), Leadbeater developed an active interest in spiritualism.
Theosophical Society His interest in Theosophy was stimulated by A. P. Sinnett's Occult World, and he joined the Theosophical Society in 1883. The next year he met Helena Petrovna Blavatsky when she came to London; she accepted him as a pupil and he became a vegetarian.Lutyens, Mary (1975). Krishnamurti: The Years of Awakening. New York: Farrar Straus and Giroux. p. 13. .
Around this time he wrote a letter to Kuthumi, asking to be accepted as his pupil.How Theosophy Came To Me, C. W. Leadbeater, Chpt 2 – A letter to the master, The Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar, Chennai 600 020, India, First Edition 1930 Shortly afterward, an encouraging response influenced him to go to India; he arrived at Adyar in 1884. He wrote that while in India, he had received visits and training from some of the "Masters" that according to Blavatsky were the inspiration behind the formation of the Theosophical Society, and were its hidden guides. This was the start of a long career with the Theosophical Society.
Headmaster in Ceylon During 1885, Leadbeater traveled with Henry Steel Olcott (1832–1907), first President of the Theosophical Society, to Burma and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). In Ceylon they founded the English Buddhist Academy, with Leadbeater staying there to serve as its first headmaster under very austere conditions.Lutyens 1975 p. 13. This school gradually expanded to become Ananda College, which now has more than 6,000 students and has a building named for Leadbeater.Oliveira, Pedro, CWL Bio, After Blavatsky left Adyar in 1886 to return to Europe and finish writing The Secret Doctrine, Leadbeater claimed to have developed clairvoyant abilities.How Theosophy Came To Me, C. W. Leadbeater, chpt 9 – Unexpected development; Psychic Training, The Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar, Chennai 600 020, India, First Edition 1930
Return to England In 1889, Sinnett asked Leadbeater to return to England to tutor his son and George Arundale (1878–1945). He agreed and brought with him one of his pupils, Curuppumullage Jinarajadasa (1875–1953). Although struggling with poverty himself, Leadbeater managed to send both Arundale and Jinarajadasa to Cambridge University. Both would eventually serve as International presidents of the Theosophical Society.
Meeting with Annie Besant After H. P. Blavatsky's death in 1891, Annie Besant, an English social activist, took over leadership of the Theosophical Society along with Colonel Olcott.Theosophical Society – World Headquarters, Adyar, Channai, India . Besant met Leadbeater in 1894. The next year she invited him to live at the London Theosophical Headquarters, where H.P. Blavatsky died in 1891.Astral Plane, CW Leadbeater, p. xviii, http://anandgholap.net/Astral_Plane-CWL.htm
Writing and speaking career Leadbeater wrote over 60 books and pamphlets during the period from 1895 to his death in 1934, many of which continued to be published until 1955.Anandgholap.net, "Authorwise index of all books"Theosophical.ca, "Adyar Pamphlets" Two noteworthy titles, Astral Plane and the Devachanic Plane (or The Heaven World) both of which contained writings on the realms the soul passes through after death.
"For the first time among occultists, a detailed investigation had been made of the Astral Plane as a whole, in a manner similar to that in which a botanist in an Amazonian jungle would set to work in order to classify its trees, plants and shrubs, and so write a botanical history of the jungle. For this reason the little book, The Astral Plane, was definitely a landmark, and the Master as Keeper of the Records desired to place its manuscript in the great Museum."Astral Plane, C. W. Leadbeater ; Introduction by C. Jinarajadasa, p. xviii
Highlights of his writing career included addressing topics such as: the existence of a loving God, The Masters of Wisdom, what happens after death, immortality of the human soul, reincarnation, Karma or the Law of Consequence, development of clairvoyant abilities, the nature of thought forms, dreams, vegetarianism, Esoteric Christianity
He also became one of the best known speakers of the Theosophical Society for a number of yearsWarnon, Maurice H.Biographical Notes and served as Secretary of the London Lodge.A Description of the Work of Annie Besant and C W Leadbetter , by Jinarajadasa
Clairvoyance
Clairvoyance is a book by Leadbeater originally published in 1899 in London. It is a study of a belief in seeing beyond the realms of ordinary sight. The author mainly appeals to readers "convinced of the existence of clairvoyance and familiar with theosophical terms." Leadbeater claims that the "power to see what is hidden from ordinary physical sight" is an extension of common perception, and "describes a wide range of phenomena."
Methods of development Leadbeater writes about the importance of control over thinking and the need for skill "to concentrate thought": "Let a man choose a certain time every day—a time when he can rely upon being quiet and undisturbed, though preferably in the daytime rather than at night—and set himself at that time to keep his mind for a few minutes entirely free from all earthly thoughts of any kind whatever and, when that is achieved, to direct the whole force of his being towards the highest spiritual ideal that he happens to know. He will find that to gain such perfect control of thought is enormously more difficult than he supposes, but when he attains it, it cannot but be in every way most beneficial to him, and as he grows more and more able to elevate and concentrate his thought, he may gradually find that new worlds are opening before his sight."
Author's personal experience
Professor Robert Ellwood wrote that from 1884 to 1888 Leadbeater undertook a course of meditation practice "which awakened his clairvoyance." One day when the Master Kuthumi visited, he asked whether Leadbeater had ever attempted "a certain kind of meditation connected with the development of the mysterious power called kundalini." The Master recommended him to make a "few efforts along certain lines," and told him that he would himself "watch over those efforts to see that no danger should ensue." Leadbeater accepted the offer of the Master and became "day after day" working on this kind of meditation. He worked on the task assigned to him for forty-two days, and it seemed to him that he was already on the verge of achieving a result when Kuthumi intervened and "performed the final act of breaking through which completed the process," and enabled Leadbeater thereafter to use astral sight while retaining full consciousness in the physical body. It is equivalent to saying that "the astral consciousness and memory became continuous, "whether the physical body was awake or asleep".
Possible application In the chapter "Simple Clairvoyance: Full" the author argues that an occultist-clairvoyant can "see" the smallest particles of matter, for example, a molecule or atom, magnifying them "as though by a microscope." In the chapter "Clairvoyance in Time: The Past" Leadbeater claims that the historian who is in "full possession of this power" can open up wonderful possibilities: "He has before him a field of historical research of most entrancing interest. Not only can he review at his leisure all history with which we are acquainted, correcting as he examines it the many errors and misconceptions which have crept into the accounts handed down to us; he can also range at will over the whole story of the world from its very beginning."
New editions and translations The book was reprinted several times and translated into some European languages. Second edition of the book was published in 1903, and third—in 1908.
Resignation from the Theosophical Society In 1906, critics were angered to learn that Leadbeater had given advice to boys under his care that encouraged masturbation as a way to relieve obsessive sexual thoughts. Leadbeater acknowledged that he had given this advice to a few boys approaching maturity who came to him for help. He commented, "I know that the whole question of sex feelings is the principal difficulty in the path of boys and girls, and very much harm is done by the prevalent habit of ignoring the subject and fearing to speak of it to young people. The first information about it should come from parents or friends, not from servants or bad companions."Charles Webster Leadbeater 1854–1934 – A Biographical Study, Gregory John Tillett, First Edition: University of Sydney, Department of Religious Studies, March 1986, 2008 Online Edition published at [Leadbeater.Org], chpt 10, p. 247.
The revelations regarding Leadbeater's advice prompted several members of the Theosophical Society to ask for his resignation. The Society held proceedings against him in 1906. Annie Besant, elected president of the Society in 1907, later stated in his defence: "The so-called trial of Mr Leadbeater was a travesty of justice. He came before Judges, one of whom had declared before hand that 'he ought to be shot'; another, before hearing him, had written passionate denunciations of him, a third and fourth had accepted, on purely psychic testimony, unsupported by any evidence, the view that he was grossly immoral, and a danger to the Society..."Charles Webster Leadbeater 1854–1934 – A Biographical Study, Gregory John Tillett, First Edition: University of Sydney, Department of Religious Studies, March 1986, 2008 Online Edition published at [Leadbeater.Org], chpt 11, p. 395.