Leadbeater

Bishop Leadbeater

Charles Webster Leadbeater (1847-1934) was a significant figure in the late 19th and early 20th-century spiritual and occult movements.

Charles Webster Leadbeater was born on February 16, 1847, in Stockport, Cheshire, England.

He was the son of Charles Leadbeater, a railway contractor, and Emma Leadbeater.

Leadbeater was ordained as an Anglican priest in 1879.

In 1883, Leadbeater joined the Theosophical Society after reading "The Occult World" by A.P.

Leadbeater quickly rose within the ranks of the society due to his keen interest and extensive study of esoteric subjects.

In 1885, Leadbeater traveled to India with H.S.

Leadbeater was a prolific writer, and his works covered a wide range of esoteric topics, including clairvoyance, reincarnation, and the afterlife.

Leadbeater's clairvoyant investigations into the nature of the afterlife, the structure of the cosmos, and human evolution were particularly influential.

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. 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.

Leadbeater's life and work were not without controversy.

In 1916, Leadbeater became involved with the Liberal Catholic Church, which combined Christian liturgy with Theosophical teachings.

Clairvoyance is a book by Leadbeater originally published in 1899 in London.

The author mainly appeals 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 reception, and "describes a wide range of phenomena."

Professor Robert Ellwood wrote that from 1884 to 1888, Leadbeater engaged in a meditation practice that "awakened his clairvoyance." During this period, the Master Kuthumi visited him and inquired if Leadbeater had ever tried a specific type of meditation linked to the mysterious power known as kundalini.

The Master suggested that Leadbeater make "a few efforts along certain lines" and assured him that he would personally oversee these efforts to ensure no harm would come.

Leadbeater accepted the Master's guidance and diligently practiced this form of meditation daily.

After forty-two days of dedicated practice, Leadbeater felt he was close to achieving a significant result.

This intervention enabled Leadbeater to use astral sight while retaining full consciousness in his physical body.

In the chapter "Clairvoyance in Time: The Past," Leadbeater claims that a historian with full possession of this clairvoyant power would encounter remarkable possibilities:

Leadbeater spent his later years in Australia, where he continued to write and lecture on Theosophical and esoteric subjects.

Despite the controversies, Leadbeater's contributions to Theosophy and the broader spiritual movement of his time remain significant.