Published by Blavatsky
Study Center
Charles Webster Leadbeater
His Life, Writings
& Theosophical Teachings
"The
range of [C.W. Leadbeater's] . . . writings, and the wealth of material that flowed from
his prolific pen, was vast. Some forty volumes, even more pamphlets, and for
much of his life probably five or six journal articles a week . . . constituted his
literary output . . . . The modern occult revival owes more to him than to anyone else;
his concepts and ideas, his popularizing of occult and Theosophical terms and principles,
run through all modern works on these subjects. . . . "
Gregory Tillett. The Elder Brother:
A Biography of Charles Webster Leadbeater. |
|
|
 The Elder Brother:
A Biography of Charles Webster Leadbeater
by Gregory Tillett
1982. Hardcover, 337 pp.
"Is he the world's greatest
occultist and psychic? Or the worst sort of charlatan and con-man? These widely
ranging views of Charles Leadbeater were current in his lifetime and even now, years after
his death in 1934, he remains a controversial figure. His disciples hailed him as the
greatest seer of their age; his enemies attacked him as a fraud or worse. But as Gregory
Tillett shows in this biography of Leadbeater, he has exerted great influence on modern
ideas about the occult. Supported by archival reference and extensive bibliography, this
book makes a lucid statement of historical facts, neither pro nor con, on a controversial
figure in the Theosophical Society."
"Mr.
Leadbeater . . . developed, as was reported, great psychic abilities, as the result
of which, notwithstanding his frequent disclaiming of occult authority, he exercised great
influence over the thought of a large number of members of the [Adyar Theosophical]
Society. His studies and his books reflected the attitude of 'scientific common sense.' He
claims to have brought the phenomena of the superphysical realms of life, of the astral
and the mental plane, of the future disembodied life, and of the past and future of this
and other spheres, under his direct clairvoyant gaze. He wrote elaborate descriptions of
these things in a style of simplicity and clearness. He asserted that such powers enabled
one to review any event in the past history of the race, inasmuch as all that ever
happened is imprinted indelibly on the substance of the Astral Light or the Akasha, and
the psychic faculties of trained occultists permit them to bring these pictures under
observation. With the same faculties he asserted his ability to investigate the facts of
nature in both her realms of the infinite and the infinitesimal. Hence he explored the
nature of the atom, its electrons and its whorls, and in collaboration with Mrs. [Annie]
Besant, who was alleged also to possess high psychic powers, published a work entitled Occult
Chemistry. For years he stood as perhaps the world's greatest 'seer,' and in books
dealing with Clairvoyance, Dreams, The Astral Plane, Some Glimpses
of Occultism, The Inner Life, The Hidden Side of Things, Man: Whence,
How and Whither, he labored to particularize and complement Madame Blavatsky's
sweeping outline of cosmic evolution and human character, as given in The Secret
Doctrine. . . . "
Alvin Boyd Kuhn. Theosophy:
A Modern Revival of Ancient Wisdom. |
 ". . . Annie
Besant. . . and Charles Webster Leadbeater. . . were largely responsible for the
introduction of new teachings that were often in total opposition to the Theosophy of
Blavatsky and her Masters. These teachings were designated by their opponents as
Neo-Theosophy . . . or less often Pseudo-Theosophy. The differences between Theosophy and
Neo-Theosophy are . . . numerous . . . . An extensive overview [of the differences] is
given in the . . . booklet, Theosophy
or Neo-Theosophy by Margaret Thomas. . . ." James A. Santucci. The Aquarian Foundation.
How Theosophy Came to
Me
by C.W. Leadbeater
Online Edition
An Illustration of the
Aura from
C.W. Leadbeater's book
Man: Visible and Invisible |
Contents of This
Webpage.
C.W.
Leadbeater's Life
A
Chronological Listing of
C.W. Leadbeater's Books & Pamphlets
Other
Sources on C.W. Leadbeater's Writings
C.W.
Leadbeater's Account
of the Development of His Clairvoyance
Assessments
of C.W. Leadbeater's Clairvoyance
Special
Studies & Criticisms of Occult Chemistry
Criticisms
of C.W. Leadbeater's Teachings
"Certain
schools of his critics assert flatly that he [C. W. Leadbeater] has only succeeded in
vitiating her [H.P. Blavatsky's] original presentation [of Theosophy] . . . .
[Starting in the March 15, 1928 issue] The Canadian Theosophist, a magazine
published . . . at Toronto, published a series of articles [excerpted from Theosophy or Neo-Theosophy? by
Margaret Thomas] in which parallel passages from the writings of Madame Blavatsky and the
Mahatma Letters on one side, and from the books of Mrs. Besant, Mr. Leadbeater, Mr. C.
Jinarajadasa, on the other, give specific evidence bearing on the claims of perversion of
the original theories by those whom they call Neo-Theosophists. The articles indicate wide
deviations, in some cases complete reversal, made by the later interpreters [Leadbeater,
Besant, Jinarajadasa] from the fundamental statements of the Russian Messenger [Blavatsky]
and her Overlords [the Mahatmas or Masters]."
"The differences concern such matters as the personality of God, the historicity of
Jesus, his identity as an individual or a principle, the desirability of churches,
priestcraft and religious ceremonial, the genuineness of an apostolic succession, and a
vicarious atonement, the authority of Sacraments, the nature and nomenclature of the seven
planes of man's constitution, the planetary chains, the monad, the course of evolution,
and many other important phases of Theosophic doctrine. This exhaustive research has made
it apparent that the later exponents have allowed themselves to depart in many
important points from the teachings of H.P.B."
Alvin Boyd
Kuhn. Theosophy: A Modern
Revival of Ancient Wisdom.
|
|
C.W. Leadbeater's Life.
• Charles
Webster Leadbeater (from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
• Charles Webster Leadbeater
(from Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology)
• Charles
Webster Leadbeater: Biographical Notes. Compiled by Maurice H. Warnon
• Charles Webster
Leadbeater (from SpiritWritings.com)
• The Elder Brother: A Biography of Charles Webster
Leadbeater by Gregory Tillett. 337 pp.
"Is he the world's greatest occultist and psychic? Or the
worst sort of charlatan and con-man? These widely ranging
views of Charles Leadbeater were current in his lifetime and even
now, years after his death in 1934, he remains a
controversial figure. His disciples hailed him as the greatest
seer of their age; his enemies attacked him as a fraud or
worse. But as Gregory Tillett shows in this biography of
Leadbeater, he has exerted great influence on modern ideas
about the occult. Supported by archival reference and extensive
bibliography, this book makes a lucid statement of
historical facts, neither pro nor con, on a controversial figure
in the Theosophical Society."
• Charles Webster Leadbeater,
1854-1934: A Biographical Study by Gregory Tillett. ONLINE
EDITION.
University of Sydney thesis, 1986, 3 volumes, viii + 1169 pp. Read Tillett's 1000 page plus thesis online at leadbeater.org
• CWLWorld.Info
A site on C.W. Leadbeater conducted by Pedro Oliveira
• C.W.
Leadbeater's Birthdate by Gregory Tillett
• Concerning
Mr. Sanat's Comments on The Elder Brother by Gregory Tillett
• Two
Opposing Views of C.W. Leadbeater by Gregory Tillett
• Huizen,
Apostles and Clairvoyance by Gregory Tillett
• Leadbeater:
Adept and Biography Again by Gregory Tillett
• Leadbeater
and Blavatsky by Gregory Tillett
• Leadbeater's Court Records
by Gregory Tillett
•
Other Theos-Talk Postings on Leadbeater by Gregory Tillett
• C.W. Leadbeater in Retrospect
by Hugh Shearman
• Charles Webster
Leadbeater: A Biography by Hugh Shearman. 1980. 39 pp.
"Leadbeater started life as an earnest member of the Church of
England in UK, became interested in clairvoyance, joined the Theosophical
Society, met Madame Blavatsky, took Buddhist vows in Ceylon, developed
his psychic skills, worked with Annie Besant, taught Krishnamurti,
moved to Sydney Australia, became a Freemason, set up a resident
community at Sydney, wrote many books, etc etc. Leadbeater, this
booklet claims, was the 'greatest occultist of the 20th century.'
"
• Life and Teachings of an Initiate:
Charles W. Leadbeater by Peter Michel. [sound recording]
"Even though Charles W. Leadbeater was a controversial figure during his
lifetime, he still remains the most read Theosophical author.
Peter Michel provides new evidence on the moral integrity of Leadbeater's
character and presents an overview of his teachings."
2000. Cassette tape, 66 minutes. AR 5071 (#2941 / $7.00). Purchase
from the Theosophical Society in America, Wheaton, Illinois.
Contact Audio/Visual Department at av@theosmail.net
• Charles Leadbeater: Enigma of
Modern Occult Seership [sound recording] by Stephan Hoeller. AR 0241.
Purchase from the Theosophical
Society in America, Wheaton, Illinois. Contact Audio/Visual Department
at av@theosmail.net.
• The "K.H." Letters to C.W.
Leadbeater by C. Jinarajadasa
• Letters of Mrs. Besant and Mr. Leadbeater 1906-1907. Excerpted from pp.
109-197 of the following book:
Evolution of Mrs. Besant. Being the life and public activities of Mrs. Annie
Besant, secularist, socialist, theosophist and politician. With sidelights on the
inner workings of the Theosophical Society and the methods by which Mr. Leadbeater arrived
at the threshold of divinity by The Editor of Justice, Madras, 1918.
For the complete text containing all these letters, see: http://blavatskyarchives.com/besantleadbeaterlettersfull.pdf
For a detailed list of the 29 letters (mostly in chronological order) and direct links to
each letter for easy access, see: http://blavatskyarchives.com/besantleadbeaterlistletters.htm
• Immorality in the Theosophical
Society compiled by Margaret Thomas (This is Section II of Thomas' Theosophy Or NeoTheosophy?)
A Chronological Listing of C.W. Leadbeater's Books and Pamphlets
1895 The
Astral Plane: Its Scenery, Inhabitants and Phenomena. London:
Theosophical Publishing Society. 100 pp. Online Edition.
1895 The
Aura: An Enquiry into the Nature and Functions of the Luminous Mist Seen about Human
and Other Bodies. Madras: The Proprietors
of
“The Theosophist.” 18 pp.
1896 The
Devachanic Plane: Its Characteristics and Inhabitants. London:
Theosophical Publishing Society. 102 pp. Online Edition.
1896 Invisible
Helpers: A Story of Helping at Night the So-called "Dead" by
Those Who Are Still in the Land of the "Living." London:
Theosophical
Publishing Society. 129 pp. Online Edition. Another Online Ed. Another Online Ed.
1896 Dreams:
What They Are and How They Are Caused. London: Theosophical Publishing
Society. 70 pp. Online
Edition Another Online Ed.
Another
Online Ed.
1898 Our
Relation to Children. London: Theosophical Publishing Society. 24
pp. Online Edition Another Online Ed.
Another Online Ed.
1899 The
Christian Creed: Its Origin and Signification. London:
Theosophical Publishing Society. 109 pp. Online Edition
1899 Clairvoyance.
London: Theosophical Publishing Society. 164 pp. Online Edition. Another Online Edition Another Online Ed.
1901 Thought-Forms:
A Record of Clairvoyant Investigation. Written in collaboration with Annie
Besant. London: Theosophical Publishing
Society.
84 pp. Online
Edition
1901 The
Unseen World. Adyar, Madras: The Office of The Theosophist.
28 pp.
1902 An
Outline of Theosophy: A Simple Elucidation of Theosophical Principles.
London: Theosophical Publishing Society. 99 pp. Online Edition.
Another Online Ed.
Another Online Ed.
 |
1902
Man Visible and Invisible: Examples of Different Types of Men
Seen by Means of Trained Clairvoyance.
London,
Theosophical Publishing Society. 144 pp. 26 plates. Online Edition1902 The Smaller
Buddhist Catechism. Colombo: Buddhist Theosophical Society. 27 pp. Online Edition
Another Online Ed.
1903 The
Other Side of Death: Scientifically Examined by Clairvoyant Observation and
Carefully Described.
London: Theosophical Publishing Society. 502 pp.
1903 Some
Glimpses of Occultism, Ancient and Modern. Chicago: Theosophical Book
Concern. 402 pp. Online
Edition. Another Online Ed
Another Online Ed. |
1903 Guardian
Angels and Other Unseen Helpers: A Lecture. Harrogate: Theosophical
Publishing Committee. 16 pp.
1903 The Law
of Cause and Effect: A Lecture. Harrogate: Theosophical Publishing
Committee. 14 pp. Online edition.
Another Online Ed.
Another Online
Ed.
1908 Occult
Chemistry: A Series of Clairvoyant Observations on the Chemical Elements.
Written in collaboration with Annie Besant. Adyar,
Madras:
Office of The Theosophist. 92 + xxii + ii pp. Illustrations, Plates and
Diagrams. Online Edition.
Another Online
Edition. Another
Online Edition.
See also Books and Articles on Occult Chemistry.
1910 Theosophical
Talks at Adyar. London: Theosophical Publishing Society.
1910 What
Theosophy Does For Us. Harrogate: Theosophical Publications
Committee. 25 pp. Online Edition.
Another Online
Edition.
1911 The
Inner Life: Theosophical Talks at Adyar. Chicago, The Rajput Press.
263 pp. Vol. I Online.
Vol. II Online
Another Online Edition
Another Ed.
1911 Adyar,
The Home of the Theosophical Society: Views taken expressly by Alcyone (J.
Krishnamurti) with descriptive letterpress. Adyar,
Madras:
The Theosophist Office. Chiefly Illustrations, plans, fold. map.
1911 The
Perfume of Egypt and Other Weird Stories. Adyar, Madras, India : The
Theosophist Office. 321 pp. Online Edition
1911 The
Power and Use of Thought. Adyar: Theosophical Publishing House. 16
pp. Online Edition Another Online Edition
Another Online Ed.
1912 A
Textbook of Theosophy. Adyar, India : Office of The Theosophist. 148 pp. Online Edition. Another Online Edition. Another Online Edition.
Another Online Edition
1912 The Attitude
of the Enquirer. Adyar, Madras, The Theosophist Office. 15 pp. Online Edition
1912 The Life After
Death, and How Theosophy Unveils It. Adyar, Madras, India: Theosophical
Publishing House. 58 pp. Online Edition
1913 Pa�cha Sila :
The Five Precepts. With Bhikkhu Silachara. Madras, India : Theosophical
Publishing House. 87 pp.
1913 To Those Who
Mourn: Solace for Bereaved Person based on Principles of Evolution and
Reincarnation. Adyar, Madras,
India:
Theosophical Publishing House. 28 pp. Online Edition. Another Online Edition
Another Online Ed.
1913 Man, Whence,
How, and Whither: A Record of Clairvoyant Investigation. Written in
collaboration with Annie Besant.
London:
Theosophical Publishing Society. 524 pp. iv leaves of plates (1 folded) :
ill. Online Edition. Another Online Ed.
1913 Some Occult
Experiences Described by Johan van Manen and Annotated by C.W. Leadbeater.
Adyar, India : Theosophical Publishing
House. 131
pp. Online Edition.
1913 The Hidden
Side of Things: A Treatise on the Occult Realities Behind Ordinary Experiences,
Ceremonies, Etc. by a Seer. 2 volumes.
Adyar,
India: Theosophical Publishing House. Online Edition. Another Online Ed.
Another Online Ed.
1913 Vegetarianism
and Occultism: On the Effects of Meat Eating and Slaughter of Animals Quoting
Scientists' Views of 1913 in Defence of
Vegetarianism.
Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House. 35 pp. Online Edition Another Online Ed
Another Online Ed.
1915 Australia and New
Zealand as the Home of a New Sub-race: Four Lectures Delivered under the Auspices of
the Theosophical Society,
at Sydney, in August,
1915. Sydney: Batson & Co. 64 pp.
1915 Why a Great World
Teacher?: Address Given by Mr. C.W. Leadbeater, at Concordia Hall, Sydney, on
Sunday, 23rd May 1915, to the Order
of the Star in the
East and Visitors. Sydney, OSE. 22 pp.
1917 An Occult View
of the War. Los Angeles, Calif. ; Theosophical Publishing House. 23 pp.
Online Edition. Another Online Ed
Another Online Ed.
Another Edition
1917 Starlight:
Seven Addresses Given for Love of the Star. Adyar, Madras, India, Theosophical
Publishing House. 104 pp.
1917 The Coming of
the World-Teacher and Death, War and Evolution. London, George Allen &
Unwin. 242 pp.
1917 Ancient Ideals in
Modern Masonry: An Address Given to the Sydney Lodge No. 404, in 1915.
Sydney: London Craft Lodge of Universal
Co-Freemasonry.
31 pp. Online
Edition
1918 The Fourth
Dimension: A Lecture. Chicago : Theosophical Press. 16 pp.
1919 Difficulties in
Clairvoyance. Adyar, Madras, India: Theosophical Publishing House.
18 pp. Online Edition. Another Online Ed
Another Online Ed.
1920 The Hidden Side of
Christian Festivals. Los Angeles: The St. Alban Press. 508 pp.
Small Online Excerpt
from Book
1920 The Science of the
Sacraments: An Occult and Clairvoyant Study of the Christian Eucharist.
Los Angeles: The St. Alban Press. 560 pp.
Online Edition Another Edition
1920 The Monad, and
Other Essays upon the Higher Consciousness. Adyar: Theosophical
Publishing House. 133 pp. Online
Edition
1922 Talks on
"At the Feet of the Master": A Commentary in Thirtytwo Talks.
Adyar: Theosophical Publishing House. vi + 679 pp.
1924 The Lives of
Alcyone: A Clairvoyant Investigation of the Lives Throughout the Ages of a Large
Band of Servers. Written in collaboration
with Annie
Besant. Adyar, Madras, India: Theosophical Publishing House. 2
volumes. Online
Edition
1925 Healing Forces
and Healing Angels. London : St. Alban Press. 15 pp.
1925 The Masters and the
Path: A Treatise on the Path to Perfection with Its Initiations and Ultimate Goal
from a Theosophical
Viewpoint. Adyar: Theosophical Publishing House. 354
pp. Online Edition. Another Online Ed. Another Online Ed.
1926 Glimpses of Masonic
History. Adyar: Theosophical Publishing House. xiii + 380 pp.
Online
Edition
1926 Telepathy and
Mind-cure. London: Theosophical Publishing House. 24 pp.
1926 The Hidden Life in
Freemasonry. Adyar: Theosophical Publishing House. xv + 352
pp. Online
Edition
1926 Talks on the Path
of Occultism: A Commentary on “At the Feet of the Master,” “The Voice
of the Silence" and “Light on the Path."
Written in
collaboration with Annie Besant. Adyar, Madras, India: Theosophical Publishing
House. ix + 969 pp.
1927 The
Chakras: A Monograph. Adyar, Madras, India: Theosophical
Publishing House. viii + 78 pp., 9 colored plates.
(some col.).
Online edition
1928 Spiritualism and
Theosophy: Scientifically Examined and Carefully Described. Adyar :
Theosophical Publishing House. 252 pp. Online Edition
1928 The World Mother as
Symbol and Fact. Adyar, Madras, India: Theosophical Publishing House.
67 pp. Online
Edition
1930 How
Theosophy Came to Me: Autobiographical Reminiscences. Adyar, Madras:
Theosophical Publishing House. 162 pp.
Online Edition. Another
Online edition
1930 The Work of
Theosophists. Adyar, Madras, India: Theosophical Publishing House.
20 pp. Online
Edition.
1931 Messages from the
Unseen. Adyar, Madras, India: Theosophical Publishing House. 50
pp.
1931 The Beginnings of
the Sixth Root Race: A Prophecy of the Near and Far Future. Adyar,
Madras, India : Theosophical Publishing House.
ix + 210 pp.
1934 The Third
Object of the Theosophical Society. Adyar, Madras, India : Theosophical
Publishing House.
Online Edition. Another Online Ed.
1941 The Soul's Growth
Through Reincarnation: The Lives of Erato and Spica. Adyar, Madras,
India: Theosophical Publishing
House. 148 pp.
1946 The Soul's Growth
Through Reincarnation: The Lives of Orion. Adyar, Madras, India:
Theosophical Publishing House.
202 pp.
1948 The Soul's Growth
Through Reincarnation: The Lives of Ursa, Vega and Eudox. Adyar, Madras,
India: Theosophical
Publishing House.
1950 The Soul's Growth
Through Reincarnation: The Lives of Ulysses, Abel, Arcor and Vale. Adyar,
Madras, India: Theosophical Publishing House.
1951 The Occult History of
Java. Adyar, Madras, India : Theosophical Publishing House. 58 pp.
1951 Creating Character.
Written in collaboration with Annie Besant. Adyar, Madras, India:
Theosophical Publishing House. 92 pp. Online Edition.
1951. The Law of Sacrifice.
Written in collaboration with C. Jinarajadasa. Adyar, Madras, India:
Theosophical Publishing House. 42 pp.
1952 On the Liberal
Catholic Church: Extracts from Letters of C.W. Leadbeater to Annie Besant, 1916-1923.
Adyar, Madras, India:
Theosophical Publishing
House. 67 pp.
1955 The Noble Eightfold Path.
Written in collaboration with Annie Besant. Adyar, Madras, India :
Theosophical Publishing House. 39 pp. Online Edition.
Other Sources on
C.W. Leadbeater's Writings
• A Chronological Listing of C.W.
Leadbeater's Books and Pamphlets
• Books by C.W.
Leadbeater Available from The Theosophical Publishing House
• Books
by C.W. Leadbeater Available from Kessinger Publishing
• Works by Charles Webster Leadbeater
at Project Gutenberg
• Online Books by
C.W. Leadbeater
• Another List
of C.W. Leadbeater Material
• Articles by
and about C.W. Leadbeater
• CD:
The Works of C.W. Leadbeater
C.W. Leadbeater's Account
of the Development of His Clairvoyance
| ...When Colonel Olcott left us
[in 1885] on his tour Adyar [headquarters of the Theosophical Society near Madras, India]
remained empty; and unfortunately its treasury was in the same condition, so that the very
few of us who remained had instructions to observe the strictest economy. Mr.
Cooper-Oakley and I were for a long time the only Europeans; and as he lived up on the
roof in one of the further rooms (later occupied by Dr. English) and I was in the Eastern
octagon room, I saw almost nothing of him, except for a short morning visit of greeting
each day. . . . It should be understood that
in those days I possessed no clairvoyant faculty, nor had I ever regarded myself as at all
sensitive. I remember that I had a conviction that a man must be born with some psychic
powers and with a sensitive body before he could do anything in the way of that kind of
development, so that I had never thought of progress of that sort as possible for me in
this incarnation, but had some hope that if I worked as well as I knew how in this life I
might be born next time with vehicles more suitable to that particular line of
advancement.
One day, however, when the Master Kuthumi honoured me with a
visit, He asked me whether I had ever attempted a certain kind of meditation connected
with the development of the mysterious power called kundalini. I had of course heard of
that power, but knew very little about it, and at any rate supposed it to be absolutely
out of reach for Western people. However, He recommended me to make a few efforts along
certain lines, which He pledged me not to divulge to anyone else except with His direct
authorization, and told me that He would Himself watch over those efforts to see that no
danger should ensue.
Naturally I took the hint, and worked away steadily, and I
think I may say intensely, at that particular kind of meditation day after day. I must
admit that it was very hard work and sometimes distinctly painful, but of course I
persevered, and in due course began to achieve the results that I had been led to expect.
Certain channels had to be opened and certain partitions broken down; I was told that
forty days was a fair estimate of the average time required if the effort was really
energetic and persevering. I worked at it for forty-two days, and seemed to myself to be
on the brink of the final victory, when the Master Himself intervened and performed the
final act of breaking through which completed the process, and enabled me thereafter to
use astral sight while still retaining full consciousness in the physical body—which
is equivalent to saying that the astral consciousness and memory became continuous whether
the physical body was awake or asleep. I was given to understand that my own effort would
have enabled me to break through in twenty-four hours longer, but that the Master
interfered because He wished to employ me at once in a certain piece of work.
It must not for a moment be supposed, however, that the
attainment of this particular power was the end of the occult training. On the contrary,
it proved to be only the beginning of a year of the hardest work that I have ever known.
It will be understood that I lived there in the octagonal room by the river-side alone for
many long hours every day, and practically secure from any interruption except at the
meal-times which I have mentioned. Several Masters were so gracious as to visit me during
that period and to offer me various hints; but it was the Master Djwal Kul who gave most
of the necessary instruction. It may be that He was moved to this act of kindness because
of my close association with Him in my last life, when I studied under Him in the
Pythagorean school which He established in Athens, and even had the honour of managing it
after His death. I know not how to thank Him for the enormous amount of care and trouble
which He took in my psychic education; patiently and over and over again He would make a
vivid thought-form, and say to me: “What do you see?” And when I described it to
the best of my ability, would come again and again the comment: “No, no, you are not
seeing true; you are not seeing all; dig deeper into yourself, use your mental vision as
well as your astral; press just a little further, a little higher.”
This process often had to be many times repeated before my
mentor was satisfied. The pupil has to be tested in all sorts of ways and under all
conceivable conditions; indeed, towards the end of the tuition sportive nature-spirits are
specially called in and ordered in every way possible to endeavour to confuse or mislead
the seer. Unquestionably it is hard work, and the strain which it imposes is, I suppose,
about as great as a human being can safely endure; but the result achieved is assuredly
far more than worth while, for it leads directly up to the union of the lower and the
higher self and produces an utter certainty of knowledge based upon experience which no
future happenings can ever shake. Excerpted from How Theosophy Came to Me by C.W.
Leadbeater |
Assessments of C.W.
Leadbeater's Clairvoyance
• Charles Webster Leadbeater,
1854-1934: A Biographical Study by Gregory Tillett. ONLINE
EDITION.
University of Sydney thesis, 1986, 3 volumes, viii + 1169 pp. Read Tillett's 1000 page plus thesis online at leadbeater.org
• Annie Besant and C.W.
Leadbeater by Donald J. DeGracia
• Occult
Investigations: A Description of the Work of Annie Besant and C.W. Leadbeater by
C. Jinarajadasa
• Clairvoyant
Investigations by CW Leadbeater by Ernest Wood
• How the Vision Was Analysed
by Johan van Manen
• Dr. Besant's First Use of Clairvoyance by C.W.
Leadbeater
• Investigations
into Early Rounds by C. W. Leadbeater and Annie Besant with introduction by C.
Jinarajadasa
• The
Question of the Reliability of the Clairvoyant Observations of CW Leadbeater edited by
G. Oakley
• Serious
Scientific Lessons from Direct Observation of Atoms through Clairvoyance by J. Michael
McBride. A critical look at Occult Chemistry.
See also section on: Criticisms of C.W. Leadbeater's
Teachings
Special Studies & Criticisms of Occult Chemistry
• Introduction to "Occult
Chemistry": The Amazing Phenomenon of ESP of Nuclear Structure and Subatomic
Particles by M. Srinivasan
• Anima: Remote Viewing of Subatomic
Particles: Evidence of a Yogic Siddhi by Stephen M. Phillips Info on Dr. Phillips His Publications
"An introduction to the "micro-psi" investigations of Annie
Besant and C. W. Leadbeater into the minute particles of matter."
• Extrasensory
Perception of Subatomic Particles: I. Historical Evidence by Steven M.
Phillips
• Extrasensory Perception of
Quarks by Stephen M. Phillips
• Essentials of Occult Chemistry and
Modern Science by H. J. Arnikar
• Concerning the "Occult
Chemistry" Researches by Johan van Manen
• Serious
Scientific Lessons from Direct Observation of Atoms through Clairvoyance by J. Michael
McBride. A critical look at Occult Chemistry.
• A
Bibliography of Books and Original Articles on Occult Chemistry -- 1895-1996
• List
of Sources: Occult Chemistry for Postgraduate Students of Physics, Philosophy &
Psychology
Criticisms of C.W. Leadbeater's Teachings
• C.W. Leadbeater's and Annie Besant's Theosophical
Teachings: Comments by James A. Santucci, Jerry Hejka-Ekins and Alvin Boyd Kuhn
• There
Is No Religion Higher Than Truth: Developments in The Theosophical Society by
Edward L. Gardner
• C.W. Leadbeater:
A Great Occultist compiled by Sandra Hodson and Mathias J. van Thiel. A reply to
the Gardner pamphlet and a defense
of C.W. Leadbeater.
• Comments on the Hodson and
Gardner Pamphlets by Gregory Tillett
• "No Religion Higher than
Truth" by Ernest Wood. Wood defends the above pamphlet by E.L. Gardner.
• H.P.
Blavatsky: A Great Betrayal by Alice Leighton Cleather. 1922. 106
pp.
• Theosophy Versus Neo-Theosophy
(abridged edition, reprint of Section I only) compiled by Margaret Thomas with
additions by Mark Jaqua.
• Theosophy Or NeoTheosophy? (reprint
of the complete, unabridged original edition) compiled by Margaret Thomas
• Life After Death in Kamaloka (the
Astral World): H.P. Blavatsky versus C.W. Leadbeater compiled by Ray Morgan
• C.W. Leadbeater & H.P. Blavatsky about Life on
Mars and Other Planets
• The Theosophical
Society and Its Future (A Commentary on Annie Besant's and C.W. Leadbeater's Theosophical
Contributions) by Geoffrey A.
Farthing
• Madame
Blavatsky's Occult Status and the Claims of Latter-Day Messengers of the Masters by
Terry Hobbes
• The Etheric Double: The
Far-Reaching Effects of a False Assumption (as found in the writings of Annie Besant &
C.W. Leadbeater by Geoffrey A.
Farthing
• A Comparison of
C. W. Leadbeater's The Chakras, with the Writings of H. P. Blavatsky,William Q.
Judge, and G. de Purucker by Mark Jaqua
• Rev. Leadbeater
Off the Trail by R. S. Gherwal
• Two Schools
of Thought by Boris de Zirkoff
Updated December 12, 2008