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A Primary Source Archive for the Life and Work of C. W. Leadbeater

Charles Webster Leadbeater was a well-known clairvoyant and theosophist who dedicated his life to the dissemination of Theosophy. He left his position as a clergyman in the Church of England in 1884, travelling with Madame Helena Blavatsky to India to help her in her work for the Theosophical Society. He was accepted as a chela (disciple) by Mahatma K.H., one of HPB’s Adept-Teachers, in a letter (part two) written by him to the young Leadbeater while the latter was still in England.

His investigations into the unseen dimensions of life have had a far-reaching influence on the contemporary world, one of them being the discovery of the young J. Krishnamurti on the Adyar beach in Madras, India, in 1909, who would later become one of the most respected and insightful spiritual teachers of the twentieth century.

This website makes available aspects of CWL’s vast literary output as well as some biographical information, including the charges and accusations against him, his work for the Theosophical Society and the Liberal Catholic Church. Also included are a comprehensive list of his books, written over a period of several decades, plus a number of photographs, letters, rare archival material and key testimonies, by those who knew and worked with him, about his life, his character and his helpfulness.

Dora van Gelder Kunz and Fritz Kunz audio recording about C. W. Leadbeater

CWL, the Mahatma and God At Cairo and Madras by Isabel Cooper-Oakley (On the Coulomb Case)

The book CWL Speaks, which was published in 2018, is now online. You can read it here. NEW

The Turning Point in CWL’s Life: HPB and the Second Letter from Master K.H.

A Comprehensive List of C. W. Leadbeater’s Books Visit the expanded Gallery and Bio pages

Madame Blavatsky and C. W. Leadbeater: A Timeline What H.P.B. Thought of C. W. Leadbeater

CWL receives his third letter from Master K.H. The Cipher Letter: Historical Background

Sydney Police Investigates C. W. Leadbeater When Leadbeater went to Court

CWL in Brazil: Further Evidence CWL travels with Madame Blavatsky

Krishnaji and CWL The Leadbeaters: Brief Biographical Information

G. R. S. Mead’s Review of Man Visible and Invisible by CWL

The Maha-Chohan’s Letter - historical renderings Lady Emily Lutyens - Her Impressions of CWL

1906 and 1908 - A letter from Annie Besant to the Daily Telegraph (Sydney)

Facts and Testimony concerning Bishop Leadbeater by E. L. Gardner

For Private Circulation (1913 Madras Court Case) Ernest Wood letter regarding C.W. Leadbeater (1913)

First Letter of Master K.H. to CWL (1884) - with facsimile of the original document

The Story of Occult Chemistry by Elizabeth W. Preston

Occult Chemistry by Annie Besant The Akashic Records (1897)

The Aura by C. W. Leadbeater (1895)

Fragments of Autobiography of Russell Balfour-Clarke An old associate of C.W. Leadbeater recollects aspects of his own life and his work with CWL. His statement about Mr Leadbeater’s integrity can be seen here:

http://www.cwlworld.info/html/archives.html

The Buddhist Curate: C.W. Leadbeater’s Contribution to Buddhist Education in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka)

New Release!

Annie Besant in India

See announcement below

Annie Besant in India New Release

Compiled by C. V. Agarwal and Pedro Oliveira

Paperback, 590 pages. Printed in Australia, February 2021

Cover design by Neeta Agrawal

This book focuses on Annie Besant’s work in India and for India. It includes her work for Indian education, her accomplishments as President of the Theosophical Society, and her introduction of J. Krishnamurti to the world. It also presents her inspiring vision for India, and her brave work towards Home Rule for India. The book also contains a number of heartfelt testimonies by her Indian friends and co-workers.

“One of the outstanding events in my life is the day when I first met Annie Besant. I was twelve then and both her personality, the legends that already surrounded her heroic career, and her oratory overwhelmed me. … India especially owes a very deep debt of gratitude for all her work for it to find her own soul.”

Jawaharlal Nehru

“Though born in England, Mrs. Besant worked in India for the emancipation of a brown race. She was a combination of Parvati, Lakshmi and Sarasvati—Parvati for power, Lakshmi for love and Sarasvati for wisdom.”
Sarojini Naidu

“The service she rendered the women of India is invaluable. She has demonstrated to the world what women are capable of achieving and it looks that she came to India as an embodiment of Shakti, the goddess of Power. She had revolted against the taboos and meaningless customs and conventions that hampered women and kept her down as an inferior humanity.”
S. Muthulakshmi Reddi

Reminiscing about his younger years Krishnamurti once said that among the theosophists of that time the only one who was close to inner transformation was Annie Besant. When asked why he said: ‘Because you don’t know how great her capacity for love was.’

Orders can be placed at Olive Tree Publishing: otpublishing@bigpond.com

Cost: A$40.00 per copy, plus postage. Payment by PayPal.

CWL Speaks: C. W. Leadbeater’s Correspondence concerning the 1906 Crisis in the Theosophical Society

Foreword by Robert Ellwood Compiled by Pedro Oliveira

Published in Australia by Olive Tree Publishing, February 2018, 311 pp.

CWL Speaks: a few praises and criticisms Read the book online NEW

In a statement about the Leadbeater case and the Advisory Board meeting in London [May, 1906], A.P. Warrington, a leading member in the United States and also a lawyer, said: ‘It has been said that Mr. Leadbeater was tried; that moral wrongs were proved, and after confessing them he was condemned and forced to resign from the T.S. This is all utterly false! There could be no trial save in a court of justice, upon a definite indictment, with counsel representing both sides, where witnesses could be compelled to attend and be examined, and where the accused could be confronted by his accusers and subject them to cross-examination.’

CWL Speaks, p. 117

Tributes to Col. Henry Steel Olcott
For his work with Buddhist Education in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka)

It was Col. Olcott that took C. W. Leadbeater to Ceylon in 1886 where he worked until 1889. His work there is documented in the article ‘The Buddhist Curate: C. W. Leadbeater’s Contribution to Buddhist Education in Sri Lanka’. (http://www.cwlworld.info/CWL_in_Ceylon.pdf)

The tributes to Col. Olcott which are excerpted in the above link show the resilience of his contribution to the Buddhist revival in Ceylon. He put all his skills and all his strength and vision at the service of that cause and the Singhalese people responded with admiration and lasting gratitude.