Benjamin Creme, tonight's guest, first began presenting messages from Maitreya, the "World Teacher," in public forums in 1977. He says that Maitreya had spent the last 2,000 years in a "body of light" at a retreat in the Himalayas, but has now resurrected in a physical form that he "self-created" and that he lives and works in London. Many of Maitreya's messages are based around the idea of sharing and global cooperation.
According to Creme, Maitreya has the ability to appear and disappear at will, and has in fact materialized in gatherings around the world, where he takes on the form of a Messianic figure recognizable to that culture. Most notable was his appearance in Nairobi, Kenya in 1988 where he was said to be identified as "the Christ" in front of 6,000 people. There has been speculation, particularly among certain guests on Coast that Maitreya is actually the Antichrist. In fact, Kathleen Keating said he appeared suddenly in her backyard wearing a pony tail and an Armani suit. Creme believes the Antichrist is an energy rather than a person, and that it has already come and gone in the form of Hitler and his associates.
One of the most startling claims about Maitreya concerns what has been called "The Day of Declaration." According to Creme's affiliated website, shareintl.org,"Maitreya will be invited to speak to the entire world via the linked television satellite networks...We will see his face on television, but he will not actually speak. Instead, each of us will hear his words telepathically in our own language as he simultaneously impresses the minds of all humanity. Even those who are not watching Maitreya on television will have this experience. His energy of love will enter the hearts of all, galvanizing humanity to save the world."
--Lex Lonehood