A. Well.... He was scraping the bottom of the barrel and he found me! I was sitting around doing nothing serious - I am a painter, which is serious but it also gives me the opportunity to say what I know. If I were working for the government, for example, I would probably be afraid to go out and talk, because they would just give me the sack. Literally hundreds of journalists know this story, and though some are totally cynical, many of them who may not actually believe it, take it very seriously indeed. But they never do anything about it, they never mention it, because they are afraid of losing their jobs. Everyone is looking after their ëcareer'.

Q. What are the qualities which have made you the spokesman for Maitreya?

A. Originally, five disciples were asked to make this approach to the public about the reappearance: one in New York; myself in London; one in Geneva; one in Darjeeling; and one in Tokyo. Unfortunately, I am the only one who has taken up this work publicly. The disciple in New York (working in the New Thought movement) does not believe in the Christ's physical presence. Likewise, the disciple in Geneva does not believe my story. The disciple in Darjeeling is still "asleep", while the one in Tokyo - a woman - believes that she is Maitreya! So, in a sense, I am alone in presenting this information to the world, but I am courageously aided by very many men and women all over the world. We work very much as an extended group, in close communication all the time. These - autonomous - groups in each country make themselves responsible for disseminating this information in their area.

Q. How often does Maitreya appear to you?

A. Never. I first started this work in January 1959 and it was not until August 1977 (Maitreya came into London in July 1977) that I was taken before Him (out of the body) on several occasions. He asked me if I would take, publicly, the Messages which I had been receiving privately for some time. I said I would try, do my best, and the 140 messages which he then gave at my London lectures began on 6 September 1977. These are published as Messages from Maitreya, the Christ. I know where Maitreya is, I could go and see him any day but I am asked not to. Occasionally I know in advance where he will be, but if I do this work without seeing him before other people, there is for me a karmic benefit which is shared by all those who work with me. If they need to see him to believe he exists, I can arrange for that, but they will lose the karmic benefit which accrues if they work for him without this confirmation. Their intuition tells them that he exists; their reading of the signs, their experience with me, the energies, tell them. For most people who work with me that is enough, but if they need to see him badly enough to forgo the karmic benefit, then I can arrange it and they will see him. He has, of course, appeared in many different guises to many of the people in the various groups around the world with which I work.

Q. What happens during the overshadowing of yourself (BC) at the beginning and end of a meeting?

A. Some fragment of Maitreya's extraordinary consciousness overshadows - comes into my consciousness. When the Messages were originally given, Maitreya thought the Messages and they automatically entered my mind. At the same time I was very highly magnetized, so I could almost only say what I said and I could not say it in any other way. With the magnetization, my breath was controlled, and the control of the breath controls how you actually speak. Although I was speaking, he was manipulating the breath, so I spoke as I did, with a mantric effect. I gave the physical-plane energy; my etheric energy and my voice allowed him, at the same time, to impress the same message, the same ideas, on all the planes - for example, on the astral planes so that they can influence the astral mediums around the world (they do not get it exact, but they get the idea). Thus the world has been prepared in a very definite way about the reality of the Christ's appearance. My job has been to create the climate of hope, of expectancy, so that Maitreya can enter our lives without infringing free will. For most people, I would say, the truth of what I am saying lies in their experience of the overshadowing. People see me covered with light and actually disappearing during the overshadowing (I don't disappear to myself; I am sitting there absolutely solid, but the light so surrounds me that I am lost in the light).

Sometimes people see Maitreya's face appear where my face was, and the room is filled with the light. Only a miniscule quantity of Maitreya's consciousness enters into mine, but it is enough to convince thousands of people all over the world of the reality of this happening. It is a blessing, a spiritual nourishing, which he pours out to the people in the audience. For most people that is what convinces. Anyone can make up a story, but you cannot invent that energy.

Q. What is overshadowing exactly and how does it work?

A. Overshadowing is part of the Science of Impression, a complex science in which the Masters are adept. It is a process whereby a more advanced being can manifest some (or all) of his consciousness through a Being of lesser degree. A clear example is the overshadowing of the disciple Jesus by the Christ. The Christ remained in the Himalayas while His consciousness took over and worked through the body of Jesus. This is the classical method for the manifestation of Avatars or Teachers.

The overshadowing can be partial and temporary or more or less total and long term. When used by the Spiritual Hierarchy of this (and other planets) it is always done with the conscious co-operation and acceptance of the disciple. His free-will is never infringed. (With the Black Lodge this is not the case and a method of total obsession is often used.) The overshadowing takes place either at the Monadic level or at the soul level in the case of a disciple. Maitreya, the Christ is overshadowed at the Monadic level by a Cosmic Avatar called the Spirit of Peace or Equilibrium (in much the same way as He overshadowed Jesus).

All of this spiritual overshadowing, which is an extension of the principle of telepathy, is of quite another order than the ëovershadowing' of a medium by some discarnate entity as in spiritualism.

Q. Who is your Master?

A. I am not allowed to give His name. Perhaps, after Maitreya comes forward, I will. I work with thousands of disciples all over the world and if I were to give you His name - His name is well known to those who know the names of Masters - they would concentrate on Him all the time. It would interfere with His work. He could put up a barrier but that would take energy. The Masters never waste energy. I have a telepathic rapport with Him all the time, and it is bad enough my talking to Him and asking Him questions all the time without thousands of people in the groups all over the world doing the same thing. People can speculate but speculation is not the same as knowing, so their focus is not on the One who is my Master. When the time is right and He says: "You can tell them", then I will.