A. The concept of the Christ as a universal Principle, rather than simply a man, is one which has gained ground in more sophisticated Christian groups and Churches since about the turn of the century. And I would agree that this demonstrates a higher and better understanding of the nature of the Christ. Many groups, indeed, see the 'return' of the Christ in terms of the manifestation of the Christ Principle in humanity: when this principle demonstrates widely enough in us, they believe, the 'Christ' will have returned, the 'second coming' will have taken place. With this I cannot disagree, but see it as only one of His three modes of reappearance. When, in June 1945, Maitreya announced His intention to return, He indicated that this would be in three phases: (1) the overshadowing of the minds of those active disciples (mostly in the political field as leaders of nations) who could be impressed on mental levels; (2) the outflow of the Christ Principle through the hearts of humanity in general; and (3) His physical presence in the world.

If I emphasize the physical presence it is because (a) it is a fact in my experience; (b) humanity needs to know and recognize Him as the World Teacher; (c) it is too vague and 'easy' to talk about the Christ Principle while humanity has far to go in the demonstration of that principle.

In any case, I do not believe that my presentation of Maitreya's return into the physical life of humanity in any way rules out His being seen as the Embodiment of the (universal) Christ Principle. That is the measure of His achievement.

Q. Is Maitreya coming because we are heading for a major crisis or because we are evolving as you say, to be able to join together ?

A. Both. It is not one or the other. There are many in the world who are set on destruction. They do not set out to destroy, but they hold on to the old ways of living which inevitably will cause destruction. If we were to go on exactly as we are now, in which one-third of the world usurps and wastes three-quarters of the world's food and 83 per cent of all other resources, and one-fifth of the world's population lives in conditions of official absolute poverty, then we would cause a crisis which would lead to a nuclear war. Humanity is really divided into two groups: those who compete, and those who co-operate. Those who compete, at the moment, are winning. They have built a market-forces economy based on competition, but it is unfair competition. It comes out of America, which is the most powerful and richest nation in the world, and so it is fine for America. Whoever is biggest and strongest is inevitably going to come off best. But can you imagine Zaire, Uganda or Tanzania advocating a market-forces economy? Of course not, because they are going to lose out every time. If it were a level playing field there might be something to be said for it, but in fact market forces move in the opposite direction to that of evolution.

Evolution is moving towards greater and greater unity, fusion, blending, the creation of the one humanity; not the sameness of life but the unification of all diversity. The greatest unity with the greatest diversity, that is the evolutionary aim. Market forces work in the opposite direction, by creating more and more divisions. Maitreya calls market forces the forces of evil, because of this inbuilt inequality in them. They have created division in the world which now reaches crisis proportions. He can no longer stand aside and watch what He calls 'the massacre of the innocents'. So He has come into the world with the knowledge that there is a large body of people who are longing, and able, to cooperate, whose view of life is one of co-operation, justice and freedom for everybody. He is here to awaken those who are holding on to the old competitive modes and to inspire and confirm those who see co-operation as the way forward.

If we do not cooperate, we will destroy our life, but Maitreya says that He knows already that we are ready for sharing - we will share the world's resources, if only because we have no alternative.

There are many reasons why He is here. He comes at the head of His group, the Masters of the Spiritual Hierarchy Who are returning to the everyday world and He comes as Their leader. But He does not come just for that; He comes in the nick of time, you can say, to prevent humanity from destroying itself.

Q. What is the function of the predictions Maitreya is giving out? Is there not a danger of people accepting Maitreya on the basis of their positive outcome, rather than on an understanding and acceptance of His principles? 

A. No doubt some people would accept Maitreya if all the predictions worked out precisely as indicated, and, of course, would reject the idea of His presence if they do not. It is important to realize that Maitreya is not concerned with being accepted or rejected. The predictions, as I understand it, are given to show the relation, through the law of cause and effect, between our thoughts and actions and events in the phenomenal world. Our destructive thoughts and actions have destructive results. Another function is to draw attention to His presence in the Asian community of London.

Yet another, perhaps the most important, is to help create the climate of expectancy for His emergence. Whether the predictions are believed in or not as coming from the Christ, the media representatives who receive them, more or less world-wide, are gradually made aware of the presence, in London, of a most unusual man, many of whose statements are new and challenging, and which cover very many aspects of our lives. Despite themselves, perhaps, many journalists, in different countries, are being persuaded to watch world affairs, in the light of these predictions, in a new way.

Q. You say your task is to 'help create the climate of hope and expectancy into which Maitreya can emerge without infringing our free-will.'  Does this mean that Maitreya will not emerge until it is possible to do so without infringing our free will?

A. Yes. To Maitreya and the Masters, our free will is sacrosanct and must never be infringed. I have found great difficulty in getting the public, and especially the media, to understand this major law governing Maitreya's approach to humanity.

Q. You said that Maitreya had predicted a world stock-market crash. We've had the Asian financial crisis. My impression is that that is not bad enough, we need a worse crash than that. The responsibility of saying that will affect every person - our jobs, our homes, our lives - and that will cause tremendous economic and social upheaval. Do you realize the responsibility of the scenario that you are postulating? 

A. In 1988 Maitreya gave a series of predictions which were passed by one of His closest associates to two journalists with instructions to pass them to me for publication in Share International. We published the predictions one after the other as we received them, and we sent them as news releases to all the media and government agencies throughout the world. They were kept informed month by month for about three-and-a-half years of the predictions of Maitreya. In this way He was making quite clear to intelligent observers that there lived in London a man of extraordinary knowledge, prescience, clairvoyant ability perhaps, but certainly with insight not only into the happenings of the world but into future happenings. One after another the events He predicted have taken place.

One of the predictions was that there would be a world stock-market crash which would begin in Japan. The Japanese market immediately began to collapse and is now, as far as the Japanese are concerned, collapsed. The Japanese economy is on its knees, and the banks and institutions are becoming bankrupt one by one. That is not my responsibility, but something which is happening in the world. Maitreya made it known that He would come out openly precisely to help cope with the effects of such a crash. If the crash had happened in the Autumn of 1997, as it might have done, He would have come out immediately to offer His insight and advice to the governments of the world - not to get round the crash but to deal with the results of it. World markets have steadied themselves, especially in the West but every crash of a major type occurs when the index is at its highest. The Western stock exchanges are at their highest ever, and it is precisely when something reaches a point of maximum tension that the reverse swing takes place, there is a breaking of the spring and a collapse occurs. That is what Maitreya expects in the Western markets, and He is prepared to come out as soon as that appears to be continuing and is not merely a phase - before the chaos starts.

Q. Is it true that Maitreya will be speaking through all of humanity?

A. Maitreya will not be 'speaking' through humanity, but will work in terms of changing the world through humanity. In so far as the Christ Principle is awakened in your heart, He can work through you; He can stimulate and galvanize you to the degree that that Principle is manifest in you, so that what you do is the result of your response to His teaching, His energy, His ideas - but you do the actual work. The more you act in relation to the world and for the world, the more that energy will flow to you: if you take one step to Him, He will take 12 steps to you.

That process will continue for the next 2,500 years of the age of Aquarius. Then Maitreya will be finished with His work for humanity at this time, and He will go on to higher work. His place will be taken by another of the Masters Who is being trained for this work. Maitreya will be the first of the Teachers to be a World Teacher for two succeeding ages - the age of Pisces, through Jesus, and the age of Aquarius which He is doing now as Himself.

Q. You have said Maitreya will appear very soon on American television, but how can you be sure that the media in UK (and elsewhere) will take it up and make it known to the people ? 

A. I cannot be sure, they may or they may not. When the news of this interview goes out over the wires the world's media will be foolish if they do not follow it up; at the least they should make it known that an interview with an unusual man has taken place.

I have no power with the British or other media; I can't speak for them. I know that the BBC knows this story, as do all the world's media - the BBC rather better than most because they have already interviewed Him, in January, February and March of 1986, and even agreed to put on a press conference at which He could appear and present His credentials to the world. The fact that they reneged on this promise has meant that He has had to go through a long, slow process of doing it the hard way, without the backing of major media.

At last a major network in America has invited Him. The BBC have missed the boat in this respect. I do not think, at least after the American, Japanese, probably the Dutch, German, French and other American media have taken it seriously, that the BBC will be able to ignore it.

Q. When will the meeting of Maitreya and American television happen?

A. It is impossible to predict exactly. It depends on when the Western (US and European) stock exchanges begin their total crash. This appears to be widely expected now by economists. My information is that it is now imminent.

Q. Why when Maitreya comes on major television will He not use His own name?

A. For a number of reasons. One is that many people would not know who Maitreya is. He wishes to be introduced to the world as a man among men, but Who has ideas which, so far, most people have not thought about for the reconstruction of the world. In that way He does not make a division between Christians, Buddhists, Moslems and Hindus. If He was introduced as the Christ, say, then Christians would be divided. Some would say "Halleluja! The Christ is here!" Others would say "He is not the Christ, he is a fake, he is the antichrist." Or, if they liked His ideas, which many fundamental Christians, in my experience do not, even without seeing Him - they are convinced already that He must be antichrist, they do not like the idea of sharing, they do not seem to like justice and peace in the world - they will automatically reject Him.

Because He has not come down in a cloud into Jerusalem as they expect, they have a prejudice from the start. If He called Himself the Christ, there would be this huge division among Christians as to who He was. If He called Himself Maitreya then the Buddhists would be divided. (I know of dozens of people who call themselves Maitreya. They are no more Maitreya than you or I.) If He comes out as a man among men, people without prejudice can approach what He is saying and respond to it, yea or nay, without being influenced by the idea that He is the Christ, or Maitreya Buddha, or the Imam Mahdi, or the Messiah. These names get in the way of their spontaneous response to response to the ideas. We have to think the ideas are good ideas; we have to want sharing and justice and peace, and if He is advocating a way towards sharing and justice and peace we would be inclined to say 'Good thinking, I would like to talk more with that man, I would like to ask him a few questions.'

Q. Is it really necessary that Maitreya manifests Himself in a great event called the Declaration Day? 

A. That is His plan so He obviously thinks it is necessary. I believe that nothing less than such an event would bring Him - quickly and effectively - into the hearts and minds of a sufficient proportion of humanity.

Q. How long will there be between Maitreya's first TV appearance in America and the Day of Declaration?

A. That depends on us: it depends on the response of humanity, of the media of the world, which allows us to hear Him, and on the forces which are against this. Why do you think it has taken so long to get to this point? Because there are very powerful vested interests against this manifestation. They are not only what we call 'the forces of evil', but the forces of ingrained selfishness, greed, separatism and ignorance, both at the level of extreme power and also of the ordinary uneducated masses. I believe, from what I have been told by my Master, that it will be very quick. But when a Master says 'soon' he does not mean 'tomorrow', as we might think. 'Forthwith', which was the Master's latest statement about Maitreya's appearance, can mean 'anything up to a year', and 'soon' or 'very soon' could be anything up to a few years. The Masters are working in 2,000-year cycles - a few years is nothing to Them.

Q. On the Day of Declaration, when Maitreya speaks to the whole world telepathically while He is seen on satellite TV, will the majority of people be able to understand the meaning of what He is saying? 

A. He will talk about the history of humanity, the high source from which we come, the evolutionary process, the Law of Cause and Effect, the Law of Rebirth, the need for harmlessness, the needs of the world, outlining our major problems: the ecological imbalance (this will become the number one priority), the fate of the starving millions, which is His major concern and their solution through sharing and the creation, therefore, of justice and peace.

He will speak, heart-to-heart, simply. If you read the Messages from Maitreya which are published (Messages from Maitreya the Christ, Tara Press), I think you will understand every single word, and so it will be on the Day of Declaration. He will speak in the simplest terms, not about esotericism; He might mention, briefly, the Path of Initiation as the final phase of life on this planet but in simple terms. He will talk about a readjustment of our view of the nature of life, its meaning and purpose, why we are here, in terms which everyone can understand.

If He can speak in their own language to every individual He must experience every individual. For Him there is no separation, so that, inevitably, what He will say to each person will be brought down by their brain in their own language in words that they can understand. The more exalted the mind, probably, the more exalted will be the experience.

Q. Will not Maitreya be rejected, and what will be the consequences of that rejection?

A. We have free will, we can accept or reject Him. He Himself has said (Message No.10): "Many will follow Me and see Me as their guide; many will know Me not". If we reject Maitreya - saying: 'It all sounds very nice but it's too utopian.' Or: 'I've too much to lose - why should we give our goods to the developing world? What have they ever done to deserve it?' - then we will come to a point where the market forces which control the world's economy today, and the commercialization which is the tool of market forces, will so cripple the economy of the developed world that they will bring about a world stock-exchange crash, as Maitreya has predicted. Complacency is a powerful force in the world.

In 1988, Maitreya said: "There will be a world stock-exchange crash which will begin in Japan." Japan was riding high at the time - the Nikkei average stood at 40,000 points. Maitreya said it was a 'bubble' which inevitably would burst and bring down the stock markets of the world. In 1988 the Nikkei average began to drop - right down to 14,000 points. It has now lost over 60 per cent of its value, and is only kept afloat by the desperate attempts of the Japanese Government who pump billions of yen into the economy to keep it afloat. This is happening throughout the world: the Japanese underwrite the American national debt by 25 per cent. When things get too bad in Japan they will begin to withdraw their overseas investments, as has already started, and this will bring down the whole of the world's stock markets.

Maitreya's predictions are accurate because He sees them already happening. For Him there is no past or future: what we call past, present and future are simultaneously active for Him.

Q. How is the World Teacher going to prevent the 'botching up' of his teaching - will he remain in incarnation for the rest of humanity's evolution?

A. We may not 'botch it up' too much, because we either make it work or we destroy ourselves. In the first place it is a political-economic transformation, but basically it is a spiritual rejuvenation of the world. Maitreya will ensure that His teaching stays intact by remaining in the world, not till the end of the world but till the end of the age of Aquarius, which will be, as far as He is concerned, 2,500 years from now. Every time we come into incarnation during that time we will find Him at the centre of our planetary life, inspiring and teaching, and acting as the Initiator at the first two of the five initiations which make one a Master.

In the very near future, after the Day of Declaration, He will set out on an itinerary round the world, so that all countries will see Him close-to - He will be on television and so on - and people will have the opportunity to ask Him all sorts of questions. As far as the overseeing of humanity's response is concerned, this is something which at the top level He will do, but at a somewhat lesser level certain Masters will do; They have trained a large group of initiates and disciples to help in that work. Humanity cannot simply be 'imposed on'. The transformation will be made by humanity itself - in the main led by the disciples and initiates trained by the Masters in the different departments: political, economic, religious, social, scientific, and so on.

Q. Realistically speaking, if Maitreya does appear, there are going to be people who will want to get rid of him.

A. 'Realistically speaking' there will be many people who will want to get rid of Him. There are people who always want to get rid of anyone who is doing good for the world - like Martin Luther King, or President Kennedy; it always happens. Abraham Lincoln was assassinated because he had a vision of right relationships for humanity. They can try, but they will fail. How do you get rid of someone if you cannot even see Him, if He can disappear at will; Who is omniscient, omnipresent, Who has created a body and can recreate it a moment later?

Q. What about the people in the world who believe it is in their interest to prolong a warlike stance and find it difficult to accept what seems an impossible invitation to create peace? 

A. When Jesus spoke 2,000 years ago He was not even recognized, and certainly there were plenty who would have followed Him if they had had any idea who He was, but the minds of people of that time were totally dominated by the only ones who could read and write - namely the priests.

The priests were filled with a special expectation of the Messiah as a warrior-king out of the House of David who would free the Jewish people from the Romans. Jesus came as a man of peace, He spoke His words of love, justice, right relationship and so on, propagated the nature of the human soul, and demonstrated the Love of God in perfection. He was not recognized as such because this was so against the expectations of the priests and, through the priests, of the populace, that Jesus had a tiny following indeed.

The teaching of the Churches gives people the idea that He had a huge following and was very popular. Not at all. He had three specially close disciples, 12 of an inner group, 75 of an outer group, and 500 interested people. That was all the followers Jesus had at that time. It was very easy for the priests to direct the would-be followers to put Jesus down and have Him crucified because He did not fulfill their expectations.

Times have changed. Education on a world scale has completely transformed humanity. No-one should look for someone that everyone is going to believe in. Maitreya Himself has said: 'Many will follow Me and see Me as their guide. Many will know Me not' [Message No 10], but He knows that the vast majority of people are hungry for change. Millions are hungry for food, and they are certainly not going to reject the possibility of change when they make up the bulk of the people of the developing world, which is nearly three-quarters of the world's population.

The people who might not, in the first instance, be over-delighted to think they have to share the resources of the Western world with the developing world are those who might now control major corporations and financial institutions. But when the stock exchanges of the world collapse, these are the very people who will be helpless, who will no longer have the power to stand against the will of the people. The will of the people everywhere will be organized, educated, stimulated, galvanized, and directed by Maitreya and this will create a world public opinion against which no nation can stand for long.

Q: Will it not be that the political and economic powers will surely resist the emergence of Maitreya ? 

A. Maitreya, you will find, will be the mouthpiece for the countless millions of ordinary people in the world, and through them He will create a unified, educated, articulate world public opinion against which no institution or government can stand. Maitreya has said: 'Many will follow Me and see Me as their guide. Many will know Me not'. (Message No.10).

There are many fundamentalists - Christian and others - who see my information as a travesty of the truth, and who will reject Maitreya in the first place, but not for ever. It may be that Christians will accept the Master Jesus before they accept Maitreya, but it could well be that they will not even accept the Master Jesus. The name is right, but He does not have holes in His hands and feet any more. He is in the third body since that time, a totally perfected (ascended) Master, and people will realize that the presence of the Masters creates a new situation in the world.

On the Day of Declaration, Maitreya will do what no one has ever done in the entire history of the world: come into telepathic rapport with all of humanity simultaneously, making an appeal to restore peace and justice and inaugurate the era of love in the world. Most people will respond to that; the fundamentalists of all religions may not. The fundamentalists in the economic and political spheres may not - but they are gradually losing power. Mrs. Thatcher was a fundamentalist in the political sphere; her era is over. The Russian oligarchy has crumbled; Mr. Gorbachev, responding to the impress of Maitreya, went to America, sought peace, ended the cold war, opened up the Soviet Union to glasnost. He is a hero, a great man, and should be recognized as such. Nelson Mandela did the impossible in South Africa: from being a member of a terrorist organization, incarcerated in prison for 27 years, he is suddenly the President of the new South Africa. These are miracles, and I expect the same kind of miracles when people see Maitreya. If that can happen in South Africa, and in the Middle East, then it can happen anywhere in the world.

People of different views are changing under the influence of the energies of Equilibrium and they are becoming able to compromise. The problem with fundamentalists is that they do not know the meaning of wise compromise. They are totally, dogmatically, set in their own ideas and beliefs, however ridiculous and wrong.

Q: For the past 2000 years up to the present day people have awaited the return of the one called Jesus as the saviour of the world. This was demonstrated recently when people of many lands took part in the 'Walk for Jesus'. You say that Jesus have returned and is now in Rome at this very time. What do you think people's reaction will be when one called Maitreya declares himself as the 'World Teacher'? Do you think people will still regard Jesus as the promised one?

A. For a time, it may well be that very orthodox Christians - in particular Fundamentalists - will reject both Maitreya and the Master Jesus, now in Rome. He has not come 'on a cloud at the end of the world' as they expect, nor does He have holes in His hands and feet. But gradually, many Christians will find it easier to accept the Master Jesus as the returned Christ (at least the name is the same) rather than Maitreya, and the Master Jesus is in charge of the Christian Church worldwide. Eventually, however, I believe that most people, Christian and otherwise, will accept that Maitreya is indeed the Christ, Messiah, Krishna - World Teacher for all.

Q. Many Christians fear that Maitreya is the anti-christ; will he be able to say or do something to assuage these fears?

A. It may well be that, for many, the acceptance of Maitreya as the Christ will be impossible in this life. For the vast majority of Christians, however, I believe that the events and experience of the Day of Declaration and His subsequent mission of salvage and teaching will remove their fears. The tree, after all, is known by its fruits.

Q: Will Maitreya be accepted by Christians?

A. Most Christians, I think, will find it easier to accept and follow the Master Jesus rather than the Lord Maitreya. Jesus 'stood in' for the Lord Maitreya. As far as Jews are concerned, the Master Jesus is the Messiah, though they have yet to recognize Him as such. He came to them, as a Jew, to end the Jewish dispensation and prepare the way for Christendom.

No-one knows for sure, but my feeling is that the vast majority of open-minded Christians will accept Maitreya and the Master Jesus, Whom they will see side-by-side. Maitreya will introduce the Master Jesus and other Masters to the world after the Day of Declaration. The Master Jesus has a special task in that He is in charge of the Christian Churches, and very many Christians will look to Him for guidance and teaching.

Q: What will happen to people who do not go along with Maitreya's teachings when He comes out? 

A. There is a huge misunderstanding underlying this question.

Maitreya's teachings will be given for humanity to consider and accept or reject as people wish. No infringement of our free will will ever be made by Maitreya and His Group of Masters. Nothing will 'happen' to anyone who dislikes or disagrees with Maitreya's ideas and advice - except that they will probably hold up their own evolution by their inability to make the shift in consciousness required to share and so create justice and peace in the world.

Q. Because of the extraordinary resistance to Maitreya's presence by certain forces in the world, will it be necessary for Him to destroy physically not only institutions but people, in order to come to the fore? 

A. The answer to that is absolutely, categorically, no.

Maitreya is the Master of all the Masters. To the Masters, human free will is divine. It is absolutely sacrosanct, and is never, under any provocation, and never will be, infringed. If Maitreya were to do what you are suggesting He might do, it would be such an infringement of the Law that He would no longer be Maitreya.

I know people around Him now who have been invited by the BBC to come on television and talk about Him, and they have refused, and all Maitreya has said is: 'Somebody has to do it.' He could use some influence: 'Oh come on! Be a sport! I'll give you a hand, I'll be behind you!' Some of these are Swamis, men very established in their own department, and they do nothing; and all Maitreya says is: 'Somebody has to do it.' Nothing which Maitreya will do will ever give humanity an example of violence, under any provocation. That is 100 per cent categorically so.

Q.(1)Will there be a long time between the Day of Declaration and the presentation by Maitreya of the Masters? (2)Will they teach openly to the public and will people be able to learn from them (for example, new forms of healing)?

A. (1) No. Maitreya will probably introduce the idea of the Masters as His Disciples during the overshadowing on the Day of Declaration. I expect the introduction of at least some of the Masters (for example the Master Jesus) to take place soon afterwards. (2) In the first place, the Masters will teach through the agency of disciples now in the world. Eventually, They will work more directly with the public and some few will take their places in public affairs as advisers and guides.

Q. We know that several of Jesus (the Christ's) twelve disciples in Palestine have since become Masters of Wisdom. John is now known to us as Koot Hoomi, and Peter I believe is the Master Morya. What about the other Apostles? Have they also a role to play in the near future?  

A. All the disciples around Jesus have become Masters. Not all remain with us on Earth. Besides Peter and John, the disciples Matthew, Mark and Luke are still in our Hierarchy and have important roles to play in the coming time. The Apostle Paul, now the Master Hilarion, is in the first group to emerge.

Q. What is difference between spreading the word about Maitreya and what fundamentalist Christians do when they try to 'spread the word'. Are not both trying to get people to believe their way? 

A. In the case of spreading the word about Maitreya's presence and concerns, one is giving (hopefully, not dogmatically) information about a world event before it is generally known. This creates a climate of hope and expectancy which allows Maitreya to enter our lives without infringing our free will. No one is asked to change his or her beliefs or adopt any particular religious dogmas.

The fundamentalist Christian on the other hand is, as he sees it, an evangelist whose duty is to 'bring everyone to Jesus'. To their minds, this necessarily involves the acceptance of their man-made dogmas and doctrines.

Q: Can you tell me whether Maitreya is Christ returned, or was Christ his disciple?

Q. Is this (Maitreya's) way the only way to so-called salvation? Does Maitreya have exclusive rights to the salvation business?

A. I think you will find that, unlike the established fundamentalists of today, Maitreya will not claim any exclusive rights to the path to salvation. He comes as a Teacher. We must save ourselves through response to the teachings, not by following Him as 'the only way'.

Q. Is Maitreya putting out thoughtforms for us to respond to? 

A. The Hierarchy are putting out thoughtforms all the time - the mindbelt of the world is saturated with thoughtforms, many of no value at all, created by humanity; but some are major ideas to which the sensitive minds of the race tune in. Suddenly, all over the world, a group of scientists, for instance, have the same idea, which was placed there by a Master, or even by Maitreya. The Masters see the need for a certain step forward to be taken, a certain technology, for example, to be discovered. They are the inspirers, the 'muses', of the world. Behind all the great teachers, scientists, painters and artists of all kinds have stood the Hierarchy, down through the centuries. Rembrandt is Rembrandt because he was a third-degree initiate, inspired by his Master; likewise Titian and Mozart. Leonardo was 4.4 degrees initiate, practically a Master. All the culture of the world has been created by the initiates of the world, sent to stimulate humanity in the gradual expansion of consciousness which is evolution.