World Teacher

The term World Teacher is used in theosophical literature in two distinct ways. In the strict sense, it refers to an office within the Occult Hierarchy charged with overseeing the spiritual development of humanity, the holder of which looks "after the religious welfare of the world and its education along evolutionary lines <and> manifests from age to age ... to proclaim the ancient message in a new form in the world of men."

In a broader sense, the term may refer to the manifestations or incarnations of the Holder of this office throughout history — those enlightened beings, great Founders or Reformers of religions — whose task was to bring teachings and guidance to segments of humanity whenever the need arose.

Annie Besant and C. W. Leadbeater used the term to indicate the potential of Jiddu Krishnamurti to become a vehicle for the World Teacher.

In Theosophy

In a narrow sense, according to theosophical literature, the World Teacher is the Bodhisattva, one of the Great Adepts within the Occult hierarchy of this Earth, also known as “Great White Brotherhood”, whose members “work in true hierarchical order, according to their qualifications, each having his work in a particular department of the Plan.”

The World-Teacher is the channel of the Wisdom aspect of the Logos. He undertakes his work on the Second Ray and is also known as “The Lord Maitreya, Whom we know as the Lord Christ. He is charged with the spiritual development of each Root Race.”.

In the Occult Hierarchy of our globe, the Head of the Second Ray is Lord Buddha, who is devoted to work in the areas of Religion and Education and whose work lies in the higher worlds.

[In his turn, Lord Buddha] “entrusts the work for the lower planes to His Assistant and Representative, whom we know as the Founder of every faith, the Inspirer of every prophet, the Guide of spiritual evolution, the Master of Masters, the World-Teacher, the supreme Teacher of Angels and men. He is known as the Jagat-Guru (World-Teacher) among the Hindus, and as the Bodhisattva (He whose essence is wisdom) among the Buddhists.

The World-Teacher watches over the emotional and intellectual development of His race, and arranges for each people such religions, arts and sciences as shall enable it to play its role in the drama written by the Logos.

He definitely undertakes as His work to look after the religious welfare of the world and its education along evolutionary lines; guides, blesses and maintains the various religions of the world, founded in outline by Himself ; appoints one of His assistants as the special Guide or Protector of a special religion <…> and manifests from age to age to inspire a new religion, to strike anew the note of a fresh chord of spiritual life, to proclaim the ancient message in a new form in the world of men".

In her 1913 lecture in Stockholm, Annie Besant expressed it this way:

The World-Teacher remains one and the same through many and many an age of human history, through many and many a stage of human civilisation;… it is the same mighty Teacher who comes back again and again into the world He loves, who is known under different names, it is true, but the names veil the same mighty Individual, the same World-Teacher, the same Prophet of the different faiths, bringing the same message, teaching the same truths, breathing the same compassionate love; He is the same age after age, appearing in His world for its helping, and thus lifting humanity age after age another step up to the golden ladder which ends at the feet of God.

Succession of World Teachers

The previous holder of the office of the World Teacher was the Individual whose final incarnation in the physical world was known as Gautama, the Lord Buddha. Upon attaining perfect Enlightenment, He "handed on to His mighty Successor the function of teaching the [human] race through the further stages of its evolution — to Him who in the East is still called the Bodhisattva, who in the West appeared as the Christ."

C. Jinarajadasa, in the First Principles of Theosophy explains the succession process for the office of the World Teacher:

“The Buddha Initiation is the highest achievement on this Earth on the Second Ray, and it is taken by a Bodhisattva or World-Teacher as the crown of His work of ages for humanity. After founding religion after religion, [a Bodhisattva] gathers, in the last of His lives, all His pupils who are ready to enter the various grades of Initiation, and He reincarnates on earth with them. Then He establishes a world-religion, and after the work of that physical body is over, He passes to loftier work on other planes. As He passes from humanity, He hands over to His successor the duties of the World-Teacher. The last of the Buddhas was the Buddha Gautama, and His successor in the office of World-Teacher is the Bodhisattva Maitreya, already called by Buddhist tradition Maitreya Buddha, in anticipation of His future office.

P.T. Pavri further adds:

The attaining of Buddhahood is a definite step, and when a World-Teacher takes that step and becomes a Buddha, He passes away from this globe into wider fields of work. So when after teaching for some forty-five years of life, proclaiming the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path and the Triple Gem, and drawing round Himself all those who in previous lives had been His pupils, Gautama Buddha passed away from earth in 543 b.c., He handed over His office of World-Teacher to His beloved Brother who had come side by side with Him through many ages, the Lord Maitreya, the Great One who is the World-Teacher of to-day, and is honoured through all India under the name of Krishna and whom Christendom calls the Christ.

World Teacher and the Great Teachers of the past

Various great founders and reformers of religions have been regarded in theosophical sources as incarnations of the World Teacher, and similarities in their life events and proclaimed teachings have often been noted.

The Founders of religions are all Divine Men under the World-Teacher, members of a Great Brotherhood who guide mankind and are in charge of a body of teachings, called the Ancient or Divine Wisdom. When a portion of mankind is ready for some new teaching, one of the Brotherhood is born amongst them to found a new religion, who ever brings with Him the same truths, the same teachings, but shapes the form of those teachings to suit the conditions of the time, such as the intellectual stage of the people to whom He comes, their type, their needs, their capacities..

These great Founders of religion show marks of strange similarity. It is not only that in the story of Their lives a similar history is seen to be outlived age after age; but it is also seen that Their teachings are fundamentally identical; that over and over and over again the same moral teaching comes forth from those divine lips, the same great precepts which are to lead us to perfection are spoken in the ears of different nations, are given out in different tongues, the meaning ever the same.

No complete list of such incarnations of the World Teachers exists, but these are examples:

• Vyasa, or Vedavyasa, revered by Hindus as writer of the Mahabharata, Puranas, and other sacred scriptures. He was "the Teacher who gave in that far-off time the Sanatana Dharma, the Eternal Religion, the Wisdom Religion, which since has spread its branches under different names."
• Hermes Trismegistus,author of the Hermetic Corpus, is seen as a combination of the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god Thoth of the moon, wisdom, writing, science, and magic. He brought science to ancient Egypt. Muslim and Bahá'í writings make reference to Hermes Trismegistus, associating him with the Biblical Enoch. Hermeticism is his legacy.
• Zarathushtra was the Iranian-speaking Prophet called by the Greeks Zoroaster (Ζωροάστηρ), after whom the religion Zoroastrianism is named.
• Orpheus was a legendary musician, poet, and prophet in ancient Greek religion. Theosophical Society founder H. P. Blavatsky wrote:

Esoteric tradition identifies him with Arjuna, the son of Indra and the disciple of Krishna. He went round the world teaching the nations wisdom and sciences, and establishing mysteries.

• Gautama Buddha provided the teachings that form the basis of Buddhism.
• Shri Krishna was an avatar or incarnation of the Hindu preserver-god, Vishnu.
• Jesus Christ was a first-century Jewish preacher whose teachings and example form the basis for Christianity.

Prophecies of coming World Teachers

When the Order of the Star in the East was announced, C. Jinarajadasa wrote:

The message we are proclaiming to-day that a Great Teacher will come to help mankind is but the re-utterance of old things. Every religion has taught and teaches that One shall come, in the power of Whose word is salvation for all men. Hinduism prophesies that the next Avatara is Kalki, who shall come riding on a white horse; Buddhism foretells the coming of the “ Teacher of Gods and men,” the Bodhisattva Maitreya. The Zoroastrian is taught to look to the coming of the Saoshyant, “the Saviour,” the Jews to expect the Messiah, and the Christians the Christ. Muhammadanism, too, speaks of the coming of another Prophet of God, and already by the side of Muhammad’s grave at Medina is prepared an empty tomb where shall lie the body of the Lord after His death; in Persia and elsewhere the Shiahs know well of the Imam Mahdi who in 940 a.d. disappeared from the sight of men, but now awaits, in the mysterious city of Jabulka, to come once again, when faith wanes, to lead men to God.

Krishnamurti as a vehicle for World Teacher

Upon the discovery of the young Krishnamurti, C.W. Leadbeater "asserted that K. was to be overshadowed by a great Spiritual force in the person of Lord Maitreya, the World Teacher," indicating the potential of K. to become a vehicle for the coming World Teacher.

Unfortunately, the expression "World Teacher" often used by Annie Besant and Charles W. Leadbeater when speaking about Jiddu Krishnamurti was soon misinterpreted as an expectation of a 'New Messiah'. To clarify this question, Annie Besant "had carefully explained that Krishnamurti might, if he was found worthy, be used as a vehicle for the “World Teacher” when He again wished to speak to the world.”

Additional Meanings

It should be noted that this phrase was occasionally used quite literally in theosophical and non-theosophical literature as well as colloquially to refer to various exceptional teachers, reformers, and writers whose ideas profoundly shaped the world, leaving a lasting and transformative legacy.

Additional resources

Articles

• World Teacher in Theosophy World.
• Kalki-Avatār in Theosophy World.
• Maitreya (Theosophy)] in Wikipedia.

Books and pamphlets

• Besant, Annie. Super-Human Men in History & in Religion. London: The Theosophical Publishing Society, 1913. 133 pages. See Chapter II: Saviors of the World, or World-Teachers.
• Besant, Annie. How a World Teacher comes, as seen by Ancient and Modern Psychology. London: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1926. 91 pages.
• Pavri, P.T. The Coming World-Teacher (in Questions and Answers).. Adyar, Madras, India: Indian Star Headquarters, 1924. 189 pages.
• Wodehouse, E. A. The Taking of a Body by The World-Teacher: What it means and implies. Adyar, Madras, India and Eerde, Ommen, Holland: Order of the Star in the East, 1927. 24 pages.
• Schüller, Govert, Krishnamurti and the World Teacher Project: Some Theosophical Perceptions. In: Theosophical History, Occasional Papers (ed. by James Santucci), Vol.V, Fullerton, Cal., 1997.
• van der Leeuw, J. J. To Serve Him When He Comes. [Order of the Star in the East], 1924. 3rd edition. 23 pages.