Charles W. Leadbeater was a former Anglican clergyman and a prominent member of the Theosophical Society, which he joined in 1883. In 1889, during his travels to India, he found Currupumullage Jinarajadasa, who he believed to be the reincarnation of his deceased younger brother. Leadbeater brought Jinarajadasa to England where he tutored him before Jinarajadasa gained admission into the University of Cambridge.

In 1910, Leadbeater 'discovered' Jiddu Krishnamurti in Adyar. Leadbeater believed that Krishnamurti was the reincarnation of the World Teacher/Messiah and drew him to the attention of Annie Besant, who took Krishnamurti and his brother under her wing. Before this, in 1906, Leadbeater had been charged with 'perversion' against young boys and had resigned from the Theosophical Society. The charges were never proved and when Annie Besant became President of the Society in 1907, she reinstated Leadbeater. Krishnamurti's father underwent a protracted custody battle against Besant and Leadbeater over the two boys, but eventually the Theosophists were able to assume total guardianship over the boys.

Leadbeater can be described as an observant traveller on the astral plane and wrote many books recounting his experiences. He and Besant collaborated to produce Occult Chemistry in which they used clairvoyance to examine atoms.