Faces

Why is it that, of all the thousands of faces that we meet during the day, only some faces cause a flash inside our mind? Why is it that some faces end up reminding some special ones from our long-gone past? Why is it that some faces share the same eagerness, the same yearning and the same happiness to steal a glance or two at us, while we end up doing the same? Why is that only some faces exude a subtle sense of happiness every time our eyes cross? Why is it that some faces end up stoking an abundance of platonic affection and a deep sense of veneration within us? Why is it that we feel an intense pull towards some faces even when it is the first - and most probably the only - time that we happen to see them? 

And, finally, why is it that some faces, as they leave, cause a deep pain, at the uncertainty of getting to meet again in this lifetime?!

Let's Pull Down The Pedestals!

I am thinking. What will be the world like, if we all pull Jesus, Krishna and Gautama Buddha down from their divine pedestals and 'de-deify' them - a world where they will not be treated as gods or god-incarnates, but just as men of exemplary qualities and supreme wisdom who lived once upon a time and whose divinity is nothing more than the mist of Time that puts them at a distance from us? 

What will be the world like when we all stop worshiping them and start - or, at least try - emulating them? Just imagine - a sea of humanity that is filled with all god-like beings, everyone in love with everyone else, everyone respecting everybody else, everyone in peace with him/herself and the whole of Existence around, everyone awake and everyone aware! 

Imagine, billions of gods (and goddesses) walking upon this planet! What stops us from aspiring to be like those supreme beings instead of merely putting their highest wisdom into narrow compartments of religion, and quarreling in their name?!

The Buddha In Traffic

Often, while I get stuck in the traffic, amidst the loud-honking, rule-breaking, free-spitting, live-cigarette-throwing morons, I ask myself this question to lessen my annoyance - What would the Buddha do when he gets stuck like this?

I used to tell myself that even the Buddha would lose his composure and feel the rage. But reading through the Dhammapada has cleared that 'doubt' of mine. He wouldn't have bothered. That's because there is a world of difference between us. His world was of the inner realm, whereas I am still mired in the external appearances. He is all peace and bliss, whereas I am all mundane and materialistic. His peace emanates from his very being, just the same way the Sun is his own source of energy. My peace is derived from my external possessions. He is a Paradise himself, whereas I am, stuck in this cage of decaying flesh, trying to form my own versions of 'peace' and 'happiness'.

 To sum it all up and to answer myself, He would have walked. Uncaring for all the mundane aspirations and senseless haste that we have weaved our lives with, the Buddha would have walked. For, he is already Home, whereas I am not even on the path yet!