Why are Buddha and Jesus mentioned in the title, but not the leaders of other world religions? Because Buddha and Jesus had claimed to be incarnations of God, while the others did not. This fact underlines this article's theme of humanity's spiritual evolution.
It's true that some disagree about Buddha's spiritual positioning. They believe he was an atheist. However, more prayer wheels and monks existed per capita in Buddhist Tibet (before the brutal invasion and occupation by Chinese forces) than anywhere in the world. Religion permeated their political and domestic life.
Three Others
Mohammed never claimed to be God. He said that he the Last Prophet. Moses talked to God on the mountain. As a burning bush, Yahweh was "waxing hotly" and was ready to wipe out the Israelites. Moses, using sound logic, talked Him down and saved his tribe. Krishna, although one of my favorite deities, was probably not an historical figure. The Blue Boy God of Everything may well exist, but not as a human. Of the group, then, only Jesus and Buddha are human historical figures that have claimed their Godhood. Why is this important?
The Time Line
In the minds of believers, both Jesus and Buddha are divine. They may have been human (the "Son of Man"), but they were transcendent as well (the "Son of God"). Each had a unique way to express his divinity and a unique understanding of and relation to God. Jesus was the Son of God; Buddha was one with the Nothing. Others individuals surely have had similar revelations about their cosmic identity, but these two have been the most influential by far.
Fast forward to the present. Today, we can find any number of people claiming that they are either one with God or are God. Ironically, Christians don't agree. It's against their religion. They believe that we must earn our way to Heaven by professing allegiance to one God/man exclusively. Yet, Jesus — the self-proclaimed Son of God and Son of Man — declared that we were all Children of God. Isn't a "Son of God" the same as a "Child of God"? Farther east, Buddha taught that we could all reach enlightenment just like him. We are all one with the Nothing (God).
Jesus and Buddha: Evolutionary Pioneers
The point is that 2,000 or so years ago, two individuals recognized humanity's spiritual potential. They embodied and revealed a message: We are one (the same) as God. Although they professed their understanding in different ways (due to cultural conditions, lifestyles, and personal temperaments), they both were mortal (their body died), moral, and ethical. Because their message was unfamiliar, the populous was not mentally and spiritually prepared to understand what they were saying. Instead, they deified the messengers.
Today, three new forces reinforce their message. First, science, in its materialistic wisdom, has shown that the universe and all that's in it is "all one energy field." Exoterically, we are one with the universe. Second, the new spirituality is not burdened by the dogma of any particular religion. It encourages us to explore freely the All-That-Is. Esoterically, we are offspring of God. Lastly, the rapid dissemination of information across national, cultural, and religious borders, is spurring more and more people to awaken to the true message of those visionaries. As a race, we are evolving quantitatively in spirit.
Buddha and Jesus were like the first butterflies to crawl from the cocoon of evolutionary hibernation. At this crucial time in our history, butterflies are emerging en mass. As we spread our wings, we can use the power of love, wisdom, and compassion to shape the world in ways limited only by our visions of goodness. We no longer need to support the nightmare realities dreamed by those attached to darkness. They embrace the principles of force and greed, but their time is at an end, one way or another.
A Drop of Time in a Bucket
The span of time from 2,000 years ago until now looks like only a short moment; yet, we have traveled very far. On the surface of events, the picture may not look promising: wars, corruption, poverty, disease, ecological collapse, and injustice abound. Nothing seems to have changed, except our ability to inflect greater damage on the world and each other. Beneath that layer of reality though, another reality is percolating, bubbling forth. It is already manifesting in many ways.
As new possibilities develop in the superconscious of our race, more instances will manifest. A new world is taking shape. True democracies, based on love, compassion, and cooperation are proving more successful (in providing happiness and healing the Earth) than systems based on fear, indifference, and competition. While this example may sound social rather than spiritual, Heaven is in part a social experience: Heaven inside radiating outward, reflecting itself in the world. Heaven is not a vacuum but is as full as the universe itself — once we realize it and make it real for ourselves.
Beyond the Final Frontier: a Cosmic Story
As humanity evolves, it's collective consciousness becomes one. As a functioning group soul, we travel consciously throughout the galaxy. Our consciousness hovers around other planets that are in the process of evolving. We project our consciousness into promising individuals there; they channel us. We provide inspired information to their prophets. Or, we incarnate into their life forms. They evolve to the point that we have, and then they too begin their journey through the universe.
Ultimately, the entire universe awakens. God, in all His forms, sees through all the veils and remembers everything. God says, "Ah, game over," and the universe vanishes in a divine puff of completion, until the next game begins.
