Farmers of Goodwill

DISCLAIMER : THIS POST IS NOT MEANT TO OFFEND. IF IT DOES, IT SOLELY DUE TO YOUR PERCEPTION, NOT MY WRITING!!!

Of all God-men, messaihs, and sons of Gods, why did Jesus or Mohammad or Buddha succeed where others failed? At any given moment of time in history of man-kind, one is sure to find God-men prowling the earth, trying to deliver emancipation and "heaven" to men and other such sorry creatures.

What made Moses, Jesus, Buddha and Mohammed stand-out? They were great, no doubt. But why only these men, appearing in different points of time, succeed and not others? Interestingly, God apparently discriminates against women, and only sends sons to save the earth. Or could it be that daughters of God are too good to cleanse the sins of men?

Moses, the Biblical figure, is the founder of montheism, a huge revolution in religious world, where paganism and polytheism ruled. Moses, the historical figure, is a renegade priest of Egypt (as documented by Eyptians and Romans).Buddha was a prince who wanted to find the cause of suffering and renounced worldy possessions in the process. Jesus was a shepard's son and a carpenter. Mohamad was a merchant. Nothing special about their occupations at least. Lets examine their deaths, apart from Jesus, who was crucified, all others died a natural death. Nothing special here too. Lets examine their life and preachings. The preachings of the Moses, Jesus and Mohamad derive from the same philosophical background and the concept of judgement day. Buddhism is slightly different, its more a philosophy and way of life (derived from Hindu roots).

The simple fact is, these men, though undoubtedly great, didn't create a legacy. The legacy, rather, was created by immediate generations following these men. The immediate generations following the prophets, farmed the goodwill like crops to create powerful empires. These followers were shrewd, politically tactile and nimble. And they have left a lasting legacy (though not associated to them, which is a part of their genius). An individual man is a sane reasonable being but a mob is stupid and can be ruled. And when one knows how to rule the mob, and in turn, each individual of the mob/state, one creates a legacy called religion - a great industry to make money and control minds. Didnt someone say religion is the opium of masses?

To Inspire...To Lead

My goodness! Zinadine Zindane!

Collectivism is a myth! I dont believe in it. I believe strongly in individualism, to such a level that Ayn Rand might be ashamed. I believe in the power of individual men not just to change the world, but also leave a lasting legacy.

But individualist, at times, seem to take a backseat. If you had watched Zindane directing traffic(every match might be his last), at 34, and making Brazil look lesser than mere mortals; more like flies to be swatted and little less than mere annoyance is a wonderful ode not only to individualism, but also to collectivism. An individual who inspires collectivism, without ever being aware of it is the greatest of all - One who plays the drama of life for his own sake, yet inspires others.

Gandhi, had he been born, 2000 years back might have supplanted Jesus. These men, are idealists. Gandhi was not like Jesus, because he discriminated and compromised, with Jinnah, a collectivist, a wile-creature, who, just like the Brits, divided and conquered, for the sake of power, money and ignomy in history.

But in the end, even independent, "moderate", self-righteous men, are moved by idealists. Take the likes of Bush, one who truly believes that democracy must reach one and all, and sacrifices his nation's finest young men to do so. As long as such individualist and idealist thrive, who inspire the world inspite of their single-minded self-love and idealism, the world will be much better place. A place, where lesser-willed men will be herded, slaughtered, but most importantly create a better world for their own good.