This May be the Moment

This may be the moment,
This may be the place
for enlightenment to dawn…
 

In the pink of his youth
Gautam left home to be Buddha,
At thirty Jesus carried the burden of the cross
by forgiveness to fill the potholes of enmity
and Prophet Mohammad when forty
discovered the light of kindness and pity!
 

At the end of a fierce war
the Emperor from Pataliputra
resting on the hilltop
in spite of his historic triumph
the moment of glory
he could hardly celebrate
 

A cloud of guilt overcast his mind…
Thousands lie cold and dead,
wounded and bruised
an equal number was fighting to survive;
The victorious emperor wondered,
‘Is it a win or a defeat?
Have I not committed a crime
against the humanity?’
 

In the veil of that darkness,
the king saw the flicker of a small lamp,
a frail figure with a kind heart
was giving in drips drops of water
in the mouths of the wounded
to quench their thirst and bring back to life.
 

‘I took life, spilled blood
and the little man with drops of water
is infusing it… how godly and how nobler!
The sage bent with age is the real winner.’
 

That was the moment on the hill top,
accepting self defeat when the mighty king
discarded his cruel heart, changed his path
to spread love and peace across the earth…