“Are we witnessing the second coming of the Buddha?” asked Stephen Colbert in the opening tease of Monday night’s Report. “I’ll believe it when I see it in my grilled cheese sandwich.”

So, Nation, what was it that Colbert was talking about? A run-down and video follow.Well, one of the most recent recipients of the “Colbert Bump” was author and food-and-democracy activist Raj Patel, who, it seems, fits the profile for Maitreya, the second coming of Buddha — at least as prophesied by Benjamin Creme of SHARE International. (You can easily Google Creme and his organization for more info, but you might think it telling, for example, that he strongly contended that crop circles — long known now to be hoaxes — are irrefutable evidence of UFOs.)

Creme had said in the past that his Maitreya — actually more a one-size-fits-all religious leader, rather than the specific future Buddha that is spoken of in some Buddhist legend and doctrine — would fit several criteria: he would be dark-skinned, born in 1972, would have traveled to London in 1977, and would sometimes speak with a stutter. All of this can, if fact, be said about Patel. That is, if you are willing to consider that Patel “tripped over a few words” on his recent Colbert Report appearance (as reported by the New York Times, and championed by Creme’s followers) amounts to him actually having a stutter.

Colbert, of course, delighted in uncovering the Prophesied One: “I’m not just a king-maker, I’m a god-maker!” And, of course, he had Patel on the show tonight. Patel denied that he is Maitreya. Conveniently, this was another of Creme’s criteria.

Though enjoying himself, Patel smartly said that what our religious energy would be best put to use by not following leaders. “We should think for ourselves… asking, Why is there poverty? Why is there hunger?”

He may not be the future Buddha, but hey, at least Patel understands what really matters.

Here’s the video: