This point he makes is regarding the reality of spirituality and why it need not be taken on faith; he says that the experiences of Buddha, Jesus and other sages and prophets are in agreement with each other with things like loving ones neighbor as yourself. These agreements transcend the religions which spawned in their wake, they agree with each other despite the irreconcilable differences and hatred of one another.
Well there was an awakening if you want to call it that about 500 BC when the writings of Greek philosophers such as Plato and also ConfucIus and the teachings of Bhudda reflect that people were discussing treating strangers well and being just in dealing with slaves and people from other nations. See the 'Golden Rule' and particularly notice how Confucius used it 500 years before Jesus. Why across the world people decided to suddenly start using ethics in dealing with their fellow man we don't know.
If you look at scientific discoveries you will find something similar. Usually two or three people were working on the same project before a discovery was made, in different parts of the world, long before the Internet or even telephones.