Hello again! I decided to take a break from blogging for most of July and August, because I was working two jobs and it was just too busy. But now I have a whole lot of free time before classes begin again in September, so I'm starting it up again.
The other day I was considering how one person's idea of what is sensical and logical may differ from another person's, yet so often we tend to think that there can only be one logical, sensical answer. This made me think back to a very old parable I'd once heard, called "The Blind Men and the Elephant". I first heard of this story, which is used to illustrate the relativity of truth, or the inexpressible nature of truth, in my World Religions class a few years ago. The story originated in India, but there are many different versions - Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, Sufi Muslim; and apparently there is even an African version. Here is one version of the parable:
One day a wise and mighty rajah was sitting at his window contemplating the vastness of his view, when his son came to him.
“Father, what is the truth of things?” the young boy asked his father.
“A wonderful question!” the rajah said with delight, for he was well pleased that his son was searching. “I will try to guide you to your answer.”
He commanded his royal elephant to be brought forth. Outside the palace the father and son mounted the elephant and proceeded to the market place.
“Bring me three blind men”, the rajah commanded. Three blind men were brought forth.
“Allow the blind men to examine the elephant”, the rajah commanded.
Now the blind men had never known of an elephant and were excited to feel one for the first time in all their poor lives. One found his way to the elephant’s tusk, another at its leg and the last at its tail.
When the three had finished the Rajah asked the blind men, “Describe the elephant to my son, that he might learn.”
“Oh noble Rajah, it is like a spear”, said the blind man who examined only the tusk.
“Oh noble Rajah, he is quite wrong, it is like a tree”, said the blind man who examined only the leg.
“Most noble Rajah, they are both wrong, the elephant is like a rope” said the blind man who only examined the tail.
At this the three blind men began to bicker amongst themselves, each telling the others why he alone was right.
“Do you see it, my son?” the rajah said holding his son, while pointing at the three blind men. “The elephant is like the truth of all things and we are like the blind men.”
Now, in all the different versions, the premise is the same - three or six blind men touch an elephant and each say that it is like something different. However, the versions differ in their conclusions. In the version from the Jain scriptures, the six blind men bicker at each other, until a wise men arrives and tells them that they are all right, for, "each one of you touched the different part of the elephant. So, actually the elephant has all those features what you all said." So, for Jainism, this story is used to illustrate that truth can be expressed in many different ways. In fact, in Jainism, it is believed that the truth can be stated in seven different ways (!). This concept is called Anekantvad, or the theory of Manifold Predictions.
In the Buddhist version, which occurs in Udana 68-69, the Buddha tells the arguing blind men that it is because of their ignorance - seeing only one side/perspective - that they are being quarrlesome.
So, as you can see, just as their are many ways for the blind men to interpret the elephant, there are many different ways to interpret this parable! It can definitely be used as a valuable example of the importance of not just sticking to one's own point of view, but considering the perspectives and opinions of others as well. However, it can also be used to describe religions in general. The blind men could symbolize all the religions of the world, and the elephant is God/the divine/ultimate reality. All religions - Hinduism, Christianity, Islam etc - can somewhat interpret what God is like, but none of them can fully grasp God/the divine in its entirity. As Ramakrishna, the 19th century Hindu mystic said, "he who has seen the Lord in a particular way limits the Lord to that alone and thinks that He is nothing else."
But, what I've also realized, is that someone could come along and say that their religion is the man who can see the elephant in its entirity, and so all the other religions are wrong (or only partly correct)! And indeed, while searching the web for different versions of this parable, I did see a number of websites that used this parable to say their belief was right. I believe that this defeats the point of the story, but anyways...
“Father, what is the truth of things?” the young boy asked his father.
“A wonderful question!” the rajah said with delight, for he was well pleased that his son was searching. “I will try to guide you to your answer.”
He commanded his royal elephant to be brought forth. Outside the palace the father and son mounted the elephant and proceeded to the market place.
“Bring me three blind men”, the rajah commanded. Three blind men were brought forth.
“Allow the blind men to examine the elephant”, the rajah commanded.
Now the blind men had never known of an elephant and were excited to feel one for the first time in all their poor lives. One found his way to the elephant’s tusk, another at its leg and the last at its tail.
When the three had finished the Rajah asked the blind men, “Describe the elephant to my son, that he might learn.”
“Oh noble Rajah, it is like a spear”, said the blind man who examined only the tusk.
“Oh noble Rajah, he is quite wrong, it is like a tree”, said the blind man who examined only the leg.
“Most noble Rajah, they are both wrong, the elephant is like a rope” said the blind man who only examined the tail.
At this the three blind men began to bicker amongst themselves, each telling the others why he alone was right.
“Do you see it, my son?” the rajah said holding his son, while pointing at the three blind men. “The elephant is like the truth of all things and we are like the blind men.”
Now, in all the different versions, the premise is the same - three or six blind men touch an elephant and each say that it is like something different. However, the versions differ in their conclusions. In the version from the Jain scriptures, the six blind men bicker at each other, until a wise men arrives and tells them that they are all right, for, "each one of you touched the different part of the elephant. So, actually the elephant has all those features what you all said." So, for Jainism, this story is used to illustrate that truth can be expressed in many different ways. In fact, in Jainism, it is believed that the truth can be stated in seven different ways (!). This concept is called Anekantvad, or the theory of Manifold Predictions.
In the Buddhist version, which occurs in Udana 68-69, the Buddha tells the arguing blind men that it is because of their ignorance - seeing only one side/perspective - that they are being quarrlesome.
So, as you can see, just as their are many ways for the blind men to interpret the elephant, there are many different ways to interpret this parable! It can definitely be used as a valuable example of the importance of not just sticking to one's own point of view, but considering the perspectives and opinions of others as well. However, it can also be used to describe religions in general. The blind men could symbolize all the religions of the world, and the elephant is God/the divine/ultimate reality. All religions - Hinduism, Christianity, Islam etc - can somewhat interpret what God is like, but none of them can fully grasp God/the divine in its entirity. As Ramakrishna, the 19th century Hindu mystic said, "he who has seen the Lord in a particular way limits the Lord to that alone and thinks that He is nothing else."
But, what I've also realized, is that someone could come along and say that their religion is the man who can see the elephant in its entirity, and so all the other religions are wrong (or only partly correct)! And indeed, while searching the web for different versions of this parable, I did see a number of websites that used this parable to say their belief was right. I believe that this defeats the point of the story, but anyways...
Nonetheless, I think this parable can be valuable in showing the importance of being sensitive to other other's perspectives, points of view, and beliefs.
Parable taken from: http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/5793531-the-story-of-the-three-blind-men-and-the-elephant
Jain version: http://www.jainworld.com/education/stories25.asp
Buddhist version: http://www.cs.princeton.edu/~rywang/berkeley/258/parable.html
