A long time ago six old men lived in a village in India. Each was born blind. The other villagers loved the old men and kept them away from harm. Since the blind men could not see the world for themselves, they had to imagine many of its wonders. They listened carefully to the stories told by travelers to learn what they could about life outside the village.
The men were curious about many of the stories they heard, but they were most curious about elephants. They were told that elephants could trample forests, carry huge burdens, and frighten young and old with their loud trumpet calls. But they also knew that the Raja's daughter rode an elephant when she travelled in her father's kingdom. Would the Raja let his daughter get near such a dangerous creature?
The old men argued day and night about elephants. "An elephant must be a powerful giant," claimed the first blind man. He had heard stories about elephants being used to clear forests and build roads. "No, you must be wrong," argued the second blind man. "An elephant must be graceful and gentle if a princess is to ride on its back."
"You're wrong! I have heard that an elephant can pierce a man's heart with its terrible horn," said the third blind man. "Please," said the fourth blind man. "You are all mistaken. An elephant is nothing more than a large sort of cow. You know how people exaggerate." "I am sure that an elephant is something magical," said the fifth blind man. "That would explain why the Rajah's daughter can travel safely throughout the kingdom." "I don't believe elephants exist at all," declared the sixth blind man. "I think we are the victims of a cruel joke."
Finally, the villagers grew tired of all the arguments, and they arranged for the curious men to visit the palace of the Raja to learn the truth about elephants. A young boy from their village was selected to guide the blind men on their journey. The smallest man put his hand on the boy's shoulder. The second blind man put his hand on his friend's shoulder, and so on until all six men were ready to walk safely behind the boy who would lead them to the Raja's magnificent palace.
When the blind men reached the palace, they were greeted by an old friend from their village who worked as a gardener on the palace grounds. Their friend led them to the courtyard. There stood an elephant. The blind men stepped forward to touch the creature that was the subject of so many arguments.
The first blind man reached out and touched the side of the huge animal. "An elephant is smooth and solid like a wall!" he declared. "It must be very powerful."
The second blind man put his hand on the elephant's trunk. "An elephant is like a giant snake," he announced.
The third blind man felt the elephant's pointed tusk. "I was right," he decided. "This creature is as sharp and deadly as a spear." The fourth blind man touched one of the elephant's four legs. "What we have here," he said, "is an extremely large cow." The fifth blind man felt the elephant's giant ear. "I believe an elephant is like a huge fan or maybe a magic carpet that can fly over mountains and treetops," he said. The sixth blind man gave a tug on the elephant's coarse tail. "Why, this is nothing more than a piece of old rope. Dangerous, indeed," he scoffed.
The gardener led his friends to the shade of a tree. "Sit here and rest for the long journey home," he said. "I will bring you some water to drink."
While they waited, the six blind men talked about the elephant. "An elephant is like a wall," said the first blind man. "Surely we can finally agree on that." "A wall? An elephant is a giant snake!" answered the second blind man.
"It's a spear, I tell you," insisted the third blind man.
"I'm certain it's a giant cow," said the fourth blind man.
"Magic carpet. There's no doubt," said the fifth blind man.
"Don't you see?" pleaded the sixth blind man. "Someone used a rope to trick us."
Their argument continued and their shouts grew louder and louder.
"Wall!" "Snake!" "Spear!" "Cow!" "Carpet!" "Rope!"
"Stop shouting!" called a very angry voice.
It was the Raja, awakened from his nap by the noisy argument. "How can each of you be so certain you are right?" asked the ruler. The six blind men considered the question. And then, knowing the Rajah to be a very wise man, they decided to say nothing at all.
"The elephant is a very large animal," said the Raja kindly. "Each man touched only one part. Perhaps if you put the parts together, you will see the truth. Now, let me finish my nap in peace."
When their friend returned to the garden with the cool water, the six men rested quietly in the shade, thinking about the Raja's advice.
"He is right," said the first blind man. "To learn the truth, we must put all the parts together. Let's discuss this on the journey home." The first blind man put his hand on the shoulder of the young boy who would guide them home. The second blind man put a hand on his friend's shoulder, and so on until all six men were ready to travel together.
The END
The Learnings
1. Just like blind men do not have full vision and they experience the elephant only partially, Maya obscures our mind and our vision and we look at SELF (the indivisible whole) as various things like man, animal, God etc.
2. Because of ignorance and Maya, the SELF, which is unity, is being understood as various parts but that does not mean that the parts represent the SELF. Each blind man superimposes unique qualities to the part of that elephant that he has perceived. This story is a very good example of how incomplete understanding leads us to superimpose attributes/qualities on objects/situations which are actually not true. We also view the world based on our perception which we are holding in our minds!
3. Each blind man touches one part of the elephant and they relate the elephant to something which they have experienced earlier. All of us experience the world based on our past. We use our old Samskaras (experiences) to put attributes on our new Samskaras (anything new that we see/perceive). This chain continues and our life becomes a tree of ignorance.
4: As old men were unable to see the world, they imagined many things. That's how our mind works. We find it difficult to perceive things which are beyond our sense organs. The concept of God also registers in the mind of men with very different attributes.
5: The way old men were arguing about the nature of the elephant, it is how we argue about the nature of God! And this is how many sects and religions come into being. Alas, we do not have wise Raja to educate us about the unity of all things we see in one God.
6. The sense of sight given to the Raja here represents the light of the self. With the light of the self, everything becomes self-evident. The blind men discover that when we look at things in totality, we discover that there is no separateness but only one SELF (one indivisible reality)
STORY CREDIT: https://www.peacecorps.gov/educators/resources/story-blind-men-and-elephant/
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