Ancient Indian Stories: The Blind Men And The Elephant

The Blind Men and the Elephant is a beautiful ancient parable to help you understand your relationship to life a little more. It comes from the Hindu tradition though it was used in Jainism and Buddhism, too. Plus, we also take a line from Rigveda to help you absorb it further. Hope you enjoy this one. Please share if you do! Kindest, Jim Rajan

Transcript

The story of the blind men and the elephant.

Many,

Many years ago,

Before this time,

When all things still grew in freedom and the sun was yet to find its true place in the sky,

A holy man would walk the land,

Sharing the following parable.

A group of blind men heard that a strange mythical animal called an elephant had been brought to the town,

But none of them were aware of its shape or form.

Out of curiosity,

They said,

We must inspect and know it by touch.

Of that we are capable.

So they sought it out,

And when they found it,

They touched and felt about this great beast.

The first person,

Whose hand landed on the trunk,

Said,

This being is like a thick snake,

Winding and curling around my arm.

For another one,

Whose hand reached its ear,

It seemed like a kind of fan that might keep an emperor cool.

As for another person,

Whose hand was upon its leg,

Said,

The elephant is a pillar,

Like the trunk of a great tree.

What fruit it must bear!

The blind man,

Who placed his hand upon its side,

Said,

The elephant is a wall,

Solid and immovable.

Another,

Who felt its tail,

Described it as a soft rope you might use as a belt.

The last felt its tusk,

Stating,

The elephant is that which is hard,

Smooth,

And like a warrior's spear.

The blind men began to disagree and argue with each other over who was telling the truth,

And they came to blows.

They fought tooth and nail over what each thought was right.

The Rig Veda,

The ancient Hindu text,

States,

Reality is one,

Though wise men speak of it variously.

Reality is subject to interpretation.

One's own interpretation of a situation or event will inevitably be different from that of somebody else experiencing the same thing,

Including that which cannot be seen or heard or touched.

Therefore,

While we must question everything and learn the paths life lays for us,

There will always be the unseen universal truth that is outside of our capability to comprehend.

In totality,

To look briefly in through the door of the castle tells you nothing of how well it is defended,

But to hug the elephant in the hope of feeling its heart is another story.

Altogether,

Thank you.

Reviews

A wonderful telling a story I already knew with more details.

Wonderful tale Jim. Thank you for sharing.
🙏🏽💐🪷🦋🪴🪶🐾🕊️🌷🐘🐘🦯🧑🏼‍🦯

Beautifully told, Jim! This is such a good lesson in life. ♥️

I love these short stories! So much to contemplate…namaste 🙏💗🦋

What a wise story to tell us that ´The map in your mind is not the reality’ ……

Thank you 🙏🏻💫🌻🤍

This story really moved me it’s somewhere in my back memory I think I’ve heard this story before