The Elephant and Blind Men Parable

This is the story of the blind men and an elephant. The original source of this story is debated and has been attributed to the Sufis, Jainists, Buddhists, or Hindus. There is also a 19th Century poem by John Godfrey Saxe. I've used the Buddhist version to illustrate the parable.

Whenever a person talks about absolute truth, this pluralistic story usually comes up in the conversation.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• blind
• men
• elephant
• parable
• story
• moral
• lesson
• science
• relativism
• pluralism
• philosophy
• life
• theology
• religion

[grandconjunct]

But as the wise master Vox Day says "Just be sure you are not the blind man with his head stuck up the Elephants rectum." ; )

[jeeninow]

The author misses the point of the parable. It is not a parable about ultimate truth and who has it, in fact, that is the point the parable tries to make is that there are multiple "truths" and points of view and we need each other to make a complete, if imperfect whole.

[Khalsabychoice]

@kcdad2806 Amen Brother! Amen!

[Khalsabychoice]

@jefthe7 Find a better video.

[Khalsabychoice]

This is precisely why I left the catholic church. You Christians always putting your own spin on things. "Let's take a Buddhist parable and pick it apart so it seems stupid and we are the 'RIGHT' ones" Big Deal, you can sit there and pick apart any religion to the point that it looses all its meaning. And who is really benefiting from that? This story is saying NOBODY has ANY BETTER Idea about life, reality, and Death, than you yourself. We are all mortals, none has perception greater than other

[Pukutusi]

The parable is exactly about the possibility of a clearer, broader view of "reality". The king/raja represents a sage, a rishi. All religions assume that some people has a clearer vision of the reality (they can be called rishis, saints, etc). If you believe that the elephant is a "basket" is like to believe that when we die we simply go to the grave. It's correct in part, but only in part. Too bad that the narrateur couldn't pick that up.

[gilbert4321]

The only way this parable works is if the story teller sees the elephant... This is parable is flawed.

[trencherpin]

@kcdad2806 Then why do you say the raja says they are all right and yet limited in their vision if He is NO ONE??

The raja sees better according to the parable becaue he knows its an elephant! The rest do not know that!!! so yes, that is better. sir, with all respect, its not chrsitians who are self centered hypocrites...truth corrseponds to reality, its not self centered or intolerant.

[trencherpin]

@kcdad2806 Then why do you say the raja says they are all right and yet limited in their vision if He is NO ONE??

[pompousprick]

That's sad, one of the blind men is also deaf.

[jefthe7]

is there a way that i can upload your video on a website? How could i get the rights for that? it is a community of techer students for learning English as a second language