Once upon a time in a village lived seven blind men. One day they heard of a strange animal called an elephant that had been brought to their village. They were not aware of its shape and form and how it looked. However, they had a lot of curiosity to touch and feel the animal, to know how it looked.
So, they sought it out and went to the place where the elephant was kept. Each of the blind men touched different parts of the animal.
In the case of the first person, whose hand landed on the trunk, said “This being is like a thick snake”.
The second one whose hand reached its ear, to him it seemed like a kind of fan.
As for another person, whose hand was upon its leg, said, the elephant is like a pillar or tree-trunk.
The blind man who placed his hand upon its side said, “elephant is like a wall”.
While another who felt its tail described it as a rope.
The last felt its tusk, stating the elephant is that which is hard, smooth, and is like a spear.
Each one started to shout and describe how the elephant looked. Soon quarrel broke out between them each sticking to his stand. A monk who was passing by heard the noise and stopped to enquire what the matter was. Each of the blind men started to describe their version of what the elephant looked like. The monk asked them to calm down and said each of you is right but only partially. If you want to know how the elephant looked actually, you need to put all the parts together.
Wisdom Bite
This is an ancient Jain story beautifully conveying the principle of “Anekantvaad” or the principle of Multiple Views. Truth has multiple dimensions based on context from where one is seeing. We are often blinded by our point of view and believe that we are right while disregarding the other person’s perspective. This gives rise to conflicts, disagreements, and resentment. By keeping and adapting this simple principle of Anekantvaad in mind, we can avoid unnecessary conflicts. It will help us:
- respect other’s point of view
- develop more empathy,
- become a better human being
If the world embraces this, we will have heaven on earth.
Additional Reading: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anekantavada
