Just thought that some time spent listening to this poem
might clarify things and improve the discussion efficiency
here.
:).
"The Blind Men and the Elephant" by John G. Saxe (poetry
reading)[link]:
Blind Men and the Elephant – A Poem by John Godfrey
Saxe
Here is John Godfrey Saxe’s (1816-1887) version
of Blind
Men and the Elephant:
It was six men of Indostan,
To learning much inclined,
Who went to see the Elephant,
(Though all of them were
blind),
That each by observation,
Might satisfy his mind.
The First approach'd
the Elephant,
And happening to fall
Against his broad and sturdy side,
At once began to bawl:
"God bless me! but the Elephant,
Is very like a wall!"
The Second,
feeling of the tusk,
Cried, -"Ho! what have we here
So very round and smooth and sharp?
To me 'tis mighty clear,
This wonder of an Elephant-
Is very like a spear!"
The Third approach'd
the animal,
And happening to take
The squirming trunk within his hands,
Thus boldly up and spake:
"I see," -quoth he- "the Elephant-
Is very like a snake!"
The Fourth reached
out an eager hand,
And felt about the knee:
"What most this wondrous beast is like
Is mighty plain," -quoth he,-
"'Tis clear enough the Elephant:
Is very like a tree!"
The Fifth,
who chanced to touch the ear,
Said- "E'en the blindest man
Can tell what this resembles most;
Deny the fact who can,
This marvel of an Elephant:
Is very like a fan!"
The Sixth no
sooner had begun,
About the beast to grope,
Then, seizing on the swinging tail,
That fell within his scope,
"I see," -quoth he,- "the Elephant-
Is very like a rope!"
And so these men of Indostan,
Disputed loud and long,
Each in his own opinion,
Exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was partly in the right, -
And all were in the wrong!
MORAL,
So, oft in theologic wars ,
The disputants, I ween,
Rail on in utter ignorance :
Of what each other mean;
And prate about an Elephant : Not one of them has seen!
Thanks for sharing the poem. Versions of this often come up in
discussions of religions, to suggest that either all are wrong or
that people are entitled to their own religions as all are
worshipping the same "god". This analogy actually came up earlier
and I did give a challenge to readers if they can find the flaw in
the analogy. No one actually came forward. But I will let the cat
out.
What almost all people missed in this
analogy is that there is at least ONE person who knows the
truth and who is not blind, the NARRATOR himself. He knows what the
elephant is and looked like, even though the others are blind. What
this suggests again is that truth is OBJECTIVE, the blind men were
all WRONG about their beliefs about the elephant.
Applying this analogy to the real world of discussions on
religion, on what basis does anyone say that all who are religious
are as blind as the blind men in the analogy?
