Sufi Story – Blind Men & Elephant

The story of the blind men and an elephant originated in India (Pali Buddhist Udana) from where it is widely diffused. It has been used to illustrate a range of truths and fallacies. At various times it has provided insight into the relativity, opaqueness or inexpressible nature of truth, the behaviour of experts in fields where there is a defecit or inaccessibility of information, the need for communication, and respect for different perspectives.

There are many versions of the parable and differences are mainly in regard to what body part is touched and described, here a common denominator;  a group of blind sages (or men in the dark) touch an elephant to learn what an elephant is like. Each one feels a different part, but only that one part, such as the tail or the trunk. They then compare notes and learn that they are in complete disagreement.

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And so these men of Hindustan
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.

John Godfrey Saxe

 How can anyone describe the whole until he has learned the total of the parts.

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The key to understanding the meaning of the parable is in how to form a more complete view. We should not mistake the part for the whole and keep an open mind in considering other points of view.

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“Blind monks examining an elephant” by Itcho Hanabusa 1888

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Made famous by the great Sufi master Jalal ud-din-i Rumi (1207-1273 c.e.) in his Mathnawi of Jalalu’ ddin Rumi, Translated by Coleman Barks in his book “The Essential Rumi” (1985).

The lamp and the wick change
but the light’s the same
See the light within the flame

Some Hindus brought an elephant to exhibit
They kept it in a dark house
People went in and out
They couldn’t see anything,
they felt with their hands

One person touched the trunk -
“it’s like a downspout”
One, an ear, “more like a fan”
One, the leg, “I find it round
and solid like the column on a temple”
One touches the back – “an enormous throne”
One says “straight”, another “crooked”

If each had a candle and they went in together
The differences would disappear

The lamp and the wick change
but the light’s the same
See the light within the flame

It is limited in it’s perception

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The same parable revived in the 19th Century by the poet John Godfrey Saxe who created his own version of the poem;

The blind men and an elephant by John Godfrey Saxe (1816-1887)

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 approached 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 approached 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,
Than 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!