"Opinion is the medium between knowledge and ignorance" - Plato.
The Details from the Story
All of them have clues as to what the real thing is. The first man spoke what they felt for him, and he said it was a wall because what it touched was the elephant's large body.
The second blind man tried and told them to be careful because he thought it was a snake because he had touched the elephant's trunk.
Now, the third was on the back of the elephant, and it touched the tail, so he said the two were wrong because it was a rope for him.
The fourth spoke up and said the three were wrong because he thought they had four trees in front of them after touching the elephant's legs.
The fifth man slowly went to the front to touch the elephant. He was right in holding the elephant's tusks, so he said that he was holding swords.
The sixth or last one was just scratching his head. He is arguably the smartest of the six. He really knows what he knows and accepts what he does not know.
They only found out that they were referring to an elephant when the zookeeper arrived.
She says:
"You're all right. This elephant seems different to each of you. And the only way to know what it really is is to do precisely what the others did. By sharing what each of you knows. yours can lead to understanding the real thing. "
The six immediately agreed with the zoo's wisdom.
Deciphering the Moral of the Story
Being blind is not just about not being able to see. It can also be said that sometimes, there are people who can see but are blind to the truth.
The limit of knowledge is something that is not enough to just believe a whole thing. Every experience of a particular object will help make everything clear and see the entire picture not solely based on a single aspect or direction.
It is said that in English, people are easily deceived by what they know. Sometimes less, sometimes too much.
Impact of the Moral of the Story to One's Self
The world is full of opinions, and one must be willing to open an ear and mind before jumping to a conclusion. This lesson can be applied to oneself to learn many things and learn to give way to listen to each other's thoughts. Do not immediately judge or ridicule others, especially in accepting our own opinions.
Individual misconceptions can separate the world. So always open the mind and your eyes, because not everything you see and know is just the real thing. Your perception may be different from the perception of others.
God created man with two eyes so that we can see the whole thing, not just one part, a proof that it explains that there is more than one way to understand and interpret things in the world.
How can you relate the story to self-course understanding?
I can relate the story to all individuals, especially the present. Even though we now live in a world where many are narrow-minded, that even if you do nothing wrong, you will still be made up of stories, criticized, and gossiped about.
In fact, we have the freedom or capacity to speak. However, this sometimes leads to quarrels and misunderstandings because of our own broad views.
For example, for the number, maybe the number you think 9 is 6 for me. In the story, the six blind sons are correct in their view because the bases are just different parts of the whole elephant. Sometimes, it is necessary to broaden the mind, listen, and compare observations before jumping to conclusions. Do not merely believe what can we feel about something.
Based on: The Story of the Six Blind Men
A renowned fable from India. Modernized and re-told by Phil Shapiro
That is all for now, thank you!
I have read that story, too! :)