Am I Blind?

Hello Fellas! Yas..Happy Tuesday to all. I'm back now. Sorry, I am busy for this past days trying to adjust my class schedule. How's your day? I will read your articles later. I already miss writing and reading at the same time.

This morning, a question come up to my mind "Am I Blind?" . If I'm blind, how could I write? hahaha. Hmmmm. Actually, I can say that to myself because, sometimes, what we see or belief is not the truth or reality. We are become blinds in terms of something that we wanted or believe. We have many questions that bothered to our mind.

Do you know the story "The Blind Men and the Elephant"? . This story was given by our teacher. Try to read this and reflect.

The Blind Men and the Elephant

by: Srila Bhaktisuddhant Sarasvati Thakur

Long ago six old men lived in a village in India. Each was born blind. The other villagers loved the old men and kept them away from harm. Since the blind men could not see the world for themselves, they had to imagine many of its wonders. They listened carefully to the stories told by travelers to learn what they could about life outside the village.

The men were curious about many of the stories they heard, but they were most curious about elephants. They were told that elephants could trample forests, carry huge burdens, and frighten young and old with their loud trumpet calls. But they also knew that the Rajah's daughter rode an elephant when she traveled in her father's kingdom. Would the Rajah let his daughter get near such a dangerous creature?

The old men argued day and night about elephants. "An elephant must be a powerful giant," claimed the first blind man. He had heard stories about elephants being used to clear forests and build roads.

"No, you must be wrong," argued the second blind man. "An elephant must be graceful and gentle if a princess is to ride on its back."

"You're wrong! I have heard that an elephant can pierce a man's heart with its terrible horn," said the third blind man.

"Please," said the fourth blind man. "You are all mistaken. An elephant is nothing more than a large sort of cow. You know how people exaggerate."

"I am sure that an elephant is something magical," said the fifth blind man. "That would explain why the Rajah's daughter can travel safely throughout the kingdom."

"I don't believe elephants exist at all," declared the sixth blind man. "I think we are the victims of a cruel joke."

Finally, the villagers grew tired of all the arguments, and they arranged for the curious men to visit the palace of the Rajah to learn the truth about elephants. A young boy from their village was selected to guide the blind men on their journey. The smallest man put his hand on the boy's shoulder. The second blind man put his hand on his friend's shoulder, and so on until all six men were ready to walk safely behind the boy who would lead them to the Rajah's magnificent palace.

When the blind men reached the palace, they were greeted by an old friend from their village who worked as a gardener on the palace grounds. Their friend led them to the courtyard. There stood an elephant. The blind men stepped forward to touch the creature that was the subject of so many arguments.

The first blind man reached out and touched the side of the huge animal. "An elephant is smooth and solid like a wall!" he declared. "It must be very powerful."

The second blind man put his hand on the elephant's limber trunk. "An elephant is like a giant snake," he announced.

The third blind man felt the elephant's pointed tusk. "I was right," he decided. "This creature is as sharp and deadly as a spear."

The fourth blind man touched one of the elephant's four legs. "What we have here," he said, "is an extremely large cow."

The fifth blind man felt the elephant's giant ear. "I believe an elephant is like a huge fan or maybe a magic carpet that can fly over mountains and treetops," he said.

The sixth blind man gave a tug on the elephant's coarse tail. "Why, this is nothing more than a piece of old rope. Dangerous, indeed," he scoffed.

The gardener led his friends to the shade of a tree. "Sit here and rest for the long journey home," he said. "I will bring you some water to drink."

While they waited, the six blind men talked about the elephant.

"An elephant is like a wall," said the first blind man. "Surely we can finally agree on that."

"A wall? An elephant is a giant snake!" answered the second blind man.

"It's a spear, I tell you," insisted the third blind man. "I'm certain it's a giant cow," said the fourth blind man.

"Magic carpet. There's no doubt," said the fifth blind man.

"Don't you see?" pleaded the sixth blind man. "Someone used a rope to trick us." Their argument continued and their shouts grew louder and louder.

"Wall!" "Snake!" "Spear!" "Cow!" "Carpet!" "Rope!"

"Stop shouting!" called a very angry voice.

It was the Rajah, awakened from his nap by the noisy argument.

"How can each of you be so certain you are right?" asked the ruler.

The six blind men considered the question. And then, knowing the Rajah to be a very wise man, they decided to say nothing at all.

"The elephant is a very large animal," said the Rajah kindly. "Each man touched only one part. Perhaps if you put the parts together, you will see the truth. Now, let me finish my nap in peace."

When their friend returned to the garden with the cool water, the six men rested quietly in the shade, thinking about the Rajah's advice.

"He is right," said the first blind man. "To learn the truth, we must put all the parts together. Let's discuss this on the journey home."

The first blind man put his hand on the shoulder of the young boy who would guide them home. The second blind man put a hand on his friend's shoulder, and so on until all six men were ready to travel together.

What have you learned there? Is there any reflection or realization out from the story? (Comment it later)

In my own understanding, from the story above. It is just like a Philosophy. Do you know what is Philosophy? It has something to do in asking or seeking the truth.

It is the ability to separate truth from error and reality from illusion. All of us have different views and beliefs in life. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Sometimes, we become blind on what we see or what we believed. Right? Love of wisdom is a person who love philosophy, a person who want to know the reality or the truth. It was seeking a knowledge from all things the way it really was as the things appears to be.

In the story, the blind men trying to know the truth about elephant, so in their way to Rajah who knows about this animal, they tried to guess the appearance of the elephant by holding each one of the body parts of the elephant.

In our life or day-to-day experiences, the love of wisdom is the truth that we earned because, we are awash in a sea of knowledge. Sometimes, we just believed in one sided observation of what we see. We are told every day what we want, what we need, and what we do. When Rajah said that, "Each man touched only one part. Perhaps if you put the parts together, you will see the truth”. Just like in Philosophy, we need to seek deeper to know the truth.

Sometimes, we asked ourselves, our parents, classmates and friends about their knowledge about a certain thing or questions. Or even today, in our group projects, we discuss and put all the ideas of each other. Because, “to learn the truth, we must put all the parts together”.

In our life, not all we know are the truth. Not all we believe are reality. But, we are seeking and seeking the truth behind the blindness that we have. We become blind and take a risk. Minsan, kahit nasa harapan na natin ang sagot, pero nabubulag pa din tayo.

Now.... What area makes you blind? What are the things you always asked to yourself? What are the things you wanted to know?

Thank you for reading my article. Cheer me up na di tamarin. hehehe. Wala kasing nag momotivate. Charot.

@Lunah