The Blind Men and the Elephant

By John Godfrey Saxe

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!

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!

This poem describes one of the more important aspects of the Jain religion- Anekantavada, or non-absolutism. Actually it has some shortcomings, as a Jain would not say that all the blind men were partly right but all wrong. Rather they were all partly right and partly wrong. Also it is not so much that we “prate about an Elephant not one of them has seen,” but that we only see certain parts of the elephant, and therefore attain certain aspects of the truth, but none of us have know the whole thing.

Part of the Jain philosophy is acknowledging that any substance or any idea can be viewed from different yet equally valid standpoints. As the founder of Jainism, Mahavira observed, something can be said to exist, to not exist, or to be indescribable. Everything can be described with a combination of these three predicates. For example a bucket can be blue, existing as blue, and therefore not existing as white. Therefore all things are infinitely describable of existing in some ways, while not existing in others, and being in some ways indescribable. The only misleading thing one can say about an idea or substance is that it does exist or that it must exist, to the exclusion of all other possibilities. Jainism sees dogmatism as something to be avoided, and shies away from absolute statements. Since there are many ways to see the elephant, it makes no sense to claim that one way, and only one way, is the truth.

Critics have been quick to point out one seemingly inescapable consequence of this relativist view- that a philosophy that posits the truth of every point of view cannot be absolutely true itself. Jain relativism seems self defeating, it has a dogmatic view against dogmaticism.

But to this I would reply that Jains don’t take anekantavada dogmatically. They are open to refutation and every Jain is urged to consider and meditate on the main principles of their religion; not only for their personal, spiritual growth, but to ensure that they understand and agree with them. The Jains seem to remember those simple words that many religions often forget- “We could be wrong.”

Many religions fake this kind of relativistic approach. I once talked with some Catholics about their view on Christianity. Although they said that there are many ways to be virtuous and spiritual, whether you are Buddhist, Shinto, Hinu, or Jain, you will wind up in Heaven, judged by God and His Son. Jainism not only sees every view as appropriate and correct, but in the Navkar Mantra, the basic prayer of Jainism, they are called to bow to every congregation and every spiritual practitioner.

The Year of Faith could also be well illustrated by Saxe’s poem. It is as if we are switching between the perspectives of each blind man as they try to discover the nature of the elephant. Through each set of hands we get a different taste of how thousands, even millions, of people see the world. At the end of this Year I am certain we will all be more tolerant of other people’s perspectives, and it is reassuring to see it stated so explicitly in a system of belief often seen as ignorant and blind. I will be sure to remember the importance of anekantavada as I leave Jainism behind.