Monkeys

Blind Men and an Elephant

The story of the blind men and an elephant is over two thousand years old and comes to us in many different variations. While originating in early Buddhist India, the story is also found in Sufi and Islamic lore, eventually founding it's way into Western culture in the 19th century. The story has many versions with different outcomes and many possible interpretations, but I recently stumbled upon the one I like the most and it goes like this:

Somewhere remote in the mountains of India there was a village where only blind men lived. One day a king and his caravan arrived and camped near the village on their way trough the mountain pass. When the blind inhabitants of the village heard there was an elephant in the caravan, they wanted to know what this animal that they never had heard about before was like. So they sent three of the blind men to ask the king to allow them to feel the elephant. The king brought the three blind men to the elephant and they each touched the gentle giant.

The three men returned to the eager villagers, who were anxious to hear their stories. The first blind man, who touched the elephant's leg, said: "The elephant is like a big sturdy tree trunk with rough hair." The second blind man, who touched the elephant's ear, said: "No, the elephant is like a thick and tender rug with soft skin". The third blind man, who touched the elephant's trunk, said: "But no, the elephant is like a hollow water pipe." The three men couldn't come to an agreement, and soon enough the rest of the blind villagers started to take sides. They shouted and argued, and pretty soon fists started to be thrown and a fight erupted. After a while they settled down and decided to send the three wisest elders of the village to inspect the elephant and settle this issue once and for all.

By the time the elders got to the king's camp site, the caravan had already departed.

Lake Geneva

Route des Grandes Alpes

Rasnov

Alquezar

Gorges du Verdon

Andalucia - part 1

 

Stay tuned