Friday, August 26, 2005

Six men and an elephant - a Hindu parable

In Hinduism the six doctrines (six Darsanas) are like six different schools of thought and an early Hindu parable explains how the six Darsanas fit together. Imagine that six blindfolded men are examining an elephant. Each one of them is trying to identify what an elephant looks like by the particular part they examining - a leg, the trunk etc. So each of them has a different picture in their minds of what the elephant looks like. But, and here's the good bit, it's the same elephant.

It sounds like a great joke doesn't it - six Hindu's and an elephant walk into a bar...

9 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

The truly disturbing fact about this particular fable is that two of these blindfolded people will grab hold of something that feels like the elephant's trunk. One of them will be the trunk.

1:21 pm  
Blogger MC Etcher said...

I've always liked this parable!

I was gonna make a sex-related comment, but fbmg beat me to it.

2:46 am  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Sorry guvnah, I'm sure yours would have been funnier.

Give 'er a go.

8:37 am  
Blogger Blandwagon said...

Six Hindus and an elephant walk into a bar.

The barman takes one look at the elephant and cries, "Hey, what are you playing at? You can't drink in here!"

"Oh, it's alright," one of the Hindus says. "He's not Hindu. He's Presbyterian."



Thank you, thank you, I'll be here all week!

11:58 am  
Blogger Craig said...

I've always liked this particular story. It tells us something about varying perspective.

Unfortunately, I can't focus on that right now because it seems that Laziest Girl has deserted us.

4:34 am  
Blogger MC Etcher said...

:::sniffle:::

6:24 am  
Blogger L said...

I had a manager tell that parable in a meeting once. People started giggling like mad, because they kept thinking they'd start fondling the naughty bits I suppose. Dirty minds think alike, I suppose

12:20 pm  
Blogger bhattathiri said...

Practise Yoga and Meditation.
In the famous "Time" magazine the importance meditation and yoga, an ancient Indian system, is high-lighted that the ancient mind- and spirit-enhancing art is becoming increasingly popular and gaining medical legitimacy.

It is a multi billion dollar business in US. In many Universities it is accepted as subject and included in the Syllabus. In the latest famous book "Inspire! What Great Leaders Do" written by Mr.Lance Secretan recently published by John Wiley and sons, the benefit of meditation is elaborately described for good corporate governance.
By practising transcendental meditation, or TM, many people have got relief from back pain, neck pain, depression. The mind calms and quiets, . What thoughts you have during meditation become clearer, more focused. Anger, anxiety and worries give way to a peace.
In the world exhorbitant medical expeneses one can definitely make use of meditation. Maharshi Mahesh Yogi and Sri Ravi Sankar are poplarising this. The Iyengar Yoga institute in US is famous.
In Bhagavad Gita Lord Krishna has inspired Arjuna to rise from his depression by preaching Gita in the battlefield and to rise from the depression to do his duties.

7:16 pm  
Blogger Laziest Girl said...

So how did this one sneak past the word verification?

9:39 am  

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