4 Elephant lessons

Revisit your understanding of God, seeking His wisdom, and going to Him again and again seeking His face in prayer and fellowship

THE BLIND LEADING THE BLIND

Four blind men who lived together heard about the elephant and its hugeness.

They pondered its size and shape.

DAY AT THE ZOO

The four blind men decided to pay a visit to the biggest animal at the zoo. The zookeeper was kind enough to take them close the elephant and let them feel it. All of them enjoyed touching the gigantic creature and took their time feeling it. Now they were sure they knew what an elephant is. 

POST-ELEPHANT PERCEPTIONS

Afterwards they could not stop talking about their experience of the elephant.

LESSON 1: PILLAR LIKE

He had felt the legs and began speaking about the great pillar-like thing which he touched.

LESSON 2: SNAKE LIFE

The second blind man had felt the trunk and to him the elephant seemed to be a big snake.

LESSON 3: THICK LEAF

The third has spread his hands over the ears of the elephant and opined that the elephant was like an incredibly large leaf, yet quite thick.

LESSON 4: A GREAT ROCK

The fourth man had felt the stomach and felt that the elephant was like a great rock.

VASTLY DIFFERENT VIEWS

They had all seen the same animal yet their accounts were vastly different. In reality, none of them were wrong but their knowledge was limited and in fact amounted to a half truth. A half truth can be more dangerous than a perfect lie because the person keeps on trusting in his belief of the truth. The end result is faulty knowledge that actually does not provide a correct picture.

WIDE GAPS BETWEEN REALITY AND UNDERSTANDING

1. They forgot they were blind.

2. The never revisited the elephant to increase their knowledge of the elephant.

3. They never asked the zookeeper about his knowledge of the elephant.

MORAL OF THE STORY

This story may be an exaggeration of the reality we know, but the reality is that many of us have a blinkered understanding of the world. How often have we fallen into a similar trap of half truth and are like these four blind men, especially in the case of our understanding and knowledge about God.

 IF I WAS ONE OF THEM

1. I would go to the elephant again and again until I knew everything about the elephant that could be known.

2. I would have questioned and questioned the zookeeper. I would have sat with him and asked him to tell me everything he knew about the elephant.

3. In addition, I would ask the Lord to open my eyes and give me Divine Wisdom so that I would be able to understand what I see.

PERSONAL MESSAGE FROM Bishop Dr. Ijaz Inayat

My dear friends, Would you please revisit your understanding of God, seeking His wisdom, and go to Him again and again seeking His face in prayer and fellowship.

- Bishop Dr. Ijaz Inayat

Source: This post is based on an old folk story, but now with a religious dimension.