The Kingdom of the Blind

[Lesson - Imported]

Once upon a time there flourished a civilization, cut-off from the rest of the world by mountains. But as providence would have it, an epidemic diseasepurged the entire population in to hereditary blindness. Generations passed, and a new way of life evolved to cope with this challenge posed by material nature. Life went on without an event until a traveler lost his way in to this 'Kingdom of the blind'.

From amusement to amazement to sympathy - the traveler and the residents were swept by the same sequence of emotions. The traveler was amused at the sight of a completely blind civilization, then amazed at the evolved lifestyle before being submerged in sympathy- these people were missing so much of the variety of life! The residents were equally amused at the
arrival of an alien who 'felt' exactly like them. They were amazed when he spoke of the world beyond the valley. But when he spoke of things like 'seeing', they were sympathetic and considered the man crazy. 'Vision' had become a concept of the fairy tales, a mythological phenomenon!

Just as 'vision' was a mythology in the valley, many scriptural concepts seem to be mythological to the people of this world- beings with supernatural features and powers, ages wherein people had extraordinarily long durations of life, lands of talking animals etc. They find these subject matters difficult to understand. The Mahäbhärata therefore says,
acintyäù khalu ye bhävä na täàs tarkeëa yojayet. (Mahäbhärata, Bhéñma-parva 5.22) 'How can that which is beyond the imagination or sensory speculation of mundane creatures be approached simply by logic?'

Our logic often fails when we apply it to areas we have no experience in. For example, when a student of Newtonian mechanics tries to solve a problem in the sub-atomic domain, which consists of very small particles, he will find his logic failing repeatedly. Newtonian mechanics can deal only with big objects, whereas one needs Quantum mechanics to deal with subatomic
particles. But he gains faith in the validity of the latter when formulae of quantum mechanics are applied to big objects; the results match with that obtained using Newtonian mechanics.

Similarly we can gain faith in the scriptures when they deal with subject matters within our experience and then on the basis of that faith, we can 'see the invisible'. The Vedas, which were compiled five thousand years ago, provide us with information's which are relatively recent scientific discoveries- Description of the development of the human embryo within the womb, Earth consists of seven continents, Earth is round in shape, fire bacteria etc.

Besides, the Vedas even deals with the dynamics of our life within this world- eating habits, working habits, living habits, work environment etc. One can practically experience a more peaceful and happier life when these principles are taken in to consideration. Therefore unless one takes steps to understand the subject matter of the scriptures by practical application,
one misses so much of the 'variety of life' due to spiritual blindness.