“You will
come to learn a great deal if you study the insignificants in depth.”
…..Odysseus
A
group of caravan is heading toward an Island they have never been, never seen
but constantly heard of. They grew up, and live in the desert, so they know
nothing about ocean. They have seen drops of rain before, they have not
witnessed downpour and they have never seen anyone who have seen a storm. But
they have heard of these things through words passed down from generation to generation.
They have been told of certain aquatic creatures by the name “fish,” they have
never seen, not even in a pictorial representation. So naturally, they assumed
the fish will have legs and heads though will walk and live under “river” and
also work as men do. Since they have never seen a real river before, they
assume it is a wonderland. A garden where there is no dust and where water adorns the land. They compare it with their desert and imagine it a
moving spectacle.
Since
they also heard that fish can communicate, they pictured in their mind that
Fish will also be talking…. The legend has it that the only man who ever
visited that island and return alive to tell the story was a Blind man who
eventually handed down the “information” to the elders which has been passed
from generation to generation. It is for this reason that Blind men are greatly
respected and they were seen as super humans who have the magic wand to lead
others to this mysterious Island. The blind men staff is also widely respected
and seen as a staff of authority by the creator.
A
new generation with more hunger and improved knowledge decided to explore this
Island and see how their people can reap maximum blessing from it, and if
possible, they could as well settle in this Island where “all things are
possible;” Where there are creatures that live under “water.” No pain, no
sorrow and no lost. All those who have embarked on the expedition in the past
never return. This time, they decided to mobilize themselves in group and prepare
adequately. But there is a problem, no one has a map and no one can decide the
route to the Island. To solve this, they reasoned that since only a blind man
have been there and return alive, it is wise to take a blind man along,
preferably one from the linage of the man who went in the past. It is best to
allow the blind man lead since they are favoured by gods.
They
started the journey, all relying on the narration and wisdom of the Blind
leader and what his famous forefathers passed down to him and his lineage. They
are all excited. There are few other blind men too in the expedition but only
one leads.
Each
time they reach a crossroad, they argue, quarrel and it sometimes boil over as
the leading blind man frequently clash with other blind men who claim to have
the right of way and wisdom to the Island. . They followed the blind men
nevertheless. There are three Blind men each with their own ideas of how the
island will look like. They people follows them anyway since they have no other
alternative. The blind men compete for loyalty among the men and soonest, they
have all divided the caravan into three factions; each loyal to a blind man who
have absolute authority and the last say on every matter. Despite the division,
they all continue to go in the same direction but with different expectation.
Each group believes the other is on the wrong path while they all share the
vision of the same destination and island. They all have resigned to the fact
that they will have to get to the island first before they can know who is
indeed right and who will be wrong.
Once
a while, a hapless member of the group caught up in augment about who is right
or wrong. Blood shed, injuries sustained. Yet, they keep heading the same
direction despite the division. They all have same expectation which was to see
the Island and pay homage to the king. But none of them actually know how the
king of the island will receive them. And soon, a faction of the caravan broke
away and became cynics. They are of view that the Island is non-existent and
that their co-travellers are embarking on fruitless expedition. Yet, despite
their cynicism, they also have a blind man as their leader and they are also
going in the same direction as the other groups they are condemning!
The
only difference between their leader and the rest is that their own leader is
wearing dark goggles and can look at the sun without shedding tear. So they
assume this prove he possesses better vision than the other blind leaders who
cannot look at the sun. Curiosity is driving them to follow the same path
as those who believed in the fish Island wonder. They are convinced deep inside
them that the account they were given may be false, there is certainly
somewhere that is far better than the desert they used to know and they craved
desperately to escape the scorching heat of the desert and enjoy a better
abode. Unconsciously, they keep going with the same caravans despite their
cynicism.
Then,
a violent storm hit the desert, blowing hot sands across their faces and threatening
to bury them all. Everyone realized that only through collective effort can
they survive the storm. They must all join hands and hold one another to
complete their journey. A section of them choose to go it alone and they
perished….
The
world is ruled by liars, deceivers who all rely on figment of their
imagination, intuition and wisdom to unravel mysteries they do not understand.
They get passionately embroiled in the scheme of things and forgot they are
mortal beings whose life and terms are clearly measured. In a bid to entrench
their authorities, they made laws and created cult divisions. Some of these are
outrageous while others are accepted as standard.
There
exist segment of human community who have mastered the art of using their
minds. The complexity of the minds of men, itself is one of the greatest
mysteries of creation. For, in the mind of a man, things perceived as
impossible are possible when willpower and actions are conjoined. . Ironically,
very few percentage of human community care to use the power of their minds.
And as such, majority is unable to understand some of the elements of
manipulation being used to brainwash them by those who have mastered the art or
manipulating others. They call those who have learned to control and use their
minds, all manner of names; genius, prophets, presidents, kings, experts etc.
As
in the caravan, human community is clearly depicted, we have section of them
who are blind but are good in application of knowledge and manipulation of
other people. They are smart. They understand that being in possession of vast
amount of knowledge alone does not confer power on anyone. They have learned to
use their imagination, and also apply wisdom. They have also learned that being
in possession of wisdom alone does not confer authority. So they went further,
and learn to use other people to achieve their goals.
Their
philosophy is built upon the fundamental observation that, there are many of
the human populace who have eyes, but do not know how to use the eyes. They are
lazy and always wanting someone to do the real work for them while they perform
the basis. They are constantly fascinated by the idea of a strange beautiful
place no matter how beautiful their current abode. They rarely see the beauty
around them and constantly long for the beauty far away: The beauty that
existed only in their imagination. And the blind men, knowing how deluded their
compatriots are, offer to provide a clue to the unknown. But they (blind men)
must lead. The sweet promises entice the hapless people, and they fall for the
bait. Leaving their destinies in the hands of men who could not find their own
way!
It
is this tendency to ignore what is at hand and to aim at what is ahead that
most smart “blind crooks “ has been exploiting to brainwash and herd the
majority of men into one form of ideology or the other. From politics to
religion (including atheism) and then culture, through every means possible, they
always have a way of dominating and setting the order for everything. The sad
part is that the majority always trust in those blind men. They are gods...and
the rest of the people are destined to follow.
As
I write this, Odysseus words inspire me…: “You will come to learn a great
deal if you study the insignificants in depth.”......and Matthew 15:14;
leave them; they are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both
will fall into a pit. And then quran “There are those who have battered
guidance with error; but their traffic is profitless, and they have lost true
direction. Deaf, dumb, blind, they will not return (Baqra 16, 18)..
To
be contd…
Isqil
Najim
Twitter:
@isqilnajim
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