Six Blind Men & Freemasonry

“What is Freemasonry” is the question I am often asked by newly made masons, and by others outside the fraternity seeking answers, a question not so easily answered considering most Freemasons actually don’t know.

When I am asked the question I usually tell them the parable of “Six Blind Men and the Elephant”, the elephant represents Freemasonry and the blind men are Masonic brothers. For those that haven’t read the parable:

Once upon a time, there lived six blind men in a village.

One day the villagers told them, "Hey, there is an elephant in the village today."
They had no idea what an elephant is.

They decided, "Even though we would not be able to see it, let us go and feel it anyway."

All of them went where the elephant was. Every one of them touched the elephant.
"Hey, the elephant is a pillar," said the first man who touched his leg.
"Oh, no, it is like a rope," said the second man who touched the tail.
"Oh, no, it is like a thick branch of a tree," said the third man who touched the trunk of the elephant.
"It is like a big hand fan" said the fourth man who touched the ear of the elephant.
"It is like a huge wall," said the fifth man who touched the belly of the elephant.
"It is like a solid pipe," Said the sixth man who touched the tusk of the elephant.
They began to argue about the elephant and every one of them insisted that he was right. It looked like they were getting agitated.

A wise man was passing by and he saw this.

He stopped and asked them, "What is the matter?" They said, "We cannot agree to what the elephant is like."

Each one of them told what he thought the elephant was like.

The wise man calmly explained to them, "All of you are right. The reason every one of you is telling it differently because each one of you touched the different part of the elephant. So, actually the elephant has all those features what you all said."
"Oh!" everyone said. There was no more fight. They felt happy that they were all right.

I must admit, I am also one of the six blind men, and my slant on Freemasonry borders on what freemasons would call “fringe masonry”, a label I wear proudly.