Six blind men were brought before a great elephant and asked to describe it. One touched the trunk and called it a thick snake. Another touched the leg and called it a tree. The third touched the side and called it a wall. The fourth touched the ear and called it a winnowing fan. The fifth touched the tusk and called it a smooth spear. The sixth touched the tail and called it a rope. Each man swore his neighbour was lying. They began to argue, then to shout, then to push. A wise traveller passing by heard the noise and stopped. "Each of you is right about the part you touched," he said gently. "And each of you is wrong about the whole. The elephant is all of these things, and more. Truth is too large for any one hand." This is the heart of Anekantvad — the Jain teaching that truth has many sides, and that wisdom is the patience to listen to other angles before drawing a sword.