Wisdom: Do not hold on to the tail of an elephant

Do not hold on to the tail of an elephant
To find a path through the jungle.
Trees and shrubs and stones all give way to the elephant. But
a tree that bends for an elephant will spring back and kill you
after the elephant has passed, and the shrub’s thorns which give
way to an elephant will whip back and tear your body.

The elephant stands for the frenzied fury of arrogance. There
are three kinds: one, the arrogance which arises from what the
eyes see; two, the arrogance which arises from the brain and from
what the mind conceives; and three, the arrogance which arises
from the sexual fluids.

There are the three kinds of arrogance in maya; they can
hypnotize man’s wisdom and alter his state. The frenzy of these
three kinds of arrogance form the rutting elephant of the mind.
Wherever it travels in the jungle, it tears out a path for itself. Do
not follow it. That path is not for you.

O man, it can kill your wisdom, your truth, your good qualities,
your good thoughts, your faith, and your devotion to God. It
can ruin your life. Do not follow a rutting elephant.

Use your wisdom, find the opening on the path of truth, walk
along it, and escape from the dark jungle of ignorance.


Muhaiyaddeen, M.R. Bawa. The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh. Philadelphia:Fellowship Press, 1981, 2006