In a town, a dervish passed through one street into the other, and as he reached the second one, the people there noticed that his eyes were streaming with tears. Someone has died in the other street!’ one cried, and soon all the children in the neighborhood had taken up the cry.
What had
really happened was that the dervish had been peeling onions. Within a
short space of time the cry had reached the first street; and now both streets
were distressed and fearful that they dared not make complete inquiries as to
the cause of the furore.
In Idries Shah’s story, it was the onion that had caused the tears. But
instead of finding the real reason, people of both streets chose to be swayed
by unfounded speculation. Rumours were further propelled to spread like wildfire.
When some measure of order was restored, it was only enough for the two
communities to decide to emigrate to save themselves. Centuries later, the town
is still deserted; and not so far away are two villages.
Each village has its own tradition of how it began as a settlement from
a doomed town, through a fortunate flight, in remote times, from a nameless
evil. And the false rumour has turned into a fake account of what had happened.
We must use objective reasoning and a spirit to inquiry to know the
reality obscured by surface impressions. The refusal to use simple logic is
dangerous. We must seek answers to basic questions. Others we will create a
distorted past and a fearful present.
Ask questions that
will weed out fears
Remember the onion
caused the tears!
- Pravin K. Sabnis
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