Note 14 - Truth and Stubbornness

It is often said that nothing affects a glazed pot. Water falls upon it, and the drops simply slide down; the pot does not absorb them. In the same way, when an idea settles deeply inside a person, no argument can move it anymore. That insistence then becomes a matter of personal prestige.

Whether the argument is right or wrong no longer matters—what matters is remaining firm on one’s position. The person continues to justify himself endlessly, not in search of truth, but in defense of his stance.

A man who believed in God once said to another, “If I jump from this roof and survive, will you believe in God?”

The other replied, “No. That would just be a coincidence. There is nothing in it that proves God.”

The first man said, “Alright—what if I jump a second time and still survive?”

The reply came, “That would be destiny.”

“And if I jump a third time and still survive?”

The man said, “Perhaps you were once a circus performer and are now putting on a show.”

The person did not believe; more importantly, he was not ready to understand. Understanding requires a certain flexibility, a willingness to be open.

Those who cling rigidly to religion, those obsessed with power, and those bound by honor—of family, caste, nation, or state—have, in the name of prestige, mercilessly crushed countless truths. In doing so, they have obstructed the flow of time itself and pushed human progress backward.