30″x24″, Acrylic on Wood, June 2008

Based on the Pieter Bruegel the Elder painting of the same title, this is my interpretation of Christ’s parable in Matthew 15:14 — “Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.” — which is actually a rephrasing of the much older and widely referenced Katha Upanishad, a Vedic text from about 900 BC, which reads,

The Hereafter never rises before the thoughtless child (the ignorant), deluded by the glamor of wealth. “This world alone is, there is none other”: thinking thus, he falls under my sway again and again.

There are many in the world, who, puffed up with intellectual conceit, believe that they are capable of guiding others. But although they may possess a certain amount of worldly wisdom, they are devoid of deeper understanding; therefore all that they say merely increases doubt and confusion in the minds of those who hear them. Hence they are likened to blind men leading the blind. The Hereafter does not shine before those who are lacking in the power of discrimination and are easily carried away therefore by the charm of fleeting objects. As children are tempted by toys, so they are tempted by pleasure, power, name and fame. To them these seem the only realities. Being thus attached to perishable things, they come many times under the dominion of death. There is one part of us which must die; there is another part which never dies. When a man can identify himself with his undying nature, which is one with God, then he overcomes death.

On one hand it’s ham-fisted commentary on some of the events of my own life, and on the other hand, I’ve always been a fan of the Bruegel original and have wanted to paint a piece inspired by it for years. I’m very happy with how this painting turned out.