Snake or Belt?
Here is a version of a marvelous Hindu parable that speaks to the heart of holy rascality: Imagine you awaken in the middle of the night to find a poisonous snake curled up next to your leg on your bed. Afraid to move or speak lest you startle the snake into striking your leg, you spend the night frozen in terror. As the room lightens with the coming of dawn, you discover the “snake” is merely a coiled belt you neglected to put away the night before. The terror instantly disappears, and you laugh at your own foolishness.
Holy rascals help people laugh at their foolishness by first learning to laugh at their own. Holy rascals don’t ridicule the “snake,” only help us to see the belt.
All religions promise a reward for excellences of the will or heart, but none for the excellences of the head or understanding.
Arthur Schopenhauer, The World as Will and Representation