It seems that much of Christ’s teaching became distorted, but how could this come about if the message was clear?

To answer this question here is a rather amusing story about the Guru, the White Cat and the Pole. It will give some idea as to how such things can come about. There was once an Indian spiritual teacher who eventually became a great enlightened master. His reputation spread far and wide as the appeal and depth of his teachings became known to the people. They came from hundreds of miles to sit and listen and give him ‘darshan’; to meditate and bring the power of the divine into the midst of the group. The great Yogi had a large white Persian cat which was always at his side and always looking for an opportunity to nestle on the guru’s warm lap, as the latter sat in the lotus position with a blissful expression on his face. This was all very well for the cat, but quite unsatisfactory for the teacher who simply could not concentrate and go into ‘samadhi’ with the bundle of fluff on his lap. So it was that whenever he was to go into meditation the guru would tie his cat to a pole, so that it would not disturb his concentration. He followed this procedure for many years during which some eminent disciples arose to carry on the essence of their master’s teachings. Each disciple had his own particular grasp of the teachings and emphasized certain aspects as being more important that others. As inevitably happens, after the master’s demise a number of factions arose in the group, so that many schools of the master’s thought developed. The disciples who headed the schools argued and squabbled among themselves, each one maintaining that the others had gone astray from the real essence of the master’s teachings. In fact bitter disagreements

followed. However, all eminent leaders of the thriving yogic schools agreed on one point: that is was absolutely essential to tie a white cat to a pole in order to meditate! This story, set in India, and of course having no basis in fact, illustrates a serious point and principle which is applicable to the ministry of Jesus. Think about it.