The Indians around here tell a cautionary fable about a great saint who was always surrounded in his Ashram by loyal devotees. For hours a day, the saint and his followers would meditate on God. The only problem was that the saint had a young cat, an annoying creature, who used to walk through the temple meowing and purring and bothering everyone during meditation. So the saint, in all his practical wisdom, commanded that the cat be tied to a pole outside for a few hours a day, only during meditation, so as to not disturb anyone. This became a habit tying the cat to the pole and then meditating on God but as years passed, the habit hardened into religious ritual. Nobody could meditate unless the cat was tied to the pole first. Then one day the cat died. The saint's followers were panic-stricken. It was a major religious crisis how could they meditate now, without a cat to tie to a pole? How would they reach God? In their minds, the cat had become the means.
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About Elizabeth Gilbert
Elizabeth Gilbert was a contemporary American journalist and author. Elizabeth Gilbert is an American journalist and author. Her 2006 memoir, Eat, Pray, Love, has sold over 30 million copies and has been translated into over 30 languages. Read more on Wikipedia →