A Yogi in Jhunsi
Gates are a transition that acknowledge a passage from one reality to another.
From a wider world to a more specific human definition of what belongs in that world.
Gates comfort and give a feeling of security, whether warranted or not.
Looking through gates is like looking into another world.
The old swami bends over to weed his garden,
growing food for his fellow renunciants,
Dressed in the saffron robes of his order.
He grows the vegetables, the spices, and he cooks the food.
Every day after the morning meditation
he spends hours tending this garden so they can eat.
He does this work with joy, a sacrifice for God.
Grateful that God has given such bounty.
He moves easily, not bound by the conventions of his advanced years, bending, pulling weeds,
picking vegetables with the ease of a man half his age.
The ashram gate is open and the old swami goes about his work,
not knowing he is being observed.
He leaves the garden to meditate again.