stays indoors."

"God plants his saints sometimes in unexpected soil, lest we think
we may reduce Him to a rule!"

The sage locked his vibrant body in the lotus posture. In his
seventies, he displayed no unpleasing signs of age or sedentary life.
Stalwart and straight, he was ideal in every respect. His face was
that of a RISHI, as described in the ancient texts. Noble-headed,
abundantly bearded, he always sat firmly upright, his quiet eyes
fixed on Omnipresence.

The saint and I entered the meditative state. After an hour, his
gentle voice roused me.

"You go often into the silence, but have you developed ANUBHAVA?"
{FN7-6} He was reminding me to love God more than meditation. "Do
not mistake the technique for the Goal."

He offered me some mangoes. With that good-humored wit that I found
so delightful in his grave nature, he remarked, "People in general
are more fond of JALA YOGA (union with food) than of DHYANA YOGA
(union with God)."

His yogic pun affected me uproariously.

"What a laugh you have!" An affectionate gleam came into his gaze.
His own face was always serious, yet touched with an ecstatic smile.
His large, lotus eyes held a hidden divine laughter.