Gopuram

Gopuram*

Ana Paula Arendt

A gateway to heaven

amidst the confusion of the world,

heaven: a clean, sacred space

where shoes are left behind.

Heaven: where prayers

are heard with compassion

and reverence.

This gateway is

pure bliss:

a vertical mountain

covered with the legends

of those who fought for

justice and light.

Ladder,

stairway of sight,

all three eyes scaling

the higher grounds of the soul…

From muladhara,

a generous base,

foundation of flesh and loins

receiving and giving

life in blood…

The door of

a deep intent

reverberating in the

echoing lives of avatars

forever.

On that sacred gate,

the colors of shared dreams,

all reality made a dream

swirling around, and around

yourself.

A gateway to heaven

where you can offer flowers

without being questioned

or being asked for your reasons.

A path that guides you

into being received and welcomed.

Where your little coins

become the sign of an infinite richness.

Indian gods,

those who believe

those who shelter

true love

and the purest wishes

blossoming in the heart…

Brothers, sisters,

all gods and saints

manifest upon the earth

the kindness of that pursuit:

the end of evil,

the mastery of mind and heart.

A door, threshold

of consciousness.

The call to Oneness,

the call of the One God.

The place where we join in joy

is everywhere.…

A door to everywhere:

the gopuram.

Where the soul remembers

it is full of endless sky.

* Gopuram, from the Sanskrit गोपुरम् (gopuram) or गोपुर (gopura) (go = world, light, or sacred realm; pura/puram = city, enclosure, or gateway), meaning a monumental sacred gateway. In South Indian temple architecture, the gopuram symbolizes the threshold between the earthly world and the divine.

Kapaleeshwarar Temple. Special thanks to the Tamil friends Murlee, Pradeep, and Amirtha for the pictures in Chennai.