When I moved to Ananda Village in 1976, I was offered a job at “Pubble,” the department where Swami Kriyananda’s books were published.
Shortly after I joined the staff, Swamiji invited us to his home to discuss some projects.
He lived on the other side of the ridge from the main “downtown” part of the Village. I walked with Asha and Seva. They were nuns, and they walked a little ahead.
I was deeply nervous about meeting the great man for the first time. I thought, “Gosh, it’s like going to meet the Pope or something!”
When we arrived, we heard music issuing from Swamiji’s living room – it was a raucous, jazzy tune, accompanied on piano by a man whose voice was energetic, intelligent, and sardonic. I recognized “The Vatican Rag,” a comic song by Tom Lehrer, a former professor of mathematics at MIT. It was playing very loudly, and Swami was laughing heartily:
First you get down on your knees,
Fiddle with your rosaries,
Bow your head with great respect, and
Genuflect, genuflect genuflect!
You can do what steps you want if
You have cleared them with the pontiff.
Everybody say his own kyrie eleison,
Doin’ the Vatican Rag!….
He sang the refrain: “Genuflect, genuflect!” between bursts of laughter.
My mouth was so far agape, you could have parked a battleship in it.
Get in line in that processional,
Step into that small confessional,
There the guy who’s got religion’ll
Tell you if your sin’s original.
If it is, try playin’ it safer,
Drink the wine and chew the wafer.
Two, four, six, eight – time to transubstantiate!
So get down upon your knees,
Fiddle with your rosaries,
Bow your head with great respect, and
Genuflect, genuflect genuflect!
When in Rome, be like a Roman.
Draw a cross on your abdomen.
Ave Maria, gee it’s good to see ya’!
Gettin’ ecstatic and sorta dramatic and
Doin’ the Vatican Rag!
Swamiji had known my thoughts, and it was typical of him to want to dispel any notion that we were expected to hold him in special awe. His spiritual stature evoked our love and respect, but he never paraded it or demanded our obeisance.