RHODA

Rhoda! Like Agnim, her name says it all*

Today, though, her virtues we ought to recall:

A Student whose seeking would thrill any college

A Teacher who’s able to lead us to knowledge

A Scholar who’s always in touch with the latest

A Mother whose children are two of the greatest

A Servant whose thinking is finely in synch

With that of the Master — the way that he’d think

A Master herself, we also should mention

Wherever she happens to put her attention

Filling the screen with her bubbling brightness

Sweetening knowledge with laughter and lightness

It’s really quite difficult maintaining modesty

Describing the way that she’ll talk of The Odyssey

We know how it ends, yet each of us there

She’s magically drawn to the edge of the chair

The story of Hamlet, the way that she’ll tell us —

Shakespeare himself would be a bit jealous

In second-year lit, she’s clearly a medalist

Painting the portrait of young Stephen Dedalus

Rhoda and David, combining their forces

Guide MIU and turn out the courses

Never before have the arts and the sciences

Joined to form one of the mighty alliances

Looking for someone remarkably radiant?

Rhoda is way at the top of the gradient

Few are so sensitive, fewer so sensible

With all of these virtues, she’s indispensable

Rhoda! She’s always so warm and so winning

She’s always around when some program’s beginning

No words can convey the full range of her talents

Displaying such brilliance and also such balance

Resourceful, refulgent, rosy-fingered Rhoda**

We deeply appreciate every iota!

*Agnim is the first word of the Rk Veda. In Maharishi’s analysis, that first word contains the whole of the Veda, with all that follows being merely an elaboration or “commentary” on Agnim.

**A play on the famous phrase (technically, the epithet) from The Odyssey, “rosy-fingered dawn.”

Rhoda

Rhoda: The Archetypal Mother*
Archetypal, but unlike any other

Universal, unique,
Pure Being with cheek

We choose her, when given a ’druther

This OJ’s sweet, tangy, tart
Sometimes salty — but what a huge heart!

We’ve lessons to learn
From her heart-felt concern

For the teaching of language as art

She’s the heart and the head of the gang
The Department of Lit and of Lang**

Our experienced guide —
It’s been a quite a ride:

Her source, course, and goal’s a big bang

Do obstacles block evolution?
Rhoda’s the walking solution

So highly creative,
Fresh, innovative —

She’s become a supreme institution

Rhoda deserves much more credit:
What David will write, she will edit

Her great Cosmic Psyche***
Has the force of a Nike —

All we can say is, “You said it!”

Rhoda: R – H – O – D – A
But wherefore the “H,” anyway?

Take satisfaction:
It’s silence in action

A fine “aspiration,” I’d say****

No boundary could ever contain her
No obstacle ever detain her —

Our department’s dear head
Its butter and bread

And also its chief entertainer

Individuality, unbounded, grows bold
And Rhoda’s will not be outsold

Such breathtaking views —
A rainbow of hues —

And her source and her goal is pure gold

Want to hear more about Rhoda?
Have I failed to compose the full quota?

Then take my advice:
Read these lines twice —

In other words, D.C. al coda*****

* Rhoda was noted for her emphasis on archetypes, particularly the “quest archetype” — “the hero’s journey,” as it is also called — a narrative pattern found throughout world literature that mirrors the process of transcending.

** The Department of Literature and Languages, as it was called when she chaired it.

*** Rhoda’s husband David, chair of the Psychology Department then, was working with his colleagues on a series of papers on “the Cosmic Psyche.” The Cosmic Psyche is pure consciousness, the Self, and these papers elucidated how Maharishi Vedic Science fulfilled the goals of psychology.

**** “Aspirate,” a term in phonetics, refers to the sound h when it’s pronounced with the expulsion of air, as in the words head and heart. Certain consonants are aspirated as well — e.g., p and t at the beginnings of such words as push and take. Rhoda’s name can be pronounced with or without an aspiration.

***** D.C. al coda — the abbreviation of Da Capo al Coda, an Italian musical term meaning repeat from the beginning (and, technically, proceed to a specified place).

Happy Birthday, Royal Rhoda

These are lyrics sung to the tune of “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad.” I love the similarity between “railroad” and “Royal Rhoda,” plus the play on Maharishi’s phrase “royal road,” as in, the TM technique offers the royal road to enlightenment.

Happy Birthday, Royal Rhoda
Queen of MIU
Happy Birthday, Royal Rhoda
We’re so glad we’re here with you
Archetypically so friendly
Compassionate and happy too
Happy Birthday, Royal Rhoda
Queen of MIU

Happy Birthday, Royal Rhoda
Born in summer’s heat
Happy Birthday, Royal Rhoda
Her brightness can’t be beat
Just when everything is darkest
Just when skies are gray
Rhoda has the plan to spark us
Rhoda saves the day

Happy Birthday, Royal Rhoda
You show us how to be
Happy Birthday, Royal Rhoda
Such personality
Rhoda’s organizing power
From MERU to MIU
Helps the Golden Age to flower
Rhoda, we love you

Happy Birthday, Royal Rhoda
Queen of Lit’rature
Happy Birthday, Royal Rhoda
There are few as fine as her
Can’t you hear the master saying,
“Rhoda, go and teach.”
Can’t your hear the students praying
“Stay here, we beseech!”

Soma, won’t you flow
Soma, won’t you flow
Soma, won’t you flow for Rhoda
Soma, won’t you flow
Soma, won’t you flow
Soma, won’t you flow for her

Fee, fi, the Sixth of July
Everybody’s flying, high high high high
Fee, fi, the Sixth of July. . . .
Everybody’s flying high

Someone’s in the household with Rhoda
Someone’s in the household to celebrate
Someone’s in the household with Rhoda
David — he’s so great

Now you may think that there is no more
Now you may think that there is no more
Well, there’s not.