VERNON KATZ

He hails from London, where folks live in “flats”
He once was a clothier — selling things like cravats
And we honor and love him, our dear Vernon Katz

We love all our time with him, the wonderful chats,
We love all his stories — we’re blissfully bats
And we honor and love him, our dear Vernon Katz

He joins in group program in the Dome on the mats
Dying the cloth in those heavenly vats
And we honor and love him, our dear Vernon Katz

For all that he’s done, we offer congrats
For all the he is, we tip all our hats
And we honor and love him, our dear Vernon Katz

He’s tops on our charts — we’ve checked all the stats
I am Thats, Thou art Thats, all this is Thats —
And we honor and love him, our dear Vernon Katz
And we honor and love him, our dear Vernon Katz

He was there when Maharishi first came to Great Britain
1960 – he was one of the first to be smitten
Near Maharishi for hours on end he was seated
Offering homage and service — and inquiry repeated
Vernon listened — and quizzed, and questioned, and queried
And Maharishi would answer, ever unwearied
Vernon was charmed by the great personality
But wondered if the words reflected reality
Vernon, at Oxford, studied Indian thought
With Dr. Radhakrishnan — and the conclusion he’d caught
Was that enlightenment required great effort and strain
So this was what Vernon believed, in the main —
Now Maharishi was saying, for this goal so desired,
No strain or effort at all is required
Finally, at a Black Forest residence course
The light at last dawned — he saw to the source
The simplicity and ease that Maharishi was teaching
And the depth of the knowledge — how refined and far-reaching
And recognizing how far dear Vernon had got,
Maharishi said, “Vernon, you’ve unlearned a lot!”

With his heart like an ocean and mind like a cheetah
Vernon was chosen for the Bhagavad-Gita —
To sit with Maharishi as the translation flowed
And the commentary, profound, that Maharishi bestowed
With Vernon’s assistance, a classic ensued —
With Maharishi’s enlightened consciousness imbued
The Bhagavad-Gita, “the Light of Life, lit by God” —
Thus Maharishi describes it, in words that have awed
Millions of readers, with billions awaiting
And Vernon facilitated — a masterpiece creating,
A work that makes clear every soul’s right of birth
Enlightenment — and more: heaven on earth

Conversations with Maharishi — Vernon’s book for the ages —
You open the covers and turn through the pages . . .
You’re suddenly transported back to that time,
To the hours upon hours of discussions sublime
With Vernon and Maharishi — your sitting right there
As Maharishi expounds on the knowledge so rare,
Of human experience and its cosmic potential —
Which Maharishi insisted today is essential

To Maharishi, Vernon brought happiness extreme
To Vernon, Maharishi gave knowledge supreme.
Vernon will tell us how profoundly he’s blessed
And we, for our part, have often confessed
How blessed by Vernon we always have felt —
The enormous good fortune we all have been dealt
To have our dear Vernon as our friend and our guide —
What joy and fulfillment we feel inside . . .
And to Vernon we wish every blessing divine
Knowing his brilliance forever will shine

He’s the one whom Maharishi once praised for unlearning
To the great cosmic Self he’s eternally turning
He’s our very revered and our venerated Vernon

He’s the windless place and he’s the candle there burning
He’s the sea of pure consciousness, transcendentally churning
He’s our very revered and our venerated Vernon

He’s arrived at the goal of all human yearning
He’s our very revered and our venerated Vernon
He’s our very revered and our venerated Vernon

July 11, 2013

JAI GURU DEV