Crossword Genius

Am I harsh to lark about around one religious teacher? (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

maharishi

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'religious teacher?' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'am i harsh to lark about around one' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'am' could be 'ma' (synonyms) and 'ma' is found in the answer.
'i' could be 'a' and 'a' is present in the answer.
'one' could be 'i' (Roman numeral) and 'i' is located in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for maharishi that I've seen before include "Seasoned beef-pork sausage" , "leading teacher" , "Religious leader" , "Hindu spiritual leader" , "Hindu sage and scholar" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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