Copied from Babu's, Krishnendu's Book "The Bauls of Bengal" published in 1985..
Baul PhilosophyThat is why, brother, I became a madcap Baul. No master I obey, nor injunctions, canons or custom. Now no men-made distinctions have any hold on me, And I revel only in the gladness of my own welling love. In love there's no separation, but commingling always. So I rejoice in song and dance with each and all."
-- Rabindra Nath Tagore
The Hibbert Lecture, Oxford, 1930
A very rich branch of hindu devotional songs (sangeet) or hymns to goddess Kali - presumed to the source of all energy (Shakti). The Vaishnava Bauls have Krishna, and Radha installed on the alter of their soul, they worship the soul in their own body, the body is their temple.
Tantrik sadhus (monks) and household people alike, for fear or for love of Kali, sing Shyama's praise on the streets, in the paddy fields, on river boats, in the village. Kali, in these songs, is the metaphorical mother whose kind attention and favour is sought with utmost eagerness to help with all material and spiritual problems. Lyrics are generally written for appreciation of the ordinary people -but often may involve themes and concepts far beyond their reach. Similarly, the compositions of the musical notes are for average persons' consumption but may at times touch the pinnacle of the most difficult of Indian ragas. They also sing songs of Indian Philosophy, Yoga, shastra, and Krishna and Radha, all things Indian from the oral tradition, not from books.
Baul Philosphy & Sadhana
Baul is a song of universal love.., mystic expression.. and spiritualism... Bauls are Peacemakers, their songs are of peace, and love between all races, all people, all castes, all religions. Bauls are not pedantic, they feel everybody is qualified, everybody is bonafide to love. They accept all. Bauls are the original Das, and Dasi from thousands of years ago. They are the original Hare Krishna singers, and dancers in Bengal. Bauls do not put other people or religions down. They incorporate pearls of Buddhism, and Sufi, they are masters of the energetics of the human body. They use the indigenous medicine of India, Ayurveda, and embrace the science of Light, Jyotish, in a natural way, learned orally, passed down through time word of mouth, from family to family over thousands of years.
Bauls are music Masters, they are musicians, singers, they sing their poetry. They are Poets. A baul always has a qualified Guru, one from a lineage, so that the teachings can be passed down through time.A song of Universal Love:
Bauls do not believe in any conventional mode of worship, still spiritualism forms the main root of their philosophy. What need, they say, have we of temples and churches when in this body of ours, the supreme spirit has his abode? The human body despised by most orthodox religions in thus for them the holy of holies wherein the divine is intimately enshrined as the "Man of Heart".
The Baul is the wandering mytical minstrel, journey from place to place ( village to village), dance in ecstacy and sing songs joy, love and longing for mystical union with the Divine. Their language is simple and their deep thoughts and mystical experiences are clothed in home spun words and metaphors of village folk. They are free thinkers, performers whose livelihood depends entirely on donations which used to be freely given.
The word Baul has come from the ancient Sanskrit word "Batul" which means mad. Bauls seek their own person throughts out of their songs. Their sadhana is singing spiritual songs. Although it has some folk characteristics typical Baul song is not like other folk songs. It's tune is rural in character like the folk song but the theme has deep significance through their songs, the wandering minstrels, try to focus on the importance of the soul in the human body. According to Baul philosophy, the soul or the "Maner Manush" is nothing but the God within oneself who has to be percieved and realised through inner enlightenment. Baul origin can be traced back to the 16th century, the time of advent of Chaitanya Deva, and Nityanada Mahaprabu, who was a Baul, Nityananda had been singing the Hare Krishna Mahamantra long before he met Chaitanya. Nityananda gave the Mahamantra to Chaitanaya who then started his Gaudiya Vaishnavism revolution. Nityananda's Baul lineage had been singing the Mahamantra for thousands of years previously. There is so much that has been writtne on this subject that is completely false, the story has been changed by ambitious reformers who have had agenda's of creating, and reforming what they deemed to be not controllable. You can never control, or capture a Baul..they are freebirds... they deserve to fly free of pedantic, religious control, free of rules and regulations, they are lovers of love, where they believe everybody is qualified, bonafide, they are already philosophers, they know what to do, they know what material nature is...A song of Mystic expression:Baul speaks about the universal mysteries of life is simple words to touch the heart of common man and a Baul singing and dancing in ecstasy with an "Ektara" (single string instrument) in hand represents the finest specimen of folk song tune to the soil of Bengal and its culture. A song of Spritualism:Bauls do not believe in any conventional mode of worship, still spiritualism forms the main root of their philosophy. What need, they say, have we of temples and churches when in this body of ours, the supreme spirit has his abode? The human body despised by most orthodox religions in thus for them the holy of holies wherein the divine is intimately enshrined as the "Man of Heart".The Baul is the wandering mytical minstrel, journey from place to place (or village to village), dance in ecstacy and sing songs joy, love and longing for mystical union with the Divine. Their language is simple and their deep thoughts and mystical experiences are clothed in home spun words and metaphors of village folk. They are free thinkers, performers whose livelihood depends entirely on donations which used to be freely given.The word Baul has come from the ancient Sanskrit word "Batul" which means mad. Bauls seek their own person through out their songs. Their sadhana is singing spiritual songs. Although it has some folk characteristics typical Baul song is not like other folk songs. It's tune is rural in character like the folk song but the theme has deep significance through their songs, the wandering minstrels, try to focus on the importance of the soul in the human body. According to Baul philosophy, the soul or the "Maner Manush" is nothing but the God within oneself who has to be percieved and realised through inner enlightenment. Baul origin can be traced back to the 16th century, the time of advent of Chaitanya Deva, this lineage is the lineage of Nityananda Mahaprabu, who was a Baul, he is the original Hare krishna singers, and dancers from thousands of years back.A Baul is who searched for God in the human. He becomes mad by worhsipping man and remaining in trance of joy, the Baul ascends above good and bad. Bauls are a class of Indian saffron-clad folk singers who mostly live in huts or rural Bengal. They are fond of both Hindus and Islam religions. The religion of the Baul is within man. His God lives in his body, hence he soul that lives in human body in his God.Since God, the soul the Maner Manush (the immortal soul) lives in all human beings, he finds no difference between man and man. Universal brother/sisterhood is their religion.Bauls songs are sources of peace and tranquility of the disillusioned and dissatisfied modern people. Peace and tranquility do not come from the outside. You cannot discover it by travelling from one corner of the world to the other.The Guru occupies a vital position in the life of Baul. The Baul sees the Guru in two forms: as a person and as a soul, the form of God/dess. Unless you have devotion to the person Guru, God. It is a total surrender to the Guru and nothing is secret to the Guru.The Baul is aware of the transitoriness of the body, they are not obsessed with death. The believes in the immortality of the soul. The Baul and his beloved are the reincarnation of the Radha-Krishna love consciousness. Roop/Rup that which is seen is full of pain and pleasure, it is man or woman but swaroop - the unseen, the immortal and timeless is Krishna in man and Radha in woman. The union of Radha and Krishna is Chaitanya/ Nityananda swaroop. Bauls sings and dances from village to village for the realisation of supreme spirit within and the universal love of people. There are very few real bauls left, as the village is becoming extinct..Copy right, all rights reserved.
Baul PhilosophyThat is why, brother, I became a madcap Baul. No master I obey, nor injunctions, canons or custom. Now no men-made distinctions have any hold on me, And I revel only in the gladness of my own welling love. In love there's no separation, but commingling always. So I rejoice in song and dance with each and all."
-- Rabindra Nath Tagore
The Hibbert Lecture, Oxford, 1930
A very rich branch of hindu devotional songs (sangeet) or hymns to goddess Kali - presumed to the source of all energy (Shakti). The Vaishnava Bauls have Krishna, and Radha installed on the alter of their soul, they worship the soul in their own body, the body is their temple.
Tantrik sadhus (monks) and household people alike, for fear or for love of Kali, sing Shyama's praise on the streets, in the paddy fields, on river boats, in the village. Kali, in these songs, is the metaphorical mother whose kind attention and favour is sought with utmost eagerness to help with all material and spiritual problems. Lyrics are generally written for appreciation of the ordinary people -but often may involve themes and concepts far beyond their reach. Similarly, the compositions of the musical notes are for average persons' consumption but may at times touch the pinnacle of the most difficult of Indian ragas. They also sing songs of Indian Philosophy, Yoga, shastra, and Krishna and Radha, all things Indian from the oral tradition, not from books.
Baul Philosphy & Sadhana
Baul is a song of universal love.., mystic expression.. and spiritualism... Bauls are Peacemakers, their songs are of peace, and love between all races, all people, all castes, all religions. Bauls are not pedantic, they feel everybody is qualified, everybody is bonafide to love. They accept all. Bauls are the original Das, and Dasi from thousands of years ago. They are the original Hare Krishna singers, and dancers in Bengal. Bauls do not put other people or religions down. They incorporate pearls of Buddhism, and Sufi, they are masters of the energetics of the human body. They use the indigenous medicine of India, Ayurveda, and embrace the science of Light, Jyotish, in a natural way, learned orally, passed down through time word of mouth, from family to family over thousands of years.
Bauls are music Masters, they are musicians, singers, they sing their poetry. They are Poets. A baul always has a qualified Guru, one from a lineage, so that the teachings can be passed down through time.A song of Universal Love:
Bauls do not believe in any conventional mode of worship, still spiritualism forms the main root of their philosophy. What need, they say, have we of temples and churches when in this body of ours, the supreme spirit has his abode? The human body despised by most orthodox religions in thus for them the holy of holies wherein the divine is intimately enshrined as the "Man of Heart".
The Baul is the wandering mytical minstrel, journey from place to place ( village to village), dance in ecstacy and sing songs joy, love and longing for mystical union with the Divine. Their language is simple and their deep thoughts and mystical experiences are clothed in home spun words and metaphors of village folk. They are free thinkers, performers whose livelihood depends entirely on donations which used to be freely given.
The word Baul has come from the ancient Sanskrit word "Batul" which means mad. Bauls seek their own person throughts out of their songs. Their sadhana is singing spiritual songs. Although it has some folk characteristics typical Baul song is not like other folk songs. It's tune is rural in character like the folk song but the theme has deep significance through their songs, the wandering minstrels, try to focus on the importance of the soul in the human body. According to Baul philosophy, the soul or the "Maner Manush" is nothing but the God within oneself who has to be percieved and realised through inner enlightenment. Baul origin can be traced back to the 16th century, the time of advent of Chaitanya Deva, and Nityanada Mahaprabu, who was a Baul, Nityananda had been singing the Hare Krishna Mahamantra long before he met Chaitanya. Nityananda gave the Mahamantra to Chaitanaya who then started his Gaudiya Vaishnavism revolution. Nityananda's Baul lineage had been singing the Mahamantra for thousands of years previously. There is so much that has been writtne on this subject that is completely false, the story has been changed by ambitious reformers who have had agenda's of creating, and reforming what they deemed to be not controllable. You can never control, or capture a Baul..they are freebirds... they deserve to fly free of pedantic, religious control, free of rules and regulations, they are lovers of love, where they believe everybody is qualified, bonafide, they are already philosophers, they know what to do, they know what material nature is...A song of Mystic expression:Baul speaks about the universal mysteries of life is simple words to touch the heart of common man and a Baul singing and dancing in ecstasy with an "Ektara" (single string instrument) in hand represents the finest specimen of folk song tune to the soil of Bengal and its culture. A song of Spritualism:Bauls do not believe in any conventional mode of worship, still spiritualism forms the main root of their philosophy. What need, they say, have we of temples and churches when in this body of ours, the supreme spirit has his abode? The human body despised by most orthodox religions in thus for them the holy of holies wherein the divine is intimately enshrined as the "Man of Heart".The Baul is the wandering mytical minstrel, journey from place to place (or village to village), dance in ecstacy and sing songs joy, love and longing for mystical union with the Divine. Their language is simple and their deep thoughts and mystical experiences are clothed in home spun words and metaphors of village folk. They are free thinkers, performers whose livelihood depends entirely on donations which used to be freely given.The word Baul has come from the ancient Sanskrit word "Batul" which means mad. Bauls seek their own person through out their songs. Their sadhana is singing spiritual songs. Although it has some folk characteristics typical Baul song is not like other folk songs. It's tune is rural in character like the folk song but the theme has deep significance through their songs, the wandering minstrels, try to focus on the importance of the soul in the human body. According to Baul philosophy, the soul or the "Maner Manush" is nothing but the God within oneself who has to be percieved and realised through inner enlightenment. Baul origin can be traced back to the 16th century, the time of advent of Chaitanya Deva, this lineage is the lineage of Nityananda Mahaprabu, who was a Baul, he is the original Hare krishna singers, and dancers from thousands of years back.A Baul is who searched for God in the human. He becomes mad by worhsipping man and remaining in trance of joy, the Baul ascends above good and bad. Bauls are a class of Indian saffron-clad folk singers who mostly live in huts or rural Bengal. They are fond of both Hindus and Islam religions. The religion of the Baul is within man. His God lives in his body, hence he soul that lives in human body in his God.Since God, the soul the Maner Manush (the immortal soul) lives in all human beings, he finds no difference between man and man. Universal brother/sisterhood is their religion.Bauls songs are sources of peace and tranquility of the disillusioned and dissatisfied modern people. Peace and tranquility do not come from the outside. You cannot discover it by travelling from one corner of the world to the other.The Guru occupies a vital position in the life of Baul. The Baul sees the Guru in two forms: as a person and as a soul, the form of God/dess. Unless you have devotion to the person Guru, God. It is a total surrender to the Guru and nothing is secret to the Guru.The Baul is aware of the transitoriness of the body, they are not obsessed with death. The believes in the immortality of the soul. The Baul and his beloved are the reincarnation of the Radha-Krishna love consciousness. Roop/Rup that which is seen is full of pain and pleasure, it is man or woman but swaroop - the unseen, the immortal and timeless is Krishna in man and Radha in woman. The union of Radha and Krishna is Chaitanya/ Nityananda swaroop. Bauls sings and dances from village to village for the realisation of supreme spirit within and the universal love of people. There are very few real bauls left, as the village is becoming extinct..Copy right, all rights reserved.
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