Surya is reminding us 'Tamaso Ma Jyotir Gamaya', may you go higher & higher, to more & more Light and never to Darkness. The Sun stands for knowledge, spiritual light and wisdom, let us work towards truth and equality.
Regarding the Joydev Mela that starts on Makara Sanskranti "in recent years, the greatest baul fair is gradually losing its character, as the Bauls have been out numbered by kirtanias, who perform in the mela to gain popularity. In 2008, around 2,000 kirtanias came to attend the mela and they obtained contracts worth Rs. 2 crore." The problem with this is that this is a place of worship by the Bauls, this is where they would come to talk philosophy, to sing. Now it is turning into a place of commerce, like all things.. The problem being Bauls are very poor, their singing is not generally commercial, and this is causing them to suffer even further because attention is being drawn away from their tradition, I guess in some ways you can say this is happening all over the world with indigenous people. There is unacceptable behavior being perpetuated in the name of Baul. Their voices are not being heard, they are sweet gentle people.
The Bauls are really having a difficult time, they are being pushed out, and are near extinction...
I have been noticing writers of Kirtan rewriting history, now leaving Sri Nityananda out of the story ??
Sri Nityananda who was a Baul was also a scholar in the oral tradition of sanskrit transmission.
Nityananda was Sri Chaitanya's best friend.. Sri Chaitanya was known as Sri Krishna and Sri Nityananda was known as his brother Balaram, now the story has been changed and is changing due to what is popular. I suggest that one thinks about this when reading any articles or stories or books on Kirtan.
Why is has Sri Nityananda been left out of the story..?? Sri Nityananda was the Bhakti Mystic, an Avadhuta...he was a Baul. One particular writer should not change the story by leaving out one of the most important characters of the story, Sri Nityananda. There has already been so much distortion, the story changes every year to something else.
Sri Nityananda is in all the pictures with Sri Chaitanya how can anybody leave him out of writings about kirtan??... how do you explain that??
Nityananda was from a Brahmin family who had been singing the Hare Krishna mantra for thousands of years in the oral tradition of kritan... You can not change the story to suit ones own choice...
Sri Chaitanya may be the father of modern kirtan, however, Sri Nityananda should never be left out because he is the father of all fathers of Kirtan in Bengal from an ancient oral living lineage.... it does not do anybody any service to call the Bauls names or to rewrite history, there is no room for politics in love.. only love..
By the way there are mothers of Kirtan from Bengal also, I will write about those great Ma's sometime in the future. We must not forget Herstory...Jai ma
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(Nitai Pada Kamala)
by Sri Narottama Das Baul
(He also was a Baul, this Thakur when used in the Bhakti tradition coming out of Bengal...Thakur as a tag name is a modern creation used to replace Baul to cancel out the Bauls....to distort the Facts, when you see Das or Dasi... it is always Baul after, especially when it comes to Narottama Das Baul .. Das and Dasi in regards to most names coming out of the Bhakti movement in Bengal are usually related to Baul, there are a few exceptions.)
Language: Bengali
nitai-pada-kamala, koti candra-susitala
je chayay jagata juray
heno nitai bine bhai, radha-krsna paite nai
drdha kori’ dharo nitair pay
se sambandha nahi ja’r, brtha janma gelo ta’r
sei pasu boro duracar
nitai na bolilo mukhe, majilo samsara-suke
vidya-kule ki koribe tar
ahankare matta hoiya, nitai-pada pasariya
asatyere satya kori mani
nitaiyer koruna habe, braje radha-krsna pabe
dharo nitai-carana du’khani
nitaiyer-carana satya, tahara sevaka nitya
nitai-pada sada koro asa
narottama boro dukhi, nitai more koro sukhi
rakho ranga-caranera pasa
Translation
The lotus feet of Lord Nityananda are a shelter that soothes with the light of millions of moons. Their shade brings solace to the universe. O brother, without Sri Nitai, approaching Radha-Krishna is impossible. Catch hold of the lotus feet of Lord Nityananda and join Their dance!
A person who has not established his relationship with Nityananda Prabhu has wasted his life and is no better than an animal. Because he has never uttered the holy name of Nityananda, he has been absorbed with so-called material “happiness.” What can his useless education and family tradition do to help him?
With false prestige and identification with the body, one is thinking, “Oh, what is Nityananda? What can He do for me? I don’t care.” But he is not accepting the truth. To approach Radha-Krishna, first achieve the mercy of Lord Nityananda. Grasp the lotus feet of Lord Nityananda, which are not illusion; they are a fact. Engage His transcendental loving service and become transcendental. Catch the lotus feet of Lord Nityananda! I, Narottama dasa, am miserable and am praying to Lord Nityananda to make me blissful. My dear Lord, please keep me close to Your lotus feet!
Happy first day of spring.
Please don't believe everything you read.. May the sun enlighten all..
Hare Krishna
Hari is the lover of love, if there is no love Hari is not there... that means love for all, big and small, everybody, everything.
http://wn.com/Jaydev_Kenduli