bAULIANA - Worshiping the gREAT gOD in mAN

Facebook Discussion: Was fAKIR Lalon sHAH an Agnostic?

2012-01-25T13:16:00.000+06:00

Threadfrom an ongoing Facebook discussion on Fakir Lalon sHAH and agnosticism.

1.Tarifa Najmina: 23rd January - "For Bangladeshthe year 1991 passed uneventfully in our willful exclusion of an epochal eventof historical significance. It was the death centenary of the agnostic sage FakirLalon Shah......." from the book, Bauliana by , Maqsoodul Haque.

2. Tarifa Najmina: 23rd January - habibur rahman , abdelmannan, mac haque ,is Lalon Fakir an agnostic sage ?

3.Habibur Rahman: 23rd January - Dear MaqsoodulHaque, It seems you epithet Lalon as Agnostic (অজ্ঞেয়বাদী). I wonder whetherit is deliberate or unintentional mistake with the epithet Mystic (অতিন্দ্রীয়বাদী).If it is deliberate, would you please give us some explanation about what doyou mean by the term `Agnostic', and why do you think it is applicable forLalon?

4.Mac Haque ‎: 24th January - Dear Habibur...itwould all depend on what your perception of an agnostic really is? অজ্ঞেয়বাদীdoesn't precisely describe agnosticism in its spirit - at least not in theEnglish language, where it would mean more or less a 'vague-ist' .Perhaps youwill care to tell me. …and I will take it forward from there.....thanks

5.Habibur Rahman: 24th January - Dear Maqsood Haqueand Tarifa, we were talking about whether Lalon was an Agnostic or not. Let meplace my understanding of the term Agnosticism. In the epistemological branchof philosophy, grossly we can divide the subject matter of our knowledge intotwo classes: things that we can know by our senses i.e., the book on my tableand things that we can know by our reason, i.e., the sum of two sides of atriangle is greater than the third side.

Thereare also some ideas we use in our everyday life such as Allah, Soul, andHumanity. The question is whether we can assert that we know Who/What is Allah(God) in-himself or Soul in-itself? Relating to these matters the questionarises whether a person is agnostic or gnostic. Now, an Agnostic believes thatin the present existential condition of the human being, in this present fourdimensional time-space boundary, Human Being cannot assert that he knows Allahor philosophically speaking the Absolute Truth, because in the presentsituation we cannot prove or disprove such assertion.

Moreover,an Agnostic can be believer or disbeliever. Socratics says: `What I know isthat I know nothing'. He was an agnostic and referring his ignorance concerningthe ultimate matter about which he asserts his believe.

ImmanuelKant in his Critique of Pure Reason elaborately explained that by our reason wecan only know which are within the time-space, but God is God, who creates thetime-space also, and what is not within the time-space, reason cannot know it.Kant is also agnostic but believer.

Thankyou for the moment, I will try by best tomorrow insha Allah, why Lalon was not an agnostic but indeed he was aGnostic, in Arabic equivalent of the term is `Arif'.

6.Mac Haque: 25th January - Dear Habibur, thank youfor your kind inputs on agnosticism. I am very impressed by the depth of yourknowledge and am sure have lots to learn in the process. My thirst forknowledge is insatiable and now that I have a brother who knows Arabic (Idon't) - I am really excited!

Tothe course of our debate/inquiry in the loftiest tradition of Ijtehad, I like Socrates would submitthat 'What I know is that I know nothing'. I agree in totality yourunderstandings of Agnosticism which are classical - but in the realms ofspirituality – we all know are not above inquiry or questions. I am a novicestudent in the new domain called Contemplative Science - which I have coined inBangla - তপস্যা বিজ্ঞান (Tarifa please help correct my usual faultyBengalee!)

Tobegin my first port of call will be the concept of truth as we know it.

Clearlyfor an agnostic there is no such thing called truth and Lalon sHAIJi in mylimited understanding personified it himself in the Great NO - or 'La'. So whatmay be - or is there anything at all called the Great YES?

Truthfor AN agnostic is a perception, and as we all know (and not that you have toagree) perceptions are what they are, perceptions: they do not or cannotindicate TRUTH. In Bengalee I have often used the term অনুমান কখনো প্রমান বলে গন্য হতে পারে না. Truthas I am inclined to believe is dynamic, re-creative and pro-creative withinteraction and pro-actions its driving wheel. It goes beyond the principals ofcause and effect.

Whatour ancestors knew as the truth has by now been rendered obsolete - evenredundant. As an Honorable Advocate of Law, you will agree that Courts have historicallyhanged men to death under the premise of what they thought then, that the evidencesuggested strongly a mans unqualified guilt. Yet over time; time itself hasrecorded that the entire process of gathering evidence was flawed, evenunscientific - and a perfectly innocent man has been 'killed' in the gallows.Here TRUTH as we know it was/were the evidence - and the evidence then wasbeyond any sphere of doubt the TRUTH, yet today we know they were not.

Likewise,try as we may to convince each other, posterity may (or may not) judge our verysincere engagement on Facebook as sheer wastage of time and space :)

Agnosticismas I know it, is neither believing nor disbelieving. It’s like an open safetypin - sharp and vulnerable when open, safe and rounded when in unison ofcircularity. It is acknowledging and appreciating our left and right - andknowing that cohesion comes only when the two meets up with the one - ourintellect - or 'akel'. It is neitherstereophonic nor monophonic - but quadraphonic.

Itis the surrender of the center by the dual. It is our physical supplication asdemonstrated in 'sajood', in that weunderstand our left and right - but not our center, the head, that must begrounded (as in electricity) for current to flow its full course. It is inconfirming within our physical being that wherever they are in pairs - ear,eye, nostril, hands, legs, lungs, kidney, down to our testicles- there areusually nothing that would be a consistent bother of any kind in the short run.

Itis wherever they are in singular that we have to handle insurmountableobstacles.

Startingwith our mouth, oesophagus, liver, stomach, genitals, and orifice - we do knowand live with the issues on a day-to-day basis. It is only in aligning pluralswith the singular over the center - with the spine and the two great organs,the brain and heart that have multiple chambers, to the global axis of poles(as in magnetism) that our equilibrium our ONE in ONE, our ALL in ALL - aLLAH, Bhagwan,Iswar, gURU, Boddhisatava – whatever - can be positioned - the importance of Sajood, Bhokti or prostration isdefined.

Thehypothetical ONE therefore is the sum total of the combined plurals on thesingulars.

Likea ship has constantly to check its coordinates to North/South/East and West viathe stars up above, so has man in his day to day existence. The process ofsurrender is exemplified for as we kneel and prostrate 'due West' (in case ofthose of us living in the East) - its is only to appreciated that as per thefundamental principals of polarity and rhythm juxtaposed with the principals ofmentalism - equilibrium to the great YES 'maybe' discovered in exercise of ourlimited free will. That however is an individual experience and defiesexplanation, for each experience then is very personal, unique and personal. ‘Sacredand secret’ starts here quite unnecessarily for one simply cannot explain it orput in pen or paper (keyboards in these enlightened times!).

Itis precisely for the above, in my argument and conjecture that I prefer to useand interpret 'Salah', from one amongits many meanings in Arabic - CORRECTION. Merely hitting our forehead hard on thefloor and leaving ugly scars in our forehead denoting our 'Naamazi' status is not at all the intention of ‘Salah’ in my reckoning!

Itis possibly the 'straight path' mentioned repeatedly in the Quran...and two'insane' thoughts for everybody's simpler rumination:

1.The straight path is not being on either side of traffic - but walking on thetraffic divider! In as much as we can see clearly the left and right - we canwalk anywhere from North to South/East to West or vice versa - without anyinterruptions or - importantly 'traffic jams' of any kind!

2.Unlike trees and plant we are upside down creations. Our 'roots' are in ourhair - that comes out of our skull...our brain?

Endingright here before it gets to bore everybody - as and when we eventually move toLalon sHAIJi and whether or not he was agnostic- in my limited understanding ofGnosis in the realms of Arabic etymology, I would prefer to use the word 'Ihsan' and perhaps you can correct me?

Ihave also reasons to believe that we need to understand Lalon sHAIJi in thedomains of 'Maarifa' (Marefot) whichI prefer to use the term 'extelligence' - as also the so-called 'super-Maarifa' or 'Walaya' from where the word 'Wali' possibly emanated?

Thankyou for your time and patience Dear Habibur.

jOIgURU /\

Dispelling myths abut sexual practices of Bauls

2011-12-14T21:51:00.003+06:00

Babukishan Das Baul

Tantra mantra yantra vs Tantra as Sex.....

"Many of the Bauls practice a type of psycho-physical manipulation or tantric yoga which emphasizes control of sexual union, the purpose of which is to enable the couple to achieve a break with phenomenal existence, to escape the endless cycle of death and regeneration, and to achieve a state of eternal stability or samadhi. This practice involves the retention of semen during intercourse and ingestion of bodily secretions..."

This is not the focus of what a Baul is. There is nothing wrong with this description of Sacred Sexuality, however, you will see this over and over again like a broken record as if this is the only focus, of what Baul is?.... There are many false things written about the Bauls and so many false Bauls, it is really difficult to get to the truth or to know who is a real Baul. If this is all writers seem to write about Baul then Bauls will be extinct faster than thought. Baul is a beautiful ecsatic mystical lineage and most of the PHD holders took their research from this lineage given only a very limited point of view and now they are trying to teach the lineage Bauls what Baul is?? It takes years and years if not a lifetime to learn Baul philosophy, Baul songs, Baul poetry, Tantra and Yoga.. it is not simple or easy. Just as real Yoga is not simple or easy. The Tantra Bauls practice has nothing to do with the Neo Tantra of the West. It is a mystical shamanic Tantra. I call Bauls the Rasa Lila Mystics because they take the juice and hold it inside of themselves, they distill this juice only keeping the very best of all practices, they keep what works and grind and polish it into a beautiful play.

Baul is about love and devotion, Bhakti Yoga and deep Tantric sadhana, the real Bauls spoke sanskrit as this is the way the oral tradiition is transmitted, they sing their songs in Bengali so the villagers can understand, because they were not necessarily Sanskrit speaking.

Because of this repeated nonsense as stated in the first paragraph most writers copy and paste and do not ever write that Bauls are poets, philosophers of all things Indian, that they worship Radha and krishna in their hearts, that there is a lineage of Bauls going back to and originating thousands of years before Sri Nityananada of Ekkchaka West Bengal India, Jai Nitai who was Sri Chaitanya's best friend.

Nitai was a Baul an exalted Avadhuta, history was rewritten. The stories of the lineage are within the songs of the lineage because it is an oral living lineage not a book translated lineage. We are writing books to preserve all this and set the record straight but it is not an easy task and will perhaps take years.. Bauls should come from a living lineage of Baul, parampara, they should know and state who wrote the songs, be honest. Nityananda from Ekkchaka West Bengal is Babu's ancestor he is the ancestor of the Vaishnava Bauls.. There is very limited knowledge about this because the truth has been so distorted from modern reformers with big printing presses amongst other things. The Bauls message is for all people and is especially necessary to todays world but that does not mean the message should be watered down or distorted. Of course Baul also changes to adapt to the world but it is in desperate need of being preserved accurately.

Writers are focued on sex..sex sells very easily.. there is a freedom this implies and it looks attractive to become a Baul, tantric sex all day, smoking ganja.. singing, dancing and begging for money, no sadhana?? This is definetly not Baul....this is a distortion making the Lineage Bauls extinct.Bauls are free birds in that they are seeking ecstatic union (yoga) with their beloved Radha and Krishna, Shiva and Kali. This takes place through their lineage songs which are seeds of higher philosophy, this is where their union comes from, you can feel it, you can hear it.. and if you do not you are not listening to a Baul. The body contains the God's and Goddess's in the alter of the heart.. This is the tantra, this is the technique, this is their samadhi, this is their God/dess intoxication. Baul is about high level philosophy it is not about the mundane.

Baul songs are not folk songs, they are seed songs of higher philosophy, one must know the discourses that go along with the song.. Babu listens to what Bauls are singing they are either singing his family lineage songs or are singing folk songs, some sing his lineage songs but shorten them thus destroying the meaning. A real Baul usually will not tell you anything, therefore, this is a good opportunity for the fake Bauls to dress like Bauls and when a scholar or a reporter come to Bengal they usually have interviewed fake Baul on philosophy of Baul or the reporter or scholars usually focus on one aspect and because they have a PHD they are considered authority..

My question who owns the truth about the Bauls a scholar or a lineage Baul from the lineage.. who is the authority??.Wikipedia or a lineage Baul.. PhD's or lineage Bauls....Should not the authority on Baul be the lineage, should not the scholars on Baul be the Baul, the problem is Baul is almost extinct there are only a handful of lineage Bauls left Babukishan aka Krishnendu Das Baul being one.

It is a huge task to try to preserve this lineage if not impossible... so in the meantime this leaves the door open for all sorts of nonsense.. These neo Bauls like the neo Tantrics and neo Yogi's of the east and west only tell the person a very limited view of Baul from copy and paste, then they repeat the same thing over and over again, copy, paste, copy, paste.

It is surprising to Babu that even people he has known write the wrong things about Bauls. Even more surprising the number of people he has taken to Bengal, talked about his lineage with who have either made films or wrote books and they do not even thank him, cut him out completely and thank the western scholars. There is one professor from the US who had him sign paper to get university grants for her to study Bauls only to cut him out completely, everybody wants funding and what a great thing to do get the funding through a lineage Baul then interview and write about the neo Bauls...... this is very disrespectful and is creating such a distortion in the history of what Baul really is.There are very few real Bauls left, they are almost extinct.Wikipedia is completely wrong on Baul, it is very general and again repeats the same scholars who have distorted Baul in the first place.

Bauls are Poets, Philosophers of all things relating to Indian Yoga, yes they are Tantrics but one has to understand what Tantra is, Baul is so much more than sex and so is Tantra. Babu's grandfather was a wellknown Tantric at Tarapith in the 19th century.

Tantra is shakti sadhana, tantra is the science of light, the science of life..Tantra is technique, techniques on how everything is put together.. Tranta Mantra Yantra... formula, technique, for instance Babu is an expert of the Tantra of Indian Music and sound the technique using a scientific formula to bring the Dieties to life through sound. ..

He is also a master the smashan grounds as he was born into this sadhana from his grandfather (not all Bauls are this kind of Tantric, only the avadhuta's are) ..... .. When talking Tantra in the west it is always about sex.. why, because sex sells.. it is really disrespectful to the Indian people how Tantra is dumbed down all the time..... as Tantra is a Sanskrit word, it originates in India, so Tantra is Indian.. If one wants to be a Tantric learn Jyotish first, learn sanskrit, learn Ayurveda, learn Mantra..learn Shakti Sadhana...

There is so much misinformation on Baul it is really a comedy..

Baul is first and foremost Bhakti Yoga... music, kirtan, chanting, singing baul songs, Sadhana, meditiation, it is an oral tradition ... one needs a huge memory..Baul is the Bhagavad Gita, the Upanishads. Never will you see this mentioned because sex and smoking ganja attracts people.... go online and research Baul.... Hard work and sadhana does not attract people, 12 years of Sadhana with a Guru does not attact anyone.

Yes tantric sex, the technique is part of Baul but this is only a drop of what is real Baul, just as asana and meditation are part of Baul, a Baul does not reject anything, they embrace all knowledge yoga ect. ... This practice as described as being Baul at the beginning of this article is meant to be between only sadhaka and sadhika, it is only meant to be between husband and wife... never shared with others, it is private in a commited relationship of soul mates.. and really is not central theme of what Baul is..?? but yet it is mentioned over and over again.. It is not Tantra as taught in the west by experimenting with different partners, there must be love and those parnter should be soul mates..as in the Baul tradition.

Bauls also do yoga postures in private, Babu's grandfather used to generate so much spiritual heat he used to meditate under water on the bottom of a pond.. Do Baul writers ever mention this, do they ever mention it is an oral tradition, or mention sanskrit, or mention the upanishads, do they ever mention 12 years of sadhana before one goes out and sings publicly. Do they have respect for the tradition or mention Nabani Das Baul whose songs they sing. Yes some are translating the songs, do they know who wrote the songs???

There is so much infighting within the Bauls it is all being distorted, many are making up stories calling names, creating something new. Baul has always evolved but within a context. It is really sad for Babu to see what is happening with his lineage, bauls singing Bollywoods songs, or folk songs calling them Baul songs. He has no problem with folk songs or Bollywood songs but please do not call them Baul songs and do not mess with a rich ancient tradition.

The Bauls that came from Bangladesh who changed their names and are now saying they are from a 4 generation of Baul can not be.... because Baul in Bangladesh only started with the Great poet Lalon Fakir.. the sufi origins of Baul, 1774ñ1890, suddenly they have come from Bangladesh to Bengal as refugees, and changed their names to Das Baul and saying they are 4 generations... Das Baul is only from Bengal and is the Vaishnava lineage.Fakir aul sai darbesh is sufi it is not Baul.. it is Fakir, Sai, Aul, Darbesh (Dervish).Baul is not about singing folk songs.

Below is the main description of Baul you willl see.. it is like modern Yoga being described as Asana, gymnastics.. ect.. The Body is not the sole organ of all experience as a means to knowledge..Parampara is.. the Guru is.. The Guru to the Baul is the ultimate, this is a Guru Parampara Tradition. The oral tradition is the means to knowledge, the oral tradition has been transmitted for thousands of years throught Sanskrit, the Bhagavad Gita... all knowledge of Yoga, Bhakti Yoga is the sole organ of experience, this statement is a huge fundamental display of misunderstanding..??

"The term "Baul" refers to various groups of people in Bengal (the Indian state of West Bengal, whose capital is Kolkata, and its neighbor, the sovereign state of Bangladesh, whose capital is Dhaka) for whom the body is the sole organ of all experience and means to knowledge. Many of them practice a type of psycho-physical manipulation or tantric yoga which emphasizes control of sexual union, the purpose of which is to enable the couple to achieve a break with phenomenal existence, to escape the endless cycle of death and regeneration, and to achieve a state of eternal stability or samadhi. This practice involves the retention of semen during intercourse and ingestion of bodily secretions..."

"Babu say's, why come to Baul, go to sex education, why even come to Baul, do not destroy Baul by the misconceptions, mostly all Phd on Baul are completely wrong.. "

Baul is inner connecting to the divine in a ecsatic mystic way, it is not about outer, grab a partner try some Psycho physical manipulation, this is such a gross misconception and it is really boring and a huge insult to the authentic Bauls. To a Baul the Guru is the path, the Guru passes on all knowledge through the oral living lineage that is thousands of years old.. You can feel the whole universe inside of you that is Baul, as above so below..

The original authentic Baul will never tell you their sadhana, only paramapara will know in that you can guess that who writes about Baul is completely wrong..they may know a few things but to be a Baul is to be an ocean, way beyond what is out there in print.. Baul is an oral tradition.

Most Bauls sadhaka's do not even have sex, they are sadhu's... so what do you call them Not Baul??? connection of the supreme God/Goddess through love not through this so called Psycho physical maniputation... It is about the soul...about soul mates, monar manush.. Bhakti Yoga..

Bhakti Yoga.. Bhakti yoga.. street singers, bards, minstrels.. are Baul.

They were the newspaper before the newspaper singing Hare Krishna every morning to the villagers as a wake up call.....all we hear in the west or by western writers is sex sex tantric sex.. give me a break.. or also by people who are not Bauls or people including Bauls who are trying to attract unwitting fools.

Baul is about love love love, never is it about some physical manipultion... Bhakti Yoga..And the problem is the person who wrote this and is talking for the Bauls should know better???

Link

Facebook Discussion with a faceless scribe: The Corporatization of Lalon

2011-08-29T11:57:00.006+06:00

[Sharing an interesting ongoing discussion with a ‘faceless anonymous scribe’ on Facebook – Despite his anonymity, which I respect, he appears to be not only knowledgeable but very curious about recent developments, corporate exploitation of our culture and its possibilities, and the future of the Baul movement in Bangladesh. Anonymous Scribes comments are in red.]

Mac Haque

I think the larger problem is the middle class always stepping in into issues concerning the Bauls (or for that matter anything!) without having done their homework. It has always got to be so-called 'conscious activists' who are indeed the elite with pro-people hypocrisies and are one way or the other connected to the Media Mafia who are set upon to project themselves rather than the issue in hand or Bauls really - that can and will lead on to a major calamity.

Piece meal solution or tokenistic solutions can never be part of a larger solution. The solution espoused by the Bauls is a.) Confront the monsters by making mincemeat of their interpretation of 'holy verses' and b.) Confront the monster lurking deep within our souls.

To imagine that some of us urban folks even dare say that we are around to 'protect the Fakirs and sHADHUs' is patronization of the worst kind. The Pangsha incident was caused by an inept Fakir who couldn't handle or had the merits to handle the 'morar agey morey jawa' (die before death overtakes you) philosophy. He sent his wife to the village to collect money for his 40 day ritual - when rituals as such are not in any way part of our belief system.

When challenged by the Mollahs he couldn't defend himself - what a crying shame for someone claiming to be a ‘Fakir’? Left unreported was post the incident, the Fakir was reprimanded by other Fakirs and sHADHUs and he begged apology.

For centuries the Bauls have had their own 'secret defense system' in place. You need to study the Fakir Sanyasi Rebellion , indeed the catalyst for all the pre-partition anti-Brit movements. It has learnt historically that security is never discussed in public.

I see your point about the buzz post the protest, but in all practicality, there is no guarantee that something similar would not happen again and no one understands that better than the Bauls themselves. No one needs to come forward to defend the Bauls, cause the Bauls themselves do not believe they are vulnerable...there is no such thing as a 'death proof security'......... and if that's what our middle class worries about, its really their worry, and their problems.

Bauls have nothing to do with pretentious people and can clearly and literally see through them :)

Anon

My bad. Pangsha. I see your point about Lalon philosophy being a meticulous lifestyle practice and not the latest fad the urban youth are treating it as. I read your piece from the attached link. Enlightening to say the least.

I stand corrected on the point that Lalon philosophy was never in danger of extinction no matter how things looked from here. I also value your concern that unwanted attention could jeopardize the Bauls. But what about the political value of the urban enthusiasm? I mean no great justice was achieved but it created a buzz and people spoke out for the rights of these agnostic Bauls 'living in the periphery'. In the term of a Islamist govt. (read BNP-Jamaat) the assault on Bauls could become widespread and would go unnoticed by the authority if the middle class do not interfere. The incidents in Raajbari may cause the oppressors to think twice. So the unwanted interest may not be all that unwanted or could it?

Mac Haque

I am enjoying your queries and have never at any stage considered them rebuttals :)

To be honest, Bengal's bhaabbad is unique and unparalleled in the history of the world, and perhaps one among many reasons that the UNESCO in 2005 listed it as an "Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity" and just not Bengal!

That said, there has always been a genuine curiosity in our belief system in the West and many academic works available. In the short run we may feel that it is being 'obliterated' due to the influx of foreign media, but Lalon simply cannot be viewed in isolation. He was never an island in the first place, and I think we should rather avail this opportunity that is coming our way and do all we can to spread his 'message'. That message is really not about his music, but the complex and hard to understand philosophy, the syncretism of faith and belief which is embedded within his gems.

Being at it for 28 years, let me assure you I have just been able to scratch the surface - perhaps. My study for the last 4 years have been to understand the first three recommended chapters in understanding Lalon i.e. the Trittotyobad or 1. Noor Tattya (Discourses on Light) 2. Nabi Tattya (Discourses on the Messengers) an 3. Rasool Tattya (Discourses on Prophets). Just getting through the first 3 chapters (and around 50 songs in the process) I had to not only study the kORAN, but also try and understand Maarefot and Fakiri Islam...all within the Sufi i.e Tusawwuf Schools of Thought. I have another 8 chapters to go before I can say I have learnt anything - and don’t ask me how many years it will take me :)

It really wasn't to Seuria that our city bred "Baul Supremacist" went to. They would have been thrown out....it was to Pangsha in Rajbari and you may like to read this piece:

Anon

Well, after correcting a faceless guy's overzealous assumptions, you're certainly due to get some answers. A very general query at that. I am a student at NSU doing my BBA. I should have finished it two years ago. :-)

Just to clear it up, my role in this discussion is that of an ignorant fool who can only ask questions and expect to learn things if you care to reply.( Thanks for the link btw) So please do not take my counters as rebuttals, rather they are more of queries.

To repeat a cliche, our culture have been invaded by Indian and Western elements. More so in the past 10-15 years than the whole of last century. Had it not been for this renewed interest of the urban middle class in Lalon, don't you think it would inch towards a solely academic and regional existence? Taking into consideration the fact that many of our native cultural aspects are being obliterated as a result of people's exposure to foreign media.

Groups of urban people went to Chheuria to ensure the continuity of the Baul rituals a few months ago, after the shadhus were impeded by local authority. Do you see the renewed interest playing some part behind the formation of public opinion?

Mac Haque

If you are talking about survival than Lalon and his music has done so for over 200 years without any need for sponsors or patrons. It goes against the very spirit of our belief system to think that Lalon needs to be on anybody's piggy back. Indeed quite on the contrary, it is doubtful whether the corporations themselves will survive another 50 years? What they are essentially doing is enlarge on their client base - and we are talking here of over half a million active Bauls, and over 2 million adherents to the belief system. And they are just too arrogant not to admit it :)

With the intense studies and research going on sHAJI, I seriously doubt the corporations would be able to take on the rigor of the philosophy and life style. You can take a peek at my work here.

If I am not being too curious - what do you do for a living?

Anon

I've been thinking about it albeit with very limited knowledge (not being modest). To justify our indifference, art can be viewed and practised separately from lifestyle and for the survival of any art form, people must get involved, one way or the other. Guess I’m being the devil's advocate here. :-)

Mac Haque

The corporatization of Lalon has been going on for well over 5 years, and the sHADHUs have precious little to say about it. Neither do I :)

Anon

Thanks for taking the time out to reply. I had read this letter a few days ago but could not make out the hints properly and thought maybe the coporatization of Lalon in our country was behind your grief. Thanks again.

Mac Haque

Not at all – please read this link:

Anon

akta proshno kori. onumannirbhor proshno. hashshokor shonanor shombhabona achhe. ichchha hole uttor diben.

apnar BAMBA chharar karon hishebe ki corporate'ra mainstream band diye lalon gawano k money korte pari?

Facebook Debate: Those that do not say prayers are Apostates and should be killed? Part-2

2011-08-04T01:38:00.004+06:00

Recently concluded debates with Anik Bin Ashraf (his comments are in red italics)

4. Excellent points Anik!

If the doors of Ijtehad are still open than why is Saudi Arabia despite all its wealth and fact that most monotheistic pROPHETs were born in the country, still has such a lot of social morbidity? Human rights, freedom of expressions as enshrined in the kO’RAN are still grossly violated, women – our mothers and sisters still looked down upon as filth, treated like crass animals, even denied an opportunity to drive a car among others? What is most striking is no less than the US supports them – and this in turn ensures that the Abbasid/Umayyid cohorts still rule roost, still derails all egalitarian possibilities of Islam. Therefore as far as I am concerned, if we are going to look at Saudi Arabia as the center of Islam or even an example, our woes will never end.

The Wahabis declared ‘war’ on the Sufis for in essence; the later are the ones that actually propagated plurality of Islam that led to billions embracing the faith. No pROPHET came to our part of the world, and the reason why we are Muslims today is NOT because of the Wahabis or their predecessors – but Sufis – who taught the highest level of Ilm-e-Tusawwuf. The Abbasid/Umayyid and Wahibi and their agenda of Jihad-e-Qitl (as opposed to the lofty ideal of Jihad-e-Akbar) led not only to madhabs but Islam today being divided to over 70 firqas. Ijtehad was never the ideals of Wahabis, it was ‘kill cause you do not agree with me’ period. That madhab and firqas were the necessary outcome – for no other reason – but survival.

NO the pROPHET explained nothing – if he did we wouldn’t be arguing today. He didn’t make it easy for us, instead insisted on the study of the kO’RAN and to leave it to our faculties (akel) to understand. kO’RAN is NOT the last word of gOD – it is the last time gOD has communicated with man. It continues to be radically interpreted on both right and left – but most unfortunately NOT in the center – our brains, where it is direly needed. There is no coercion in Islam simply because the human brain hadn’t evolved 1500 years back to ‘understand’ the book, neither has it today. And even while it (the brain) has evolved to the techno-cyber level it is today - try as we may, it is still is an empty hard disk with less that 15% of space occupied! There are no directives In the kO’RAN to either study, trust or believe these Hadith. The pROPHET forbade even what he uttered to be recorded, for he knew over time they will be misinterpreted and they have been misinterpreted.

Despite the over 100,000 pROPHETs of mankind, Muhammad is the ONLY one who has a historical axiom. It surely is a blessing that other than his grave, his house, his utensils, clothes – even parts of his beard have been preserved – giving credibility to the existence of the man. But more than that – the words of gOD revealed in the kO’RAN through him for mankind by Gabriel is preserved largely intact if not unblemished due to the interference of man.

Question: if ‘graves’ are not worthy of worship – then why has the ‘grave’ of pROPHET Muhammad been preserved? What have the billions of faithful who have flocked the site done in 1500 years if not 'worship’ – when the kO’RAN specifically states – ‘the best Muslim grave is one that mixes with the dust and leaves no trace’? Did ‘Muslims’ err after the death of the pROPHET? The answers are historical and have nothing to do with either religion or spirituality.

Finally, where the Sufis are misunderstood is not in their radical interpretation of the kO’RAN or challenging the existing status quo, but in their seeking to find, examine and understand the deepest and arduous efforts and meditation of Muhammad for over 15 years in the caves of Mount Heera that led to the kO’RAN being revealed, and Islam being born. If that is appreciated and understood, no Hadith as such is required! Thanks - Mac H

3. Alright Mac bhai...let me just share my views...Imam Muhammad Ibn Abdul Wahhab (from him/his time Wahabi term started) is from 18th century!! Ijtihad is still going on, sholars are actually continueing to do so. Rather all the madhabs are results of ijtihad which came around those 400 years! Soofi dorbesh people cant stand Ibn A Wahhab and Saudis because he with the help of the al-Saud family (as they were the rulers then as well) went in jihad to demolish graves which were being worshipped by soofis. They still exist. And Quran is complete but use of Hadith is a must which no way belittles Quran. Otherwise why would Prophet explain it, if it was clear to general audience?

My point is...time n again...u emphasized more on studying Quran itself...whereas I explained Hadith as an effective tool to understand Quran....so, fundamentally....I don't see much difference boss...:)

2. Dear Anik Bin Ashraf - I do not claim to be a know all and surely there is no end to human mistakes and human learning. That is a process that must continue from cradle to the grave. We have a lot to learn from each other and the bigger respect from you will be earned, if you be so kind enough to share where you differ with me.

I can see that most friends of Wasim are deeply religious and that fills me with pride. However where we all perhaps go wrong is we do not examine spiritual angles to belief and this mix up and muddle creates most confusions. There is none to blame here than our legacy of misinterpretation that has derailed Islam and made laughing stock out of Muslims. I am an agnostic - born a Muslim, and therefore respectful of all religions and belief systems. When Muslims are derided, let me assure you - it pains me no end. But is that really the problem of Muslims, Islam or the kO'RAN?

Our problems started 400 years after the death of the pROPHET when the doors of Ijtehad (arguments/debates/inquiry/logic/reasoning etc) where closed by the Wahabi sect of Saudi Arabia and their poison of supremacist, zero centric and misogynist interpretations has brought us to the state where we are in. It is time we all put a stop to it - because if we do not, before long all of us will be condemned to the pre-Islamic Ayyam e Zahiliya period of infamy.

Brother, you are a soldier of this great nation, and remember you swore allegiance NOT by any Hadith - but by the kO'RAN and the flag. I salute you for the same and invite you for further debate on the subject. I want to learn. I am not here to teach anyone a thing or tow as I do not want to be known or remembered as a 'preacher' or a Mollah. Islam does not permit a clergy class ! Regards - Mac H

1. Dear Mac bhai....I consider it to be an honour for me to learn abt yr reservation s on my thoughts....it's because, I had always been a big fan of yr songs....

I won't drag this issue further, as becoz, I have respect for what our brother...@ Samsi Arifeen narrated....to avoid muddling it further...However, with all due respect....I also beg to differ with u at many points that u brought out....n I think there can always be a healthy debate if our purpose is to enrich ourselves by learning...regards...

Facebook Debate: Those that do not say prayers are Apostates and should be killed? - Part 1

2011-07-29T09:36:00.004+06:00

by Mac Haque

Dear Anik Bin Ashraf - I beg to differ with your points. (in red below)

In your first paragraph you make several points from Hadith traditions that lays harsh punishment (mostly death by execution) for those that oppose the 'Scholars' views - without taking into cognizance that most of these Hadith are spurious and made to further the political and commercial agenda of the Umayyid and Abbasid after the death of the pROPHET.

What you then state as the 'most correct' is again attributed to Hadith Scholars. Anybody believing in all that nonsense in Hadith, would make it appear as if the kO'RAN is incomplete - or it needs 'scholarly' interpretations to hold water. What travesty!

You talk about apostasy and advocate the execution of anyone who opposes the views of the Scholars. Yet if you care to read the History of Islam, you will note that THERE IS NOT A SINGLE INSTANCE of anybody being put to death during the life of the pROPHET on ground of 'apostasy' or even blasphemy. Even one of his script writer who was charged with recording the wahi from aLLAH and who went behind the back of the pROPHET and ridiculed him publicly was also NOT punished, not even by by death. Also there is no instance of anybody being 'stoned to death' for committing adultery. It was a Jewish custom which was neither part of Islam nor in its practice.

It is more than a little surprising that all 'Muslims' live and die by what is written in Hadith, making kO'RAN almost 'obsolete' - without realizing that the book has come for all mANKIND for all times to come. Challenge any of these so-called scholars to support their contention with verses from the holy book - and they quickly bury their heads in the sand. The fact is they do not study the kO'RAN on the four mandatory stations - Shariat, Hakikat, Tarikat and mA'AREFAT... and there are altogether 25 other stations in Islamic 'filsufah' - from which the word philosophy was derived.

On Salaah, there is only reference to 'dayemi Salaah' (or remembrance of gOD at all times) in the kO'RAN and not a word is mentioned about 'wakhtia Salaah'. The whole interpretation of the word Salaah has got to be taken into consideration in its esoteric and exoteric context - the zahiri and batini - together with its hidden depth. Just going through the punishing calisthenics of hitting the forehead hard on the floor five times a day, and making huge scars to proclaim a 'Namaazi' status - is fool hardy and doubtful if aLLAH would be appeased by the same. The hate in our heart where we sanction murder for those opposing us has condemned Islam to the backbench of progress.

Last if not the least - talking about how big a 'Namaazi' we are or performing Salaah in public just to impress others is the worst form of Shirk (sacrilege). What is between us and aLLAH is purely private, secret and sacred. Man simply cannot judge fellow Man - that is the job of aLLAH really.

Nothing ABOUT aLLAH resembles humans. He is sexless, formless, speech less etc etc. The worst Murtads (apostates) are those that believe or have started believing, that the way we THINK is also the way aLLAH thinks?

aLLAH wants us to study the kO'RAN and the book by the way is neither a Harold Robbins titillating thriller or a Facebook update that we read and 'instantly understand'. aLLAH wants us to use our mid cerebral faculty - our 'akel' (reasoning/intellect) to understand and appreciate the munificence of the words of the kO'RAN.

It is simple but not easy. It is easy to be complicated but quite complicated to be easy :)

Anik Bin Ashraf

The scholars have differed concerning the Muslim who deliberately neglects salaah without denying that it is obligatory. Some of them say that he is definitely a kaafir who has gone beyond the pale of Islam. He is considered to be a murtadd (apostate) who is to be given three days to repent – if he does not, he is to be executed for his apostasy. The funeral prayer will not be recited over him, and he will not be buried in the Muslim graveyard. The greeting of salaam is not to be given to him, in life or in death, and his greeting is not to be returned; prayers for forgiveness and mercy for him cannot be offered; he cannot inherit, neither can his wealth be inherited, instead it is to be given to the Muslim treasury (bayt al-maal). This ruling applies whether the number of people who are neglecting their prayers are many or a few.

This opinion is the soundest and most correct, because of the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): “The difference between us and them is salaah. Whoever neglects it is a kaafir.” (Reported by Imaam Ahmad and the authors of Sunan with a saheeh isnaad); and: “(Nothing stands) between a man and kufr and shirk, except prayer: (whoever neglects it becomes a kaafir and a mushrik).” (Reported by Imaam Muslim in his Saheeh, with other similar ahaadeeth).

The majority of scholars said that if a person denies that prayer is obligatory, he is a kaafir and an apostate from the religion of Islam. The ruling concerning such a person is as described above. If he does not deny that it is obligatory, but he neglects it because of laziness, for example, then he is guilty of a major sin (kabeerah), but he is not considered to be beyond the pale of Islam. He should be given three days in which to repent. If he does, then al-hamdu lillah (praise be to Allaah); if he does not, then he should be executed, but this is a punishment, not because he became a kaafir. In this case, he should be washed (ghusl, after death) and wrapped in a shroud (kafn). The funeral prayer should be offered for him, prayers can be offered for forgiveness and mercy for him, and he should be buried in the Muslim graveyard. He can inherit and be inherited from. In general, all the rules concerning Muslims who are sinners apply to him, in life and in death.

"Moner Manush" by Gautam Ghose

2011-07-20T14:59:00.011+06:00

Discussions on Facebook Adda Group

Mac Haque: Sudipa Bose and Babuji Bose thanks for your points.

Essentially the first unforgivable mistake that Gautam Ghose makes is to get into the unnecessary dilemma/debate whether sHAIji was a Hindu or Muslim and there have been no less efforts over 200 years to make either of him. The whole concept of 'jaat' which Lalon resisted and stood up against - became somehow very central to the movie. It is a disservice to Bauliana and one which will be met by stoic hurt among practitioners.

The movie revolves around Lalon's childhood and it would appear as if this is old Lalon's first person account to Jyotindranath (I hope I have got the name right as also Tagore's nephew?) is a hackneyed version and more colorful ones are available on the Net. However there have been significant ground breaking research since and Gautam Ghose could have well looked at them.

On Shiraj sHAI There are no historical records of a man by name of Shiraj sHAi ever being in existence. He was a dARBESH (dervish) not a fAKIR - and that’s an allegorical term of reverence - 'shey-raj-sHAI' or 'the King of Enlightenment' meaning gOD himself - the largest lamp that will keep lighting smaller lamps till end of times. Therefore bringing sHIRAJ sHAI to 'life' is a mere attempt to cater to convoluted hypothesis of the sHADHUs of Harishpuir, Harinakundu - and a larger attempt to make a Muslim out of sHAIJi.

sHAIJi's parents too have been reduced to a farce. His adoptive father was not a weaver, but a Maulana (prayer leader) and herbalist. Matijaan has been depicted as an ordinary woman, a housewife. She was not. She was a fAKIRAANi and indeed Lalon's spiritual mentor. Lalons' knowledge of Arabic and kO'Ran came from Malaam, and mA'AREFOT from Matijaan.

In a round about way Lalon’s grounding on the stations of Shariat came from his father and mA'AREFOT from his mother. Both are complimentary and cannot be viewed in isolation. The metaphoric Shiraj sHAi as far as I am concerned is an allegorical and strongly spiritual culmination of both his parents. That sHIRAJ sHAI never existed is argued by sHADHUs on the following hypothesis:

if Lalon sHAIJi ordered the entombment of his father five years before his own death, and his wishes for his mother to be entombed likewise besides his own grave were carried out by followers five years after his death - why then would there be no sign, no shrine of Shiraj sHAi in existence anywhere in Bangladesh?

The songs in the movie were picked and placed in random without any understanding of the grounded, practiced and perfected structures of Lalon philosophy and its appropriate paradigm/placement during sHAIJi's time on earth and the correlation of each verse to the levels of spirituality which briefly goes as below

a. Trittotyo Baad: 1. Noor Tattya 2. Nabi Tottyo 3. Rasool Tottyo

b. Pancha Leela: 4. Krishna Leela 5. Goishtho Leela 6. Nima Leela 7.Gouro Leela 8.Nitai Leela

c. Then the high, higher and highest engagement or Desh: 9. Sthulo Desh 10. Proborto Desh 11.sHADHOK Desh and the supreme 12. sHIDDHI Desh or enlightenment.

Without understanding of all 12 levels as above which essentially makes it the core and essence of Bengal's Bhaabdbaad - Lalon or his philosophy can never be understood or explained.

On Rabindranath Tagore: Historically there are no records of sHAIJi and Tagore ever meeting face to face. It couldn't have happened in those feudal time...Lalon was a proja (subject/serf/servant) and Tagore a Zamindar(landlord) - and there are stories among bAULs that sHAIJi refused to board a palanquin sent by Tagore to fetch him!

Aside if the two ever met, this would have certainly been recorded by Tagore himself, not his apologists....

The sketched portrait of Lalon is also a myth. Again no historical records of any portrait of sHAIJi being in existence anywhere in the world - painters in Bangladesh agree with me on this one.

Two portraits are in circulation. The first one with sHAIJi sporting a hair bun, has striking Aryan features, high cheek bones, sharp nose and chins - the other (the one we saw in the movie) shows sHAIJi with Mongoloid features. The problem with both portraits is other than the difference I mention - were made by two nephews of Tagore.

Question: How could two blood brothers come up with two completely conflicting portrait of the same man?

Sudipa Bose: Saw the film recently, as an uninitiated viewer liked the film, Prasenjit was impressive, the strain of spirituality was palpable, not having read the book by SG nor having any depth of knowledge or information about Lalon Fakir; found the narrative engaging. But can understand the sentiments and responses you have posted here Mac, often with historical narratives the line of distinction between truth and imagination/interpretation/presentation becomes very thinly etched. The cinematography is quite outstanding, as is with most Gautam Ghosh films.

Babuji Bose: Will entirely 2nd Sudipa's views ... with the add IMHO, that whilst the film focuses on Lalon the man, not his philosophy, as Mac says, but I felt the 20 odd songs do bring out his wltensachaung, though of course they have to be interpreted right - for which over to you, Mac bro :-)

BTW Mac - are the points (1) and (2) historically factual, minimalistically for the second

Keep shining ...

Watched the Moner Manush DVD this morning. I admit that it was long over due, however with anything to do with Fakir Lalon sHAH, I guess I always exercise a bit of patience and wait till the dust of controversies has settled down.

In the meantime have read one too many critiques, reviews and general comments on the movie and some of it was worrying. Several sHADU friends who had seen the movie found it disturbing - so in deference to their sentiments, I couldn't be less cautious.

Over all as a movie, the screenplay, casting, cinematography and choice of location was fabulous. Some of the songs, specially those rendered by my gURU Bhai Latif Shah were a class in themselves as it captured the rusticity of the Nadiya dialect and essentially the 'bhaab' of the songs.

However in the case of the females, they fell short. 'Jekhaney sHAIr bAARAM khana' by Farida Parveen was a nightmare - a hugely put-on voice that irritated me no end. I am sure if Gautam Ghose concentrated and looked for female voices other than a 'name brand' that has fallen out of fashion in Bangladesh in recent times, he would have been surprised. That in turn would have lifted the renditions to greater heights.

As far as spirituality is concerned, the movie was a disaster as there was more emphasis on Lalon the Man than his message. Since it’s a fictional account based on Sunil Gangapadhay’s novel (I have read very few of his books and essays so not in a position to speak for or against the man!) - I would have let it pass, but there were two historical sore points benchmarked quite unnecessarily.

1. The identity of Lalon - which the young Lalon admits in the first person, was that of Shonaton

2. The implied patronization by Rabindranath Tagore's family. The movie ends with a subtle message that had it not been for the largesse of the Tagore family granting the land in Seuria where Lalon's ankhara was situated then (as even now) - the Bauls would have disappeared given the forces opposed to the fraternity, is the final seal. Turns out there are no historical land deeds to support the contention!

Both emphasis therefore defeats the purpose and lofty ideals of Bauliana.

More later

Mac Haque

Note Of Protest: Book - Lalon - Bangla Bauls 1

2011-06-02T18:53:00.009+06:00

Thursday, 2nd June 2011

Mr.Haroonuzzman

Independent University - Bangladesh (IUB)

Dhaka

Dear Mr.Haroonuzzaman,

I write to express my deep disappointment and irate sentiments after having read the Introduction of your book Lalon – Bangla Bauls 1 – the Second Edition published in June 2010 which I purchased just a few days back.

As a researcher and a member of the Baul fraternity of over 24 years, it was a shock to go through some of the contents that you have been so insensitive about. They stand contrary to our great spiritual lineage and indeed demeans our belief system.

The most damaging aspect in your introduction was to ‘sex-up’ the book unnecessarily. What you have done is misogynist in character and by implications condemns the Baul philosophy to that of the male only and/or male chauvinism. Nothing is closer to the truth.

You should have known all to well that gender bias is non-existent among the Bauls and women are held in the highest of esteem. Similar insinuations have been challenged in the past, and I will be as upright to advise you that in your case too – it will not go unchallenged.

Ironically while criticizing the intellectual supremacism of the Center and appreciating the resistance of the Bauls, you have unwittingly or by intention – fallen into a trap. It is really unfortunate that descriptions of esoteric and unscientific Tantric-Yogic sexual practices of a few, (the catalyst for the genocide on Buddhism in Bengal and its ultimate demise) – as the ‘religion of Bauls’ is indicative that you have deliberately played up to the western status quo that Baul and/or its philosophy is all about sex and drugs? The over all emphasis that the only way to attain spirituality (Fanafillah/Nirvana) is by 'sexual intercourse' are those of mundane illiterates and not expected or worthy of somebody of your stature.

You seem not to have come across the famous phrase of the Bauls –

“Aponar Shadhon Bhojon er kotha,

Kohiyo na jotha Totha,

Aponar apuni kei koriyeo shabdhdhan”

By reading your book and trying to understand your thought patterns, it is evident that you do not seem to be one that has read or have any clear idea about Ilm-E-Tusawwuf and or the basic principals and practices of Ma’arefoti Islam. If you did, you could not have simply written the utter nonsense that describes our venerated Fakirs in your book. Do consider the exoteric and esoteric (Zahiri/Batini) implications of "Fey,Kaaf,Yaa, Ray" in Arabic please. You have surely bitten more than you can chew.

Spiritualism Sir, is not about writing or explaining – it has got to be experienced personally and surely you have neither lived the life of an ascetic or understand its rigor and therefore your articulations are flippant, inappropriate and vulgar.

You seemed to have arrived at a definite conclusion that Fakir Lalon Shah was a ‘Muslim’ based on the book of Dr. Khondokar Reajul Haque. Is he really the final authority on Lalon? I know the gentleman personally and have visited Harishpur, Harinakundu and his hypothesis is based on unsubstantiated claims of Shadhus that Siraj Shai lived in the area and is a matter of friction between the Shadhus of Seuria, Kushtia.

It is now beyond any reasoning of the Shadhus and Fakirs that there are no historical records of a person by the name of Sirah Shai ever being in existence. Indeed every time Lalon Shaiji referred to Siraj Shai he was referring to our omniscient Maker!

Finally, the convoluted sexual practices of some Shadhus which you have in a round about way implied was also that of Lalon Shaiji – is hurtful and one I take serious personal exception. Sir, nobody has gotten away by demeaning and/or insulting our Shaiji.

The Fakirs and their enlightened spirit should not to be taken lightly.

Kind regards

Our Collapsing Cultural Canopy, Conflicts and attack on Bauls

2011-04-29T08:55:00.000+06:00

Maqsoodul Haque – Mac

”Whatever is Sin for a Nation, could be salvation for another” Fakir Lalon Shah

The choice by default of people with a cultural bent of mind prior to any national elections is to vote for the ruling Awami League, for no other reason than its ‘commitment to secular pluralism’ which on surface and devoid of deceits - translates to tolerance of minority views, ideas, beliefs and lifestyles. Yes, we have managed to drive out the BNP-Jamaat nexus of Islam pasand bigots as also a Military backed ‘Caretaker Government’ – but is our new found spirit of Freedom and Democracy any indicator that we have been able to wrestle control, or enlarge the very constricted liberal space that overrides our collapsing cultural canopy?

For instance, there have been absolutely no ‘big noise’ from our so-called ‘Cultural Activists’ when it concerns recent spate of looting, theft and ransacking of deities in Shonaton Temples all across the country, nor has there been any ‘protest’ to decry the forceful eviction, usurping of their land housing religious sites, or the intermittent violence against the community. The reasons are understandable: all of these are happening during apparently ‘secular’ times when we bask in complacency of having been able to marginalize the Mollahs at long last. Our ‘Cultural Activists’ therefore do not want to embarrass the Government of the day – and in our Bangaliana have even turned a blind eye to continued racist oppression of other communities including Adivasis – our Indigenous Peoples.

In focus: the incident in Pangsha, Rajbari on 5th April where 28 members of the Baul fraternity were attacked, their long hair and beard shorn by a local Imam and other cohorts, later forcing them to a nearby Mosque to utter ‘Tawba’ (repentance). Their crime? They were holding a yearly ‘Shadhu Shongo’ (Conclave of the Wise) which the fanatics branded ‘un-Islamic’ – are deeply disturbing signals. The incident went unreported until about the 8th of April and was limited to the vernacular press. Other newspaper joined in begrudgingly, and had it not been for Mohammad Fakir (the Shadhu who called the Conclave) lodging a case in the nearby police station – it would have been brushed under the carpet. The attempted suppression of this news became all the more obvious when the facts went public. Surprise of all surprise - it wasn’t our ‘known and sworn’ enemies – the ‘fun-da-mental-ist’ who launched the attacks. Turns out, the attackers including the Imam were either Awami League leaders or/are involved with the ruling party politics in the area.

Belatedly exposed to the faux pas the local Awami League MP Zillul Hakim was seen expressing his ‘regrets’ on TV and that the issue has been ‘mutually and peacefully resolved’– with the Bauls apparently ‘agreeing to a solution’. End of the story? No, there were no apologies offered to the Bauls, the Court case was bypassed and it only confirmed that our ‘secular, plural and progressive forces’ were the real perpetrators, possibly even the instigators of the attack. Later reports suggest the Bauls were coerced into the ‘agreement’ prior to the meeting with the MP. Asked why an agreement was arrived on an issue of such seriousness especially when it is in Court, private video footages quoted the MP as saying –“even murder cases are resolved in my constituency in like manner”!

Bauls and their music are not only our national wealth they are listed in the UNESCO declaration of 2005 as ‘Masterpieces of Oral Intangible Heritage of Humanity’ and while two Baul Saints, the Late Khoda Buksh Shah of Chuadanga and Late Karim Shah of Sunamganj, Sylhet were awarded Bangladesh’s highest Civilian Honor Ekushey Padak, members of the agnostic fraternity continue to eke out an existence in the periphery and are largely ostracized. It is nonetheless heartening that the Baul Movement has built up enormous urban followings since the mid 90’s and on Facebook there was an outcry – with some aficionados calling for a ‘counter Shadhu Shongo’ at Pangsha later in the month. My immediate reaction was to point out that a Shadhu Shongo is not meant for tit-for-tat reprisals or a forum for protest or expression of irate sentiments.

These conclaves are essentially limited to discourses into the music, life and teaching of the many Saints who sought to illumine the majority of our people. Further, a Shadhu Shongo is called by a Baul Shadhu (practitioner) and those sending out the Facebook invites – did not necessarily fit into the category – nor did anybody have a clue that Shadhu Shongo’s are not held in the month of Boishakh! Why? Again it is best left for the Shadhu’s to explain – however from my very limited knowledge on the subject; one has to study esoteric Indian Cosmology to get the drift. Same reason, the month of Boishakh is not thought to be auspicious even for marriages.

In any event – good sense prevailed and it was left to Mohammad Fakir of Pangsha to send out a new invite – asking people to ‘assist him complete the incomplete Shadhu Shongo’. With hundreds of eager enthusiast with no knowledge of either the Baul way of life, or the regimes associated with the belief system imminently set to descend upon Pangsha to ‘right the wrong’, one hopes this does not degenerate into a photo-op cultural picnic! Any escalation and/or law and order situation will lead to more outrages on the Bauls and result in unwanted intrusion and curiosity on their belief – which while acknowledging the ‘omniscient Maker’, rejects all religions, temples, mosques, rituals and symbolism – a belief and life style of our people for over two thousand years.

I also find it very hard to accept the blasé synonymity drawn between Bauls and Fakir Lalon Shah, which has been much the case in the Media this time around as in the past. Lalon never claimed to be a Baul, and the Baul movement indeed predates him by centuries. Therefore not all Bauls are ‘Lalon devotees’ – or vice versa. One may hold Fakir Lalon Shah In the highest of reverence, be inspired by his message – but it goes contrary to Baul belief if we are to propel any man to a pedestal for worship. Lalon in his lifetime abhorred and resisted such inclinations.

While shearing off long hair and beards of a Baul is condemnable – it is not a ‘sacrilegious’ act at any rate, rather a criminal attack, humiliation of the worst kind and a violation of an individual’s sovereignty. Sporting long hair or beard does not necessarily make one a Baul, as much as skull caps, beards and dresses denoting the so-called ‘Islamic identity’ of the Mollah any affirmation of a pukkah Muslim either!

It is time that we move forward than get bogged down by trivialities which border on the tokenistic. Cultural cohesion can only be achieved by thorough knowledge and understanding of our inherent strength – our folk philosophies and philosophers – and without a doubt Lalon stands out as the greatest Master we as a Nation have been blessed with.

To end, a Baul greeting – Joi Guru – ‘Long Live the Great God in Man’.

NEW AGE Xtra - Print Version

Friday, Dhaka 29th April 2011

Impressions: Reformist Muslim's Conference at Oxford University -11th-13 June 2010

2010-09-10T15:04:00.005+06:00

Hi All!

During my recent trip to the UK I was invited as an observer to the ‘Critical Thinkers for Islamic Reforms’ Conference at Oxford University. Held between 11th to the 13th of June 2010 - the experience was uplifting and educative and I take pride in sharing my thoughts here.

Please Click on this link.

Enjoy

/\ jOI gURU

Mac

bAULIANA - Worshiping the gREAT gOD in mAN: Explaining bAULIANA - The Orgins of bAULS - Part 2

2010-08-19T10:42:00.000+06:00

bAULIANA - Worshiping the gREAT gOD in mAN: Explaining bAULIANA - The Orgins of bAULS - Part 2

Aroj Ali Matubbar, aBRAHAM, iSHMAEL - and 'Zabah' as opposed to 'Korbani' - Exchange with Manobota

2010-04-11T06:38:00.010+06:00

Dear Bondhu Manobota,

Thank you very much for sharing the link. It has refreshed my old readings of Aroj Ali Matubbar's works which I first stumbled upon quite by accident in 1990. Indeed he was the most brilliant 19th Century folk philosophers that Bangladesh was blessed with. Interestingly even somebody as ‘secular’ as Bangabandu had his works proscribed, for it was feared that they may contribute to social disorder in the newly independent nation.

First of all please forgive my imprudence to point out that there is no such word as ‘sUFISM’. In the Islamic tenet it is Ilm e Tussawuf – which is intrinsic and complementary with Ilm-e-Sharia. We cannot acknowledge one without a thorough and unbiased understanding of the other – as that would be a gross error of judgment.

Ultimately we will not be judged for our time in life (or lifetime) by whether we were good or bad, right or wrong, ‘moral or immoral’ – not even whether we were just or unjust. If at all, we will only be judged for our INTENTIONS. One reason I have stayed clear away from from the forum you mention since 2004 is because I find many who write there have 'intentions' that are neither pure nor pristine. I trust you get the drift!

I beg to differ on the word ‘Korbani’ – for in the kORANic text the words is ‘zabah’. With that it is not meant ‘slaughter’ – but to violently shed off what is inherent in creating a sOUL which is free from any form of bias, hatred, evil thoughts – and importantly murder of any lifeforms.

To exemplify – Fakir Lalon sHAIJi mentions in the song ‘pAAP pUNYER kotha’ (Of sINS and sALVATION)

“ Shukor goru duti poshu khaitey boleychey Jesu
Eat swines and cows, thus said Jesus
Tobey keno Muslim Hindu Pichey te hotai
Why do the mUSLIM and hINDU shun it aside”

By that is meant as I have learnt from my long association with the sHADHUs and fAKIRs– there are no clear or specific directive/s in any religious text whether they be Shonaton, Buddhist, Abrahamic, Judaic, Christianity or Islam – that an animal or life form has to be slaughtered just to ‘appease’ gOD and nowhere does it say it is a rite that is 'obligatory on all wealthy Muslims to perform each year'.

I have challenged several reputed Ulema’s and Alems (Islamic theologians) on e-forums to cite me one verse that disputes my contentions. Their deafening silence on the issue, confirms that I was right - because there is no such thing in the text.

Also if we are to believe the kORANic injunction ‘follow the Messengers’ – then the statement of jESUS would be in conflict with the kORAN and indeed mUHAMMAD’s stated position as in the kORAN – making him appear a hypocrite. Pointedly, how could mUHAMMAD have said such a thing if he was not following messengers from pre-aBRAHAMIC times – and how could he expect mankind to follow him – if he was not following his immediate predecessor i.e jESUS -in the monotheistic faith?

These are questions that have no answers – because nowhere did Muhammad say ‘follow Hadith’ – if at all true, as some Hadith say, he apparently said ‘follow the kORAN if you wish to know me or aLLAH’. In all probability – he said nothing!

If I may be impertinent, as far as the kORAN is concerned aBRAHAM's attempted 'sacrifice ' (slaughter) of his son – was an ‘act of faith’ – and iSHMAEL being replaced by a lamb – I believe was NOT an 'act of gOD' for the Muslim gOD aLLAH simply cannot physically intervene in acts of mAN. If he did so, that would be going against the basic belief and tenet in aLLAH as in the kORAN i.e. he is sexless, formless, sightless etc, etc – indeed anything that is referred to him resembling humans or human actions – is ‘shirek’ – sacrilege/digression.

So it is very likely that a human shocked at the sight of what aBRAHAM was attempting (and there are no confirmations that the act occurred in public) – quickly replaced iSHMAEL with a lamb – which the blindfolded aBRAHAM , ‘blinded’ also by his love of gOD - could have well misconstrued as ‘divine intervention’.

For 'blind followers' of Islam, what is not known is their religion permits no space for superstitions and gOD intervening physically in the affairs of mAN. However that anonymous human who saved iSHMAEL MUST be credited for his bold actions - else human slaughter and cannibalism is what we would have certainly inherited had aBRAHAM succeeded. Possibly gOD ‘accepted’ that one innocent lamb and was ‘appeased’ – that ensured the denial of a slaughter of the ‘flock’ – with humans not being exempt.

The only thing gODly about humans is the sOUL, or rOOHu – which is 'energy' and science, confirms that energy can neither be created nor destroyed. If we are to believe in the lofty principals of Ashraful Maklukat – or humans are the best of gODs ‘creation’ - then I trust the only thing 'holy’ about us is our sOUL. sOUL again is insight and we can only do justice in our times in life – if we constantly keep nourishing and turn our 'insight into foresight'. A sOUL tainted with filth will lose its capacity to reason and can conceivably never find ‘salvation’ – whatever that word means!

Ultimately our belief is limited to our faculty of knowledge and ‘intelligence’. But there is also such a word called ‘Extelligence’ i.e. mA’AREFOT or mA'ARIFA (previously termed gnosis) – is essentially knowledge beyond the ordinary and mundane: let us call it supra-mundane. mA’AREFOT in Bangladesh is the practice of Extelligence in its purest form.

The presence of unsung philosophers and sAGES like fAKIR Lalon sHAH - to Aroj Ali Matubbor in our heritage reconfirms my long held conviction that the toiling mass of Bangladesh are 'genetically' mA’AREFOTi – and thus we openly and naturally resist the Salafist/Wahabist – onslaught, incursion and misinterpretation of Islam which regrettably is considered ‘mainstream Islam’ in Bangladesh.

On the issue of gOD asking mOSES to ‘sacrifice’ his eyes, I find a befitting song from fAKIR Lalon sHAH to explain where Aroj Ali Matubbor possibly missed:

" Jonmo ondho mor noyon,
I was born blind
tumi gURU, tumi bOUDDHO tumi shocheton
yOU are the bUDDHA, you are the gURU of my conscience
fAKIR Lalon oti binoi korey koi,
fAKIR Lalon pleads with all humility
hey probhu, gyaan onjoli dau mor noyoney
O my lORD bless me with thine 'eyes of knowledge'”

Bottom line. We can have our sight yet be sightless or vice versa.

To end – my final equation of ‘Korbani’ or ‘Zabah’ however is interpreted in Lord bUDDHAs nIRVANA exclamation “it has left me, it has left me”.

He never ‘attained’ anything called nIRVANA – indeed what happened was he worked and disposed of all worldly binds that tied him down to being a 'mere human'. Once that done – he was prepared for ‘pari-nIRVANA’ or 'ultimate nIRVANA' - death as we call it.

Little did it matter that he was poisoned and allowed the poison to consume him for weeks – till it (the poison) consumed itself and left his body free to embrace Tirodhaan - departure.

jOI gURU /\

Mac

11th April 2010

(C) Ongoing Research

How were pROPHETs different from other Humans?

2010-01-11T20:38:00.004+06:00

Hi All!
I often get into these very bizarre situations at times when people confront me for explanations about 'religious' matters as if I am some kinda theologian :) And so it was last week that a 14 year old wanted me to explain (through Facebook of course LOL) a question that she has to prepare for ahead of her exams.
The question was "How were pROPHETs different from other Humans?" - and here was my longish answer - which I thought may have been appropriate.
To be honest, it would seem towards the end that I am 'glorifying' mUHAMMAD - but while the student studies in a Christian public school here in Dhaka, the question she had to prepare for is in the mandatory Islamic studies - so most unfortunately the end emphasis had to be Islam and mUHAMMAD.
I trust everybody will enjoy this attempted 'lesson' or "Sabaks'.
jOI gURU /\
Mac

Quote:

My Darling Elms!

To be entirely honest, I have never ever have come across this question in my life...so I am not too sure if this will be sufficient or even help you get any points in school :(

Here are my thoughts:

pROPHETS were as much human as any in the world. They had the same basic characteristics that we do, had the same limitations and frailties in their day to day existence like us.

Where they were different is possibly - all scriptural and/or oral religions in the world believed and gave enough indicators of who the pROHETs would be..sometimes even coming close to naming them - or exactly where in the geographical locations of the world they would be placed - and what they would be doing, and how the cumulative destiny of mANKIND will thus be shaped. These were 'prophesies' at the time - and the pROPHETs were born and came in to confirm them.

For instance about pROPHET mUHAMMAD it was indicated in The Vedas, the Shonaton (Hindu) script in India that the 'last pROPHET', would not suckle his mothers milk (mUHAMMAD was raised by a wet nurse as his mother was in ill health), that he would be an only child, that he would leave behind no male heir, and that he would not ride a Horse or Elephant - but a Camel (and mUHAMMAD rode a camel).

The kO'RAN mentions that over 2,40,000 pROPHETS preceded mUHAMMAD - thus from aBRAHAM, to mOSES and jESUS - pROPHETS they were aplenty - and as a mUSLIM you are 'commanded' to believe the pROPHETS of the Jews and Christians are also our pROPHETs - in fact Jews and Christians are our 'first cousins'.

aBRAHAM (Ibrahim) is the founding father of all monotheist/scriptural religions (i.e believer in One gOD - the All in All..aLLAH) in the world......the iNJIL, tORAH, bIBLE and the kO'RAN were also 'revelations'.

I am inclined to believe that in our part of the world rAMA, kRISHNA, bUDDHA etc - too were pROPHETs..although we have no proof that they were so - cause they never claimed it themselves and the books written then were based on hearsay and myths - i.e they were not scientifically placed for pointed guidance of mANKIND - and have been edited and/or revised time after time - and that includes the iNJIL, tORAH, and the bIBLE.

The kO'RAN fortunately remains intact after that many years..surprising isn't it?

To repeat....pROPHETs were different in the sense that there were enough indications available in 'holy books' and oral traditions since times immemorial to suggest that such great men would come and by the sheer dint of their intellect and personality change the course of humanity. Thus each of our monotheist pROPHETS came with a special mission as direct 'messengers of gOD' and this they weren't aware themselves until a certain point in their life and usually after lots of trials and tribulation.

The 'message' had always been the same... 'see no evil, speak no evil, do no evil, love mankind, stay away from hatred, lies, stealing, cheating and bloodshed' - but mAN neither listened nor obeyed. So many pROPHETs to convince mANKIND also preformed miracles: jESUS for instance could feed thousands with a loaf of bread, could restore sight to the blind and even raise men and women, and make them walk - years after their death!

Yet in mUHAMMAD we find that he was not given any miraculous or supernatural powers - because gOD realized he couldn't convince man of hIS existence by merely demonstrating things. If mankind had to change they had all to do things for themselves....like only you can and have to prove it to your teachers how good you are in studies- than the rest in your class - which ultimate makes your grade!

Therefore the only 'miracle' mUHAMAMAD possessed (or was blessed with) was the kO'RAN which was 'revealed' to him through the arch aNGEl gABRIEL and which were written down by his followers as he was 'unlettered' - by which is not to be confused as being 'illiterate'.

The first words in the kO'RAN therefore commands ..'read in the name of aLLAH the most gracious the most merciful'. So it is only in reading and understanding that mankind could reach his or her own conclusive judgment about the existence of the mAKER - the supreme being and do it on their own terms.

iSLAM is the only religion in the world that encourages a direct communion with the mAKER. What is between you and your mAKER, is entirely personal, pure, secret and sacred. How you feel gOD in you is your business...and if you need examples - the kO'RAN commands you to 'follow the messengers' - meaning from aBRAHAM down to mUHAMMAD and how they lived their life and made use of their times.

It was mUHAMMADs all encompassing personality, the trait of his character, his judgment and his limitations that is the foundation of the kO'RAN. Each of the verses were revealed at critical junctures in his life and all of it gives us enough indications of the relationship (the ultimate relationship if we may) between mAN and his Creator (mABOOD/pARWARDIGAR) and the way to go about.

No - pROPHETs were not ordinary men, neither were they magicians or soothsayers. Their experience were human - and where they were different is how the used their intellect, charisma and the times in their lifetime, to set examples that billions all across the world would emulate and replicate and thus benefit from..... in the case of mUHAMMAD for over 1500 years since his death, for jESUS nearly 2,500 for aBRAHAM- 10,000 + years.

In a nutshell pROPHETs were 'extra ordinary humans' (not supernatural or SUPERMAN), for they had the capacity to show us the way..not only towards gOD - but indeed how we should conduct ourselves in our day to day lives - importantly live in pEACE.

"You have understood the riddles of the ages,
Yes and you have understood the universal nine,
You have placed your footprints on the everlasting sands of time,
Yes so tell me why can't you understand'
That there ain't no such thing as a superman?"
Gil Scott Heron

Best of luck for your 'egg-jams' my love :)

Unquote

Fakir Lalon Shah and the basic meaning of the kO’RAN

2009-09-20T12:04:00.009+07:00

“The Koran possesses an external appearance and a hidden depth, an exoteric meaning and an esoteric meaning. This esoteric meaning in turn conceals an esoteric meaning (this depth possesses a depth, after the image of the celestial Spheres which are enclosed within each other). So it goes on for seven esoteric meanings (seven depths of hidden depth). ” Henry Corbin [1903-1978]

Previous Episode

Muhammad was a Prophet – and Baul’s do not dispute that he was the last one – however he was also a Man and unlike other Prophets the only 'miracle' he had was, that his limits were as limited as any Man in their search for truth. Where Muhammad succeeded is to unlock the mysteries of the world came in the form of the words of the kO’RAN which is the faithfully encrypted seed truth as revealed to him by the angel Gabriel. Contrary to popular misconception: Islam, Muslim and the words of the kO'RAN are three separate matters. The confusion starts when we mix them up.

The kO’RAN is the only book known to mankind that can be memorized and ‘commands believers’ to use their own intellect to interpret its words, sentences, text and letters. Even during the times of Prophet Muhammad, traditions say men and women would not only write it during the twenty three years it took for the revelation to meet its conclusion – hundreds would memorize them, and by the time the Prophet passed away, thousands knew it ‘by heart’.

The book as we read in the form it is today, was compiled (not edited) about twenty years following the death of the Prophet Muhammad under the direction of Caliph Uthman, and sequence followed, whereby the largest of verses start at the beginning and the smallest were placed at the end, without disengaging or disrupting the original revelation at any point.

kO’RAN is a ‘Book of Knowledge for believers and the knowledgeable’ and aL-kO’RAN translated from Arabic closely means ‘The Recitation’ i.e. as there are words, there is also rhythm, meter, music, quantize, and even mind boggling mathematics – including Atomic Calculations. At its earliest, it was wisdom passed on from the lips to ears and later written – meaning hearing, seeing and reading – as also an additional back up, memorizing.

Contrary to popular misconceptions the kO’RAN is NOT the ‘last word of gOD’ – it is indeed the last time gOD has ‘spoken’ to Mankind and a book that is to remain relevant for all times in infinity to come. It had to be thus encapsulated in more ways than what mere ‘human minds’ in our times can interpret.

There is NO 'fundamentalism' in Islam other than the words of the kO’RAN which when read, practiced and inculcated in its essence should set humanity free and not entrap it into Man made dogmas and/or dictates of either self serving Mullahs or modern Western diktats of who/what constitutes a good or bad Muslim. It is the only religion that stresses on a direct communion with the Maker – the All In All – or ‘aLLAH’. Each Man is to himself and through practice and perseverance it can be achieved.

In Fakir Lalon Shah it now appears he had an almost 18th century ‘multi-media’ introspection of the kO’RAN. He could not only quote from verses, he could set them into music, and then proceed to look at each and every alphabet or letter and locate its implied meaning in its seven hidden ‘exoteric and esoteric depth’ – much as a Calligraphist could visualize an art work, or various ‘forms’ in them.

He therefore connoted and exemplified the interpretations of ‘dIL- kO’RAN’ – or kO’RAN more than a book of words i.e. one that would live in the Soul of Man – meaning the kO’RAN, gOD and/or aLLAH is central to human existence, giving further credence to the Baul belief:

Ja kichu Bhrom-ey, Tai achey Bhrom-andey
Whatever is on Earth – is also in the Universe

The word Bhrom, Brahma etc here are derivatives of the word Abraham, meaning ‘father of many nations’ also considered meaning ‘high father’, originating from the Aramaic words ‘Aba Rama’ which does not conflict or contradict the basic Monotheistic belief of one omnipotent and omniscient ‘God’.

Several documented Shizra Nama (Sufi Spiritual Lineage Flow Chart) in Bengal tracks back Lalon and places him in categories of wisdom and intellect to the earliest ascetic and hermetic disciples of Prophet Muhammad. Aside his great mastery with Arabic words and passages from the Koran as appears in his songs, have the left Sufi order in Bengal to speculate that he was a ‘Saint’. His title ‘Fakir’ because it is an Arabic word apparently lends credence to stake such a ‘claim’.

On the other hand his vast, almost limitless knowledge on the Vedas, Upanishads, Manusmriti, Srimad Bhagvatam, Bhagwad Geeta, Ramayana and Mahabharata, and other Shonaton scripts as also mellifluously explaining the tryst between Radha and Krishna among others – somehow convinces the Shonaton that he was a 17th century Avatar!

© Ongoing Documentation: Maqsoodul Haque – Mac
Updated 15th May 2009

Fakir Lalon Shah's Parents: mATIJAAN and Malam

2009-09-13T01:38:00.005+07:00

Previous Episode

If we are to pause time and get to specifics of the early days of Lalon to have an inkling on the ‘origins’ of his spirituality, we really do not have to look beyond Matijaan and Malam, the ‘humans’ who adopted him – neither out of choice nor by compulsion, but by reaffirmation of fate, faith and mercy – traits we have started to believe are that of ‘gOD’ not Man.

We have concluded earlier that both were devout members of the Muslim faith, and lived at a time, when religious prejudices were at its prime, as much as the spillover from the era gone by, bedevils our existence in this new Millennium - entrapping us into a mental slavery of a kind, where it is really left to us and no ‘gOD’ to free ourselves, and best echoed in Bob Marley’s [1945-1981] ‘Emancipation Song’:

“Emancipate yourself from Mental Slavery
None but ourselves can free our mind”

Imagine Lalon at this juncture: a pre or post-teen, afflicted by a disease which left him blind in one eye, (Shonaton traditions speaks of his face being ‘partially charred’, apparently the first attempt at euthanasia on Lalon was an aborted cremation) traumatized by the ordeal of his biological parents abandonment, in a state of perpetual amnesia, his body in great pain from the sores of smallpox, his enlightened soul weakened, in very frail health with possibility of recovery very slim or slow and a tortuous process.

He had also to be treated in utmost secrecy, meaning for as much as a year or more, the only people who he possibly saw and/or communicated were Matijaan and Malam? Add with that, the financial poverty of his adoptive parents. Everything had a cost implication then in penury stricken rural Bengal – as much as it does today. To feed an extra mouth, compounded with someone who is in throes of death with an ailment which leads to societal ostracization simply cannot be considered an insignificant matter.

Let’s take it from here:

Assuming that the truth about Lalon’s origin is in-between the two extreme claims i.e. a Kayashto Shonaton at birth, now at the mercy, care and tutelage of Muslims – our endeavor, quest and focus of enquiry should take us no more then his adoptive parents.

The appearance or ‘Abirbhab’ of Lalon begins with a fresh slate. His past although never known, was neither relevant nor of any importance. The new ‘pen’ to write Lalon’s life indeed began with Matijaan and Malam.

The Couple – who were they?

It is acknowledged irrefutably that the couple was spiritually inclined and whilst fAKIRANi mATIJAAN mAA (Fakirani, Queen of Fakirs, Female Fakir) was from the ascetic Fakiri Dervish order, she evidently sported natty dread locks – and had a secondary name – Jataani Matijaan Fakirani Maa – or dread locked mother.

Maulana Malam Shah as his name would suggest, was an Islamic prayer leader and a Hafez e Koran or someone who has consigned the kO'RAN into memory. Also he was a herbalist or Hakim and treated people which even to this day is a very common phenomenon in Bangladesh. Aside, we find no instance in the Bengali language of anybody being named ‘Malam’ – which translated would mean ‘ointment’?

To sum up:

Mother – Matijaan a.k.a. Jataani Maa - supremely endowed in the intricacies, practice and rooted discipline of the secretive, ascetic and esoteric Fakiri order inculcated in Ilm-e Tusawwuf and definitely knowledgeable in the four ‘stations’ of ‘spiritual’ Islam, Shariat, Tariqat, Haqiqat and Ma’arefot.

Father - Maulana Malam Shah, knowledgeable in Islam and with its script the kO'RAN fully memorized - a prayer leader and herbalist, and a Fakir himself i.e. a cumulative combination of wisdom from both Ilm-e-Shariat at its base and Ilm-e Tusawwuf (commonly Sufism) at its farthest.

Whose contribution to Lalon’s spirituality was more 'significant' is practically impossible to define – but we hope to guide readers to several possible fix as we move on.

Lalon after his Discovery and Rescue:

Lalon had the rare opportunity not only to be in care, custody and personal contact with an academic versed in the written text of Koran and its traditions The Hadith, he had the scope with both his adoptive parents, to immerse himself in the exoteric and esoteric disciplines of a Fakiri and Ma’arefoti practitioners, considered the highest level of ‘enlightenment’ in ‘spiritual’ Islam. Together with Malam's considerable skills as a herbalist - Lalon had the rare opportunity to be nursed back to both physical and spiritual health to overcome the after effects and psychological devastation of smallpox.

The soundscape that Lalon was exposed to for all practical purpose would include Malam’s daily recitation from the kO'RAN and its is quite possible that he also heard his father teach the script to students in an adjoining room, or repeated over and over again in a Mosque close by. A prayer leader never lives too far away from a Mosque. It is impractical.

Some bAUL traditions claim that Lalon was Hafez E kO'RAN ‘by birth’ – but there can simply be no truth to this. The strongest likelihood: it takes just about anybody regardless of faith and/or ‘religion’ to memorize the kO'RAN in two years of rigor at a Hefz (memorizing syllabus) school, with variations in Islamic history suggesting that children as young as four years of age have become Hafez – and one Ibne Shihab Al Zuhri in 742 Hejira, apparently memorized the nearly 300,000 word book before he reached the age of seven in staggering eight days!

Thus in the case of Lalon it is entirely possible that he memorized the kO'RAN - or parts of it - during the times he was convalescing, and while he made no claims to the same – even without ‘claiming’ the title, it is possible that he may have been a Hafez as many of his later day Bahas with the Muslim clergies would exemplify.

There are mentions of Lalon not only quoting verses from the kO'RAN in random, but also selectively as well as flawlessly reciting longer strains, to supplement his argument in challenging the misconstrued beliefs of the time.

These are traits and talents only a Hafez can display, and Lalon may not have only consigned the kO'RAN to memory – he took extra pain to explain them in context of his times, with interpretations that a lot people then, as even today are unwilling to accept. That is where the Fakiri traits and excellence in the Ma’arefoti discourse regime in his upbringing are reestablished solidly.

There was simply nothing new in what Lalon was saying. If there were any ‘miracles’ associated in his words and actions, it was only the continuation of the earliest messages of wisdom known to mankind. It was time for him to fine-tune what he had learnt and pass it on. The messages of the great pROPHETs of our times, to the next in providential line – The pOETs.

We are left to draw our conclusion, that fate had intervened and landed Lalon an infallible opportunity to broaden his horizon and thus place him in a unique position to conjoin humanity not only in Bengal, but all mANKIND.

© Ongoing Documentation: Maqsoodul Haque - Mac, 1st April 1, 2009

Enquiry into Fakir Lalon Shah's Spirituality

2009-09-12T02:23:00.004+07:00

Previous Episode

Evidence proves Matijaan and Malaam reared Lalon in what were to be tragic and profound times in his life. In all probability the trauma of small pox, abandonment by his biological parents in a raft to Mercy of Fate – together with the devastating effects of the disease greatly disturbed his psychological equilibrium that quite possibly slipped him into near permanent amnesia and he was unable to recall his past.

Also as a consequence it is not unlikely that his highly evolved mind moved on to realms of what may be considered ‘paranormal’ mental planes, i.e. and if legends are to be believed, it is very likely that he instinctively acquired knowledge in extra sensory perceptions, precognition and maybe even psychokinesis.

Fate therefore placed Lalon in a critical juncture in history not only in his time in life and that of Bengal, but indeed that of all humanity. What we are bearing historical witness here, is the resurrection, re-evolution and transmutation of the spirit of Essence Man with all his frailties and all its possibilities.

In Lalon the Man, there is evidence of kindred hope in the horizon. To let this opportunity pass us by with supremacist ideals, fractious, fragile and divisive ‘religious beliefs and sentiments’, would be sentencing ourselves to death of reason – a moral crime worse then treason, yet ironically researchers over 200 years have locked horn over claims and counter claims on Lalon by both Hindus (Shonaton hereafter) and Muslims being adherents to their respective faith and/or religion.

The reality of the misunderstood legacy of Fakir Lalon Shah’s spirituality was his challenge and direct confrontation of grounded norms of the times he lived, when he very cruelly earned the ire of Shonaton Purohit priests and Islamic Mullahs and it had all to do with his interpretation of their respective ‘holy’ text and scriptures.

Where they failed as much as later day enthusiast and researchers: Lalon was an Agnostic Sage, who reaffirmed faith by remaining firmly ingrained to Monotheism – or belief in one gOD – with its origins rooted from the times of Abraham – the founding father of monotheistic faith, Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

Thus the initial perfidious enquiries by the curious about Lalon met with stoic resistance from the Sage himself when he oft repeated his song – which later went on to become a Baul anthem:

Shob lokey koi Lalon ki jaat shongsharey
People are curious about the caste of Lalon
Fakir Lalon e koi jaater ki roop,
Fakir Lalon says, the face of caste
Ami dekhlam na dui nojorey
Oh…I have not seen with thine two eyes

The question of caste, creed and religion thereafter became an unimportant and insignificant aspect in the study of the Sage. Having said that, it matters very little the ‘caste, creed or religion’ one is born into – for essentially it is not a matter of individual choice, but belief systems imposed upon offspring’s for guidance by their biological parents.

Lalon’s snycretic ‘fusion faith’ if we may elaborate - revolves around belief and disbelief, existence and non-existence of the ‘Supreme Being’ being delicately balanced on rationale, logics, enquiry and commitment.

Simply put agnosticism is often implied as ‘acceptance of the Unity of God’ but a rejection of ‘religious rituals’, in Lalon however the rejection was limited to prevalent dogmas or meaningless practices which was in direct contradiction to what he viewed were the laws of nature, or even the natural process.

If Belief and existence be the North Pole, and Disbelief and Non-Existence the South, Fakir Lalon Shah was the Equator of our times – an ‘imaginary line’ but one which faithfully delineates the axis of the Universe – yet has necessarily revolved in a straight line even when there is no such thing as a straight line!

Didactically between [A--------B] since we do not know where A starts or B ends, all we can safely deduces is the so-called ‘straight line’ is a cyclic circle, going round and round, in as much as the Universe, its many Solar, Lunar and Planetary systems and very much in the ways of time.

There is no such thing in the bAUL pantheon as a ‘rolling stone gathers no moss’ – for ‘moss’ in the Soul are aberrations – and the Soul as such needs constant redefinition and reaffirmation. ‘What goes around comes around’ is an easier way to define the ‘straight line’ of faith. The ‘forces’ in question were centripetal – not centrifugal.

So did the kO'RAN or Islam have anything to do with Fakir Lalon Shah’s orientation into ‘faith?

© Ongoing Documentation: Maqsoodul Haque - Mac 1st April 1, 2009

Enquiry into the 'Origin' and Early Days of Fakir Lalon Shah

2009-09-11T08:00:00.003+07:00

These enquiries are limited to existing findings and rationales on the great sage, and are the collation of available data in our folklore, treatise and or literary periodicals and sociological researches of the times gone by until the present.

We insist that what we put forward to readers is 'verifiable' evidence and we have expanded on the scope made available to further our argument in scientific and logical spheres wherever possible.

1. There is empirical evidence to suggest and confirm that a man by the name of Fakir Lalon Shah did exist in Seuria, Kushtia in what was pre-partition (1947) Nadiya district of undivided Bengal, British Imperial India. His date of birth is not known and his death as recorded in his tombstone is 1st Kartick, 1297 corresponding to the Gregorian calendars 17th October 1890. It is estimated that he was between 115 to 117 years of age at the time of his departure – meaning he lived approximately between the periods 1774 AD to 1890 AD.

2. Traditions (not myths) reaffirm where researches and documentations have failed - that Lalon by choice, implications or necessity 'never revealed' his date of birth, the name of his biological parents, his religion, caste or societal background, and any pertinent information that could have been used to track back his roots and origins.

3. Accepted overall is that he was discovered in a near semi-comatose state near the banks of the River Kaliganga in Seuria, Kushtia with a full blown case of smallpox virus (variola major) - a disease discovered in 10,000 BC, with estimated mortality rate as high as 30 to 35%.

4. In 18th Century Europe 400,000 people died of the smallpox each year including seven reigning monarchs – Queen Mary II of England, Emperor Joseph I of Austria, King Luis I of Spain, Tsar Peter II of Russia, Queen Ulrika Elenora of Sweden, and King Louis XV of France.

5. In India the disease evolved about 3,000 years ago with devastating consequences. It appears only among humans and there were no known animal reservoir – nor did insects ever play a part in its transmission. On the 8th of May 1980 World Health Organization declared smallpox to be dead and successfully eradicated from earth.

6. The person who instinctively rescued Lalon from his plight was Motijaan mAA (The Precious Jewels Mother, possibly a later day honorific) who had gone to fetch water before dawn and found his near lifeless form washed up on the river bank, breathing only in gasps and when the sound of sighing drew her attention.

7. Matijaan rushed back to her cottage and summoned her husband Maulana Malam Shah and both reportedly carried this seemingly teenage child (some traditions mention pre-teen) indoor for care, treatment and restoration of health and well being. It is reported that the couple was childless and Lalon thus became their only adopted son. The disease left Lalon apparently partially blind in one eye and his face and rest of his body permanently scarred and/or disfigured with characteristic pockmarks.

In analyzing 1 to 7, we have to bear in mind the social conditions prevalent in Bengal at the time, and historically there are documented evidence and traditions encapsulated in our heritage indicating that smallpox victims were often subject to involuntary euthanasia, - either buried alive or cremated secretly. In rural backwaters the more 'humane' option was to strap a victim to a bhela or makeshift raft made with stalks of the Banana or Bamboo plant, which is then left to float freely overnight in the course of river current, leading either to the raft capsizing, and/or being deliberately scuttled at discovery. Lalon was subject to the same ordeal – the difference being he possibly fell into water and was miraculously washed ashore.

Horrific as this may sound, the author of these series of essays witnessed the Bhela (Raft of Mercy) phenomenon firsthand in the 1960's. A raft adorned with red flag signaling danger - carrying a solitary terminally ill patient veering listlessly in the River Buriganga in Narayanganj – with people on both banks of the river fleeing at the sight of the raft, and boats on course pushing the raft to midstream allowing for a clear passage.

As such, contrary to popular misconceptions, the only way Matijaan and Maulana Malam Shah could have saved Fakir Lalon Shah was to spirit him off secretly to their cottage and confine him without anybody in the near vicinity, having any knowledge of the presence of a patient afflicted by pestilence.

The secrecy option would have been necessitated as otherwise it would have led to violent incidents like burning of the couple's home, with bodily harm and death not outside the scope of possibilities.

The times were desperate; harboring one smallpox patient would amount to death for of an entire village population. Why then would Matijaan and Malam take such a risk?

© Ongoing Research - Maqsoodul Haque - Mac 1st April 2009

Exchange with Pradipta

2009-08-29T20:59:00.002+07:00

Pradipta Bhattacharya (Tampa Bay, FL) replied to your post

I think Macbhai it was good of me not wasting efforts after that initial burst - u made my day. From here please take it off to the Socio-cultural aspect of Bauliana.. would really like to read your views and interpretations.

My Dear Pradipta,

Many thanks ...and no yours wasn't an outburst but a genuine curiosity about the bAULs which I welcome and is probably my duty as a 'boidutik bAUL' to try and explain and pass on the message within my limitations and time.

If there is anything called 'faith' or 'belief' - then I guess for me, this is it - and really no one has to agree with me - or even agree to disagree. If only there is at all any genuine appreciation for what I am doing here - everybody will only be helping me achieve my mission in life.

That in itself is a blessing cause I see gOD in each and every word everybody writes. gOD doesn't dwell in any terrestrial air conditioned comfort UP some trillion kilometers away in that vague place called hEAVEN. He is right here with us all of us and we are only but infinitesimally nanometers away from each other - forever binding - forever growing - forever.......the evolution of mAN can never be complete without the mind evolving - the broader our horizon - the higher our capacity.

That said - I am halfway done with my research and study on the most crucial part of bAULIANA - Lalon's 'origins' and orientations to faith and spirituality and the contentious chapter - Lalon and Rabindrath.... I will start with the latter first - as you got me going Bro :)

Keep the spirit and flame alive....

jOI gURU /\

Mac

Explaining bAULIANA - The Concept of gURU among the bAULS

2009-08-27T18:13:00.013+07:00

Pradipta Bhattacharya (Tampa Bay, FL) wrote on August 11, 2009
I am not sure where the concept came from but a Baul worth his cent will never leave his impression on others. He or She sings seeking the man within for himself or herself. There is no concept of Guru (a major practice deviation for any religious sect) - as for them anyone other than the self is a Guru. :-) Kind of confusing but true.

Smita Ghose (India) wrote on August 11, 2009
It is a very interesting and enlightening write up Pradipta. Do want some more on this. I found in Mimlu Sen's book "Baulosphere" that concept of Guru was there. ..and they had to take dikhsha.

b) The gURU in the bAULs:

There have been disagreements in these discussion about the concept of gURU among the bAULs. What I will try to say, will not be a safe trajectory, but I wish to attempt it based on historical notions, instincts and verifiable facts.

For one – the concept of the gURU does exist in the bAULs, and if there is at all any difference, it is in its interpretation. The gURU conjures up an image of a venerable sAGE, somebody who has an answer to most questions troubling us. If it is a mAN, a hUMAN, it would be necessary to equate him simply as a teacher and or guide – nothing more to it. We all have been and are dependent on teachers or guides in our lives. Even in the smallest way we do not stop learning, and most that we learn comes from input of someone who is perhaps slightly more aware or ‘enlightened’ or 'educated' then we are.

None of us would be able to communicate here had it no been for an ‘education’ that we all have been blessed with. To take it further, none of us would have any acceptance in this ‘society’ if the light of education did not reach us.

bAULs therefore do not reject society per se, but look at alternative means at addressing societal woes and anguish, with emphasis being on reaching out to the sOUL of mANKIND, as also ensuring that pEACE and tolerance be the enduring credo of our existence.

It would be wrong to say that all bAULs have a gURU, there are actually more of them out there who do not have one or never had one – and I am proud to say – I am one of them. But then for those who have never had an education of any kind simply because their parents couldn’t afford to give them one, for the sHONATON there was always an Ashram to take refuge, for a Muslim the Madrasa, and for Agnostic either it was to take tutelage from a gURU, mURSHID or a pIR at an Ankhra.

Basically what these people had/have (with exceptions), are they gave a alternative, and divergent view on spirituality then the existing status quo would permit or afford. I have many friends who are gURUs in their own right, have disciples etc – but on enquiry I have found that what they possess are thoughts, ideas and words of great wisdom for which many flock around and feel 'blessed' with their presence, much as we would our teachers from kindergarten down to University.

Wisdom on its own is not tangible commodity – neither can it be passed on to those that are not knowledgeable and/or do not yearn or have a thirst for the same. Then we have the ‘lips to ear’ wisdom that cannot be shared – but only passed on to the ‘ear of the knowledgeable’. I would love to expand/ elaborate on this if there is any genune interest on this.For the time being I trust this link should prove useful:

With that comes the Islamic concept of mAN being ‘Ashraful mAKLUKAT’ – or the best of creations, and whether gOD up in hEAVEN made us so is debatable, what we consciously cannot deny is we are the only creatures on the planet that can communicate our views, see all colors of the rainbow and importantly express our feelings.

The ‘Sufi’ order of the bAULs therefore interprets, if we are at all gODs best creations, we do not have to look skyward, indeed each and every one of us has a gOD within us worth our wORSHIP.

The mANUSH gURU concept is at the foundation and as fAKIR Lalon Shah said:

"Shorbo Shadhon shiddi hoi tar

mANUSH gURUr nishta jar,

bHOBEY mANUSH gURUr nishtha jar
Nodi kinba bil baor Khal

shorbo shathaney eki ek jol

Eka mere sHAI firen shorbothai

mANUSH e mishiya hoi bHED (Ved),

bHED antor mANUSH gURUr nishta jar"

Download and listen to bAULANI Shahnaz Bely's rendition at this link:

If we were only to understand that it is nothing more than the sOUL that drives us, keeps us going in our times on the planet, then simply put - gOD exists in our sOUL, for try as we may, we have not been able to explore it, tap it, or exploit it to common benefit. The sOUl is perhaps the only thing we are aware of that is infinitely individual..... singular tryst with destiny.

I recommend friends to read this post for further understanding:

To end – this is what I wrote in my book :

"The Baul Guru therefore is no Man, but the Maker in each and every Man, and it is how we approach our faculties associated with cultivating knowledge, is the difference in the Guru that the Baul reveres and ones the charlatans have made a practice to exploit his fellow Man. The sore bone of contentions that have ravaged the minds and thinking of evolving thought processes in Bengal however continues unabated even among the different schools of thoughts of the Bauls. To equate the Guru to that of the Maker is Sin in the Baul pantheon, for possibilities of arrogance and subterfuge have appeared, with damming ramification to Mankind. Let us be reminded of the Pharaohs, long before monotheism came about."

With that jOI gURU to all in Adda Today – by that is meant – “I salute the gREAT gOD in you”

Love and best wishes.

Mac

To be continued……………….

Dhaka, 27th August 2009

Explaining bAULIANA - The Orgins of bAULS - Part 2

2009-08-19T18:04:00.008+07:00

Pradipta Bhattacharya (Tampa Bay, FL) wroteon August 11, 2009
One thought is that Sahajia Maat (Maat as in Doctrine) originally came from Buddhism. Its a known fact that around 10th Century AD in Bengal - Buddhism really got bastardized (please no value judgement on my selection of the word) and took the path of Hinajaana - Lower Trajectory. There the practitioners mixed Buddhist philosophy with Hindu Shakto practices. The out come was Tantricism and similar religious abominations.

Hi Pradipta and Addafyers !

Thanks for your insight and my apologies for the delay.

So as not to make this boring -I am going to concentrate on the first part of your post – and time permitting move on to other issues later.

Recommended Reading: A glimpse of Buddhism in ancient Bangladesh

a. Origins of bAULS:

You got the bull by the horn when you say bAUL's originated from bUDDHISM. It’s true that bUDDHISM degenerated into extremes in Bengal and therefore not unlikely that it met the 'fate' it did.

‘Who did what to whom and why’ – are matters that don’t bother bAULs, but some evidence do suggest a genocide on the bUDDHIST was perpetrated in Bengal (I am leaving out historical/hysterical details!) and apparently large sums of money was offered for the heads of mONKs.

What set into motion was slaughter on an unimaginable magnitude. My take on this is that a large chunk of the population of what is now Bangladesh and parts of North East India were bUDDHIST from the Sakyamuni (Silence) order - and when slaughters got going - nobody much cared about sects. Being bUDDHIST was good enough.

If we are to look at the buDDHIST relics in Paharpur, Mahastangarh and elsewhere in Bangladesh, this part of Bengal was a thriving bUDDHIST center of knowledge - and most of the ancient site were Universities. It appears that Bangladesh was the Center of the bUDDHIST world and much importance was attached to its networking with Bihar India and rest of South and South East Asia.

Quite possibly two things happened after the genocide.

1. The secretive mONKs - some were slaughtered, others fled - and if we are to take the instance of the the earliest "Bangala" script - it is gathered that fleeing mONKS decamped with them , and some were later discovered in an ancient bUDDHIST Monastery in Nepal.

2. What then happened to the resident bUDDHIST - who possibly wore the "Chibor" (saffron-ochre robe) and "Mundu" (shaven head) - but were not mONKs and had not degenerated?

Some legends suggest that they fled to the impassable jungles and reversed their roles. Off went the Chibor and they grew their hair and beards. As an additional disguise they wore a white shroud - denoting that they were already dead and instead of remaining consciously silent about gOD - they started 'singing' the praise of the one gOD.

The simplistic "Ektaar" used by bAULs whose origins are thought to be in modern Turkmenistan denotes an affiliation and or introduction to a sophisticated culture - and it surely is way before the advent of Islam or the ‘Sufi's’.

While I have no evidence to back these claims - the ‘truth’ may well be between 1 and 2, but my instinct tells me - this could be the possible origins of the bAULs.

Make no mistake – bAULIANA is no religion and its practitioners are not ‘religious’ , but ‘spiritual beings’.

......To be continued

jOI gURU /\

Dhaka, 19th August 2009

Explaining bAULIANA - The Origins of bAULS - Part 1

2009-08-09T00:15:00.000+07:00

Babuji Bose wrote on August 6, 2009
From my limited understanding and based on a visit to Keduli (near Shantiniketan), the annual ilgrimage West Bengal Bauls make to birthplace of patron-sant Joydev ... Bauls are poet-singer akirs, who have renounced the world and material possessions ... in West Bengal side they would generally follow Vaishnavite traditions, songs emphasizing Krishna ... on Bangladesh, side, the patron saint is Lalon fakir, and reaching to ecstasy/union with a more abstract divine entity ... m not sure whether boatmen (bhatiyali) songs of Bangladesh are Baul origin-ed, but have mesmerizing lyrics on thes same theme ... but more from the experts.To add an observation, and though it may sound contrarian, it is something, which will come up in honest debate ... is the issue of the validation of the religious ecstasy experience ... whether Sufi or Baul ... sure it appeals, it stirs emotions, evokes sublime thoughts and feelings ... but in a technical sense, is it valid ?! ... more valid, than say any other out-of-normal body experience, say hypnosis, or hallucinatory ... can the age-old subject-object dichotomy be obliterated in a sublime ecstasy experience ? ... is union, or even vision of God, technically possible ? ... can we crash through the wall to reach the 'unknowable" ??

Dear Babuji,

It would be unfair to delineate bAUls on geographical lines, cause if we are to look at the times of Fakir Lalon Shah, Kushtia was in Nadiya district of West Bengal - the hub of the spiritual renaissance with Joydeb and many others shining their 'light' or lamp.

I have tried to gather more information on the origins of the bAULs but frankly think its an exercise in futility for most that have been written and/or documented are based on myths and half truths. Not worth my time really....

The other notion that the bAUL philosophy is unique to Bengal is also a trivialization. bAULs couldn't have simply dropped off from 'hEAVEN' and in my continuous research I am able to go back to pre-Abrahamic periods - even up to the time of Hermes the great in Egypt.

What I find very interesting are things that Joydeb, Lalon etc said, wrote or preached, to even things the modern day fAKIRs are saying - is nothing new in the realms of 'spirituality'. Its just that most of these later day sAINTs became saint because they could unlock the 'mysteries of nature' and have access to 'keys of all tEMPLEs'.

The bAULS believe that a BIGGER LAMP will always light SMALLER LAMPS and this will continue apparently till eternity. Explains perhaps like Lalon most of the bAULs are called sHAH - or among other 'regal lamps'.

Its a popular misconception that bAULs renounce the world. Far from it there are very many category of bAULs and the ones I know all have families and many have children. There are Grihi, Krishi, Charen and various others - who have to look for a livelihood as part of their belief system.

Exception perhaps are the sADHUs who literally sing and beg for an existence and live of largesse of various sHRINEs and aKHRAAZ...what is amazing is many of them also have 'families' of sort...sHEBA dASHIs - female companions - and in some cases more than one.

How they manage not to have children is a story for another day :)

jOI gURU /\

Dhaka, 9th August 2009

Explaining bAULIANA - Addressing Misconceptions about 'Sufis' and bAULS

2009-08-05T17:40:00.010+07:00

Smita Ghose (India) replied to your post on August 4, 2009
In Sufi way of life, the Tarikat is the spiritual path one has to follow to attain perfection.the self is gradually purified and transformed into Divine Attributes, until there is nothing left of one's commanding self. Then all that remains is the Perfect, Divine Self. The disciple, through the stages of purification, travels the inner way, the spiritual path (tariqat). Having traveled this path, the disciple becomes a perfect being and arrives at the threshold of the Truth (haqiqat). When the truth is achieved then comes the state of maarefot.....The musical and ecstatic aspect of Sufism is called "sama". The sufis, while being spiritually enraptured, give all the attention of their hearts to the Beloved. Often with special and rhythmical music, they engage themselves in the selfless remembrance of God. In this state, the sufi is a drunken lover who becomes unaware of everything but God. With all their faculties the sufis are attentive to the Beloved, and have totally given up and forgotten themselves.

Dear Smita,

First of all there is no "Sufi way of life"..it is a Belief system and in Islam - contrary to popular misconceptions and what I have stated in my earlier post " it is the only religion which stresses on a direct communion with the Maker – the All In All – or ‘aLLAH’. Each Man is to himself and through practice and perseverance it can be achieved."

Secondly - you are right, the word "Tarikat" does mean 'path' ('spiritual' or other is secondary here) among others - but it also implies 'different paths' and is not as rigid as many would imagine.

Nonetheless, as one who doesn't see any dissimilarity within any religion or belief system, a sHONATONs meditation and chants, or a bUDDHIST or Christians hymn - is therefore not any different then say a Muslims "Dhikr". It is ONE and the same "Tarikat" to reach salvation.

Thirdly - "Truth" is again a perception and may not always be Reality. What may be truth for one can quite be falsehood for another. Likewise sIN and sALVATION or vice versa.

"Hakikat" is only a appreciation of undeniable reality - like the sUN rising in the East and setting in the West. Like.... much as we may reach "divinity" - the mere chanting of prayers will not suffice. we have to go out and earn a livelihood. Fourthly - the state of mA'AREFOT differs vastly and cannot be codified in one set of behavior.

The idea that one gets enraptured as in a state of a "drunken lover" is again a Western bias - much as my bAUL fraternity are disdainfully termed "people affected by the wind". It seems incredible to me that one can become 'insane' simply because he/she is "touched by gOD" ! The state of mA'AREFOT is a very personal experience and once 'reached' can totally transmute a person.

Therefore on the one hand hand you have the Rebel pOET Kazi Nazrul singing:

"kHODAr o premey sharab o piye, behosh hoye roi porey hai

Teri mASJID amar o mURSHID, ke elo ei poth diye hai

I am of the opinion that Nazrul suffered a "burn out" after "attaining" the state of mA'AREFOT - a precious loss for hUMANITY. Yet on the flip side however the lORD bUDDHA on "attaining" Nirvana and his famous saying - 'it has left me' - meaning he attained NOTHING - then slipping into a state of sAKYAMUNI (sILENCE) - whereby he attracted more followers then while he had 'preaching' and talking - serves as important reminders.

In reality, both moved into a state of mA'AREFOT.

Lastly - mA'AREFOT is a state that is not discussed in public. It is wisdom passed on from lips to the ears and the lips of wisdom is sealed - and open only to the ear of the 'understanding'.

jOI gURU /\

Dhaka, 5th August 2009

Explaining bAULIANA - ILM-E-Tussawuf

2009-08-04T17:24:00.006+07:00

Babuji Bose replied to your post on July 10, 2009
Mac .. do elaborate and enlighten ... many of us here know Sufism mostly thru its poetry and music, not formally ... many of us, even less of orthodox Islam ... am trying to get Sumedha to anchor this thread ... from Adda experience, we know that some threads need involved anchoring to flourish ... she has the spiritual training to do it ... but in lady's privilege, has neither said yes or no ... just maybe ... keep shining ...

Dear Babuji,

In essence the word "Sufism" doesn't exist - it basically means "Ilm a Tsawwuf" which is complimentary to "Ilm a Sharia" - meaning you cant have either/or in denial of the other.

Now I can sense ears getting tomato red as you read the word "Sharia" cause it is misconstrued on the Western notion of stoning people to death for adultery or chopping off your limbs/organs for stealing or 'impropriety' :)

Quite on the contrary - the whole equation and order of things probably go this way:

Hakikat - The Reality Check - Tree growing - everybody say 'hey that's a beautiful tree coming up' or 'wow that's gonna be a skyscraper'...a point of common recognition of 'reality' which everybody accepts and nobody disputes.

Tarikat - The various branches of tree - call it 'religion, way of life' - whatever. The essence being in the natural state nobody can not control the direction of branches (unless you are making a Bonsai) - and likewise the variety of branches and their respective development - makes a tree - attractive, healthy and interesting. Same with cultures, races, HUMANITY. On the construction front - you have Masons, Plumbers, Electricians, Brick layers all working towards one 'Hakikat' goal.

Shariat - The Seed Truth (also called the foundation or base) - the seed creates the tree and no one can conceivably deny this reality - even when it comes to human - we are but creations of 'seeds' :) Likewise if we are to compare a building - it has to start from bottom up - the foundation, base and so on.

mA'AREFOT - The state of 'Extelligence' - i.e. beyond normal and perceived human Intelligence- one that is fed by stimuli in our sensory organs - even the sixth sense.

The flower in this case if we are to use the Tree analogy. Something we can see and smell essentially (pluck it and put in a vase for a few days, and maybe even eat it - like we do Banana flowers!) - but everything as in life - is 'short lived' if not short charged. What is unknown is the reverse back to the seed. How a flower develops seeds, and how they are pollinated by insects, eaten by Bats and spread over areas - where again from seed it comes back to the 4 stages of "llm e Tusawwuf".

Two pointers here :

1. The words ILM is taken from the first three words of the kORAN - ALIF, LAAM and MEEM - which simply means "knowledge", and "Sufis" 1500 years later are still trying to break the code of the 3 words. bAULs have so many explanation - each are mind boggling. No luck really....

2. There is also a possible state of 'super mA'AREFOT' ( sometimes referred to as "Wilayah" ) - as some "Sufis" take lessons from the kORANic text where it says "mAN can do whatever he thinks through knowledge and perseverance - even turn clay into gold".

So its up to mAN - if we can even 'think' of creating building 'top town' as opposed to 'bottom up' - its a doable possibility :)

To end: There is NO 'fundamentalism' in Islam other than the words of the kORAN which when read, practiced and inculcated in its essence should set humanity free and not entrap it into Man made dogmas and/or dictates of either self serving Mullahs or modern Western diktats of
who/what constitutes a good or bad Muslim.

It is the only religion which stresses on a direct communion with the Maker – the All In All – or ‘aLLAH’. Each Man is to himself and through practice and perseverance it can be achieved.

“The Koran possesses an external appearance and a hidden depth, an exoteric meaning and an esoteric meaning. This esoteric meaning in turn conceals an esoteric meaning (this depth possesses a depth, after the image of the celestial Spheres which are enclosed within each other). So mit goes on for seven esoteric meanings (seven depths of hidden depth). ”

Henry Corbin [1903-1978]

Please download and listen to "Cholona Kori fAKIRI" - a Sufi" song meant to teach sex and sexuality to children:

Dhaka, 4th August 2009

Daily Star Regrets Contents of its Book Review

2009-03-21T10:12:00.001+06:00

About a review

We have received a letter from Mr. Maqsoodul Haque objecting to the contents of a review (The long tradition of Bengal mysticism) in the Star Books Review of 14 March 2009.

We would like it to be noted that the review was based on the contents of the book in question.

On second thought we think that the comments made about the Bauls were inappropriate and should have been edited out. We thank Mr. Haque for bringing it to our attention. We regret our oversight.

Editor. Dhaka 21st March 2009

Link

Millennium Liberal Fatwaism: Letter to my friends in Daily Star

2009-03-15T08:47:00.006+06:00

Dear Sayeda, Hana and Amin,

As you are well aware, I do not out of choice read your newspaper and there are very many reasons, which I have publicly or privately shared – to no avail. Your Editor is probably very busy wheeling and dealing – than living up to the lofty ideals of ‘Your right to Know’.

However today I got a feed from my Auto Google search and thus my attention was drawn to this Book Review that was published in Daily Star on Saturday the 14th March 2009.

Written by one Jamat Ali - I quote verbatim from the text:

There are a few sects of Bauls, such as Grihi Baul (family led Baul). They believe that for salvation one should practise Prakiti Sadhan in the confluence of the vagina, which they call Triveni Sangom, in a special mood on special days only. Some of them even share their wives with their disciples and guru as part of their esoteric practice regarding immortality.

I wonder how such disparaging things could be written about our Baul fraternity in our self proclaimed National Newspaper ? Have these allegation been verified? Does your reviewer and/or your Editor have any proof? This as far as I am concerned is an insult to all women and certainly constitutes abuse – which I am afraid will never and should not go unchallenged. Please tell your Editor that sex and sexuality is without any exception NEVER discussed publicly among the Bauls and - possibly in no civilized society.

This thing about “Prakiti Sadhan in the confluence of the vagina” is all disgusting and in very poor taste. Also there is absolutely NO TRUTH in the claim that Bauls "share their wives with their Gurus".

What is disappointing and shocking is these exacts words were used by Shariati/Wahabi Mullahs in the 18th Century in a ‘fatwa’ against the Venerable Sage Fakir Lalon Shah /\ – and Daily Star in these enlightened times should in no way be exacerbating them by indulging in Millennium Liberal Fatwaism.

I sounded off my irate sentiments immediately to my childhood friend Rizwan Bin Farouq (who by some accident of fate happens to be your Editors brother-in-law) - but not having heard from him since morning, in any case am emailing this letter across to your Mr. Mahfuz Anam – knowing all too well from past experience that he will not respond.

As a member of the Baul fraternity, I take serious exceptions to this vile description of our ancestral belief system and believe it would be an unpardonable SIN if your Editor did not apologize publicly for the hurt it has caused all of us. Notwithstanding, please remind him that this is NOT the last time anybody will get away making derogatory and slanderous comments about Baul women, our faith and practice – and ALL WOMEN in general.

The word is “Maa-Noosh” – we know what “Maa” is and is well understood - but ask your Editor to tell us what “Noosh” is, before attempting yet another farce about the Bauls.

“Aponar Shadhon Bhojon er kotha
Kohiyo Na jotha Totha
Aponar aponikei koriyo Shabhodhan”

jOI gURU /\

Mac

Facebook Reactions:

Shagufta Hussein at 1:36am March 15// I m not sure whether its surprising or shocking!!!!!!!!!! Its not bout only Bauls and women but civilizaion. R we still living in the 18th century?Thank you & we r with u in this s. Bcos I believe we need to learn to respect and stop making slanderous comments.

Aditya Kabir at 1:39am March 15// this is outrageoous. does these mumin moselmaans even know that the baul is full-blown spiritual sect? these are the very idiots that killed off hundreds of sects in last hundred year or so. it doesn't eny difference that they speak english now. buggers. the english raj at least never meddled into the spirituality of bengal. the bauls are persecuted, and so are bolaharis, kortabhojas and all other minority sects in bangladesh. chishtias, the largest of spiritual sects us being revised as we breath. at the end only the deoband school would survive. and, the high and mighty daily star people would be very much a part of that. *sigh*

Abdullah Numan at 1:47am March 15// this is an abuse against humanity, not only the baul society of our country! Shame!!

Aditya Kabir at 1:51am March 15// yep, it says a lot about our own selves. we are the people who call the manipuris - tribal, indegenous, pahari, adibashi, upojati - and what not, while in fact they have a much older and richer culture than our bengali culture. they even have a thousand years of historical chrinicle preserved and a classical dance form of their own. bloaady hell... if this how the majority hanafite sunnis adhering to the deoband school are going to do, we may as well denounce almost everything we see around.only, we won't because some of us are really better people than a lot many of them.

Ditio Syed-Haq at 3:56pm March 15//How insulting.... I'm disappointed that the Star would run such a piece.

Zafrul Hasan at 9:57pm March 15// i'm glad someone is taking a stand! ....

Mac Haque at 10:48pm March 15// Thanks for your thoughtful comments guyz. Believe this letter has been handed overt to the Book Review Editor of Daily Star. Lets wait and see. and 'give the devil it's due' :)

Ditio Syed-Haq at 11:01pm March 15// If that's Syed Badrul Ahsan, then go easy on him Mac. He's my old english teacher from Scholastica days and only recently back from a major operation... very decent man, but it's easy to drop the ball now and then (as I proved to you without doubt!)... the other Ed I can think of is Khademul Islam who heads up the Literature page... would be interested to see his take on this.

Ditio Syed-Haq at 11:03pm March 15// Btw, not saying you should go easy on the man just because he's my ex teacher but because I know him as a person... I really doubt he would have made a mistake like this intentionally :-)

Mac Haque at 11:18pm March 15// No Ditio - it aint Badrul bhai at all... I have known him and his younger brother Sadrul who is on Facebook and me were back bench buddies in Notre Dame :) Badrul bhai wouldn't stoop to such low..looks like this is a case of DS trying to accommodate somebody to write out reviews without reading them in their 'Book Review" Deptt."Titillation" was probably his intention -I dunno !!

Elita Karim at 12:43am March 16// i think a letter should be written to the 'Book Review' section about this. that is the only way to find out if anyone from DS has actually gone out of his or her way to hire a reviewer to write something like this. the letter can sent by anyone to the book review section or the letters to the editor section or also directly to the editor of the daily star. the email address can be found on the printer's line of the daily star (back page). the in-charge of the book review page in the main paper is badrul bhai. a letter can or/and should be sent to him letting him know of this mistake. good luck!Elita Karim The Star Magazine The Daily Star

Aditya Kabir at 12:54am March 16// one book review or one rejoinder isn't going to change the world obviously, but it would at least count for something. one of my friends told me a story once - there was this guy picking up starfish washed on to the beach, yes, one at a time naturally. someone else approached him and said - with millions of starfish strewn all over the beach you're not going to make any difference at all. the first guy picked up one more starfish,threw it back to ocean and said - i think i made a difference to "that" starfish. any step towards the right direction is, yes, a step towards the right direction. we just need to keep our eyes peeled to find any such abomination happening anywhere else as well.

Aditya Kabir at 1:25am March 16// i would like to add something else too. it appears from quite a number of comments above that it was only a little slip on Daily Star's part. please. Did anyone check out the bengal gazetteers from era of the raj? at the end of 19th century there were more than 300 sects in bangladesh, by early 20th century the number came down to less than 100, and by the last census it's less than 30 now. what happened? well, one big thing happened, and it's called the deoband school, where the think tank of jamaat-e-islami resides, and where the khilafat and wahabi movements were spawned. the process always begins with defaming a sect, then disenfranchise them, and finally a bit of coercion (killing isn't out of the options,sorry). a little slip indeed.

Mac Haque at 10:48pm March 15///This one is for you Elita. I am sorry but if what you are saying is true - then you make it appear that the Daily Star is a monolithic, bureaucratic 'demonocracy' devoid of any inkling of public sensitivity. Damn it - your Editor is so consumed with himself that he doesn't even reply to letters written directly to him <http://bauliana.blogspot.com/2008/10/letter-of-protest-to-the-editor-daily.html > - and you want us to believe that you actually have a system whereby - all of the above step if ever followed - THINGS WILL WORKS? Tell your 'whoever' to get off their high horse cause this time around you have slandered the grounded belief system of our ancestors and humanity that go back to pre-Abrahamic times. Playing about the gallery to appease and patronize overtly or covertly the Shariati/Wahabist and Salafist Mullahs who have turned this Nations of ours to the state we are in today - makes your Daily Star worse demons than the ones we saw in 1971. Gloves are off.

Mac Haque at 1:26am March 16// PS. Elita..just to refresh your memory...the above letter was BTW emailed to your Editor last night with a copy to you....as also Mr.Rizwan Bin Farouq has handed over same to him. I do not have any acknowledgment....is it because like you I am a musician and no 'intellectual' or politician - so I don't deserve a reply? Or is it because I belong to the Baul fraternity - allegedly the 'poorest of the poor' in Bangladesh and thus by 'implication's are creations of a lesser gOD than any one of us here?

Aditya Kabir at 1:31am March 16// this is how the fraternities vanish: spread lies and suppress the truth. i guess i must quote joseph goebbles, the one of the most brilliant propagandists ever, “The most brilliant propagandist technique will yield no success unless one fundamental principle is borne in mind constantly - it must confine itself to a few points and repeat them over and over” some people are working really hard, and they are everywhere.

Mac Haque at 1:35am March 16//Good one Aditya: "A LIE repeated several times over becomes the TRUTH" :)

jAH bAULIANA: Peace as a weapon of choice

2008-10-28T04:25:00.001+06:00

Maqsoodul Haque

“There's a natural mystic blowing through the air;
If you listen carefully now you will hear.
This could be the first trumpet, might as well be the last:
Many more will have to suffer,
Many more will have to die - don't ask me why”..…Bob Marley

We have been hit by a gust of very ominous winds. On Wednesday the 15th of October 2008, (World White Cane Day) here in Dhaka, Bangladesh, religious extremists ‘blinded’ by hate demolished the first ever monument built to ‘honor’ our bAUL ancestors.

In what clearly was a pre-planned and organized act of anarchy, a group whose intentions as of now remains unclear quietly got an approval from the Government to erect the structure opposite the Dhaka International Airport and work commenced without much noise? On the other, extremist groups who in no way represent the aspirations of the vast Muslim majority were mobilized to justify their actions by saying eerie things that we are historically familiar with.

The five sculptures being erected were 'idols' and thus it was 'kosher' to demolish them. It was apparently bruising their by now well exposed, ill-intentioned and very fragile 'religious sentiments'!

The above is a gist of what really happened but the mayhem borders not only in constricting the very limited liberal space some of us citizens profess to posses in urban Bangladesh, it is a blatant and unprovoked attack on the general widely held belief system of the masses, who have remained by some tragedy of fate, a silent majority.

The incident therefore merits a deeper thought, for more than being a political, cultural, or religious issue – it has spiritual overtones of far reaching consequences.

To begin, we can cite no instance that the bAUL fraternity ever requested or ‘demanded’ any such Monuments or Sculptures to 'honor' our ancestors. Indeed what is unknown to many is our belief system does not permit us to identify 'with any organized religion nor with caste systems, special deities, temples or sacred places.'

Having said that and because we have a pacifist agenda, we are not opposed to any body's belief and even as obscure as they may seem - everybody is entitled to one, as long as they do not seek violence as a mean to expound the same, and their actions do not cause societal unrest. Exploitation of any kind is of course SIN in our pantheons.

As a sequel to the above incident, we have been left to the prospect of all hell breaking loose with many people up in revolt demanding overnight amends in what is probably going to turn out to be a very violent situation, and one we can ill afford.

Enough blood has been shed in our sacred homeland, and it is a matter of deep regret that on Monday, the 20th October in Khulna, several protesting cultural activists angered at the demolition of the under construction monument were bodily harmed by the police.

We condemn any form of violence and abhor use of the same by the State, when it is its sacred duty to offer protection which it failed, and by looks of things have actually exacerbated the situation.

We as a fraternity do not wish this incident to escalate any further. Violence begets violence and blood begets blood. Any further violence will no doubt lead on to bloodshed and will ultimately derail us as a nation. Civil unrest of any form is indicator of civility getting wasted and opens avenues for embracement of evilisation.

Thus if civility be our avowed and cherished intention in seeking solutions, it is time that we own up to a sense of responsibility, as irresponsible protest actions based on tokenistic ‘militancy’ is not only dangerous – it imperils the life style and belief of the bAUL fraternity and perhaps even our very existence.

For instance, as much as the myopic Mullahs, our Politicians and/or their covert ‘cultural fronts’ have already jumped in and are trying to Piggy-back on the issue, for very narrow political expediency - the capture of state power, made all the more complicated given the prevailing situation in Bangladesh.

We do not ascribe to that vile mindset nor are we a party to the same, and in as much as we are opposed to interference of religion in politics, we also oppose any interference of divisive politics in culture, especially those involving spirituality.

Over all, what matters to us and is of deep concern and regret is that the messages from Fakir LALON SHAH (sHAIJI hereafter) has gone amiss in the well intentioned protests and demonstrations and the usual 'big noise' unleashed since the fateful event.

Some newspapers perhaps to provoke the situation, or maybe because they themselves are unwilling accomplices to the disquiet - have even gone as far as to say that among five sculptures being erected, one was that of our venerated sAGE!

Insensitive Editors who wrote fictional stories about sHAIJI’s ‘sculpture’ have not offered an apology – in what we bAULs believe was a SIN committed and that they have a sacred duty to atone to their conscience.

Newspaper headlines do not necessarily have to bleed, to convince people to read, therefore if the fourth estate wishes to consider that they are part of the National Thought Process they will have to work to preserve peace.

The irony is, neither do these Muslim extremists nor our ‘activists by default’ involved in the 'movement' have an iota of knowledge on either bAUL Music or really what our stand on such situations can be or should be. Thus the ‘Fogs of War’ has by now enveloped to where it torments us the most – our sOUL which weeps silently yet inconsolably to the depraved insult and ignominy caused to the living sOUL of our sHAIJI.

To get to the core issue and where we disagree on moral grounds: there is historically NO known image of shAIJI in existence anywhere in the world and a lithograph going about (and often seen in Posters/Tee shirts/Google Images and even Newspapers) is NOT that of our sHAIJI. Indeed if at all - it is a representation of bAUL's - any bAUL for that matter!

Also, there is no such thing as a ‘bAUL sculpture’ and it comes to us as a shock, for contrary to popular misconceptions - in all his living years sHAIJI stood up against any and all forms of deification and or raising ‘man’ to a pedestal for ‘worship’.

It therefore seems very unusual and numbs our sensibility – as how can a creative art work or sculpture be commissioned without a ‘reference point’ to be considered as aesthetically sound, and why we as fraternity have been entrapped into a controversy that is not of our making and we are no part thereof?

It has perhaps escaped everybody’s notice that bAULs are the worlds most economically disadvantaged people - yet are holding on precipitously to a tradition which the UNESCO in 2005 declared as one among ninety-four Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

To imagine that the 'poorest' in Bangladesh are custodians to mankind’s richest wealth is in itself humbling, but it also makes us wonder in our abject simplicity, if this sudden, and unqualified interest in the bAULs, is a precursor or a smokescreen to the eventual loot, plunder and destruction of all that we hold as most precious?

Recent events and provocations leads us to believe that sHAIJI has been deliberately dragged into this sinister controversy, because there is simply no other charismatic figure that we as a nation, cherish, admire and venerate more, given the immensity of his powerful messages that have stood up to all forms of Oppression over the last two centuries. We are more than certain that his messages will give a humane direction on the peaceful way forward not just for Bangladesh - but indeed to all Humanity in today's deeply divided world.

We as a fraternity aspire for peace knowing fully well that peace is one of the most difficult weapons to wield, yet is the most powerful and certainly the most effective. In today's world of 'instant everything' - from instant coffee, to instant noodles - time has arrived to further a principled and peaceful mandate if we are to see light at the end of a dark tunnel, getting even darker, given our arrogance and ignorance.

We do not aspire for an ‘instant solution’ but seek serious studies, discourses and rationale understanding of our ancestor’s grounded belief which makes us who we are, the Bengalee nation.

The easiest thing for anybody is to mobilize a hundred people around a gun - the hardest is to get five sincere people to back or support a good idea - a moral cause. We are keen on taking the harder option – because bAUL Music is similar to reggae – and as the late Bob Marley once said: “You cannot be in a rush to reggae”.

On a Global perspective, in Marley’s ideal we find reflection of our sHAIJI’s message – in his music and lyrics a similarity of spiritual views, and in the peaceful fight, he has set aside many shining examples for us to emulate.

A 'pEACE missive' directed at the sOUL of mANKIND is the need of the hour and we all have to collate our ideas with the limited time and resources available to do the same.

Lastly bAUL Music being an intangible heritage of all humanity - the challenges and threats that we face in Bangladesh today is not directed against the aspirations of our people - but indeed against all Mankind.

It must be resisted.

Monday 27th October 2008
Niketon, Gulshan, Dhaka
Bangladesh

Link

Baul Sculpture: Notice has been given

2008-10-25T07:44:00.000+06:00

The manner in which a small group of radical Islamists pulled down a baul monument at the airport roundabout last week speaks volumes about the path we are treading today. It is instructive to note that the government immediately backed away from taking a stance on the issue - continuing its policy of appeasement of the religious right. This is not surprising though, since both the major parties would have perhaps done the same, whatever rhetoric we were force-fed on the local TV networks. What is far more significant is that powerful sections of the intelligentsia, the academia, and civil society have remained silent on the issue. While truncheons fall hard on the backs of garments workers demanding their back pay or students demanding restoration of their fundamental rights, the religious identity of these bigots was enough to grant them a sweeping immunity. Yes, Bangladesh is country where the dominant culture is deeply secular despite the religious fault-lines triggered by the partition some sixty years ago. And in the same breath it must be said ‘no, it will not matter, unless we pit that ideology with the one that the bigots preach.’ If we allow this depraved cabal of religious clerics to corner us over and over again, be it on the state’s women’s development policy or a sculpture ‘any sculpture ‘ we are ceding valuable public spaces in which we express diversity and dissent. In the week that has passed, a great number of people from the country’s mainstream have expressed their distress over what they see as an insult to Lalon Shah. Many say they are surprised at the ‘audacity’ of the bigots that they could attack such a potent and universal symbol of our culture and tradition. Don’t be surprised, this is the new milepost. When a women’s rights group attempted a public protest, the government was suddenly all too eager to enforce the Emergency Powers Rules, and they were denied a public platform. Once again, there was a murmur of protest, but those whose call to arms to defend the constitutionally guaranteed equality of the sexes would have mattered often stayed silent - for fear and for convenience. Now, Lalon Shah is just the new milepost.The reality that is emerging is that those who have a stake in power, or are beneficiaries of the existing power structure, will not take the lead in speaking up - and they have too much invested to make a choice that may prove politically unpopular. There are those, however, who have spoken up. A broad spectrum of artistes and cultural activists banded together on the Dhaka University campus for much of the past week and campaigned against what they saw as an invasion of the cultural space by the religious right. The numbers of people this programme attracted was a heartening testimony to the mass appeal of the counterargument to religious radicalism and intolerance.

UNESCO Proclamation 2005: bAUL Music - Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity

2008-10-23T12:38:00.000+06:00

Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity

The Bauls are mystic minstrels living in rural Bangladesh and West Bengal, India. The Baul movement, at its peak in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, has now regained popularity among the rural population of Bangladesh. Their music and way of life have influenced a large segment of Bengali culture, and particularly the compositions of Nobel Prize laureate Rabindranath Tagore.

Bauls live either near a village or travel from place to place and earn their living from singing to the accompaniment of the ektara, the lute dotara, a simple one-stringed instrument, and a drum called dubki.

Bauls belong to an unorthodox devotional tradition, influenced by Hinduism, Buddhism, Bengali, Vasinavism and Sufi Islam, yet distinctly different from them. Bauls neither identify with any organized religion nor with the caste system, special deities, temples or sacred places.Their emphasis lies on the importance of a person’s physical body as the place where God resides.

Bauls are admired for this freedom from convention as well as their music and poetry. Baul poetry, music, song and dance are devoted to finding humankind’s relationship to God, and to achieving spiritual liberation. Their devotional songs can be traced back to the fifteenth century when they first appeared in Bengali literature.

Baul music represents a particular type of folk song, carrying influences of Hindu bhakti movements as well as the shuphi, a form of Sufi song. Songs are also used by the spiritual leader to instruct disciples in Baul philosophy, and are transmitted orally. The language of the songs is continuously modernized thus endowing it with contemporary relevance.

The preservation of the Baul songs and the general context in which they are performed depend mainly on the social and economic situation of their practitioners, the Bauls, who have always been a relatively marginalized group. Moreover, their situation has worsened in recent decades due to the general impoverishment of rural Bangladesh.

Link

Baul Sculpture - Another round of cowardly capitulation

2008-10-20T17:20:00.001+06:00

THE attack on the baul sculpture is not an attack on religion or values, let alone culture, but is a description of the political mess we have landed into. Bigots and murderers, social misfits and traitors have taken centre stage, thanks to the policy of political convenience of our leadership. If the present government had any moral authority which they claim through their Anti-Corruption Commission and Truth and Accountability Commission activities, it would have taken a position on a piece of heritage art it had itself commissioned and stood by it. Instead, it ran away fearing a backlash from the same group it has given indulgence to including their street agitation against rights of women even as it assiduously claimed no politics was allowed under the emergency. It is a sorry reminder that the elite class is so mentally bankrupt that they are unable to take a position on what is a religious and what is a political standpoint. By allowing the same forces that have continuously made advances against the cultural icons of the people, we have morphed into becoming a race without identity and confidence. One wishes that the debate was about a statue or two and limited only to disagreements about whether it constitutes an inadmissible act as per scriptures but, as it happens in the world of politics, it is essentially about carving out a space for those who see in this act a victory of their views and an endorsement of their belief that the forces against extremism are weak and flabby, unable to defend themselves. It seems we have been sending that message for a long time and the latest is once again a statement of our enfeeblement and their strength. If only they had broad support in society! Had they had that, they would have been in power by now. For the moment, nervous governments will do for them.

A letter of Protest to the the Editor The Daily Star

2008-10-20T14:57:00.000+06:00

Dear Mr.Mahfuz Anam,

Your Editorial of 19th October 2008 refers.

As has been the unfortunate situation with your newspaper, misinformation and myths appear to creep into all your reporting's and it now seems is spiraling upward to your Editorials.

Let this be recorded that there are historically - no known ‘images’, photographs or statues in existence of our venerated sAGE anywhere in the world, and a lithograph going about (and often seen in Posters/Tee shirts and even Newspapers) is NOT that of our sHAIJI!

Indeed if at all - it is a representation of bAUL’s - any bAUL for that matter.

Yours is probably the only newspaper that continues to write that a figurative representation of /\Fakir Lalon Shah was among 5 sculptures demolished by bigots last Wednesday opposite the Dhaka Airport. It is far from the truth, and most disturbingly lends credence to the bigots claims - that there was an attempt to raise an ‘idol’ of sHAIJI - a misinformation of devastating consequence, because idolatry is prohibited in the bAULs agnostic belief system.

We worship the gREAT gOD in MAN - indeed all mANKIND.

I hope you will be sensitive to the feelings of your audience and the bAUL fraternity at large, and ask your people to do some more research and study on bAULs and /\Lalon Shaiji.

Peace

/\ jOI gURU

Maqsoodul Haque - Mac

jAH bAULIANA - Silence as a Weapon of Choice

2008-10-18T12:04:00.000+06:00

Muslim bigots try to pull down a sculpture named Baul at Zia International Airport in Dhaka on Wednesday. NEW AGE

Dear friends and Comrades in Thoughts,

I have received a lot of Facebook messages, emails and SMS text from many of you, since my enforced silence following the destruction by rabid Mullahs on 15th October 2008, the first ever Monument to the bAULs of Bangladesh.

I thank you very much from the core of my heart.

I am sharing a message I exchanged with my friend Andrew Biraj which I think is relevant and valid for everybody. I humbly expect your whole hearted support for the bAUL fraternity at these trying times – as also hope that we fight the issue with sILENCE - keeping the lofty ideals of the bAULs that "Disquiet is sIN" in our belief system:

QUOTE:

My Dear Andrew,

My heart is heavy and my lips are sealed, I have no option but to remain silent as it is not in the teaching of our /\sHAIJI to make a great noise, to gang up together, to destroy monuments statues and idols, or seek to harm or kill fellow mAN as a mean - or form of protest.

This ‘fight’ or ‘struggle’ – however you wish to view it, is one of reason, of fighting with our senses, and one that began in our part of the world thousands of years ago. To expect it to end overnight - or even in our lifetime is expecting the impossible and borders on foolishness.

Tokenistic ‘fights’ or ‘protests’ of the kind we see today and one we will forget as early as tomorrow morning - are ones I wish to discourage and do not support. I am not game about photo opportunities while we form so-called ‘human chains’ outside the Press Club or do the same while sitting in the hallowed precincts of the Shahid Minar.

The Mullahs and Politicos combine wish us to be reactive and replicate their reactionary character. We do not consider them ‘worthy opponents’ or ‘worthy adversaries’ or even ‘worthy Comrades’. All we say is let us be – for we did not in the first place as a fraternity 'demand' or ask for any Monuments to our glorious ancestors, our forefathers......did we?

Those who have already commenced their ‘protest’ do not have either the bAUL’s or Bengal’s schools of socio-spiritual thoughts as an objective to further. Indeed, their objective and aspirations are narrow – as they wish to piggy-back on the bAUL issue to aspire for even narrower political expediency – the capture of state power – made even more complex give the restlessness prevailing in the country.

This is the oldest game known to mANKIND and epitomized in many bAUL songs:

Tumi Chor re kou churi koro/
Go tell the thief to steal

Grihosterey kou dhoro dhoro/
Go tell the peasant to catch him

Tobey keno mANUSH shontan hoilo gUNAHGAR go/
Why do you then call the children of hUMANs - sINNERs?

For the bAULs there is no such thing as a 'gain' or 'loss'. Let us all therefore watch in silence with our 'inner eyes' .....our SPIRIT and our sOUL which do not deceive.

This ‘fight’ is not about winning or loosing – it is more about reminding ourselves that 'To resist is to win' and 'Dissent is the highest form of patriotism'.

Let them scream on their mikes and sound system as they make veiled attempts to scare us into subjugation.

They perhaps think – gOD is hard of hearing!

Please keep the pEACE, spread the word and NEVER GIVE UP THE FIGHT

jAH bAULIANA /\

Mac

UNQUOTE

The Bauliana Book Cover

2007-06-07T17:15:00.001+06:00

Ink Mark launches 2 books, 2 music videos

2007-06-07T12:12:00.000+06:00

Ink Mark, a publishing house, on Monday launched two books and two music videos at the Russian Cultural Centre in the city.

The books are Bauliana, a collection of essays in English on Baul music by musician Maqsoodul Haque, and Sadhoker Rangathala, a collection of Bangla poems by Shams Monower.

The New Age editor, Nurul Kabir, uncovered the books and the music videos, titled Topoddhoni and Best of Ink Mark.

‘Maqsoodul and Shams are two talents in their respective fields. Their works attract me and I take pleasure in presenting the two creative talents before the people,’ Nurul Kabir told the function, adding, ‘I have found expressions of honest feelings and thinking in the poems of Shams. His choice of words and the command over Bengali have convinced me that he really has a devotion to his vocation as a poet.’

The books are priced at Tk 100 each and the videos at Tk 50.

New Age

FOREWORD

2007-04-06T18:30:00.000+06:00

The first time that I came across the name Maqsoodul Haque was in an article written by him in the weekly Holiday on the subject of racism in South Asia around about 1998 or 1999. As I was fairly new to Bangladesh I did not know of his musical background but was impressed by his articulate writing style and the force of his argument which required a lot of courage due to the prevailing political climate at the time and the subject he wrote upon were considered particularly controversial and sensitive. It was, however, after a further two years that we were in regular communication with each other through the medium of the internet and emails. We both contributed articles to various Bangladesh focused websites and soon we became personally acquainted. Sometime during this period he had also challenged the musical Puritanism that surrounded the compositions of Rabindranath Tagore in a quite audacious manner by rendering one of his songs with a modern touch and flair of jazz. This sent many orthodox musical experts into a frenzy that led to several months of complaints and letter writing in The Daily Star against the innovations introduced by Maqsood but his actions opened up the music scene in Bangladesh which now saw a level of creativity, imagination and inventiveness not witnessed before.

Unfortunately, while Maqsood has been writing for almost 20 years on various subjects ranging from culture to politics to music he remains a ‘restricted writer’ in the sense that the media and press have tended to avoid publishing his work. His no-nonsense approach has generally not endeared him to certain vested quarters that feel threatened by his breaking down of intellectual and musical barriers and the episode involving Tagore made him a favoured target of these groups. This did not, however, deter Maqsood and he next explored the subject of Baul music in several articles written for Holiday in a serialization that lasted for eight weeks and became compulsory reading for anyone interested in music in an academic context and background. The articles received rave reviews and the public appreciated the research, experience and knowledge that went into writing them and he was duly recognized as a pioneer and thinker in the music scene. This present book is the latest development of those ideas but now covers newer grounds and important themes of which I hope to provide a brief overview with a few of my own personal musings and comments.

While engaging in some private research on the subject of Bauliana primarily for this foreword I was intrigued to discover that the only in-depth and original study of the subject has been by Maqsood. While Baul music is a common and accepted feature of the culture and history of this region there is very little that has been written on it of any real substance or value. So the book ‘Bauliana – Worshipping the Great God in Man’ is a breakthrough at several levels. As the title would suggest it is not a book merely about music but it is a discussion of philosophy and a guide to living. At the outset there is a hint of rebuke at the omission of cultural scholars to recognize the significance of Baul or as Maqsood puts it, “For Bangladesh the year 1991 passed uneventfully in our willful exclusion of an epochal event of historical significance.” He was, of course, referring to the death centenary of Fakir Lalon Shah who was buried in Seuria, Kushtia which happens to be the district of my forefathers and so was of added interest to me having previously heard so much about him but receiving very little real wisdom or insight on the subject.

For Bangladesh the symbolism surrounding the life and death of Lalon Shah still reverberates today as, “his legacy has been one of diabolical ignorance, a heritage of an insane struggle to assign him either an Islamic identity by hard-line Islamist fanatics, which lay directly in confrontation with the dominant city bred (then Kolkata in West Bengal – Dhaka having evolved in importance much later) middle-class precepts of the ill defined Hindu Brahminist supremacist ‘secular’ Bengalee culture.” As Maqsood points out Lalon Shah repudiated affiliation to any organized religion and the concept of ‘Bauliana’ as practiced by him was less a religion but more a quest for the ‘omnipotent maker’ through introspection. The term Bauliana’ is not meant here to suggest that Baul philosophy or music originated with Lalon Shah (which in fact predates him by many centuries) but that the concept of ‘Bauliana’ is a phenomenon with global resonance opening avenues to cultural comparisons and is signified by an alternative way of life that has one of its many exemplars the Rastafarian belief system in Jamaica and the music that grew from it called Reggae whose most famous and accomplished singer, composer and exponent was Bob Marley. In a similar way, Lalon Shah used the vehicle of Baul music to disseminate his views, philosophy and opinions about life to a receptive audience.

The relevance of the Bauliana quest to the deep religious and cultural divisions of the contemporary world has been described by Maqsood in chapter 16, “The quest for Bauliana today … is a revolt against the hackneyed order of medieval thought processes, permeating and afflicting the sensibilities of Man, in its unflinching brutalization of fellow Man. It becomes all the more important that we stop and ponder, because all Wars today, all conflicts, all our anger to fellow Man, is directed NOT because we disagree on fundamentals of the Maker, but because we have allowed ourselves to be conducted on implied Superiority or Inferiority of our respective ‘Gods’. We never hear of any attempts anywhere in the world about a ‘Consensus on God’ while we hear about ‘clashes among civilizations or religions’ when civilization is nothing more that an extension of hate, for whatever we may have inherited, we have failed in inheriting a civilization of ‘good’ as we go looking for ‘Axis of Evils’ – which allows only the devil and not Man to smile.” The Baul outlook is, however, not pessimistic as it abhors doubt which brews from suspicion and mistrust which appears coincidentally to be the cause for all the violence and conflict witnessed in recent invasions based on highly dubious pretexts. Maqsood elaborates his own theory in Chapter 20 based on the needs and requirements of the military industrial complexes (that President Eisenhower warned of several decades ago) as well as to man’s propensity for chaos that is engendered by his fear of his fellow man which are amongst the many other things discussed in this wide-ranging section of the book that surprisingly ends on a cautionary note on the fate of man.

Essentially the book is a deeply personal journey undertaken by Maqsood after his many hard and some might say bitter experiences in life and with his relationship to Bauliana and the teachings of Fakir Lalon Shah and the other Bauls. The book had developed out of Maqsood’s close association with the Bauls and is obviously autobiographical in nature. He had accumulated numerous notes during the periods of teaching and instruction imparted to him by the bards and he has made good use of them in the book. Other than a musical album of the same name, recorded with his former band Feedback, Bauliana can be said to be a scriptural testimony to his personal belief system that is based on a fusion of Buddhist and Islamic precepts that has similarity to the Bauls way of life which he has chosen to adopt. The cause for this attitude appears to be a consequence of his frustration with religious quarrels that now plague our world and the wars that feed on these sectarian and communal squabbles. In short the Bauliana lifestyle is a pacifist movement which is unique to Bangladesh in that it crosses boundaries and attempts to bring mankind together and has been claimed to be the dominant culture of Bangladesh (and this region of South Asia) for at least 2000 years. The book will provide to the sociologist, cultural historian, anthropologist and the thinking musician a wealth of information about Baul and the man Maqsoodul Haque.

M.B.I Munshi
Banani, Dhaka
20th May 2007

INTRODUCTION

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I was less than ten years old when I first saw a Baul. This was in 1967 and happened in one of the many trips I would go off with my father during school holidays. My father, a dyes and chemical salesman for a Swiss company averaged at least two tour of duty each month to nooks and a corner of what was then East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). It was always a delight to accompany him in the World War II vintage company jeep that he would drive despite fact that it would break down every now and then. And so it was during one such breakdown, somewhere near Kushtia that an old man startled me with his very sudden appearance. In his hand was a single string instrument of a kind I had never seen before, and a small tabla-like drum was slung at his waist. On the tip of a stick he carried a bundle of clothe. He was lithe, tall, bare footed, wore a white robe and sported long hair that he tied into a neat bun on top of his head. A flowing white beard completed his sage like looks.

My father an accomplished car mechanic as well, was busy fixing up the jeep when the old man arrived and attempted to make small conversations. He was polite to a fault, and father treated him with a sense of reverence, which surprised me somewhat. Soon the man on some prodding from father started to sing. His voice was strong considering his age, but the music combination in retrospect was of a kind that I do not remember hearing, not even on the radio to which I was hooked to, even at that impressionable age. Soon the jeep started up, and we were on way to Kushtia. We dropped off the old man a short distance away.

It was from my father that I learnt firsthand about the Bauls. I must admit that I was far too young then to understand the deep words of spirituality that he was taking pains to explain; that were part of the lyrics of the songs we had just finished listening. I was happy to see him elated and joined him repeating two lines over and over again, which he explained later was from a song of Fakir Lalon Shah and one I would be destined to memorize on that auspicious day for life:

Sunnot diley hoi Musholman/ hairey Nari loker ki hoi bidhan
If circumcision be the mark of a Muslim male/ how do I recognize it’s female

Ami Bamun chini poitey pomoan/ ami bauni chini kishey ray
If the sacred thread be the proof of a Brahmin male/ how do I recognize it’s female

Since that very first orientation to Baul music and their agnostic philosophy from my father, little was I to know that much of my adult life would be spent soliciting the company, music and philosophy of these great men and women of wisdom who choose to live their life in rejection of the status quo, and who with great degree of pride represent the poorest of the poor in Bangladesh. What I found particularly endearing about them is the patience they exercise in face of insurmountable odds, and in their very strong pacifist character, that evidentially is the outcome of their peaceful coexistence with nature.

In 1989 I was part of a select team headed by my now deceased musician friend the Late Somnath Chatterjee from HMV/EMI, Kolkata that traveled to Harishpur, Harinakundu in Jessore and then on to Seuria in Kushtia to record ‘rustic’ Bauls LIVE! and on location. We visited several ‘ankhraz’ (Baul hangouts) in the region and recorded about thirty men and women, later short listing ten exceptional ones to come to Dhaka where we would then record them at a professional studio. The total duration of both the live and studio recordings lasted about fifteen days, and I took pain to befriend a few. I may add that it is not always easy to make a Baul your friend, or vice versa! The rituals of acceptance can take a long time, and one may even be rejected if you are found arrogant, or have a communal bent of mind. This was indeed my first experience to the rigour of Baul life and music and I expanded on those initials contacts by making short trips to several Bauls based in Chuadanga, Kushtia, Jessore, Faridpur, Bhanga, Narail, Gopalgunj and Sylhet among others. Likewise I opened my parental home in Pallabi, Mirpur to the Bauls, and many would saunter by in their usually brief sojourn to Dhaka, have a meal with me, sing a few songs, discuss tottyo or scriptures, and move on.

By 1990 I was ready for my first Baul music experimentation with my erstwhile band Feedback. It was “Diner Alo Nibhey Gelo” (The End of the Light of Day) a catchy Baul dirge to ‘celebrate’ death, which we went ahead and set to a funk beat, and a raving Bass line. A show in the Government owned Bangladesh Television (BTV) with the tune in 1991 assured the band a berth in the national folklore heritage and there was to be no looking back. Baul music had by then on its own merit entered urban Bengalee households. In 1995 Feed Back was commissioned on a very short notice by BTV to produce a fusion version of the Baul song ‘Deho Ghori’ (The Body Clock) for an Eid special program. The legendary Baul Abdur Rahman Boyati joined us in the production and the music video followed by a single song album went on to create history. Feedback by then was ready to take the next big step – to be the first band in Bangladesh to produce a complete album of Baul music. Titled Bauliana, the groundbreaking album was released in 1996 and was to be my last work with the band. I quit Feedback for personal reasons in early 1997. However my close relationship with the Baul’s and their music that started in 1989, continues till date and I remain committed and have since recorded several tunes with my new band dHAKA, the most recent being the 2006 album Ma’arefoter Potaka (The Standards of Extelligence).

There is fundamentally more to Baul spirituality and scripture than merely the music and lyrics that one comes by, and conceivably nobody can ‘delve deep’ into the music form without having some basic understanding and concepts about its tottyo. This book is an attempt to understand and explain the intricacies of the Baul scriptures. The esoteric couplets, sentences and arguments that usually have moral or historical over tone, the pointed reminders, the signature lines, and the over all thrust of arguments within a very short periphery of time, the alankar (embellishments), all mesh in and combine to create a completed aura of ethereal munificence. Baul music with exceptions follows different traditions and Guru’s in every district of Bangladesh, and sometimes each has its own unique Guru Shishya parampara (student/teachers discourses), leading on to birth of newer, progressive and more challenging schools of thoughts. While Fakir Lalon Shah is the most celebrated of sages of Bangladesh, the schools of Baul thought encapsulates perhaps several hundred more sages and men of great wisdom, whose writings and philosophies continue to inspire and whose graves more often than not, take on the shape of shrines, usually devoid of any religious or sectarian symbolism. Being an oral tradition Baul music ironically is also one of our near extinct heritages as most of the works have either disappeared or have been claimed by unscrupulous people over time. Studies on authorship of many Baul songs (including those of Lalon) and their relevance to original scores and or manuscripts remains a very complicated process and is mired by many unfortunate controversies. To top it off, it is believed that while there were over 300 different types of Baul melodies or tunes; today we are left with scarcely 35. While researching the Bauliana album, I could identify only 20 authentic tunes.

The essays ‘Bauliana: Worshipping the Great God in Man’ in 2003 were written through a feeling of guilt and remorse. While I did receive praise for my work for the musical album of 1996, troubling me intently was a feeling of not been able to share the many words of wisdom that were imparted to me by the Baul’s over the years to a wider audience, teachings I was sure would benefit a lot of later day enthusiasts. I had made scores of notes at the time, as also consigned most of the teachings to memory but there was always a deep apprehension, that unless my writings were passed on hand to hand; all the hard work that went into it, will fail my original intention i.e. opening newer dimensions into reading on Baul music, lyrics, philosophy and way of life. My decision at writing couldn’t have come at a better time. Remarkably by early 2001, Baul music caught up in a big way in Bangladesh and sent ripples down the music scene. New bands like Bangla, Ajob, Meghdol, Shironamhin, Taan etc created music that would go on to convincingly reaffirm Baul music as the most dominant of a new fusion music genre in the country. Indeed the years 2000 to the present would be marked in our musical history as a time of serious heritage and country musical revival – almost a revolution of sort – with commitments made not only to music, but also in the lifestyle and fashion statements of the day. This book could well have been written in Bengalee, but I chose to write it in English, for in my research I found very few materials that would satiate my personal thirst for ‘Baul knowledge’. The Internet is littered with misinformation and sometimes travesties with some websites in particularly bad taste. The recent controversies on the Baul ‘way of life’ that have cropped up unnecessarily is because of the easy availability of unreliable materials suited best to solicit funds or grants from Western donors to document Baul music and or produce movies, NOT to advance the cause of our glorious ancestors – our Baul forefathers. While there is a genuine interest about the Bauls in the West, I believe the best way to serve the purpose of our glorious heritage is to explain Bauliana through the relevance and historical importance it has in our culture, in our way of life that has stridently risen above the pettiness of communal strife, religious disharmony and xenophobia.

I am deeply indebted to the Late Mr.Enayetullah Khan Editor of HOLIDAY and Mr.Nurul Kabir, the Editor of New Age for encouraging me to write my thoughts on the Bauls and later serializing an abridged version of this book for eight weeks; to my friend and ‘comrade-in-thoughts’ Barrister M.B.I Munshi for taking time to go through the manuscript and writing the foreword to this book; to Shams Monowwar of InkMark for publishing this book, my first in the English language; my wife the Late Nazreen Haque Niboo for tolerating my life with the Baul’s and the exasperating periods of unannounced disappearance; Tareque and Catherine Masud for introducing me to the Late Sontosh Baul of Bhanga Faridpur; to Late Hiroo Shah the oldest Baul in Lalon’s Shrine in Seuria, Kushtia, Baul Nadim Shah of Kushtia, Baul Latif Shah and Bimol Biswas of Chuadanga, Baul Hashem Chisti of Dinajpur, the septuagenarian Baul Shah Abdul Karim, his son Jalal Shah and Baul Roohi Thakur of Dhirai, Sunamgunj, Himangshu Biswas, Tanbhir Tahlil Shipul and Harold Rasheed from Sylhet, Buno, Anusheh, Lubeek, Nitu, Rajoo and Amit here in Dhaka for rocking Bangladesh with Baul fusion, to Baul Samir Majumdar for creating the cover for this book, and to my son Dio Haque for his love and respect for the Bauls and what they stand for.

Maqsoodul Haque
Niketon, Dhaka,
23rd May 2007
machaque@gmail.com
http://tpoi.blogspot.com
http://bauliana.blogspot.com

1. Fakir Lalon Shah

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For Bangladesh the year 1991 passed uneventfully in our willful exclusion of an epochal event of historical significance. It was the death centenary of the agnostic sage Fakir Lalon Shah, whose date of birth while a mystery, it is said that at the time of his ‘departure from planet earth’ - he was well over 100 years of age. In as much as proofs of physical dates, place of birth or his ‘religion’ is concerned, Lalon Shah remains enigmatic and many mysteries surrounded him them, as much as they do now.

In Seuria, Kushtia, Bangladesh where Lalon Shah’s body was interned without any religious ceremony, his legacy has been one of diabolical ignorance, a heritage of an insane struggle to assign him either an Islamic identity by hard-line Islamist fanatics, which directly confronted the dominant city bred (then Kolkata in West Bengal – Dhaka having evolved in importance much later) middle-class precepts of the ill defined Hindu Brahminist supremacist ‘secular’ Bengalee culture; matters even till this day remains complicated in the understanding of the great man and his vision. Compounding more into the confusion are recent forays by local NGO’s propelled by donors money to research the great sage, and the Baul way of life.

There were no fewer attempts to make a Hindu or Muslim out of Lalon as he lived and the century since he died. The sage during his lifetime however, steadfastly repudiated any attempts to be branded a ‘follower’ of an organized religion. Thus till this day to his admirers unwilling to infer religiosity on Lalon Shah, he is simply ‘Shai-ji’ and Bauliana is no religion but a quest, in small insignificant ways, perhaps even a permissible way of life. Lalon never believed in looking UP for inspiration, but inspired others to look within. Where he was starkly different is he did not imply that looking within, meant worship or the deification of one man alone – but MAN, any man, or all Mankind - the creation of the omnipotent Maker.

In later days, the ingrained communal hatred espoused by extremists of both end of the spectrum, stirred by no end of senseless debates as to whose “God” is the better or more powerful, made a small yet significant part of the thinking population to move away from the dichotomy of it all, and examine, identify and try to grasp the aspirations of our ancient Baul heritage. The author of this series of essay is one among many. There were valid reasons for these individual quests. The philosophy, poems or reading into the life of Fakir Lalon Shah, a world class sage is yet absent in any Bangladesh educational curriculum, while many banal, under-average personalities have been ‘respectably’ accommodated.

In the absence of detailed accounts, verifiable or reliably published documentation about him or of the times he lived in, and his entirely private, controversial and secretive quest for a union with the Maker of the Universe, that went public with its wide acceptance, it is not surprising that every aspect of his life has been up for scrutiny. The resultant curiosity have led to myths, half-truths and unfortunate fabrications about the message that he wished to convey, is what we are faced with today. Ironically more than his message and its interpretation, the persona of Fakir Lalon Shah have become of sole importance in serious study of Bauliana to many.

However even before we start discussing the Baul’s, a word of caution here: contrary to popular misconceptions, synonymity with Lalon Shah, and inference to him being a Baul ‘guru’ borders on Bengalee middle class fascination for tokenistically tagging philosophical quests of the marginalised, to a particular human ‘avatar’ over a period in time. The truth is Baul’s existed hundreds of years before Lalon Shah not only in Bengal, indeed similar lifestyle and expressions can be identified in other parts of the world. It is a rarely ‘advertised’ global concept of the alternative, and thus appropriate that we have used the term “Bauliana” in context of these essays.

Music was the vehicle of Lalons’ message, and no matter how esoteric the contents were, it never failed to find a ready audience as the natives of Bengal had a natural inclination and talent for the art form. Together, Fakir Lalon Shah was exceptional in that he personified what the Baul’s in the good old days ascribed as a ‘belief system’ and this saw huge numbers flock around in admiration of the great man in him. Lalon also gave a forceful and somewhat militant voice to the Baul struggle, in his poems set to music of the poorest of the poor, something that was sadly lacking at the crossroad of our socio-political-spiritual struggle that started hundreds of years ago. For Baul’s, Fakir Lalon Shah (as is the popular misconception among urban enthusiasts) was never a ‘guru’, for they never needed one for they were not a ‘community’ or clan, nor were they a mutual admiration society. To suggest any of the above makes us question: Why then do Baul’s reject any ‘home’ greater than the body that houses our unanchored and restless souls?

Rejection of the ‘inevitable self’ then, as much as it is today, as an extension to the ‘inquiry of the self’ was never so obvious. Within the prevailing dogma it immediately elevated anybody with a sense of mission and purpose, to a pedestal for worship. Quite on the contrary Lalon Shah worshipped man in manners that did not subscribe to the prevalent ‘hub and spoke’ notion i.e. Man on Earth and his ‘almost humanoid’ resembling Maker, trillions of kilometers up away in some celestial Heaven – where HE apparently resides!

Removed from society, and in grief and tragedies Lalon Shah evolved: his depth came not from wallowing on the periphery of mainstream beliefs, indeed his protracted period of isolation forced upon by the dominant Muslim and Hindu clergy of the day, were harbingers for his immense understanding into the intricacies of life. Passing on his Message to counter social and religious prejudices in the simplest of couplets for the average person to understand was his mission. Life’s complex equations explained in the simplest of term were his forte. It is therefore not unusual that the word ‘Fakir’ precedes his name, a title and a derivative from the Arabic word Fiqh meaning someone who has acquired deep insight and knowledge through practice, patience, inquiry and sacrifice.

2. The Baul’s of Bengal

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The attempts to render Baul’s to a farce has been unending, specially since the status quo is one that has no temerity to understand or even delve deep into the minds and works of Bengal’s folk philosophers who we have deliberately termed a 'subordinate culture' to overcome and satiate our inadequacies, our lack of basic knowledge, our ingratiating and perverse sin in claiming to be ‘Masters’ of our own destiny; indeed in our overall Superiority complexes.

To understand the Baul therefore, is to understand the state of nothingness associated with his rejection, by which it is not to be construed, as a willing suspension of disbelief, nor a reckless abandonment of responsibility or that of becoming inordinately fatalistic. It is a living quest to go back to the dynamics of where it all began: to our infancy as much as the first moments of creation. It is a quest we cannot undertake without some prodding assistance, albeit to our well charted ‘roots’, if we have one? Clearly, life is a blessed moment of procreation and an extension of the continuous cycle of Mother Nature which rolls on over, when we know all too well, it is also a process that simply cannot be rolled back.

It is in context of looking for meanings to living, versus that of death which is as an instant, if not completely the end of reasoning, and the probabilities of a life devoid of answers to the future and where it ultimately places us, is the harrowing spectre Man is condemned to life in his living. This premise of not knowing where ‘everything’ if ever ends is one that significantly dilates the implication and importance of NOW.

Birth is neither conditional nor a deviation, but an extension of Mother Nature’s continuation. Like every child born, the nucleus entity ‘family’ bears charge for its growth, nurturing and makes imminent strides into life and his/her ultimate acceptance in society, which is indeed the creation of man. That is only part of the man made equation half understood, and one we have no easier option but to live with, there are yet many consequent travails in this journey called ‘life’, which cannot easily be guided by any rationale at all, nor explained, with the most hazardous aspect: its unpredictability.

The Baul philosophy of agnostic monotheism is therefore universal in its application and not something that evolved in predetermined or tortuous isolation. While we explore, understand and appreciate the lifestyle of great minds who have too often moved away from grounded norms of life and living, to one of selflessly rejecting the status quo with great peril to themselves like Fakir Lalon Shah, we are reminded of someone who gave up on the richest of riches, an adoring society, palatial homes and a loving family, who turned recluse, a hermit, not because he was ostracized – but by choice. He was Gautama Buddha and his quest was for ‘Nirvana’.

3. The Myth behind ‘Affected by the WIND’

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Nature as we know it is exacting and when, how, and why we go against the natural process and adopt deviant ways of life that we consider inherently ‘natural’ is mind boggling. Consider for example the breathing of an infant.

Nature has designed every human to be diaphragmatic breathers: observe any newborn sleeping face up, steady rise and fall of the stomach – (and not the chest) punctuates its breathing. Yet in less than the time it takes for an infant to sit up and warble a few words, the entire breathing process is taken over by extreme pressure to the lungs? Yoga taught us proper breathing thousands of years ago, but it is only recently that the medical profession has seen its merit in treating cardiac and asthmatic patients and relaxation exercises for overall mental well being.

This deliberation on breathing is essential in our real understanding after translation of the word Baul (pronounced Baa-ool), for ‘affected by the wind’ it may mean from its Sanskrit some say Persian variant Baa-tul, the underlying tragedy is the terms have often been most rudely conjured as ‘going mad’. The lampoon-isation as if, it were the lifestyle of a bunch of lunatics with some insinuations even implying this, as the aftereffect of all the ‘wind’ consumed in chillums (bongs) full of ganja or marijuana, with the word Batil or ‘wasted’ only a continuation of Baatul? It is only but fair to say that cannabis smoking was never a part of the Baul way of life, although many smoke it, with Lalon Shah cautioning if not condoning his followers of its dangerous after effects.

What then is the ‘wind’ that the Baul believes in, and is ‘affected’ by? One answer could well be ‘stop breathing and find out’!

In the trinity of earth, wind and fire that underlines monotheism today, it is entirely a unique attribute of the Baul how he interprets Adam, the first ‘Man’ for our understanding. Apparently the Maker chose to breathe wind to cool down the fireball he ejected from the Sun (Big Bang theory?) and send hurtling down to the planet we have now inherited. Science confirms that rainfall and precipitations continued for millions of leading to formation of what we call the planet Earth. Yet the advent of first Man whom many will not reject in that it amounts to rejection of ones owns existence is flawed, temporal and at the least unconvincing on one basic premise: we have no clue if the ‘being’ was actually a humanoid?

Ilm-e-Tussawuf (commonly Sufism) connotes Adam as a fusion of two Persian words – Aag (as in fire) and Dum (as in breathing). ‘Thinking life’ on the planet by some calculation of the Maker had to be of the ‘breathing’ variety, to be of some consequence, to appreciate existing and existence and this placed Man in a category far removed from other ‘creatures’.

The Baul believes the Maker breathed life into all of us, and we are only but a continuation of the force of that very first breath, the very first wind, and scientifically ‘first life’ was possibly an air-borne virus, trapped in the fiery dust debris that fell, cooled off and evolved underwater and went on to produce bacteria’s, cells, till they moved over land, and what else have we..... Essentially we have no proof other than our instincts - scientific or otherwise - to confirm any of these speculations.

Be that, life for the Baul is an extension of the ‘first wind’ and what we call SOUL that charges our dynamo and keeps that infinitely complex vehicle called the BODY going. The body is synchronized not to hours, minutes or seconds that we calculate, but the numbers of time we breathe in and breathe out and ironically how many times we may do that in a lifetime is beyond scientific reasoning are ‘serious’ matters the Baul wishes to reason with. Therefore every Man no matter his faith or ‘religion’ receives a Baul farewell or so to speak, when obituaries read ‘he breathed his last’ or poignantly ‘he passed away’.

Science’s quest is unending for it is a study of nature and what we say today in agreement may well be doomed obsolete in the days ahead simply because nature deemed it fit, with newer interpretations, led on by Man’s inquisitive discovery. One therefore ought to stop and wonder if millennium adventures of looking for LIFE in Mars are conditional on finding water, or the right WIND. ‘Life’ is a ‘wind’ and let us not blame the Baul for pointing this out. If they have been ‘affected by the wind’ it is merely because they have pointedly reminded us to our insane and mad rush to live life in subterfuge - in hypocrisy. If this truth overwhelms any of us, let us pause and take a deep breath!

4. The Soul: Complicated Simplicity versus Simplicity Complicated

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For the Baul a human body is a vessel: a potent vehicle for the omnipotent Soul. The Soul again is energy, in description no different from what science offers i.e. it can neither be created nor destroyed. The Maker apparently fashioned the Soul after many a trial and error, for he wanted to create a ‘superior life’ form that could replicate his goodness and creativity on the one hand, and bestow powers of Mercy and Benevolence on the other, a mission not ‘foretold’ in other life forms ahead of Man. It had thus to be Man to sing the Glory of the unseen Maker, and the Baul among others was born.

The Baul’s attest the process of creating the ‘ultimate creation’, saw the Maker inflicting rigors of ‘fire and black smoke’ on the Soul for ‘forty thousand years’. This did not result in the desired allegiance or gratefulness of the Soul to its Maker. Another spell of ‘ten thousand years’ followed, the difference this time around: the Soul were kept hungry, and the denial of food apparently resulted in its unequivocal surrender to the Maker, and the recognition of His infallibility.

Metaphorically juxtaposed, ‘thousands of years’ that it took for the ‘Soul’ to be roasted in fire and smoke could well be ‘billions’ of man years, that science approximates is the time the Earth underwent to cool down, and it is quite likely that fires smothered by rain and mists created ‘black smoke’. Long before the ‘Gregorian’ calendar or numerology came to the earliest man, ‘thousands’ could well have been infinity, much as we stretch out calculative imagination to nanometers today.

The Baul yearns to seek rationale in abysmally simple arguments by referring to nature, about nature, through his intense probe. Man in his ignorance has made the entire gamut of first life and existence an unnecessarily complicated exercise. Because we do not readily refer to answers available in nature to our questions, our complications stem from a singular obsession of equating human nature or 'Man's nature' as a separate entity outside of the natural process. Our alienation from nature, our Maker and the 'self' begins at this precise point.

More often than not, we end up creating ‘superhuman’ among men, fired with an ego higher than the seven skies, and it is only when we come crashing down that our frailties and limitations commensurate in such mindless quests of the ‘Self’, which we have horribly mixed-up as being that of our Soul, results in portent attempts to belittle the Maker, to deny his existence.

The denial of the Maker comes with the denial of the ‘self’’, almost like looking at a Mirror, and trying to figure out our deflected reflection, a necessary aberration that we consider ‘real’. We ‘live’ because we seem to have proof of the same, yet we have decided to take ‘life’ as nothing beyond what our physical eye manifest, in what our senses determine. We nonetheless superstitiously invoke ‘life’ into invisible beings that our hallucinations conjure, things that go ‘bump in the night’. Our proof of our being is only in our ability at seeing, yet there are thing unseen that our eyes and general sensory organs seem unable to register. Things which appear under the gaze of powerful microscopes in research laboratories, things like ‘mysterious particles’, which remain the exclusive domain of specialists and scientists, but what about us – is a question that is deliberately removed from the ‘self’ selflessly. Do we by mistake if ever, use the faculty of our ‘third eye’, the eye of our nascent consciousness to reach conclusive judgement, without being ridiculed as superstitious?

Where does the WE in all of us fit in, when the ‘I’ as such, is no more? What is the motivation that drives us around a bend in an alley, when we more often do not know where it leads? What made desert or sea voyagers in our glorious past, seek and find fortunes in the unknown, at distances unthinkable? Is it instincts that leads us on, or is it what we call rationales that decide events in our lives when so-called ‘empirical evidence’ meanders and fall flat? If so, what then is ‘irrationality’ other than conditionally suicidal attempts to condemn our yearnings for the Truth, by abusing what is certainly alien in Man’s nature, his PRIDE, which again is only an extension of our deeply held prejudices?

The Baul believes that it is only in ignorance we have decided to step beyond what we know, to go as far as to pilfer and adorn ourselves the apparel of PRIDE, unbeknownst that it is the prerogative of the Maker, not Man.

5. Hawadom: The Gust and Mother of all Winds

2007-04-06T17:25:00.000+06:00

Since the Baul’s believe Adam evolved when the Maker breathed into fire, Eve in the folklore and languages of South Asia, (Arabic, Persian, Hindi, Urdu or even Bengalee) is ‘Hawa’ or the WIND, the difference if at all is comprehensible when we translate the term into English as a ‘gust of wind’! It is also worthwhile mentioning that Eve the mother of all mankind is referred to as ‘Ma Hawa’ or the ‘Mother of Winds’ in common cultural parlance, paradigm and usage.

While the Baul interprets Adam as product of the original ‘breath of life’ of the Maker, apparently a secondary and very long ‘gust of wind’– ‘Hawa’ or Eve, possibly caused the planet to cool, condense, precipitate and make ‘bearable’ conditions for an environment where life as we know it today, could emerge, and for procreation to start in earnestness.

It is thus no mystery that wind is the infinite catalyst for all that is considered ‘forceful’ to initiate change, a gift of nature that bestows upon us, the blessed ideas of comfort, peace and Mercy. Procreative conditions, they are bounties for Man, for the Wind carry clouds laden with water, pollinate flowers and so on, as much as it is FREE, because nature is inherently free with no ‘religion’ claiming to be its sole proprietor? Wind has ways to reciprocate Man’s ingratitude by its action as a force of occasional destruction, but thankfully we call these ‘storms’!

In the song ‘Hawadom’ (Seeking him in Wind and Breathe) composed by Fakir Lalon Shah, the intricacies of creation, and the reference to fire as precursor to life is discussed semantically. For the uninitiated to Bauliana, this song has sometimes been interpreted as seeking union with the Maker in the dom or puff of the marijuana plant, with hawa meaning the smoke that enter and exits the chillum (bong) through Man.

While it is not our intention to dispute the many schools of thoughts in the Baul pantheon, this analysis especially of the last two couplets followed by the signature line of Lalon Shah seeks to go beyond the mundane. It is our belief that this composition is an inquiry about Adam and Eve, with the pro-feminist Baul deliberately adding the name of Eve before that of Adam in reverence. Since it is never in the interest of the Baul to preach, we remind readers that this analysis is subjective and open to scrutiny and NOT to be construed as the ultimate truth, or the ultimate analysis.

Hawadomay dekho taray, tar ashol baina
Seek him in the wind and breathe, in advance, in full measures

kay banolo emon rong moholkhana
Who is it that created this colorful abode?

The couplet sets the tone for the Baul quest of the Soul, devoid of physical attributes that we ‘humanoids’ have inherited and ‘naturally’ latch on to, and further the debate as to WHO created us in all our color, sound and fury. The search realistically is within than without.

Man is ‘debatably’ superior to all other species on Earth because he has the capacity to reason, analyze and these attributes leads him on to disseminate his thoughts through his intellect and speech. The appreciation of the spirit of the living being in compassion as a human attribute in its totality is underscored by use of the word ‘baina’ or an ‘advance’ as in commerce, more aptly an inference to universal conscience devoid of any ‘strings attached’ to inconsequential earthly entities.

Commerce plays a significant part in the Baul and his interpretation of life, for it reminds him that it is a debilitating and destabilizing force in the sustenance of the Soul, as it invokes the acceptance of the foremost of human vice, Materialism. The condition by which the Maker subjected the Soul to ‘thousands’ of years of hunger, is only to reinforce the ideal that Man ought to share a collective bounty, and in as much as the Wind and Sun is a free natural commodity, so is Food.

Contrary to popular misconceptions the Baul is no beggar. He is a roving minstrel for rekindling, renewing, reviving and reminding a world gone astray that love and compassion may have eluded Man, it has NOT the Maker. The beauty of the Baul’s yearning and music are in questions they raise, and the answers we readily do not have, nor do they themselves offer. To face up or question the Baul doctrine is to be humbled into silence. It is a willful acceptance of fate accomplii, without being fatalistic.

Tampering with the food chain is a Sin like no other in Baul belief. The Baul agonizes that Man has deemed it fit to doom food as a tool for oppression and exploitation, for gain. Nature providentially guarantees food to every living organism on earth from the tiny ant, to the birds in the sky, to the mighty elephant, to the whale in the ocean – as much as it does to Man. Seeking answers about our food source determines existence through ‘wind and breathe’ and the analogy is to touch our Soul through that of Adam and Eve, as in the ‘ashol’ or in full, all paid up measures, in total, unconditional supplication. No jokes here about a half-empty or a half-full glass!

The rationale is as simple as saying ‘pay up or lose’; the difference being: Man is being asked to pay an ‘advance’, a ‘baina’ for his Soul, since he has made it a habit of giving importance to only things that have price tags or ‘value additions’ and consider only those ‘worthwhile’. Since intangible values are rarely recognised: ‘fair enough’ says the Baul - wisdom is not FREE either.

Adam and Eve are not exclusive to creation and akin to the sustenance of life, complimentary and conditional. Likewise in the human species while the Male is condemned to a life in Labour, the Female is condemned to Labour in ‘bearing’ life, and as civilizations move ahead and more women set out to labour and toil as much as the Male, Adam’s may relate to all pains real or imagined of the Eve, he is ‘blessed’ NOT to endure or feel the pain or the process of birth.

6. Joi Guru: Food, ‘Begging’ and the curse of Materialism

2007-04-06T17:20:00.000+06:00

A parallel to the Baul belief is found in Buddhism, in the monk or the Bhikkhu, whose penance is exemplified in his head bowed in humility, and in his grim routine of ‘begging’ for his meals. This again only at times he is not fasting – for in his fasting he epitomizes his contribution to the food chain, ensuring that somewhere down the line another Man does not go hungry.

Since every Man by Providence is guaranteed food for his survival no matter how meager, and because the Maker of the Universe will not tolerate individual poverty as the food supply has been evenly balanced out, the Baul in return for a ‘favor’ of a meal, is thus, NOT expected to pray for ‘individuals’ that have fed him. His prayer in the chant ‘Joi Guru’ (Salutes to the Great God in You) is for all humanity, a celebration that life and living prevails. The difference in other monotheistic faith and agnostic monotheism of the Baul is in the act of giving willingly, and in the purpose of sharing. For instance those that have ‘fed’ the Baul, there are no promises of a ‘blessed life’ in the living, or ‘Heaven’ in the afterlife, but simply an acceptance that the cycle of accommodation within the natural process, a continuation of justice that the Maker had deemed fit – as much as nature demands; has been completed.

There is no denying that there is an underlying and atypical attribute of ‘commerce’ associated, as well as a perverse attempts by many to ‘bribe God’ to beg ‘Mercy’ for ones tainted Soul, by offering a meal to the Bhikkhu, the beggar or the Baul. The truth is, the critically tilted cycle of food balance is partially set right every time an offering of food is made to the hungry; it is however never a permanent solution. The Baul seeks his meal, goes hungry, feels the pangs of nothingness and sometimes sleeps with stones tied to his stomach, just like animals and birds are forced to eat stones when they have nothing else to feed themselves. His ‘gratefulness’ if at all, is only to the Maker who created food in the first place which Man has willfully doctored to a state of unavailability.

In the offering or acceptance of food is proof that kindness and Mercy together with the Maker survives and all praise is to him. Conversely, Man offers food to fellow Man, without the basic understanding that he or she is repaying long overdue ‘dues’ as it originally came FREE from the Maker. In feeding a Bhikkhu or a Baul therefore, Man does no overt individual favor; all he does is ‘repay’ the Maker, and nature, what is rightfully the property of Man. He actually does himself a ‘favor’, for anything in the world may be alms – not food.

For one, the Baul does not belong to an institutionalized clergy, nor has he any need for a home when the world as such is his home, with the sky his roof devoid of intrusive pillars or columns, and his Soul the Monastery where his Maker, the Guru resides and sustains him. The Baul seeks the cleansing of the Soul of man, pointing out that we have permitted injustice to creep in and taint our psyche, our Soul, to the extent of accepting it as a natural attribute, and he poignantly explains all of it in few words of deep philosophies, in matter of fact terms in his songs – in singing the glory of Man and his Maker.

The Baul rules for Nature rules and the Maker rules. A continuation like no other that affects the destiny of Man, the inappropriate ‘being’.

7. ‘True work’, Energy and ‘Burning without Fuel”

2007-04-06T17:15:00.000+06:00

Bini telay jalai baati / Dekhtay jemon mukto moti
Burning a lamp without oil, it looks like a pearl

Jolonmoi tar choturbidhi / Modhyae taa na*
Burning in circular abandon, yet not in the center

*The word ‘thana’ is also used in some rendition of this song, meaning a caged ‘lock-up’

The Baul query as to the placement of the Soul in the Makers scheme of things is addressed in the above couplet.

No fire is as such possible without a fuel source to burn. In other words, a fire will only burn as long as there is fuel: wood, coal, petroleum, and gas - whatever. ‘Millennium Man’ will kill his fellow Man, reduce him to a pauper, and enslave him, if ever the source of his expendable energy is threatened. Millennium bestialities we call wars, seeks to remind us that anything and everything might have changed in 'modern' man, not his antiquated and barbarian pursuit of war, for that one singular obsession, ENERGY and his fear of a life without it. All of this, despite the fact that Mother Earth has more 'untapped' energy resources in her womb, than we have discovered or consume every single second. Herein lies the perplexing gamut in the energy we extract for our use, and expend for our survival, in contrast to the 'unseen' energy source in the human Soul. Whatever science may have discovered, it has failed thus far to locate the epicenter of this huge reservoir, or break down the chemical composition of the 'force' in all of us, that keeps us going for our times on Mother Earth - in our Soul the keeper of our consciousness, if we care to recognize that we have one.

Understanding that Man is incapable of launching an 'exploratory mission' into the depth of his Soul, the Baul predicted the species impending doom in our disrespect for energy readily available, and that happened hundreds perhaps thousands of years ago. The 'fire' in all of us he explained is a fire that we are left with no choice, but admit as un-superstitiously as possible, is one that defies man's extremely limited imagination to fathom. An un-tradable commodity ENERGY therefore is the property of no country, no nation, no color, creed or religion, but that of all Humanity - and just like, air, water and food is deemed - FREE. We are after all, only a part of what the Baul refers as 'lamps without oil' that started the first fire. In the quest for truth the Baul says: “there is no such thing as true word, or a true path or even the truth. There is only one TRUTH and that is in TRUE work.”

What then is TRUE work?

The Maker and his creation where Man is only but one of trillion (?) life forms is best served in work which is TRUE. Ostensibly True work is to seek The Maker as in one, because nature is as one, because the Earth is as one, because each one of us, are ONE - from the ONE and same energy source. We have unfortunately decided to break our oneness in our contradictions based on individual schools of existence that leaves us deviated, confused, and splintered ever further, resulting in our consistent and immoral fragmentation. Why? Because we allow our 'beliefs' to be based on 'proof' and 'truth' –thus what we do not see is what we necessarily do not believe. Devoid from our thinking are many 'truths' over periods of time, which no longer remain the truth, for newer truths are inevitably 'discovered'. Fair enough - but let us not delude ourselves that in all the contradictions we have, it is in the endless contradiction between ‘existence and non-existence’ wherein the ultimate PROOF of all EXISTENCE lie. Would we really argue about things that do not exist (?) is a Baul question meant to humiliate us, to see us through our idiosyncrasies.

Far from the TRUTH we all seek to rush into with a forlorn sense of obliquity, assessing the worth of truth comes in labour that has primordial overtones of being of service, assistance and its usefulness to Man, without conditions of deceit attached. In deception to fellow man, we only deceive ourselves and nature. While we expect truth to be 'as pristine and predictable' as the waking morning, we forget that, that for us is Nature in its full bloom of TRUTH and one we can only behold, while we remain in our 'trial and error' retinue in the denial of nature. In as much as we try to make the best out of the Makers bounties, nature is intrinsically ever forgiving to the mistakes we make. A comforting thought nonetheless.

Let us have no reasons to doubt that for the Baul, TRUE work is not to be construed as 'error free' work for that is impossible. He recognizes half in jest, two types in the human species that do not make errors. The first is those that do not work, and the other is one whose WORK it is to detect errors. More often it is people of the later category that make the most unnecessary noise.

8. Understanding the Light in our 'Life'

2007-04-06T17:10:00.000+06:00

Each of us produces 'light' that we understand entirely personally. A Light we know that can neither be ignited nor whiffed away, yet whenever we procrastinate with a deep sense of humility, we discover that its is a humbling and inescapable circularity of the ways things have been planned for all of us, a plan we have neither the ability to preview, pre-empt, preclude, predict, edit or even delete. We however know for certainty that the most important moment for all of us is NOW.

What then is the composition of the Soul?

If Energy is in the pear-like flame of a candle or an open lamp, the epicenter i.e., from where the fire emanates is a pale blue yonder. The Baul says it is here, in the center of it all, within the fire, where there is 'no fire' to the naked eyes, is where the 'Soul' of the fire exists. He relates this to Man in that the Soul is energy within each man which burns and creates the fire that keeps him going, is also the energy that has to be nurtured to reach salvation, to dissolve with the ways of the Maker, to attain Nirvana. Nirvana conceptually is not about ‘attaining’ anything as such – but ‘shedding’ residues of complex ‘fossil fuels’ which over the years have kept our ‘cravings’ rather than our souls alive, akin to occasional cleansing of a car carburetor!

The ‘Breathe of God’ that caused a portion of the Sun to split and move beyond its axis, solidify and then form a mass we call the EARTH, where 'life' first evolved, has everything fashioned for one paramount eventuality, extermination. Since all we know is fire burns with Energy, what we do not know or cannot accurately predict, is when exactly will the 'gas tank' in all of us runs dry? Complicating all that we wish to predict, we have no 'fuel tank meter' either - do we?

In his thinking realm Man can theoretically 'Move Mountains' or at least has invented devices like nuclear bombs to make the Himalayas disappear at colossal peril to his species. He has traveled to Moon, Mars is next on his 'invisible road map' - but never ever do we hear about any undertaking to explore the SUN or 'land' on it. The Baul on the other hand reminds us that we need not go 'exploring' anywhere beyond our own bodies to appreciate that Energy in Man remains untapped, unexplored, undiscovered' and thus 'un-landed'.

Let us hope that the next time we switch on an electrical bulb, or sport a mean pair of shades to protect the Sun's ultra violet ray off our eyes, that we do not get too 'philosophical'!

9. The 'weight' of the Soul – In disbelieving the seeing?

2007-04-06T17:05:00.000+06:00

Til poriman jagay shey jay / Choddho roop tahari madjhay
Size no bigger then a grain, its disguised face at the epicenter

Kaanai shunay andhai dekhay / Nyangrar nachna
The deaf hear and the blind see the dance of the lame

As explained in the previous couplet, we do know what pearls mean to all of us: a semi precious natural adornment. The Baul quest is for 'sizes' of various things and he does not use this metaphorically for any reason of ‘value’, but to relate grain for grain the sand that caused its formation. It is not the sheer beauty or the 'worth' of the pearl that awes the Baul, but its weight. He compares this to the size of the Soul and concludes it is no bigger than the size of a 'til', a grain of pulse - perhaps smaller than this [.] full stop.

Being less that the lowest scale of measure known to Man, the Baul implies the weight and size of the Soul is quite the reverse of 'infinity' as we understand it, and till such time we have 'conclusive', verifiable, scientific proof to this basic question, as opposed to the various organs in our body, it only makes sense that we let the wisdom of the Baul prevail. The 'disguised face (is) at the epicenter' is an apt reminder, that even if Man is able to reach at the center of his own Energy reservoir, it might well be a limited 'discovery'.

He points out that ‘perfect man’ with all his five sensory organs intact and a 'sixth' unexplainable and intangible 'sixth sense' ought to study and figure out how the deaf ‘hear’ without their ears, the blind ‘see’ without their eyes and importantly the lame can dance, and yet all three disadvantaged of human species can communicate, even as we seek their social ostracization, blaming the Maker for a 'defect' in their births. Paradoxically it also seeks to lead us on to what most would not accept; the existing and highly advanced sixth sense of the disadvantaged, which try as hard, ‘perfect man’ may never be able to acquire.

Man sins again, a SIN most repulsive and revolting for the Baul, for he wishes to know, how many among us can actively seek friendship of the deaf, dumb, blind or the lame? Isn't our ‘love’ for them a demonstration of our conditional pity, which only seeks to degrade the Soul in them? Yet, how these very brave spirits survive their times on Mother Earth without our 'support' or patronization - if only and purely by a full understanding, exploitation and use of the 'sixth sense', that we have decided to rubbish as non-existent and 'pure figments of the imagination' is where Man fails, but not the Baul. Our disregard for the disadvantaged is disregard and disrespect for our Maker is the analysis of the Baul. This leads us to be cursed by blindness even though we have the faculties of our vision intact, dangerously mis-communicate even when our gift of speech survives, and while our feet take us more miles than the lame, we are unable to ever arrive at a destination more beautiful than where the Makers 'Heaven' is only comparable with the mythical Shangri La of the movies?

The Universal Quest of the Baul is no myth, for Heaven and Hell are conditional to a 'journey' that we will never hazard if we can avoid it. Despite the 'paradise' Heaven offers, or the Brimstones that await us in Hell, we are so inherently fearful of the unknown, that much as we would savor Heaven, none of us would quite consider a journey to Hell, even to check out if there is so much as the TRUTH. In all that we have been conditioned to believe in our lifetimes, in his rejection the Baul will however take this journey, as to him it is the natural thing, for Heaven and Hell if they at all exist, cannot be something alien to Nature - even as Man through his irresponsibility has possibly become one.

10. Shah: The 'Regal' Lamp

2007-04-06T17:00:00.000+06:00

As much as unthinking people have tried in vain to find out who Fakir Lalon Shah was, where he appeared from, or his faith, creed and 'religion', what cannot and should not pass any of us by, is our curiosity have all been focused about the 'man' and not what he stood for, or wanted to share as a complete, yet simple vision of faith for our understanding. Word for word, couplet for couplet Lalon, embedded gems in his compositions, for all of us to contemplate, meditate and find our individual answers. True work is in deciphering not just the 'song' that a lot of musicologist and pundits have tried a wide brush-over to 'urbanize' or remove their 'frugal rural rusticity', but more, implications of each and every individual word that were subtly crafted in his masterpieces, is where the quest is honed in.

Jage uthachay ei roop mohol / na jaani tar roop ti kyamon
This abode of beauty has arisen, wonder what its beauty is like

Shiraj Shai koi nai ray Lalon/ tar tulona
Shiraj Shai tells Lalon, there is no comparison

In the above couplet, one is left only to behold the beauty of the abode that the Maker has created for us, with the human body, or Man being at its epicenter, only part of a story understood, a half truth if we may. It is in the signature line, where Lalon closes the song is where some answers, perhaps only a portion of the truth and not the entire truth is revealed.

In the first part of this series of essays we have dwelt in length about the term 'Fakir' - yet until now we have deliberately refrained from explaining what the term 'Shah' or 'Shai-ji' in the Baul's colloquial Bengalee usage means. There is nothing deeply mystical or mysterious about it. 'Shah' translated from Arabic or Persian means 'regal' or those worthy of the respect of a King. Whether it is by his deeds or actions or in the lifestyle and attitude he wished others to inculcate, or the lives he touched in his times as much as they do to this day, Fakir Lalon Shah was truly a King amongst men, nay an Emperor. The word ‘Lalon’ on the other hand in Bengalee means 'caring', an Emperor, who’s Empire, was the Makers universe, his 'wealth', the unsurpassed sense of caring and compassion for fellow Man who he worshipped as God.

In closing this chapter, it is worthwhile to mention about 'somebody' that Lalon Shah consistently referred to as 'Shiraj Shai' in most of his compositions. There have been debates and controversies that Fakir Lalon Shah was a disciple of a Guru by the same name. Yet there appears to be no historical or scientific evidence among researchers to confirm the physical existence of any one man by the name of 'Shiraj Shai' from Harishpur, Harinakundu in Jessore where it is thought he lived. One analysis we humbly submit to our readers probably lies in reflecting on the meaning of the word ‘Shiraj’.

In Arabic and Persian among the many meanings attested to the word is 'lamp', therefore in all probability, 'Shiraj Shai' could very well have been, the 'Regal Lamp' - the Maker. The God of the agnostic Fakir Lalon Shah, had deliberately to be coined in order it to make it meaningful, and to rise about the pettiness of organized Gods of 'religions' whose disciples had in the course of Bengal's history, thanks to British Imperialism, deviated and begun quarreling, as to the 'superiority' of their individual Gods. In any event the Maker knows best, and the TRUTH as the Baul knows all too well, is best not arrived at or revealed. Let the Regal Lamp and Light in all of us 'burn' nonetheless.

11. The Baul Guru: Extelligence over Intelligence

2007-04-06T16:55:00.000+06:00

To understand the Guru is to step back to a time capsule of at least 300 years or more and try to appreciate how life was then. Trapped in our millennium lifestyle of speed and technology with its associated ease, our imaginations simply cannot comprehend a scenario of how things revolved around realities where one had no electricity, no cars, no means of traveling anywhere other than walking, by bullock carts or a country boat that would take days to reach ones destination, and what we see is a bleak picture of rural Bengal. Yet on the flip side, we have been regaled by tales of great men of wisdom or miracles, of teachers, Murshids, Pirs and yes the Guru.

Men and women would traverse the length and breath of Bengal only to catch a glimpse of these great men, seek their counsel, learn a few prayers, get a talisman or two, or ‘pure water’ with the ‘breathe’ of the sages ‘powerful’ prayer to rejuvenate themselves or the ailing or dying back home. People went to these seats of learning only to receive ‘salvation’ of one form or the other, and it is not inappropriate to point out that then, as even today, a society reeking with superstition was prone to exploitation, and those vulnerable, were easy prey.

What set these ‘great’ men apart from the rest and ‘capital’ used to conduct their business, was ‘intelligence’, which they actually misused to offer solutions for those ailing in ‘spiritual’, if not physical health. Crudely they had more in common with millennium psychoanalyst or even psychiatrists. The talisman that seemingly exorcised the ‘devils’ could well have been any inanimate object of no real scientific or spiritual value, and ‘pure water’ mere placebos that too often worked just by sheer coincidence or by accident – if they worked at all.

In any case the above observation is not in anyway meant to belittle the herbalist or Kabiraaj or Ayurveda specialist of our rich heritage of folklore medicine whose treatment and care of patients were then as is now, based on closely working, scrutinizing, experimenting and applying scientific judgments on patients, which have lived through ages and will continue to live- indeed will grow from strength to strength.

The focus of this chapter in this series of essays is to seek an insight into what it was that sent people thronging to men and women with ‘great intelligence’ centuries ago when it was the Soul of man that was tormented and needed answers that were not forthcoming? Let us put this across as aptly as we possibly can that the search for ones Soul is never as a result of any loss or gain. It is only to rediscover what was always there, and can best be described as a ‘rebirth’ in ones life, although in extent and purpose it still fails to capture the quest for Bauliana – for as we mentioned earlier it is more about ‘shedding’ – not acquiring.

The forever-curious Baul cynically looked at ‘intelligence’ as an internal and selfish quest for knowledge to be used as a weapon for exploitation, for gain. They believed that the ‘intelligent’ would use their knowledge-base to weaken and not encourage the spirit, by histrionic tales of the omnipotent Maker being a ‘fearfully notorious entity’, whose advantage was in punishing and avenging the ills of man. Compassion and Mercy were attributes that were ruefully excluded from the Maker.

The ‘formula’ for appeasement of the Maker therefore, had to be ‘strictly’ as prescribed by the TRUTH these ancient scamsters upheld while they imitated cultural components in the quest of the Bauls, specially in forceful use of Music, which we had mentioned earlier, the natives of Bengal had a natural inclination to appreciate and understand. Let us call this 17th century infotainment for easier understanding!

For the Baul, intelligence just like any other intangible commodity was again a natural attribute that all Man is blessed with, a gift from nature, and is free till such time Man wishes to doctor it to a farce. It was the Bauls that perhaps raised the demands for free education as a birth right of all Man, and what we now call human rights? ‘True work’ is in educating and education, and no matter how obscure or ill defined that may be, the Baul again is no ‘educator’ - he is a pointer, promoter and a referrer to sources of education readily available in nature; ones that have stood the tests of times, because they contributed to benefit Mankind. For application of education to be of any use, the Baul insists on a practical ‘each Man for himself or herself’ approach, tapping into the radiating aura of the Makers ‘light’ that is picked up by our extra sensory organs which is not to be confused with extra sensory perception, for perceptions are never reality in the first place, but mirages that we may seek and never find, unless they are grounded and relate to verifiable real life examples.

Real examples are based on agreed and accounted premises of rationales, with irrational quest’s being a time worn domain of the occult, of abject magicians with words and not deeds. The Baul provided an alternative direction towards the TRUTH if not the complete truth and he insists on picking up external stimuli’s provided by our sources of conscience, deep within every one of us, in our Extelligence, which is a product of sharing. The process is like polishing a mirror; no matter how bright they appear, or however we look gazing at it, our urge is always to keep it ever more ‘dazzling’, for in our use of the same over time, we see new ‘fogs’ appearing to disturb and distract us. The Soul in Man is as such a ‘commodity’. It needs constant attention, to keep it sharp, focused, agile and dexterous. Since it is supple in its basic character, it bends at will in distractions that come together with these natural stimuli’s, and a sieving of the accumulated residues to leave only the best at the top - is the Bauls ultimate quest.

The Baul Guru therefore is no Man, but the Maker in each and every Man, and it is how we approach our faculties associated with cultivating knowledge, is the difference in the Guru that the Baul reveres and ones the charlatans have made a practice to exploit his fellow Man. The sore bone of contentions that have ravaged the minds and thinking of evolving thought processes in Bengal however continues unabated even among the different schools of thoughts of the Bauls. To equate the Guru to that of the Maker is Sin in the Baul pantheon, for possibilities of arrogance and subterfuge have appeared, with damming ramification to Mankind. Let us be reminded of the Pharaohs, long before monotheism came about.

12. The Baul Trinity: Where Wind is a foregone conclusion

2007-04-06T16:50:00.000+06:00

Jolay stholay ognikunday / Moron nai Tar kono Kalay
In Water, earth or Fire, Death never touches him

In the songs called Gurur Bhab (the Guru’s aura) which was composed by an anonymous Baul and some researchers attest is about five hundred years old, the first two couplets stirringly reinforces that unlike other monotheistic beliefs where Earth, Wind and Fire is considered the trinity of life and conception, the Bauls trinity stands at odd, in his belief that it is Water, Earth and Fire and NOT Wind – which he conjoins with all three elements. ‘Affected by the Wind’ the Baul is partial to the first ‘breathe’ and the first ‘gust of Wind’ is reinforced not only by a spiritual but scientific deduction i.e. if FIRE is considered the destroyer, it also needs the WIND to survive or to destroy? The omnipotence of Hawa or Eve as we have argued in previous chapters is far more superior to that of Adam, for without wind, Fire as such would not have cooled and Earth and Life could not have evolved.

13. Of Bhob and Bhab: The aura of Enlightenment and power of Silence

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Gurur Bhab dhoray jay Boshay achhi/ Choron Dhoray
Catching the aura of the Maker, I sit holding his feet

Gurur Naam niya jay boshay aachi / Nirob hoye
With the name of the Maker in my lips, I sit in sealed silence

The Bengalee word Bhob is a colloquially shortened version of the word Bhubon or the Universe, whereas Bhab implies an aura of achievable enlightenment, an attitude of perfunctory ease and calm associated in approaching the Spirit and Soul of Man i.e. interalia the Maker. The above couplet therefore relates to the calm and serenity of those in meditation, in prayer, in contemplation of the self without the self (as in selfish), in Silence, the most humbling of all human virtues, and isolation a prerequisite in the search and understanding of the ‘known unknown’. Man makes strides when he cuts off life and living from his species and melts into nature. Great wisdom and enlightenment after protracted periods of isolation have seen Minds evolve for the benefit of Mankind. Their being no absolutism in the Baul doctrine; other than in reasoning that every Man is capable of reaching the highest state of enlightenment if there is will, determination, patience and hard work to ‘touch’ the light that beckons each of us with no disparity at least on part of the Maker. The ‘beacon’ of the Maker is neither set nor focused at any one individual at any one time, but an aura that is equal in ‘measures’ and proportion to all of Mankind.

In a nutshell the Baul argues if Bhob were the lamp, the aura of light it radiates is Bhab, the trick is in not in willfully complicating either of the two, for both are again conditional and complimentary. Bhab is not to be confused with the Halo; indeed it is quite the antithesis of such ‘adornments’.

14. Baul meditation: From thinking nothing, to thinking something

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Although a state of nothingness or ‘think nothing’ is associated in most meditative practices worldwide, it takes only but a few rude seconds for the mind to deviate and move and lead it askew to worldly matters. The associated problem: to have a blank mind is as useless as having a blank hard disk in a computer, and it is best that we load ‘programs’ into our minds with thought process ‘software’s’ that leads to justifiable ‘search’, with the end result, that it will lead us on to working under circumstances in an environment where we do not have ‘virus’ or ‘worms’ either hanging or deleting files in our brains i.e. the mind’s CPU – or are we to be proven wrong yet again?

So what is it that we can think to get us to a state of ‘no thinking’ thinking?

Jyamon Maye Jaanay Cheler Ador/ Oray Mon Ojana baloker kaalay
Only a Mother knows how much she adored you son/ O Spirit of Your unknown infancy

Shei Roop Guru Jaanay Shishwer ador/Monay Monay mishalyeelay
The Maker knows the love of his seekers/ if you seek him in Your own Spirit

As we had said earlier, what is unknown to us and not to our physical creator our Mother, the Eve, is the love and care that went behind our upbringing. Life to re-amplify is a blessed moment of procreation that we simply cannot roll back. The Spirit that reigns within us during infancy and exactly when do we come to a realization as living, breathing, eating, walking beings capable of having our own strains of thinking and prejudices is unknown. It is the Bauls belief to seek and return to that perfectly blissful state of ‘nothingness’, when our manifest physical self as we come to understand it after ‘understanding’ has grasped us, and sometime numbs us into semi consciousness, and often takes an unfair toll, is one that ideally should be blocked and assigned the back seat. It is only in delving deep into actions of the highly disadvantaged Spirit that came with us and the actions of our Mothers, who cared for us and reared us to what we are today, may lead us to some ‘clues’ to our Maker if not ‘answers’. The importance the Baul attaches to procreation is underscored. The Maker’s love for Mankind likewise can only be understood in seeking him within the Spirit.

15. The Myth behind the ‘Straight’ Path

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Jyamon Pakhi Koray Daaley Basha / Baduray to daalaye jhulay
Like Birds build nests’ in branches / Bats hang on branches

Shei Roop Moner Nirik Thik Na hoilaye / Dal bhangiya Porbi sheshay
if the aim of your Spirit wavers / The branches will break and YOU will fall with it too

The concluding couplet in the composition draws the analogy of birds and bats. While both are ‘creatures of the Wind’, the use of branches in trees by both species is however dissimilar. While birds build their nest on branches assured of its strength to carry its own weight and that of its roosting infants, the Bat on the other hand uses it solely for the purpose of hanging. Objectively what is referred here is whatever may be the ‘reason’ for ones action it does not imply necessary agreement in use and applications of another way of life, although the implemented conclusions may just be the same. It is like case of a Knife: whereas a robber may kill somebody by its misuse, a medical surgeon may use the same to save a life. The fault lies not in the knife, but in its use or abuse by Man. Metaphorically the branch therefore is not a monophonic entity, rather it’s varied used by both Birds and Bats is symbolic of the direction that leads on to the so-called ‘straight path’ that seems to be an ideology among many branches of monotheism. The confusion of the ‘straight path’ comes when we imply it being a ‘straight line’ i.e. we fail to realise that what may be LEFT for one, may well be RIGHT for the other and probably explains why we discovered ‘dividers’ to regulate vehicular traffic?

The Baul does not reject the ‘straight path’ per se, it his interpretation that sets him apart, for they are based on scientific premises not emotions or unreasonable reasoning. A ‘path’ if at all he argues, can only be arrived at, if all ends of the spectrum, the entire canopy that we live under is understood. In other words, ‘blind’ submission to ‘faith’ without using the faculties of reasons may lead one astray. The straight path is assigned in the center, and as much as the creator has blessed us with two of most sensory organs, all are fashioned and designed to work in complimentary conditions. Let us put you through a Baul tests. Please read the next lines in this essay with either of your eyes closed and see where they are focused?

Our focus and direction in reading this essay, in other words the center and the STRAIGHT path can only be arrived with both our eyes wide open. Similarly to be able reach the Spirit of the Maker and be blessed in his enlightenment one has to exercise both sides in the faculty of the cerebral organ we call the brain, leading to the third eye of our conscience to OPEN to be of any practical use to us. The Straight path lies in allowing our sense of judgement to be weighed by all options and not allow prejudices or absolutism of any kind to cloud our thinking process.

16. Messages: From Prophets to Poets and on to the Public

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The Bauls believe like other monotheist that the messages of all Prophets, which came from the Maker, needed dissemination to the public at large if this could be of benefit to Mankind. More that counting rosaries with our fingers, or parroting the ‘holy books’ we had safely tucked in our homes away from anybody’s reach but the select ‘faithful’ among us, who apparently ‘understand’ its texts, we have reduced them to non-entities in our willful neglect. It was perhaps the will of the Maker that Man in the Natural world be guided in methodology easier and useful to reach, and not by means where ‘fear’ is the key to the discovery and appreciation of the Omnipotent or the Omnipresent. Among those suited to deliver Messages and undertake this responsibility of great acumen, were Poets, for they had the ability and talent to introspect and arrive at deliverable conclusions and make clarifications at the shortest possible time. This was long before the radio had been invented, and there were no other avenues available other than word of mouth. They combined poesy with music, as mere recitation or incantations could affordably not interest anyone. Bards and rural minstrels were the Poets of the time, who traveled on foot, on bullock carts and boats, carrying the Makers message in their hearts and in their songs.

With his simplistic Ektaara (one string pitch instrument) to signify the one Maker of Mankind, and the Baaya (meaning a left handed bass drum, strung to the waist, to keep time and rhythm) he was a one man band who could move faster with the message than anybody else. Other that his minimalist musical talents, he was usually a singer of some repute, his competence as a Poet, who could compose at will at any location, and pass on a message as and when it crossed his mind was his intrinsic talent. His acceptability came from his instant streaks of wisdom as he was more attuned with Nature than most else. In Bengal’s tradition of Kobi Loraai (or Poet-Bard duels) that lasted all night-long and sometimes continued for days, challenges were thrown, and theological debates interspersed with music left everybody in states of mixed emotions from euphoria, humor, and anger to tears. To this day most couplets are composed impromptu and in the heat of ‘battles’ of the village Poets, fascinating arguments usually leaves the uninitiated to the phenomenon at a complete loss in wonderment. So powerful and intense is the display of Extelligence of those we consider rustic, frugal and not worthy of our urbanized ‘respect’, that benign respects overpowers us into submission and helps us relate and appreciate many unanswered questions in our quest for Bauliana. Let us make no mistake here that Bauliana is not a quest that is so fragile that it can not survive the spirit of inquiry. Blind faith is prejudicial faith, and the Baul is not afraid if he is ever challenged, for he has always been respectful to differing opinions, and believed in Democracy, free speech and expression, even before these now ‘holistic’ terms were invented. He never believed that what he said was the truth and his only yearning was for WORK that was true.

As time moved on, and life reached a pitch in its sheer speed, attention span in humans faltered. On the other hand a constant reeling back and forth in this esoteric exercise of keeping the mind thoroughly engaged on thoughts ONLY of ‘messages’ from the Maker in relation to Man i.e. life could well….become very boring to say the least! With the struggle for daily survival in rural Bengal, our denizens of yore simply could not afford this ‘luxury’, especially when putting a square meal for the consumption of the family at the end of the day was a priority that overtook all else. It is thus not unusual that most Baul compositions have references to, or have pointers based on what we may term in today’s context: ‘market dynamics‘.

Much as society moved away from a collective cooperative spirit of survival, to a vulgar ‘perform or perish’ preponderance towards materialism, the compositions were thus designed to cater to those with a ‘cursed sense of simplicity’, a reminder that life and living is going through spins of extremities where more often, exploitations were as a direct result of ‘intelligent’ humans spreading the tentacles of hate, divisions and willful yet deceitful capture, nay stealing of others wealth, whether material or immaterial is not important here. A new set of filter down institutionalized hierarchy of Oppression of the British imperialist had made their presence felt in the tyrant class of Zamindars, (landlords) Jotedars (lackeys of landlords) to the village Muttabors (arbitrators, read village head man) not to forget the sacrosanct Mullahs (Islamic clerics) or the Puroheets (Brahmin priest’s) who gave a ‘spiritual angle’ to exonerate the injustice they skillfully perpetrated.

The Bauls were then as to this day, the butt of ridicule and rancor, as they had the ability to see through the charades being perpetrated on the innocent, all in the name of religions and its many Gods. For the poor and marginalised it was the power of the Spirit, which had to be revived and rejuvenated to fight Oppression in all its forms. Let us be clear; Bauliana remains a socio-political-cultural struggle, with its only ‘weapon’ the Spirit of Man and its latent power to overcome all extremities, which sometimes capitulated to limited calamities, but never bowed its head in defeat. “To resist is to WIN” has always been the Baul credo.

It is in such complex situations that the Bauls reminded its audience that only when we juxtapose examples in nature in relation to the Makers plans and schemes of things, would anybody be able to overcome the serious odds that seemed to challenge rural Bengal. The quest for Bauliana today is no different, for it is a revolt against the hackneyed order of medieval thought processes, permeating and afflicting the sensibilities of Man, in its unflinching brutalization of fellow Man. It becomes all the more important that we stop and ponder, because all Wars today, all conflicts, all our anger to fellow Man, is directed NOT because we disagree on fundamentals of the Maker, but because we have allowed ourselves to be conducted on implied Superiority or Inferiority of our respective ‘Gods’. We never hear of any attempts anywhere in the world about a ‘Consensus on God’ while we debate about ‘clashes among civilizations or religions’ when civilization is nothing more that an extension of hate, for whatever we may have inherited, we have failed in inheriting a civilization of ‘good’ as we go looking for ‘Axis of Evils’ – which allows only the devil and not Man to smile. The Maker knows best.

17. Murshid: From Territorial Extelligence to Temporal Trepidation’s

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The word Murshid in Arabic means a guide. Bauls from the Sufi order used the term in great reverence to his other ‘religionist’ and in its reference or application is no different in concept or usage the term Guru i.e. Maker. Bauls predicted that Man would vulgarize the Maker by sticking strictly to terms espoused by ‘religions’ which causes its usual biases and leaves one disillusioned, and entrapped within limited spheres and parameters of understanding or appreciation of the Supreme Being. Lets us therefore examine the concept of the Murshid in the song ‘Becha Kena’ (Buying and Selling) which was composed by an anonymous Baul.

Keho Koray becha kena / kehoi kanday
Some buy and sell, while some sit and cry

Rastai poray dhorbi jodi taray / cholo Murshid er bajaaray
If you seek to catch up with him in his path /

go look for him in the ‘market’ of the Murshid

In the above couplet the thrust of the composition is aimed at those Souls who we referred earlier, have a ‘cursed sense of simplicity’. The paradox of ‘trade’ where some perform and others perish, where the simpleton is left to only bask in tears is succinctly addressed.

Simplicity is a human trait that does not always exemplify being humble. An excess of it is often considered Stupidity, and it is drawing the fine line between what it means to be humble as opposed to being arrogant or obdurate; i.e. the balance of the omniscient ‘center’ that we addressed in the previous chapter is one not defined by any ‘territorial’ consideration but freely available as open source references, in the reservoir of our Spirit, is one that needs reawakening. No book of knowledge as such has a ‘number’ value attached. It is only when we decide to give it an aura of ‘holiness’ to TRADE on knowledge, without going through its contents or trying to understand or share with others - is when we curse ourselves. The second line however extols the virtues of a spiritual quest and to understand and use ‘Market dynamics ’ for finding the Murshid ‘in the market’ is in the spirit of sarcasm, as those who seek the Maker, also in some roundabout ways expect most unfairly, some form of ‘material gains’ for their search.

18. Breaking Free: Demystifying the ‘home’ in our Mind

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Phuler bonae-ay acchay kaata / moner ghoray chabi ata
Flowers in the jungle have thorn / and the key is stuck to the ‘home’ in your mind

Bhangtay hobay ghorere chaabi / khujbi jodi taaray
Break the key of ‘home’ / if you go seeking him

The quest for Bauliana is never to expect a fine-line or perfect ease in seeking and searching the Maker in Man, in our Soul. Far from it, the quest is to break free and relate to what we call our ‘own’ as opposed to what is the ‘we’ in all of ‘us’. It is not a very complicated equation if we take the ‘Flower in the jungle have thorns’ metaphor. It is however a torturous quest in its rigor, and not meant for the feint hearted. Let us face it, the Maker in the grandeur of all beings has created each and every species to acquire an in-built defensive mechanism; Nature as such is predatory if not ‘territorial’. For example the best of roses anywhere in the world have thorns, and it is Natures predisposition that they are what they are, for Man would not be respectful to flowers without them (thorns). If it were not the disadvantage of being pricked by a few thorns, man would perhaps pillage all rose plants and drive it to extinction. For most flowers, thorns are its natural defense. While Man would carefully pluck it, and trade them for profit, animals conversely would not eat them? The thorns in many flowers make it impossible for them to either chew or digest the same, yet at the same time some animals live on nothing else but thorny plants. Does it mean animals do not have a sense of appreciation of beauty? Of course they do, the difference is only marginal. Animals do not ‘consume’ beauty, but man will not bat an eyelid to ravage it.

‘Breaking the key of ‘home’’ aptly reminds us that what we call ‘home’ is actually the selfish pursuit of the ‘I’, the key of which has to be broken to achieve salvation. Our ‘homes’ as we know and use it, are territorial entities, which we have designed to keep predators off our perimeters – and the predator is not animal but ironically man. A ‘Mind’ that lives in such a ‘home’ is a mind cursed to no salvation, no mercy of the Maker, for his mind is not set to accept anything that does not satiate the ‘I’. For the Baul the state of mind that can reach the highest level of consciousness is one removed from mundane routines, to moving to a state of being in constant contact with the element, with nature in all its bliss and vagaries.

Katar ghaye ongyo ray tor / jai jodi jar jar
If thorns ravage your body/ into shreds

Thakish na are boshay boshay / pother darey
Don’t waste your time / on the wayside

No Man on the planet is one devoid of worries or hardship. Material gains do not guarantee salvation of the Soul, for what is tormented more than the body is the Mind, and there are no artificial balms available to cure a sick mind. Whenever a soul is ravaged it is an individual, not a collective experience. When it ‘breaks’, nobody is around to pick up the pieces.

The above couplet signifies the optimism that Bauls wishes to inculcate as a creed in Man. Pessimism has no standing in the Baul pantheons, for it is a form of negativity that only comes with doubts. Doubts brews from suspicion, from mistrust – and in the final equation, an element of TRUST (preferably on the Maker if not Man) is desirable for the Soul to find its anchor inside Mans turbulence.

Murshid-er ii naam ti dhoro / Nijer Iman ojon Koro
Recant the name of your Murshid/ and weigh the options of you Soul

Bismillah kay chapa rakhoy / hripinder bhitoray
Preserve the name of Allah / deep in your conscience

The above couplet once again reminds us that a remembrance of the Maker and weighing the option of our belief be the fundamental in the quest for Bauliana.

If it is the name of Allah for a Muslim that gives him peace, or be it the only name of the Maker he knows, he is urged to keep it suppressed ‘deep’ in his ‘conscience’. In other words this is a prerogative of a Muslim, which other ‘religionist’ may or may not attest to. Bauliana as opposed to other forms of monotheism is a purely private and individual pursuit of the Maker, devoid of symbolism, rituals or acceptability. Notice the great sensitivity attached to practicing agnosticism, for the name of Allah used irresponsibly would only create situations of friction, especially when the Bedounist extremists as much as the Brahmins had decreed that Bauls were revisionist to their respective ‘faith’, and were atheists in disguise.

19. Man and Women: Of Sins and Salvation

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Men have for centuries lived in peace, but religions have not. The war among religions as we have mentioned earlier stems from a singular obsession of adherents to various faith and belief systems propounding the ‘superiority’ of their respective God (or Goddesses). Yet in reality religions have more in similarity that dissimilarity when viewed within its permissible precincts. Arguably no religion encourages it members to lie, cheat or kill, yet millennium man in our part of South Asia, more than ever before continues to be ensnared in a legacy of hate that finds it origin in the two hundred years of British imperial subjugation of the Sub Continent. Long before the British arrived in our soil, we do not find many evidence of sectarian or communal strife, and even though the Muslim rule of India was brought about by the sword, the centuries since have seen Muslim and Hindu’s live in peace and harmony. All of this was possible mainly due to the intervention into the mainstream culture by the Sufis (who predate the Mughals); Muslim liberals, that quickly assimilated and adopted the ways of life of the common man that marked a difference in the overall make up of South Asian culture. At about the same time the reformist Hindu movements led by such luminaries as Shri Chaitanyadeva or Shri Sankaradeva evolved to initially challenge and later do away with the demagogy of the dominant supremacist ruling class, the Brahmins. Every aspect of ‘native’ life during the British Raj was sadly brought under scrutiny and censure by this new, seemingly rich orthodox ‘educated’ class that subjugated the aspirations of a majority. The Baul had little to say as they were then only a microscopic minority, but it was the very nature of their belief system that made a difference. It was the Baul’s who perhaps stoked the first flame of revolt against imperialism by faithfully capturing and recording the prevalent controversies – within or outside their borders in their many songs and statements. They waged a protracted intellectual war against the status quo and this grass root activism at a later stage found bearings in an urban audience, resulting in a shift of thinking, with newer secular views gaining ground and momentum. Even amongst the caste Hindu’s at the close of British Imperial rule, the changes were noticeable.

Political expediency to further narrow minded ends was nonetheless rampant in every aspect of life, and as a catalyst filtered down to the entirely secret and sacred man woman relationship of the Baul’s, who then as even now, hold the most radical of positions on the subject. The institution of marriage until very recently was relatively unknown to many and there were reasons. Among Baul’s the position of women has never ever been the cause for any debate, because there being no clergy in the order, women intrinsically received the highest adulation and honor, without questions being asked – without being thought of as the ‘inferior’ sex. Thus with the advent of the so-called ‘modern age’ the man women controversy spiraled out of control and took roots in what is viewed today as sex and sexuality – with a perverse and somewhat vulgar overtone. Complicating the entire equation and making way for moral policing by the ‘powerful’ was the prevalence among the Baul’s, women who acts as consorts to the male and are termed Sheba Dashi’s. It is not uncommon for some Baul’s to have more than one Sheba Dashi as companion, and whilst they possibly ‘live in Sin’ as the ‘modern’ age paradigm may suit itself, essentially they share a lot of love and loyalty to their mate and live happily and in peace. Because among the Baul’s, sex and sexuality is a topic that is rarely discussed (limited mainly to Sadhu Sangha – or Assembly of the Wise) if ever, led on to both Muslim and Hindu clerics, branding them as ‘social nuisance’, ‘loose characters’ and heretics.

It was perhaps in great pain that Fakir Lalon Shah discussed the issue in his composition Paap Punyo (Of Sin’s and Salvation):

Ei deshey jaa paap gonyo/ onyo deshey punyo tai
What may be Sin in one nation/ could be salvation in yet another

paap punyer kotha ami/ kare ba shudhai
Pray who shall I ask about Sins/ and Salvation.

The first couplet lays bare the thrust of the argument i.e. where exactly does the dated notion of Sin and Salvation evolve? There being no easy answer here for on a relative scale, it is true that what may be good for one may quite be the reverse for the other. For the Bauls, in a round about way, Good and Evil live side by side - in harmony - as much as the so-called Sin and Salvation.

Tibbot niyom onusharey/ek nari bohu poti dhorey
In the ways of Tibet/ a woman may have many husbands

ei deshey ta holey porey/ byabichari dondo hoi
yet if that happens in our nation/ the punishment for adultery applies.

It would seem surprising to readers that some two hundred years ago, Fakir Lalon Shah was knowledgeable about the practice of polyandry (women having more than one husband) prevalent in Tibet then, as it is till this day, and used the example to argue that similar arrangements by a woman in our part of the world would be dealt with the sentence for adultery? The Baul believes that the disposition of the body is inherently natural and thus a very private and personal matter, and while polyandry has never been known to exist in our culture, (polygamy on the contrary being rampant) neither is the notion of modern day feminism, which is a product of the male status quo, its chauvinist establishment and thus susceptible to outright exploitation.

Shukor, goru duti poshu/ khaite bkleycchey Jishu
Pork and Beef are two creatures/ that Jesus asked us to eat

Tobe kyano Muslim,Hindu/ Pichey tay hotai
why then do the Muslim and Hindu/ shun them aside.

The Baul believes that what we eat, or how we are dressed has nothing to do with our religion or belief system. Among the dominant Baul order in Bangladesh the consumption of any animal flesh is taboo, and this has more to do with the serious historical misunderstanding than religion, that we will soon discuss. Ideally most Bauls are vegetarians and the only meat they consume is fish – yet there are some sects that consume beef and chicken. In our part of the world, Hindu’s revere the Cow as holy and Muslim look upon Pig being unclean and thus not fit for consumption. In the above couplet is captured the first clear idea, the first hints as to how the Hindu-Muslim divide over pork and beef came about. It is interesting here to note that in the Middle East where both Prophet Jesus and Mohammed were born, the cultures do not make any political issue out of pork or beef consumption.

The reference to Jesus in the song is purposefully bought in to condemn the British who were Christians, and who historically did very little to stop the Hindu-Muslim divide caused by fratricide following the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857. Lalon criticized the British for failing to demonstrate compassion; that was Jesus’ teaching. It was to be the beginning of an of an era of sectarian hate that precipitated dangerously with intense bloodletting and continued if sporadically, until the Independence of India and Pakistan in 1947. All men of intellect and wisdom resoundingly condemned the British tendency (together with the Brahmin ruling class) to dangerously flirt with religious belief of the natives, and there are reports of Lalon being taken up by protracted grief when accounts of the carnage in Delhi came to the fore. What caused the Mutiny that left the British momentarily without control of India and percolated to a ‘great revolt’ all across, till date remains unclear. Some historians however attest the Mutiny was due to a rumour possibly circulated by agents of division that a new cartridge commissioned for use by both Hindu and Muslim soldiers of the British Imperial Army, and whose tip had to be ‘bitten off’ before use, was laced with both lard and beef fat! The very act of biting off the suspect cartridges was offensive to soldiers of both the Hindu and Muslim faith, but the tragedy of the Sepoy Mutiny is, it failed because the leaders of both communities were grossly divided and the British used the division to crush the revolt. Ironically, it was the Sikh hatred of the Muslim that ensured that they join the British and recapture Delhi by early 1858.

In Lalon’s song Of Sins and Salvation, the question ‘why then do Muslim and Hindus shun pork and beef’ has hopefully been aptly addressed.

Desh shomoshyar onshare/ bhinno bidhan hoitey pare
Every nation seeks solutions to its own problems/ in its own practiced norms

shukkho gyaner bichar korle/ paap punyer nai balai
viewed with the intensity of intellect/ there is no such things as Sin or Salvation

The universality of Lalon Shah’s thinking and wisdom can easily be fathomed in the above couplet. At a time when globalization was unheard of, the statement makes a pertinent plea for global peace. In the dawning of the modern age, coming in closely around the time the sage was at his prime, he believed that each nation has its own prerogative and thereby have the ability to solve its own unique problems, or arrive at its own justifiable conclusion/s. The uniqueness of problems transpose down to individual cultures and how they perceive the often contradictory principals of right or wrong. It is the same uniqueness that can be used to resolve conflicts peaceably – but everything hangs on a balance of reason; reason again being the end product, the creation of man’s intellect. In millennium thinking for instance, the action of George Bush in Iraq could be an example of a nation (The US) seeking a solution (for Iraq) – and on surface the intentions may appear to be very peaceful. The tragedy in Iraq as we all know, revolves around the failure of the US Presidency, the complete insensitivity of one man by the name of George Bush, a man who lives in denial of reality and reason, and all of it because of a lack of intellect. The Baul believes that in the deepest of all introspections, there is no such thing as Sin or Salvation. He argues that if there is a God, man will be judged not because of their Good or Evil, right or wrong, Vindictive or Merciful traits, but solely by their intentions. Salvation was guaranteed when the Soul was created, and the body has only to atone for its action for its time on mother earth.

Paap hoiele bhobey ashi/ punyo hoiley shorgo bashi
In Sinning we come to earth/ in Salvation we find Heaven

Lalon boley shei naam urboshi/ nityo nityo promaan pai
Lalon says such common examples/ I discover on a day to day basis

In our culture anything to do with sex or sexuality is considered ‘nongra’ or unclean, and in our so doing the grounded norm indirectly suggests that the very act of procreation, that of love and birth, is dirty and thus a Sin. Quite the reverse, i.e. a life of perceived good ensures a safe journey to Heaven! The above couplet is self explanatory, in that Lalon in his signature line opts out - demanding more than the banal or ordinary efforts in describing what is Sin or Salvation before finality can be reached, before a conclusion can be arrived at. At the end of it all the quest for Bauliana is unending and defies birth and or death. The process is in the NOW. Now is the time in our life to wake up to reality, and the reality is human kind exist, for the Maker exist, and its in the continuous reaffirmation to the present that we may shed off whatever may be Sinful in our Souls, and indeed reach the goals of Salvation, if there is any such word or any such virtue left to be achieved by Man.

20. Concluding Essay: ‘Essence Man’ - An Unphilosophical Enquiry

2007-04-06T15:55:00.000+06:00

For millions of year man lived like beasts - then something important happened - he started to talk, and instantly his imagination, both individual and collective was triggered, that led on to what we have inherited today, a communicative world. A world where man, even the deaf and the dumb have a mean of communication with his fellow man, a world where a blind, though not witnessing the events around him can still have a clear perception as to his environment. The exact year when man learnt to talk is not known, however as he talked, he also made great strides that led on to civilizations, society, philosophies, culture, commerce - indeed all that we hold dearest to our heart in this millennium, are all products of mans collective imagination.

The ability to talk or power of speech, offered its own strength and opportunities in mans development, much as it also had weaknesses and threats. Improper communication of thoughts, philosophies created misunderstanding and tensions that perhaps led on to the first human conflict and wars. Nothing more mysterious, more unexplained remained in man, than his mind - and once the mind started acting - i.e. thinking, man grew conscious as to his immediate needs. What came first - man or his mind is as debatable as the hen or egg! Survival perhaps figured most prominently in mans first list of priorities. Man learnt to survive natural extremities - wild beast that preyed on man for food, illness, hunger and whatever else you want to add to that list. Survival meant fighting all odds so man learnt how to survive without a teacher, without a guideline. The survival instinct came naturally to man. Nature was his greatest teacher, his greatest friend and philosopher. He probably learnt how to fight from beasts as he did not consider himself any different than beasts, other than his ability to talk. He took lessons and passed it on to his fellow man, a simple process that over years created experts with skills. Expertise led on to collective replication, duplication and improvisations. Improvisation led to many ideas being condemned of being obsolete and discarded. New ideas evolved - man discovered competition. Man moved on. Creativity charged mans imagination and led on to inventions to make life a lot simpler and easier. Man became conscious that he is condemned to a life of hard labour - whether physical or mental. He wanted to change his environment, to make labour easier and more pleasurable. The pursuit of pleasure has always been mans greatest vice. Man has never enjoyed a monopoly on virtues!

As man moved, he also learnt the skills of oppression - the continuation of that meant annihilation of other man for material or other gains to himself and for others who relied on him or his imagination. Leaders were born - superior man who propelled themselves into position of power and authority. Weaknesses in one leader created other leaders. This was mans check on another beast: man! This was his way of restricting another mans aspirations. War came naturally to man - as a survival instinct. War ensured trophies and bounties. The vanquished wealth and women became immediate possessions if a war was won. Man made his fellow man slaves and bound him in chain and shackles. The human mind also derived grotesque and perverted pleasure to see his once powerful enemy at his mercy - his slave. To see ones enemy capitulate was a great accomplishment, so man took it another step further. He played God, slaughtering his fellow man. The process of decapitating and torturing an enemy sometimes continued for days on end till he died. By watching misery an enemy endured at his death throes, man discovered a new trait in his imagination: cruelty. He also learnt about the power of human endurance, and learnt the differences between, painful and painless deaths. Inexplicably as a continuation of cruelty he also learnt collective carnage: genocide. Man also became the ultimate survivor against his fellow mans ignominy and insensitivity. The vanquished also had a voice and resurrected themselves over time. Man moved on.

On the flip side, man learnt about death without dying, so that it meant killing his fellow man to take that once step further to: knowledge. He ate his flesh and dissected his body to learn the intricacies of his bones, nerves and veins. The experience he thus gained taught him how pain was to be dealt with. He discovered among others a remedy to end human misery: medicine. Planet earth was and still is a biological laboratory and man will keep paying the ultimate price - himself - to ensure that his species does not go extinct. Man still had not learnt how to dissect the human imagination. It remains the most mysterious and potent unknown in his existence. Man aspired for peace, for freedom from the shackles of oppression. War was always a double-edged sword; it created opportunity for peace by annihilation for those that did not share one mans imagination, his thought process, his concept of right or wrong. It also created for those that survived a war - the victorious, a semblance of peace with all the bounty Mother Nature has to offer. For those that lost wars, man discovered humiliation that led on to tolerance. Tolerance is a trait of those that have suffered and lost most in life.

It was perhaps at this juncture that the third thought process evolved - the free thinkers. The free thinkers believed that mans greatest enemy was his mind, a mind that only saw two colours - black and white. He represented the grey segment of the natural canvas. He believed that only a combination of black and white would ensure that the human species did not go extinct. The first free thinker, were also the first liberals and had to pay a price, with their lives. The greatest tragedy of man has been that its free thinkers were discovered posthumously. What they had left behind for his fellow men were however gems. Genetic time capsules that faithfully encoded the basic human trait: goodness. Man among his many natural attributes has arguably goodness in the highest dosage. Yet given circumstances, man can commit evil more naturally than he would goodness. What makes him commit evil will forever remain mans investigation: for now there is no answer.

Man argued that peace couldn't be found if war is considered a solution - but that argument never ended wars. He therefore fine-tuned his thinking and communicative skill to invent a compromise philosophy to replace a subordinate philosophy - so that man can continue to live and let live. More colours were painted into the natural canvas. Nothing much happened. Man continued to argue that peace is not the absence of war, but the absence of the conditions that leads man to war. The foremost of those conditions were and still remain for man his greatest vice: suspicion. The proverbial 'keep the guard up' - is mans natural trait. Man is mans enemy, and there is no man on planet earth that does not have an individual, common or collective enemy.

Man cannot remain defensive without weapons. Tragically weapons of defense in mans history has more often been used, as weapons of offense - because man has believed that 'offense is the best defense'! So man continues to imperil the world by his basic instinct for survival. Mans greatest industry has been war industries, his military industrial complexes - which have traditionally supplied armament for mans war. Because wars never ended, the armaments industry only flourished. As the world got bigger and was divided over and over again, nations, countries, continents, sub continents, regions surfaced - and what he has inherited today is the collective result of that original human instinct: mans quest for freedom.

Guarantee of freedom for man however, comes at gunpoint, so mans war industry got more focused and organized in its singular obsession - the killing of fellow man. Weapons to kill millions at a time remains mans most sacred and secret possessions today, its bargaining chip, its symbol of freedom.

The problem with freedom is it cannot be had, if man does not have peace. The problem with peace is, man has not yet figured out how to make money from it! If the military industrial complexes are dismantled today - if wars end, the next war will be fought by the unemployed millions from these very same industrial complexes? The fear of unemployment makes man desperate. Man demobilized from war, have found employment in other wars: mercenaries are mans oldest professional warmongers.

Man has thrived on chaos. Peace and chaos has never walked hand in hand. It has always been a tilted balance because mans propensity for chaos is supreme, as he has not overcome his basic insecurity - translated to mean man made fear or fear of man. Fear again is the driving force behind mans energetic discoveries. Man has well realized that a peaceful planet earth would be, well quite boring. His imagination forces him to spend most of his money and energy in pursuit of real or imagined enemies within his own kind and outside. Man has set foot on the moon and has sent robots to Mars - many more planets are targeted for mans discovery.

Question: What is man trying to discover? Rocks and landscapes? The answer is man is looking for life, and when man says 'life' his intention is to discover - something resembling man. If by accident, life is discovered on any other planet, man with all its inclination for peace will actually be discovering a life form that he will construe to be his enemy. Do not expect man to go and shake hand with a green Martian and say 'Hi old chap - do you know we have been waiting to meet you guys for couple of million years?' - rather it would be natural for man, to shoot or capture such a creature, and find out what his chemistry is all about in a laboratory back home! The fear of the unknown propels man on.

When we say 'extra terrestrials' (ET) - mans mind conjures images of creatures with superior intelligence. Man has rarely accepted a superior man for far too long, its history being filled with stories of pickup and dumps - and therefore it would be a travesty to expect man to fall in love with the first ET it meets. If life is discovered on another planet - bad news for man. Man will mobilize all resources at its disposal to make war. If Hollywood movies are any indicator of mans collective visual imagination - I am sure readers will not miss the point. But is there any other intelligent life form in our solar system other than man? Many believe that there are, but feel they will be discovered millions of years later. The truth is no one knows. However mans imagination will create one, even if there is none, and man will drive himself into frenzy trying to kill or subdue the monsters. There are zillions of crackpots in the world that believe in ET's and perhaps billions more who believe in UFO's. Man has the capacity to live unto its beliefs, to the extent of creating a belief system - even if there may be no rationale. Man will of course question and doubt, for that is also natural for man!

Modern man is as superstitious as his ancestors that walked planet earth millions of years ago. Superstition arose because of his basic survival instinct - when he failed to find logical answers to his question, he invented answers to suit his immediate needs. Myths were born to create and reinforce those superstitions and together with changing times man thought he found answers to many of his questions. Man discovered many more colors in his natural canvas from his first black, white and grey. His natural canvas looked more like a kaleidoscope. Mans imagination searched for answers to new questions. For man living on planet earth, it is a back and forth process. As he looked forward he also made painful enquiries into the past to find a clue as to his existence. He looked back at traditions - knowing fully well that tradition is something man has always left behind if not discarded. He looked back and picked up what he thought can lead him forward. He realized that his ancestors have left behind a value system, which has endured times because it was 'correct' and was destined to protect his, other basic instinct: goodness. Survival meant choosing the worst possible opportunities that the future - the unexplained future required him to choose. Man also learnt how to side step to dodge and weave - he learnt how to live with his enemy.

Mans experiment with death was also a back and forth process. He probably wanted to know life after death - for his survival instinct convinced him that even if his physical body died, his mind did not. He found proof of this in his sleep. As he woke each morning, he tried to investigate where his mind disappeared as he slept? Each waking morning was an invigorating experience, for his sleep took him somewhere he did not know nor did he have a clue. So he argued that when physical death occurs his mind will still be resurrected, somewhere down a vacant hollow - a tunnel at best. He believed in reincarnation and this belief led him on to search for God. The search for God perhaps became more intense when man took a step backward to find out 'where he has come from'? Man is sufficiently convinced of where he is going after death - but where he was before his birth, still remains a huge void in his imagination. Anthropologists have tracked back man to apes with scientific evidence - but exactly when man as we know him today first evolved is still unknown. There is a great 'missing link' between man and his ape ancestors!

The concept of a monotheistic God, as is mans belief system is fairly modern. God as we know him today is approximately two thousand years old. Mans discovery of God has not been by chance or an invention. He found God when he knew that at some point he had to surrender. Man realized that his imagination was limited, and while his quest for knowledge is unending, physically man cannot survive long enough to have answers to all questions in his life. He for instance could predict the days and the nights, the winds and the fire, the volcanoes and the earthquakes, the storms and the tidal surges - but much as he tried he could not duplicate these phenomenons on his own. Man or his imagination could not re -create nature - and it is not as if man has not tried hard enough? As he looked up at the stars at night he did not find answers to what all the darkness represents much as he did not find answers to where the blue dome ended - or who was the ultimate artist that painted the horizon with all colours known to man, in a consistently different exhibition each evening as the sun went down. Man learnt to be romantic.

Man looked at different sizes of things in his body, and this convinced him that his brain, the power house of his imagination is not designed to fuel his constant yearning. Man has many more questions, and actually fewer answers. As he procreated and created other man - his children, he learnt to calculate the months of pregnancy. The possible date and time of birth still remained outside his control, as also the possible time or death of man. Nature does not provide a definite answer - that has been nature’s nature.

Because mans imagination is so fertile, he has doubted the proof of his own existence. Though man believes that contradiction between existence and non existence is the greatest of all existence - yet he has wanted to know if this life, the one he has at any given moment, is not just another big spurt of the imagination - that this very existence is one big dream, and that he may wake up one morning to find himself in quite a different sphere of existence! The imagination of man has also the ability to twist his imagination.

Man burns out, man is born to die - death defies the imagination and as much as it gives food for thought, man has not been able to know much more about his ancestors than what they have left behind in records - written or otherwise. A complete and absolute record of what can be considered 'mans complete imagination' is however not available. Knowledge is the cumulative product of mans imagination - what we value as knowledge today will be rendered obsolete by our fellow man and this will happen much earlier than the time man has taken to discard the knowledge left behind by his ancestors.

Man has always questioned the accomplishment of his ancestors, whenever he has wanted clear proof, however many of the achievements in 'recent times' have left him baffled specially when he reasoned with civilization like the Mayans and the Incas - proof that modern man is never as superior as he wishes to be.

Science a man made invention provided some, if not all the answer to mans quest for rationale. Man discovered science to explain the law of nature - yet what is defined is also the hard work of mans imagination. The ultimate creator of nature has truly not been identified and man remains as baffled and frustrated than the ones that walked planet earth millions of years ago. Science's contribution has been one endless saga of good and evil for man. Science has dared man to experiment and seek new adventures, new discoveries. It has made communication a staying force - and like his ancestors, science has allowed man to miscommunicate. Mans basic nature and imagination has not gone through great changes. Although the backgrounds maybe different suspicion, fear and oppression are the mainstay of mans quest today. His basic survival instinct makes him commit the same evil as his ancestors and there is certainly nothing humane in man than what he thinks immediately as a necessary method of survival. Man takes great pride in differentiating himself from beasts - but his beastly nature is manifest in his interaction with his fellow man.

That ultimately leads us to the most important question: Will man become extinct?
If the social processes and philosophies that has guided man since his unknown inception continues, as it must, than mans future is suspect. The doomsday philosophies expounded by many religions are merely early warning systems invented by man to check that that one suicidal human instinct: fear. The progresses of science have made fear all the more realistic - when we consider that mans armament industry has weapons of mass destruction with powers to completely alter the natural process. What a meteor did to change the earth's atmosphere and environment and led the dinosaurs to go extinct - man has now more power at its disposal with its stockpiling of nuclear and biological weapons. In the event of a nuclear war - man, will not have a winner? The complete History of The Dinosaurs has been written. Sadly, the complete History of Man will never be written simply because no man will be around to write or read it.