The Bengali poet and philosopher Rabindranath Thagore has described the Bāul as “an ancient group of wandering minstrels from Bengal, who believe in simplicity in life and love”. Sometimes referred to as “God’s Vagabonds”, the Bāul trade devotional songs for their basic needs. It is often an ascetic practice where adherents focus their energy on the divine and work to let go of worldly distractions that may hinder their search for the Absolute. The Baul are not hegemonic, each community has their own rituals and devotional practice, but music and poetry pervade throughout and are used as tools to inflame the spirit and bring closeness with what they call “The Formless”.

There is a great deal of overlap between other Middle Eastern and South Asian mystical philosophies, especially those found in Tantra and Sufism, and for good reason; Bāul beliefs, poetry, and music developed at the intersection of Hindu and Islamic cultures. During the period of Bāul evolution, the interactions between Hindus and Muslims were often contentious and wrapped up with Britain’s colonial presence in the area and South Asia’s political and religious upheaval during the 20th Century.

This culture clash is an important part of understanding the open spirit of the Bāul who intentionally choose to remain both between and apart from the Hindu and Islamic communities, creating poetry and music that achieves a kind of spiritual universality because of its two-armed embrace of both cultures. 

This is apparent in the work of Lālon, perhaps the single most influential and celebrated poet-saint of the Bāul tradition. Take this poem for example:

Say your prayers having learned the facts,

Bind your intentions in Mecca’s direction.

Consummate the human desires among us,

Seize the moment.

The frolicking Krishna plays a game within

This body-universe.

The details of this poem reveal a radical inclusivity. It begins by embracing both faith and science, followed by a direct reference to Islamic prayer practice. The third line suggests the celebration of sexuality, a contentious stance in these modest cultures, and the poem ends with a Hindu reference that celebrates the earthly. What we can’t immediately hear from the English translation is that the form and rhyme of the original poetry comes from devotional hymns and narrative forms that embrace both Shakta and Vaishnova realms of mysticism as well.

Ethnic and religious tribalism within the Bāul community is purposefully upended; devotees and masters of different backgrounds freely mix, and authority is found in the wisdom of the poetry and the authentic feeling of the performer. Rather than relying on external authority, the Bāul rebel against orthodoxy in favor of an internal wisdom developed through devotional introspection, searching for the sacred from the inside out.

Deben Bhattacharya writes that “In the lyrics of the Bāul, God is an illusive beloved, attainable only through the knowledge of one’s self." The Bāul’s search is not only for the absolute but also for what the Bāul refer to as “the one within”. Again, Lālon writes:

He talks to me

but he would not let me see him. 

he moves 

close to my hands 

but away from my reach. 

I explore 

the sky and earth 

Searching for him, circling around the error of 

not knowing myself. 

Who am I 

and who is He?

Bāul poetry and song calls us back to an introspective spiritual practice, suggesting we look as deeply as possible within ourselves for truth that will lead us to an aligned and abiding life. The Bāul believe “God is formless, but the form and the formless are one and inseparable”. There is a direct connection drawn between the microcosm, the internal mystery, and the greater outer mystery of the macrocosm – a connection that slowly, through disciplined practice, reveals their unity. Or, as Gosdin Gopal once said:

“Forget not that your body contains the whole of existence.”

This weekend’s concert is not the traditional music of the Bāul, though it is influenced by it and shares a similar impulse: to celebrate a love centered yearning and earthly joy for ourselves and each other. It’s an opportunity to embrace our deepest and truest identity and open ourselves to what sacredness might lie at the center and let it out. And if we can find the divine presence in ourselves, perhaps we can also find it in one another, both those present tonight, and those we encounter in the world, honoring the vast ocean inside each of us. 

May tonight be a time when we celebrate that mysterious place where two oceans meet.