Carriers of Popular Indian Culture
93
At every step I have Mecca and Kashi; sacred is every
moment.
The Bauls, therefore, believe that truth is not found in religious books
or scriptures as they simply obscure the spiritual effort and block the path to
divinity. The devotee, they believe, has the scroll within which the scriptures are
written in bold letters of life, although few care to read them and most turn a
deaf ear to the message of the heart. The truth also is not in dry philosophy or
verbiage:9
Oh, these word and words, my mind would none of them.
The Supreme Man it must and shall discover.
So long as Him I do not see, these mists slake not my thirst.
Mad am I; for the lack of that Man I madly run about;
For his sake the world Tve left; for Bisha naught else will serve.
Nothing is greater than the person. He is the supreme and ultimate goal.
Note, for example, the following:10
I have seen the vision,
the vision of my own revealing itself,
coming out from within me.
A universal all-pervading avtar (divine incarnation) may exist, but
more important is the incarnation of the divine within each and every person and
they say:11
As we look to every creature, we find each to be His avatar.
What can you teach us His ways? In ever-new play He
wondrously revels.
The Bauls live without inhibitions and they do not believe in austerities
or penances for the spiritual pursuits. Also the good things in life are not to be
given up, but are to be cultivated and used positively toward the spiritual
pursuits. Worldly love is not to be sidestepped, but is essential for experiencing
of heavenly love. Aloofness is not a requirement of pious life and
communication with both God and his creatures is important. Liberation is
possible only while one is alive and has a body. No afterlife exists and there is
no hell or heaven. Freedom is to be sought not just from outside conventions and
attractions, but also of inner desires and antipathies. Unless the bonds of
necessity are overcome, liberation is out of the question. The goal of a Baul is of
fana, or death, in relation to the outside world and living within guided by the
light of devotion to the moner mamish,12 There is only one religion for all, the
'‘religion of man.-'
The Bauls want to live naturally and their day-to-day life is simple,
spontaneous, and full of religious vigor. They wear long robes of rags with