Tagore and Baul Tradition!!!

That is why, brother, I became a madcap baul.
no master I obey, nor injunctions, canons or custom.
now no men-made distinctions have any hold on me,
and I revel only in the gladness of my own welling love.
in love there's no separation, but commingling always.
so I rejoice in song and dance with each and all."

-- Rabindra Nath Tagore
The Hibbert Lecture, Oxford, 1930

The songs of the Bauls and their lifestyle influenced a large swath of Bengali culture, but nowhere did it leave its imprint more powerfully than in the work of Rabindranath Tagore, who talked of Bauls in a number of speeches in Europe in the 1930s. An essay based on these was compiled into his English book The Religion of Man:

The Bauls are an ancient group of wandering minstrels from Bengal, who believe in simplicity in life and love. They are similar to the Buddhists in their belief in a fulfillment which is reached by love's emancipating us from the dominance of self.

Where shall I meet him, the Man of my Heart?
He is lost to me and I seek him wandering from land to land.

I am listless for that moonrise of beauty,

which is to light my life,

which I long to see in the fullness of vision

in gladness of heart. [p.524]

The above is a translation of the famous Baul song by Gagan Harkara: Ami kothAy pAbo tAré, AmAr maner mAnush Jé ré. The following extract is a translation of another song:

My longing is to meet you in play of love, my Lover;
But this longing is not only mine, but also yours.
For your lips can have their smile, and your flute

its music, only in your delight in my love;

and therefore you importunate, even as I am.

The poet proudly says: 'Your flute could not have its music of beauty if your delight were not in my love. Your power is great—and there I am not equal to you—but it lies even in me to make you smile and if you and I never meet, then this play of love remains incomplete.'
The great distinguished people of the world do not know that these beggars—deprived of education, honour and wealth—can, in the pride of their souls, look down upon them as the unfortunate ones who are left on the shore for their worldly uses but whose life ever misses the touch of the Lover's arms.
This feeling that man is not a mere casual visitor at the palace-gate of the world, but the invited guest whose presence is needed to give the royal banquet its sole meaning, is not confined to any particular sect in India.

A large tradition in medieval devotional poetry from Rajasthan and other parts of India also bear the same message of unity in celestial and romantic love and that divine love can be fulfilled only through its human beloved.

Tagore's own compositions were powerfully influenced by Baul ideology. His music also bears the stamp of many Baul tunes. Other Bengali poets, such as Kazi Nazrul Islam, have also been influenced by Baul music and its message of non-sectarian devotion through love.

Courtesy: Wikepedia and other sources http://baulmusic.com/