Vaishnava Baul's are thousands of years before any of the modern Vaishnava groups coming out of Bengal India.
In Bengal Vaishnava Baul's have been around for thousands of years before any of the modern book traditions or Vaishnava reform groups, they are one of the oral traditions of Vaishnava from Bengal India. This one and only lineage of Vaishnava Bauls are the original Hare Krishna singers and dancers from Bengal India.
Bauls are Mysitical wandering spiritual Bards or Minstrels. They are storytellers, poets, philosophers, musicians, dancers, singers. Baul is based on Indian Philosophy and they are masters of that, the Vedas, Upanishads and Tantra, they have created their own Baul Philosophy both dual form and non-dual formless.
Baul is so simple but so complex and almost impossible to understand. Baul has to be experienced to get a glimpse. They are extinct today as all indigenous cultures of this world the roots are being broken. Baul is always about Sadhana without sadhana there is no Baul, some are more Bhakti poetic and some are Avadhuta meditation Mantra yantra tantra Yogi's.
This lineage of Vaishnava Baul carry Radha and Krishna in their hearts this is where the rasa lila dance takes place, on the altar of the heart. Bauls are polytheistic in 3 wasys as they also, worship Shiva and Kali / Bramha and Saraswati.
They worship all Devata are worshiped and are Shakti worshipers as the Feminine Divine hold the upper most importance whether it is Radha or Kali.
In the village would be a Ratha Yatra Cart sitting beside a Kali Temple. Bauls never talked badly about anybody.
Nabani Das (Gosia) Baul was a well known wild sadhaka, Nabani is the Baul who inspired Rabindranath Tagore. There were two parts to him he was a Tara/Kali sadhaka at Tara Pith and he was also a Vaishnava Baul, he deleted the Gosai off his name because he didn't want anybody to touch his feet. Nabani said, ‘worship yourself touch your own feet’
Nabani was a deep healer and had invisible help that manifest food for the villagers during mass starvations caused by the British in the 1940’s. He helped thousands of people through his lifetime and was legendary in those days he passed away in late 1969. Nabani is KD Babukishan's beloved Grandfather, Guru Boro Baba.
Vaishnava Baul is very similar to a hummingbird small and delicate souls that accept all, Love all, they sing joyfully twirling and whirling in ecstatic movement humming with a heart full of love.
They fly about from place to place n a trance like state of great rapture or delight. Their body is their temple, they bring the essence of the divine inside drinking like a Hummingbird drinks the nectar from a flower.
Baul pulls the nectar inside and distills the essence of the divine into a beautiful honey or Rasa Juice, they play with this divine essence in their bodies and grind the essence into honey of songs for humanity to create love, unity and peace among all of humanity. Humble, Mercy, kindness, devotee of humanity and Vishnu, these are the biggest qualities of Vaishnava Baul.
Bauls are Pure Bhakti Yogi's now almost extinct like most indigenous people who lived off the land and nature, they are the soul and soil of Bengal, they are not temple builders or book pedalers. Sri Nityananda of Ekkchakra was clearly a Baul as told in the oral tradition. He was also an ancestor of Babukishan's families lineage, Babu was born there he should know not some foreigner.
The stories have been totally told wrong by new age groups who came after. God/dess is watching just remember they see's everything. You can not own what does not belong to you.. You may enjoy for a while but the truth eventually comes out. This is Kali Yuga the age of backwards..
Baul Temple in Kenduli where the Bauls worship Joydev the sanskrit author of the Gita Govinda on January 14th....Photo by KD Babukishan in the 1980's
Then came Gaudiya Vaishnavism and later the Gaudiya Math with all their British educated Vaishnava reformers who were book people not oral tradition people. Whom I call new age Vaishnavism a "born again group". Bhaktivedanata whose guru rejected Gaudiya Math instructing his devotee's to stay away from Gaudiya Math, but he took all Gaudiya Math information to the west? He said, his God brothers were jealous of him? His God brothers who passed on all their Vaishnava knowledge to him? This is well documented in their files and easily researched.
How would this Guru that came to the west know anything if it were not for Gaudiya Math. Oh by the way he also knew all about this Baul lineage of Vaishnavism and he knew both of Babukishan's grandfathers Nabani Das Baul and Jogesh Dash, there are many stories to tell. When Purna Das Baul and Laxshman Das Baul in 1967 came to the west they did a Baul performance for Bhaktivedanta in New York, so he knew them very well but always spoke badly against his spiritual roots? You can see Purna and Laxshman on the cover of Bob Dylan's, John Westley Hardin's album from that time.
Out of the Gaudiya Math came the new age group yes they are called IskCon and they completely made a mess of what Vaishnavism in Bengal is and destroyed many peoples lives. Vaishavavism was never meant to be something you hit people over the head with (preaching), it was never meant to be about hurting women and children and it most certainly was never meant to be monasitic for the general public.
It is just very sad that they became bullies on the block, cyber bulling anybody that tells the truth. They have probably pulled off one of the biggest ID theft in the history of Bengal, Das and Dasi were always Baul names, yes others had this name but not everybody and especially hardly anybody from Gaudiya Vaishnavism.
To the Vaishnava Bauls the Ektara (the one stringed instrument) signifying LOVE, UNITY and PEACE for all humankind. Ektara is called the Gopi Chand or Gopi Yantra. Thus 'Tantra Mantra Gopi Yantra'. The Bauls were the great spiritual messengers of Bengal going back thousands of years. Bauls sing for love, the true Baul loves, Bhakti Yoga of Bengal, Baul of Bengal go hand on hand.
Can you imagine how it would feel if everybody took your last name and then did not respect that name. Many have given respect but many have committed horrible crimes against women and children while carrying that name Das or Dasi, I have no idea why the Guru of the new age Vaishnavism gave everybody the Baul names? He did not live in a bubble he knew both of Babu's grandfathers and we have many stories to tell of his life before he ever came to the west.
Babu's aunt Radharani Dasi and her husband Gopal Das Baul, was the first Baul of Bengal to play the dotara he was the son of the head Pujari at the Nityananda Temple in Ekkchakra Bengal India which by the way is where Nabani and Purna Das Baul were born and all their ancestors.
Babu loved Gopal Das Baul he was the best sweet maker and disciple of Sri Nabani Das Khyeppa Baul.The lineage Bauls are direct descendant of Sri Nityananda from Ekchakra Bengal, there is a lineage map showing the direct lineage. They are the original Das and Dasi Gosai of Bengal India, the original Hari Krishna singers and dancers.
Everybody has a right to Vaishnavism and a true Vaishnava never hurts or destroys anybodies faith. To be Vaishnava is to have mercy and to never be pedantic.
A Vaishnava does not disturb anyone is as in Gaudiya Math's words “A Vaishnava is humbler than a blade of grass’.
This one and only Lineage of Baul were sanskrit speaking in the oral tradition of storytelling they have been around for thousands of years. Poets, storytellers, Mystics, Vaishnava Baul originating in Ekachakra Birbhum Bengal.
Their ancestor was Sri Nityananda from Ekkchakra Bengal India Nita was a Baul he was a Baul Avadhut and from this lineage, if you view all the pictures of Nitai he has white skin, he did not.
Sri Nabani Das Baul and his son Purna Das Baul, Nabani Das Bauls father was Akur Gosai Das. Nabani Das Baul took the Gosai part of their name off because he didn't think people should touch his feet, he always said touch your own feet honor yourself.
Bauls do not build temples, or sell books they sing in ecstatic devotion to the divine, they are extinct. Babukishan aka Krishnendu Das preserved his one and only lineage decades ago. What you see today is only Baul singing and the ones who are claiming that they are from a lineage of Baul are lying and cheating because they are not.
They are following this lineage but taking the names of this legendary lineage and putting on new names, they are dancing and singing Nabani Das Khyapa Baul style, singing our songs and water down and reducing this lineage by their false narrative. Dread Locks (jata) do not make a Baul.
They say they are Baul singers that is it, tourist attractions, trying to do something but this is cultural appropriation, when one makes things up, as an example, when she says, Baul does not come from family, or Baul are of 4 types or copies the chapter of Purna Baul Das's book and what one will teach or saying they never heard of any Baul that wrote a book, Babu Kishan wrote 3 books now all out of print before you were born, it goes on and one.
They would say, Baul is from Buddhist the Vaishnava, then Turkey? All the while raising money, fundraising to preserve Baul, which is already recorded and preserved by Babu Kishan?
Oh Ma when does it stop, when will the theft stop??
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