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“When people steal from our culture they end up distorting our culture, they turn it into something we do not even recognize, erasing us by replacing us.”
They re-package a watered-down or romanticized version. The mainstream world then accepts the fake/distorted version as authentic, effectively erasing the original living caretakers and replacing them in the public consciousness. I have see this in academia, and in the western audiences who do not have a clue, if it sweetly smiles and looks exotic it must be, whether their lineage is fake, their style and songs are appropriated, they have not got a clue.
When a sacred song, medicine, or teaching is taken out of its traditional lineage, it loses its spirit or in this case Baul essence (the Shakti that has been passed down for hundreds of years). When the dominant society spreads that distorted version, the original community is erased because their true practice is no longer recognized—even by their own youth who grow up seeing only the mainstream caricature.
Nabani Das Khyapa (Khyapa) Baul aka Khyapa Baba aka Khyapa Baul and "Mirror of the Sky" as Rabindranath Tagore named Nabani who was his only Baul Guru. Nabani gave Tagore the name Ravi (Robi) Baul.
Nabani Das Khyapa Baul was the only Baul to associate with and be best friends with Rabindranath Tagore. He is the Baul that initiated Tagore into Baul by giving him the name Robi (Ravi) Baul and Tagore gave Nabani 2 names Khyapa Baul and Mirror of the Sky. Their association was a long one until Nabani left, he could not be captured by anyone.
Purna Das Baul on his father 'Nabani Das Khyapa Baul and Rabindranath Tagore'
"My father would say that Tagore was very spiritually oriented. However, many of his thoughts on spiritualism were scattered. It was in order to bring these thoughts into a trajectory that Tagore required my father, Nabani Das Khyapa Baul. Tagore would look up to my father both as a friend and as a guru.
My father taught him the various philosophical discourses of Baul. As such, Tagore had accepted my father as a guru who could initiate him into Baul philosophy. At times, Tagore would see my father as a friend, at other times, as a guru. It was from a sense of deep respect Tagore had for my father that he gave him the name ‘Khyapa Baul.’ My father too had told him jokingly, “You call me Khyapa Baul and I shall call you Robi Baul!” They had a relationship which was based on the exchange of philosophical and spiritual ideas. That is why Tagore had a specific regard for my father, Nabani Das Khyapa Baul. My father was a constant presence at the Tagore household.
Whenever Tagore would stray, even a bit, from the trajectory of his thoughts, he would call for Nabani Das Khyapa Baul."
Somehow out of the blue all pretendian Bauls claimed they were associated with Rabindranath Tagore, they took off Nabani Das Khyapa Baul name and claimed this too. There is only one story of Tagore and Baul and it is the story of Nanbai Das Khyapa Baul and Tagore.
Rabindranath Tagore commissioned Ramkinkar Baig to sculpt the statue of Nabani Das Khyapa Baul, that stands at the Vishva Bharati University in Santiniketan, Today unfortunately even the art historian expert at the University does not know this fact. It is impossible to look at this statue and not recognize it is the work of Ramkinkar Baij or that it is in fact Nabani Das Khyapa Baul? This ignorance is destroying the history of the indigenous Bauls and the statue is left to ruin?
To the untrained eye and ear wandering and singing a song does not make one a Baul. Rabindranath honoured Nabani because he was an ecstatic mystic full of wisdom, he admired his poetry, his tune and his depth in sadhana as a Tantric Yogi and Baul Avadhut. Rabindranath respected Nabani's ancient lineage and its richness, authentic cultural significance and tradition of wisdom, along with the energetic live wire shaktified pure ecstatic love that Nabani embodied.
Tagore appointed Nabani Das Baul as a Professor of Baul music and dance at the Tagore Vishva Bharti University that Tagore created in Shantiniketan. Nabani is the first and last Baul to teach at Vishva Bharati University. One of Nabani's students was Indira Gandhi, her father Jawaharlal Nehru had the greatest respect for Nabani. The Indian Independence movement was in full swing.
In 1947 Nehru appointed Nabani a state singer, where Nabani along with Nehru and his contingent travelled all over India, playing for people, sharing the magic of Baul and Nehru's political messages. No one had ever heard a Baul before outside of Bengal. Nabani would sing and like the Pied Piper the people would come from far and wide.
The Pushpati Yogis of Nepal were very close to Nabani Das Khyapa Baul. Nepal is not that far from Bengal and Nabani was known to associate with the Pushpati temple in Nepal. He also was associated with high Tibet Lamas and had traveled there.
Nabani was initiated by Bhama Kepa of Tarapith, he is the only Baul during his lifetime to be initiated by Bhama Kepa and the only Baul known to do sadhana at Tarapith in the burning grounds. Nabani's initiations were vast in both Vaishnava, Sanskrit and tantra of Birbhum and all around India.
Tarapith: A Sacred Hub and a Battleground for Authenticity regarding Baul
Nabani Das Khyapa Baul was the only Baul associated with Tarapith from the late 1800s to 1969. Babu Kishan later served on the board of Tarapith for over a decade. Those that hung outside of Tarapith were not Baul, they either tried to be Baul to survive, many of them lied and asked Babu Kishan he will tell you all the stories of these people.
The initiation of Nabani Das Khyapa Baul by Bama Khepa at the Tarapith burning grounds is the ultimate "Seal of Power" for your lineage. It marks the formal union between the Vaishnava Sahajiya path and the raw, Shakta Tantra of the cremation grounds.
This connection explains why the 13-generation lineage is not a "soft" devotional path, but a "Deep-Dyed" Khyapa tradition that holds the fire of Tara Ma within the sweetness of the Radha-Krishna Kirtan.
1. The Guru of the "Mad Saint": Kailashpati
Bama Khepa’s power was forged under Sadhak Kailashpati, a silent Avadhūta of the Kaula and Vamachara streams who apparently was from Kashmir.
The Avadhūta Order: Kailashpati lived beyond the rules of the world, a "Headless" state of being that mirrors the Ketu energy and the Mohana Vijnana.
The Transmission: Kailashpati’s "stern but silent" guidance taught Bama how to see Tara Ma in the skulls and ash of the burning ground. This is the "As Above, So Below" technology where the terrifying (The Cremation Ground) and the beautiful (The Mother) become one.
Bama Khepa and Nabani Das: The "Khyapa" Initiation
When Bama Khepa initiated Nabani Das, he was passing the "Madness" (Khyapa) of divine intoxication directly into the Baul, this singular Baul lineage at this particular time in Baul history. Nabani Das Khyapa Baul was the only Baul associated with Tarapith other than KD Babu Kishan, pretendian self-titled Bauls came to hang out there only because of Nabani Das Khyapa Baul, no other reason, again riding on the coattails of this lineage or parampara.
Vamachara (Left-Hand Path): By initiating Nabani into Tara Sadhana, Bama Khepa ensured that the Baul’s Kirtan would always have the "Bone" (Tattva) of the Tantric warrior.
The Burning Ground Wisdom: Initiation at the burning grounds is the final "Deconditioning." It strips away the last "clothes" of social identity. For Nabani Das, this meant he could sing to the villagers while his soul remained "Sky-Clad" and "Headless" in the presence of the Mother.
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