Purna chandra das baul biography of martin

I was scared to get out, and I was even more scared to be left behind. I was terrified of getting lost. In later years, I learned that there was never any chance of me getting lost. I may not have known where I was, but everybody among the thousands of people attending Joydeb knew exactly where I was at any time. I was one of, perhaps, two or three Westerners that attended the mela.

During my first trip to IndiaI still thought like a Westerner. I had not yet learned the Indian way. The Ways of the Bauls. Though most Bauls are poor, their spirit is rich due to non-attachment to external things. Outwardly they wear the garb of a beggar but, inwardly, they delight in the wealth of bliss. Established in his sadhana, the Baul sings with the freedom of a soul without shackles.

Baul songs are mystical, poetic and multi-layered. Underneath the obvious meaning of words, lie deep meanings that cannot be properly understood by a person who does not practice sadhana. Secrets of Baul sadhana are given openly in hidden language. That beauty leaves me speechless. An aspirant may live in the world, but the world should not live within him.

The Baul sips like a bee, as it were, the most suitable nectar from Hinduism, tantric Buddhism and Sufi Islam and distills this concoction into a honey that gives him an intoxicating direct experience of God. This approach to God is perceived as too unconventional by purna chandra das baul biography of martin who lack the freedom and willingness to comprehend.

Breaking conventional social customs, Bauls deliberately dress in both Hindu and Muslim garments. They embrace all, disregarding religious, caste and social restrictions. The village of Kenduli has been built up quite a bit since I attended Joydeb Mela inand the number of people attending this festival has dramatically increased. Purna Das Baul, who was one of the first Bauls to bring Baul songs and philosophy to the drawing rooms of Kolkata and the rest of the world, has done much to spread awareness of Baul traditions.

He collaborated with Nabani Das Baul, supported him financially and gave him land for a Baul institution. While the popularity of the Bauls brought material success to some, it did more harm than good to the true Bauls who practice serious sadhana. It brought an influx of shilpisprofessional singers, who dress like Bauls and sing Baul songs for money but do not practice Baul sadhana.

According to some estimates, there were over shilpis at the Joydeb Mela, almost outnumbering the real Bauls. The shilpis cash in the rupees while the real Bauls are still poor. Nowadays aside from simple village folk, hordes of people from cities throng to Kenduli during Joydeb. They come to smoke ganja, get drunk and behave badly with women unaware that their distorted understanding of freedom only leads to greater bondage and suffering.

Bauls are rather difficult to comprehend. I have lived with Bauls, read most books written on the Bauls, interviewed people on Baul philosophy and seen most video clips on Bauls that are available. Rarely have I found worthy information and accurate statements in books written by Westerners as well as Indians. Touching different parts of the animal, each of the blind men has the experience of the elephant but that experience is only partial.

The blind man who touches the ears of the elephant proclaims that the elephant is like a winnowing fan and another, who touches the leg, says that the elephant is like a pillar. One cannot label Bauls and put them into convenient categories. Baul sadhana practices differ from one Baul clan to another, from one akhra, Baul ashram, to another. Perhaps it would be easier to herd cats than to start an organized group of Baul members.

Yet there is a through-line of similarities among the different Bauls. Be they Vaishnava Bauls or Muslim Fakirs, be they grihastahouseholder, Bauls or sannyasin Bauls, all Bauls believe that love for man is the path leading to love for the Divine. Rajendra Prasad in In he received President's Award from K. Purna Das has also featured in many films as an artist.

He also owns numerous students in Baul tradition. Well known musicologist and vocalist, Selina Sharma is one such student with whom he co-authored a book on the philosophy of the Bauls. Your Name. Your Email. Update Maximum characters. Type all the shown characters Can't see? Together with his student Selina Thielemann, he authored the first book on the philosophy of the Bauls to be published in English language.

Baul Samrat's troupe travelled Dublin, Ireland. Baul Samrat's troupe travelled Iran. Baul Samrat's troupe travelled with the "Rollingstones", to London, L. Rough Guides. Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India.

Purna chandra das baul biography of martin

References [ edit ]. Ministry of Home Affairs. Retrieved 27 January Retrieved 15 October Retrieved 21 June Archived from the original on 17 September Archived from the original on 7 March Retrieved 2 March Rough Guides. Retrieved 24 March Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Retrieved 21 July External links [ edit ]. Recipients of Padma Shri in Art.

Sorcar Guru Kunchu Kurup V.