True Freedom: Only the Baul know what it means ..

A Baul is as free as the bird, free as the wind ...

The poet-philosopher Tagore was inspired by the Bauls, a little known nomadic people of rural Bengal. The Bauls are homeless wanderers who do not conform to any accepted social norms. The Baul shun materialism entirely and expound a simple, natural life. They shun everything of the past .. religions, scriptures, rituals, customs and draw inspiration only from the timeless, ever flowing wisdom of the present.

If you would know that Man
Simple must be your endeavor
To the region of the simple must you fare
Pursuers of the path of man's own handiwork
Who follow the crowd, gleaning their false leavings,
What new can they get of the Real?  - Baul song

They sing and preach of love, as the greatest wealth in life! In all their songs they seek a union with the universal spirit. Songs that stir our soul and makes us feel our connectedness with all things in the universe. Songs that teach us about love, life and what freedom really is!

As we look on every creature, we find each to be His avatar.
What can you teach us of His ways? In ever-new play He wondrously revels. - Baul song

I am in awe of the independent minds of these poor illiterate outcasts!! The Bauls are true free spirits relying only on the capacity of an individual to think, reason, feel and love. The Baul sing and dance out of pure joy, the joy of simply being alive!

That is why, brother, I became a madcap Baul.
No master I obey, nor injunctions, canons or customs
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..- Baul song