Chapter Seven

AULA, BAULA, SANI (SAIN) and DARAVESA (Sufi-Tantric-Vaisnava Syncretists)


These four apasampradayas are closely related. They are actually different
divisions of one group, commonly called "the Bauls of Bengal." Heavily tantric
sahajiyas with Sufi learnings, they do not necessarily present themselves as
Vaisnavas, though they claim to embody the real spirit of Lord Caitanya's
movement.

The word aula has different meanings, either of Arabic or Bengali origin. The
Persian word aul (which comes from the Arabic wallia) means "very important
person," signifying the supposed exalted status of a member of the cult of
Auls. There is also from the Islamic world the word auttal, which means "the
first phase". This indicates that of the four sects, the Auls are on the first
stage of advancement, because they are married householders. They practice
tantric sex-yoga with their own wives as well as the wives of other Auls.
Another meaning of Aul is au (woman) and ula (come down); this points to their
close connection to woman, through whom they think descends deeper wisdom of
the universe. In Bengali, the word Aul is related to kulata ("afflicted"), in
the sense of being afflicted with love. They think they have attained the
state described in C.C. Antya 17.46:

yeba venu-kala-dhvani, eka-bara taha suni, jagan-nari-citta AULAYA
nivi-bandha pade khasi, vina-mule haya dasi, bauli hana krsna-pase dhaya

"The transcendental vibration of Krsna's flute disturbs the hearts of women
all over the world, even if they hear it only once. Thus their fastened belts
become loose, and these women become the unpaid maidservants of Krsna. Indeed,
they run toward Krsna exactly like madwomen."


The word baula comes from the Sanskrit word vatula, or mad. In the previous
verse, the word bauli was used in this sense. It may also be related to the
word vyakula, which means "impatiently eager". The Bauls are wandering
minstrels who play instruments like the ektar, dugi (a drum like the larger
drum in a tabla set) and bamboo flute. They do hari-nama-kirtana and sing
enchanting songs to express their philosophy, the words of which are very
enigmatic (like Bob Dylan songs, but in Bengali). Some Bauls are world famous,
like Purna Dasa Baul, who has done concerts in Albert Hall in London.


The word sani comes from svami. This group is more commonly known as the Sain.
They are mendicants who wander about without following any rigid path, having
supposedly renounced all external designations. Shirdi Sai Baba is a rather
well-known example of this type; followers of the famous Satya Sai Baba of
Puttaparthi in Andra Pradesh claim that he is the same Shirdi Sai
reincarnated.


The daravesa (Darbesh) are the gurus of the Auls, Bauls and Sains. They are
supposed to have reached the highest realization through the tantric sadhana
that is practiced by these cults. In C.C. Madhya 20.70, Srila Prabhupada
translates the word daravesa as "hippie," which gives some idea of how the
Vaisnavas view these exalted personalities. Darbesh is a Sufi term; it comes
from the Persian dar (door) and bhitan (to beg), meaning "one who begs from
door to door."

The Auls, Bauls, Sains and Darbesh share the same philosophy, which directly
descends from the Sahajayana tradition. They view all existence as being
formed from the combination of the mundane male and female principles (purusa
and prakrti). They believe they can harmonize these two principles within
themselves through so-called love, which is generated by a kind of bodily
union between man and woman according to tantric yoga. When purusa and prakrti
are perfectly harmonized, then one realizes the inner ecstasy they call
jiyante mara or "death while living", which is signified by complete stoppage
of all physical and mental activity. They identify this state with the
mahabhava ecstasy of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. When this state of "death while
living" is attained, one can know the maner manush - the "man in the heart",
who is also known as sahaja manush - "natural man"; bhaber manush - "man of
devotion"; raser manush - "man of rasa"; and sonar manush - "man of gold."
Though this maner manush is never specifically identified with Gauranga
Mahaprabhu, obviously the concept is stolen from the Gaudiya Vaisnavas.


Typical Symptoms of the Four Cults

There are certain practices of these apasampradayas (like the caricandrabhed
or "ritual of the four moons") that are too disgusting to be described here.
It is enough to say that they are absorbed in the darkest regions of
ignorance. They believe that all exalted states of transcendence, like the
realization of Vaikuntha and Krsnaloka, rest in the gross physical body. Their
motto is "what cannot be found in the body cannot be found anywhere." Their
philosophy encourages a person to engage in all sorts of degraded acts of lust
and depravity in order that the inner bliss (svarup) stored in the material
form (rupa) may be released.

These apasampradayas share the same syncretism (the artificial combination of
aspects of different religions, i.e. tantric, Mayavadi and Islamic mysticism
with some Vaisnava overtones) and iconoclasm (they all reject Deity worship).

The Auls, who are said to be on the beginning stage of sadhana, practice what
is termed "bodily meditation." This means that the men of this sect take
themselves to be purusa and the women are called prakrti. Their sadhana is
illicit sex. Husbands and wives of this community freely switch partners.
Their idea is to excite lust to a fever pitch so that they can attain divine
love. They claim that Lord Caitanya, Lord Nityananda and the six Goswamis were
all "auliya", and use citations from Sri Caitanya-caritamrta in which the word
aula appears to try to substantiate their claim sastrically.

The influence of Mayavadi philosophy on the Aul sect is very marked. They
claim to be purusa, though Krsna is actually the only purusa. They base their
claim solely on the body - if one happens to have a male form, he is purusa,
and may imitate Krsna's activities with impunity.

Lord Caitanya's teachings clearly distinguish between love and lust
(atmendriya-priti-vanca tare bali kama..., C.C. Adi 4.165). The practices of
the Auls are simply lust, and have no connection with authorized scriptures.


The Bauls, being folk musicians, exert an extraordinary influence upon Bengali
culture. They were patronized by no less than Rabindranath Tagore, Bengal's
nobel-prize-winning poet. Bengali intellectuals are fascinated with them and
have written many books to their glory. In recent years, interest in the Bauls
has spread to the West.

They often keep long hair in a bun on top of their heads and wear the gown of
a Muslim fakir with Shaivite rudraksa beads, the glass worry-beads of a
Muslim, and the tilaka and japa-mala of a Vaisnava, all simultaneously. They
are usually bearded, and carry a shoulder bag, a bamboo walking cane and a
fisti (pot made from a big coconut). They use hashish liberally for
"self-control."

The Bauls typically flock to festivals they call mahotsavas, many of which
coincide with important Gaudiya Vaisnava functions. The Jayadeva-Kenduli Mela
during winter is the largest such mahotsava; the Bauls have an akhra (their
word for asrama) there, and thousands of them converge at that spot for the
three-day festival. At other places across Bengal and Bangladesh they hold are
mahotsavas throughout the year. The Bauls move from one to the next, perform
music, smoke hemp and look for women. Often a Baul picks up a woman (or
sadhika) at one mahotsava and drops her at the next to take on a new one. His
former sadhika will be picked up by another Baul.

Some Bauls are literate, and use their talents to write books presenting
perverted accounts of the lives of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His associates.
These need not be mentioned here, as they are too offensive. Because of their
talents, the Bauls cast an extremely inauspicious spell over the minds of the
innocent but foolish populace.


The Sains are the freebooters of this tradition. They are supposedly liberated
from all material conceptions, and thus may appear in any kind of dress (Hindu
sannyasi or Muslim fakir) or no dress at all. They are so much beyond the grip
of illusion that they may drink wine or eat human flesh as expressions of
their high awareness. The common people superstitiously think Sains to be
powerful healers, for many Sains maintain themselves by distributing
mysterious medicines and cures. Some Sain "saints" of the past were Nanak
Sain, Alek Sain, Ksirodha Sain and Garbha Sain. One Tapan Das Sain supervises
the yearly Baul three-day Mahotsab at the Darbesh Asrama at Dubrajpur. Now
over 80 years old, he and his young female consort are highly honored in Baul
society.


The Darbesh Asrama was founded by Atal Behari Darbesh, known as Darbeshji. By
mystic influence he brought a king under his control; that king gave him the
land on which the asrama is situated. Darbeshji is thus venerated by the Auls,
Bauls and Sains as a spiritual giant. The followers of Darbeshji dress as
Sanatana Gosvami was dressed when he escaped the jail of Nawab Hussain Shah to
join Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu in Prayaga. Sanatana told the jailer whom he'd
bribed, daravesa hana ami makkake yaiba, "I shall go to Mecca as a Darbesh".
The Darbesh cult take this as Srila Sanatana Gosvami's most profound
instruction. The daravesa-apasampradaya is degraded in every way, for its
adherents fully embrace Muslim habits (meat-eating, smoking, etc). They are
feared by the common folk for their mysterious powers. Once some workers tried
to cut down a tree on the Darbesh Asrama land, a tree that Darbeshji himself
used to rest under. But when they struck that tree, so the legend goes, they
all fell down to the ground, vomiting blood.