The Bauls are an inextricable part of the cultural scenario of Bengal. They are a very colourful community known for their wit, humour, wandering life-style and mellifluous songs. Their existence is synonymous with their songs. Through their songs, the Baul community gives vent to their emotions, feelings, dreams, aspirations, philosophy and also earn their livelihood.

The Baul cult is an inseparable part of folk culture in Bengal. It goes without saying that the roots of this cult are engraved in the folds of religion. The Baul philosophy always extols the religion of humanity and values it above all other religions or philosophies. Even Rabindranath Tagore, the versatile poet and one of the greatest thinkers of all times, had keenly, felt the essence of truth and 'moksha' in Baul philosophy. Tagore was so impressed by the liberal, humanitarian, religious and all-embracing aspects of the Baul philosophy, that he relished calling himself Rabindra Baul at times.

Taking the gist from the Vedas and the Puranas as well as all other religious and cults, several religious seets took birth in Bengal in miniature forms. Notable among them were Baul, Neda, Darbesh, Sain, Aul, Saddhini Panthi, Sahajia, Khusi Biswasi, Radha Shyami, Ramsadhaniya, Jagabandhu Bhajaniya, Dadupanthi, Ruidasi, Senpanthi, Ramsanchi, MeeraRai, Bilwal Bhakta, KartaBhaja, Gurudasi Vaishnam, Karan Vaishnav, Gop Vaishnav, Harivyasi, Kishori Bhajani etc. The list is much bigger but all names could not be furnished due to certain inconveniences.

Probably the religious reformation movements of the Hindus and Muslims in the nineteenth century, the spread of Christianity by the missionaries, the rise of Brahmoism, the lives and works of Sri Ramkrishna, Bijoy Krishna and holy men of their ilk put up a tremendous resistance and drove the aforesaid miniature religious seets to the backseat. Gradually, these smaller seets as the Bauls, Auls, Darbesh etc. started to contract and took recourse in the remote and rural areas. It can therefore be said that the high ideals of the big and widespread religious and religious fundamentalism of some people did a lot of damage to the Baul Phakirs. For about a century, these men faced several obstacles and persecution. Consequently, the Bauls were weakened and got dispersed but never became an extinet race. It deserves mention in this regard that most of the miniature religious which had cropped up in Bengal were either founded by a Muslim or a Hindu or both. These religious sects largely owe their origin to the direct influence and preachings of Muslim Baul, Darvesh and Phakirs, the sheer despise of Brahminism by the exploited 'Shudras' (the lowest class of hindus) and above all the clarion call of the Vaishnava cult. The social background of the Vaishnava cult needs to be discussed in this regard.

Sree Chaitanya had appeared in Bengal as a liberator, reformer and a vicar of God. In the sixteenth century, the tyrannous Muslim rulers were converting the Hindus into Islam in a wide scale. Thousands of Shudras were also inclined to embrace Islam on account of inhuman persecution and maltreatment from the puritanical Brahmins. To stop this large scale proselytism, he founded the Vaishnava religion which was easy, liberal, spontaneous and all-embracing. The basic tenets of this religion by on the principles of universal love and tolerance.

Sree Chaitanya preached in a lucid and graceful way. His message was simple and easily intelligible to the masses. He used to say 'Harenamaiva Kevalam' which implies that nothing but the chanting of the name of 'Hari' (Lord Krishna) can lead one to the path of salvation. The Vaishnava cult had such a profound impact on the society that all men could easily identify themselves with it. Thousands of men embraced the new found religion and it became very popular.

After the demise of Sree Chaitanya, his religion faced a grave crisis. As factions crept in, the religion began to lose its mass appeal. The Goswamis of Vrindaban started to establish the Chaitanya cult. The aspect of mass education and universal love of mankind which were the hallmarks of Vaishnava religion were neglected outright. Sree Chaitanya, their beloved vicar of God went beyond the reach of the rank and file and hundreds of voluminous scriptures and manuscripts created the rift between the religious reformer and the masses.

During this crucial period, Vaishnava religion inducted in itself some cryptic penances, critical breathing mechanisms and rigorous practices. Thus came the Sahajiya Vaishnavas who started to dwell in Patuli Katwa, Agradweep and other places by banks of the river Ganga. A new religion in the shadow of Vaishnava philosophy come into existence. 
As mentioned earlier, the songs of the wanderer Baul Sufis were mostly songs of life and love and universal fraternity. The following lines will prove this point :

These songs clearly indicate the inherent philosophies and views of these communities. The apparent meaning and the inner significance of the songs therefore, need to be analysed. The song cited below is an ideal example of the above mentioned ambiguous type.

Now let us explain the above lines. 'Khaki' means land or soil. The term is derived from French. The footprints of Lord Vishnu is imprinted on the soil. The river Ganga, according to Baul philosophy, has its origin in the footprints of the Lord. Ganga means 'pani' or water. 'Pani' also implies soil. The inner significance of the song is simply exquisite. The Hindus, after death, will attain 'Moksha' if their ashes are flown in the holy Ganga whereas a Muslim after demise, goes to heaven from his sepulchre which is soil. It implies in the broader sense that at the end, both the Hindus and the Muslims meet the same consequence. So all divisions, discriminations, hatred and malcvolence for each other are meaningless and ludicrous.

In another song, the same meaning is emphasized where it is said that everything in this material world is transiout. Everything works by divine will. After the end of life in this material world, we, all of us, will go back to Quele Alam or the Almighty God. He is the Supreme Being who controls the universe and nothing can happen against His will. Hence, the Hindus and Muslims should forget all narrow, selfish bickerings and antipathy towards each other and pray to the Almighty God for emancipation of their souls.

There are several Baul songs which are imbued with this philosophy of universal brotherhood and the elevated principles of love and tolerance. The song given below will prove this point.

In order to understand the vision and purpose of the Auls and the Bauls, it is necessary for us to know more about certain miniature religious sects or communities.

Meherpur was a small village in the district of Nadia. Towards the austral flank of Meherpur, there were the slums of the backward communities. Balaram was born in this slum in 1825. He was born to Gobindo Hanri and Gaurmoni. When he grew up, young Balaram was employed as a security guard in the house of Padmalochan Mullick, an affluent businessman. But ill luck had dodged Balaram's steps. There was a temple in the house of Mullicks. The image of the deity in this temple was adorned with beautiful jewellery which were stolen one night. Poor Balaram was held responsible for this theft. He was beaten black and blue and then banished from the village for no fault of his own.
Balaram never forgot this trauma. He went to places as a recluse and acquired valuable experience of life and things. A few years later, he came back to Meherpur. But then, he was a transformed person. Severe penances had turned the simple and rustic Balaram into an enlightened saint. He sat in meditation the bank of river Bhairav. Meanwhile, the thief who had stolen the ornaments of the deity in Mullick's temple was nabbed. Padmalochan Mullick was thoroughly repentant for his misconduct and unjustified cruelty on Balaram. As a mark of atonement, Mullick gave a few acres of land and plenty of money to Saint Balai, so that the latter could found a temple and hermitage there.

Accordingly, a big temple soon came into existence. Soon, thousands of poors, destitutes and the backward people like the Kaivartas, Bedes, Bagdi, Namahsudras etc. started to flock in this hermitage. They became disciples of Balaram and looked upon him as their saviour and vicar of God. Thus, Balaram founded a new religion based on a new philosophy and vision. In common parlance, it was known as 'Bala Hanrin Mat.' Soon, he had more than twenty thousand disciples. His religious side was Brahma Malini, a virtuous lady.
A detailed description of these minor religions is given in the book 'Hindu Caste and Sects' authored by Pt. Jogendranath Bhattacharya. The author minutely observed that these sects do not worship any deities and are characterized by a sense of sheer despise towards the Brahmins. He has written in one place that "Bala Hanri had attracted more than twenty thousand disciples. The most important feature of his cult was the hatred that he taught his followers to entertain towards Brahmins. He was quite illiterate but he had a power of inventing puns by which he could astonish his audience whenever he talked or debated..."

Undoubtedly, Balaram was an intelligent person of immense potential. Besides, he had a gift of the gab. But it is grossly incorrect to say that Balaram had founded a cult merely on the ground of antipathy towards Brahmins. In reality, the downtrodden, poor backward classes by the end of the 18th century had become very helpless and were looked down upon by the refined upper classes. They had no social security, status or stability in life. As such , the upper crust people used to torture them mercilessly and treated them ignominiously. The rank and file were denied their fundamental rights as human beings. Ram Sharan Pal of Kalyani, Lalan Shah of Kushtia, Charan pal of Hodo were deeply touched by the brutal attitude of the upper castes. They wanted to change the social systemand reform it on elevated humanitarian principles of equality, universal love and fraternity. These idealistic men did not believe in the prejudiced and distorted elucidations of the shastras by the Brahmins, the selfproclaimed agents of God. Hence these men were averse to idolatry, unnecessary pilgrimages, worship of demi gods, too much perusal of the shastras and not putting the lessons into practice and other paraphemalia if our religion. Instead, they believed in simple living and high thinking. They worshipped the religion of humanity and dreamt of an egalitarion society based on elevated principles.

The gist of Balaram's preachings has been contained in the book 'Bharatbarshiya Upasak Sampraday.' In this book, Balaram has furnished a series of questions along with their answers. Basically, the norms and paraphernalia of the average Bengalie's religions :
practices have two distinct forms. One form is the present continuous and the other is hypothesis. The religious principles and norms based on Radha-Krishna and the Vaishnava philosophy are fundamentally based on hypothesis whereas the religious practice which involves the human body is the happening and practical. The holy Vrindaban actually in our hearts. To be more precise, the human body is the most sacred temple for pilgrimage which houses all the emotions, sentiments and subtle feelings. After getting initiated by the 'guru' or spiritual teacher, a disciple should always follow the path as directed by his guru and chant mantras as well as sing hymns to praise the Almighty.

The human psyiche is a big paradox. It is like the deep and mysterious sea. Every man tries to delve into the depth of his mind which is like the sea. Those sects who worship the human body as temple and value it above all considerations, hold the opinion that there are so many sources of divine pleasure apart from our known would and experiemes. They believe that human company is fun. It yields tremendous pleasure to behold a human being. Thus said Lalan :

This philosophy was the guiding principle of most of the minor religious sects. So their songs generally celebrate the spirit of life and man. One of the outstanding songs is given below :

The Phakirs, like the Bauls, believe in the religion of humanity. The Phakir's style of living is very much different from the other sects and communities. Not many people choose to be Phakirs as their path is very hard and replete with struggle and conflicts. 
The 'Phakir' philosophy is very much dependent on the emancipation of the soul and realization of the ultimate truth. It has stringent laws which must be deserved minutely as stated in this song:

The above lines have a profound significance. The Phakirs have no right to indulge in luxuries or fall prey to common human weaknesses like abarice, jelousy, anger, concupricence etc. Some Phakirs are recluses whereas some lead normal family lives.
The first and foremost work of the phakirs is to gain control over the sexual impulse. Celibacy is preferred. The Phakirs believe that radiant and disease free health is the first step to attaining God. So they undergo regular physical exercises. But these people do not quite pursue the path of wisdom and knowledge. Their firm conviction is that life is all about skin, blood, bones, flesh etc. They believe in the physical aspect of life and have a high esteem of semen as the carrier of life. The Phakirs believe that the essence of life soul residers in human body as semen. The latter is also the source of our will power, emotions, sentiments and all subtle feelings. According to them this semen is the source of love in a man-woman relationship.

All these minor religious are inextricably interturned with songs as music forms an essential part of them lives. They do not take recourse to any sombre, high sounding, intricate and shave 'shastras.' On the contrary, their world is an exclusive one which is based on the an entirely different philosophy which is simple colourful and down-to-earth. The life of a Phakir revolves round certain fixed convictions which are best manifested in their songs. They believe that omipotant God is one and indivisible and that Lord Krishna and Allah are but names of the same God and deserve to be worsipped by all irrespective of religion, caste or community.

Based on this simple but elevated philosophy and outlook of life, these men compare songs and lead their lives. Hence they sing:

Hence, the Bauls or Phakirs not only consider themselves as singers but also as wandering recluses who are in search of the ultimate truth.
The rites and rituals of the Bauls and Phakirs are very mysterious and deeply philosophical. These are strictly practised within the Baul Community and not allowed to go outside their commence.

The Baul religion gives utmost importance to conjugal relationship. A Baul man cannot think of practising his religion or performing the necessary rites without the help of his spouse. It does not matter whether he is married to her but female company is one of the essential requisites. Another salient feature of the Bauls is their control over their respiratory process. They believe that the key to real happiness and solace of mind lies in the control of breathing mechanism which can also give one relief from pain and anxiety. In fact, the sexual life of the Baul is centred around this principle of control of breathing mechanism. 

The male Baul considers his female counterpart as the medium for spiritual pursuits. He is not merely concerned to satisfy his conceipescence. He does not think that love is a selfish, demanding and possessive emotion. On the contrary, a male Baul is very particular about the priapism of his female counterpart. This feature is markedly absent among the other male inhabitants of the village apart from the Bauls.

All the Baul couples meticulously observe every minute detail regarding the female menstruation cycle. This is guided by a deeply religious feelings which is least manifested in the following song of Lalan: 'Sab Gacheri Phool Phote, Kintu Sab Phooleri Phal Hay Na.' This implicates that all females may naturally menstruate but all of them may not form ovaries and may not be capable of reproducing.

It is to be noticed that songs form an essential part of every aspect of the Baul's life. All the minute aspects of life - the emotions, feelings, sentiments, important or trivial incidents are best expressed in Baul songs. The Bauls do not belive in relions scriptures or going to the woods for worshipping God. They have realized the cardinal truth that God is all-pervading and manifests Himself in all forms of His creations. The underlying note of the song below is indeed very touchy and profoundly philongrhical.

The Bauls sincerely believe that 'nature is the living visible garment of God.' In their opinion, God and nature are one and inseparable.

The nature referred to here is nothing but female entity. Man always falls back on woman who stands by him as his inspiration and source of courage. This man woman relationship to the wish of the Almighty. The Baul community of Bengal as well as the Phakirs have realized this eternal truth of life and give vent to this divine idea through their melodious songs which is their sole mode of expression. These songs are Bengal's very own and are inextricably linked with soil, water and sky of Bengal. The Baul songs are literally imbued with the spirit and essence of Bengal.