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Questions & Reflections

the water i want to sink in for hours (from the waterfall)
the water i want to sink in for hours (from the waterfall)
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the moon, the sky, the building and the light together : It was a beautiful night.
the moon, the sky, the building and the light together
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rock kid
rock kid
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free-spirit
free-spirit
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disturbed and awoken
disturbed and awoken
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hitting the edge of the roof
hitting the edge of the roof
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the sun sets from my window
the sun sets from my window
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the play of clouds
the play of clouds
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The Bauls of Bengal (Enlightened and Mad) : The Bauls, migrant musicians of Bengal, incarnate one of the oldest, most fascinating religious and artistic traditions of India. Little known outside Bengal, looked down upon there, often from the lowest social strata, they were rediscovered by Rabindranath Tagore, India's greatest modern poet: the Nobel laureate considered their lyrics among the peaks of Indian civilization.Baul means madcap, and may derive from the Sanskrit vayu (wind), in the sense of nerve currents, or vatul, which signifies both "enlightened" and "mad", especially "lashed by the wind to the point of losing one's sanity". Another derivation connects the word to the exercises for regulating breath and energy which are said to be practised by these mystics. All these meanings point to the radical spirituality which inspires the Bauls. "What need have we of temples," they ask, "when our body is the temple where the spirit has its home?The Baul teaching historically grew on the ruins of Indian Buddhism, Tantra and Vaishnavism, and insists on freedom from all outward compulsion. The brotherhood includes householders as well as vagrant beggars, but all, men and women, recognise no divsions of society such as caste or class, no special deity, no scripture, temple or mosque.The Bauls live their lives according to the shahaj (simple, natural) way - that of "a man of heart" (moner manush), who is a "man hidden inside the man, and the Bauls, who are not ascetics, believe that the art of life is to perceive the other, establish authentic contact, and find "a man of heart."
The Bauls of Bengal (Enlightened and Mad)
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