Vaisnavism, Baul and Rabindranath

Description

About the book

The entire fabric of Tagore’s poetry is woven with the threads of Baul tradition and Vaishnava philosophy. Bauls and Vaishnavas share some common beliefs because the most significant influence on the Bauls has been that of Vaishnavism. In these two sects the dominant note is love. Next to Vaishnavism, Rabindranath was greatly influenced by the Bauls.
Both the tradition preach that God resides within man and the simplest way to achieve God is by love. Tagore was mesmerized by their ideas of achieving God. Thus, Tagore never welcomed Emancipation through sainthood. He was against the traditional conception of emancipation or Mukti because according to him Mukti lies in love. For him love is the highest virtue. The faith of love which Tagore gets from the Vaishnavas is strengthened by the songs of the Bauls.
In search of melody Rabindranath sometimes adopted the Western music and sometimes has taken the folk music of Bengal. The influence of folk music especially the Baul songs can be traced throughout his musical career. During the stay in Shilaidaha(1890-1900), he became increasingly aware of being part of an intrinsic yet unconscious creative process which was drawing out his artistic potential almost inadvertently, leading to his evolution and growth. There seemed to be an energy source within him putting words to his deepest thought and composing melodies for his songs, making him its involuntary voice.

About the author

I am Disha Mondal from West-Bengal. I have grown up in Santiniketan. Since my childhood music of Rabindranath Tagore mesmerises me. I have studied in Visva-Bharati university which was founded by Tagore. I love to write non-fictional prose on different topics. In this book I have tried to trace back the influence of Vaishnavism and Baul in Tagore’s work. I hope you will like this book. Thank you.