Bullying Bauls

Early this month, Mohammed Fakir and his guests were enjoying an annual conference when they were accosted by religious zealots, conceited enough to arrogate to themselves a moral ascendancy. The gathering was a significant one as it was also the occasion of 'khilafat' (or authority) being conferred on a murid (disciple). The Bauls belong to a Tariqah (way) that is at once ancient and eternal. 'Adi – Adhunik' – antique and modern, is often used as a playful adage when speaking about a tradition that transmits knowledge and wisdom through an unbroken chain of teachers and students, stretching as far back as perhaps all spiritual discourse does.

They also share this wisdom with the world, through their words, their lives and their music. Like Lalon Shah of Kushtia, Bauls all over Bengal convey a social and spiritual philosophy that dwells on justice and compassion, as well a universal approach to religion, dubbed Manob Dhormo – or the religion of man. They are gentle, glowing creatures – cultivators of a purer soul. Far be it for most of us to grasp their way of life, let alone condemn it; but to assault them is unthinkable.

But that's exactly what a bunch of self-styled 'reformist' Muslims proceeded to do on April 5th when they demanded that the Mystics 'prove' as it were, their Faith. What a preposterous travesty! That these two dimensional 'god-clerks', could believe themselves inspired enough to recognise the Truth is comical, however, that they did not recognise it, is perfectly consistent. They couldn't see it and they accused the Bauls of heresy.

What ensued is of course standard. 'Return to the path and repent for your sins' was the war-cry, and these old men were subjected to insult, and even injury as their decades old, ritually grown hair was cut with gardening scissors, their moustaches trimmed and their confessions read out. The indignation was too much to bear and one elder told me when relaying the story that he even pleaded, 'you may as well kill me than let me bear this humiliation'. 28 of these old men, none of them below the age of 60, were poked, prodded, ridiculed and tormented even after they said things like 'son, haven't you got parents? We are as old as them'. As he said this to me, he broke into tears. To think, that they were not even afforded the respect of an elder by these 'moral policemen' who assume they can tell us what good is.

It is reminiscent of that scene from 'The Last Samurai' when haughty 'modern' soldiers humiliate their older counterpart, a samurai, by cutting off his topknot. In fact the situation is not altogether too different. The Bauls, an extension of Chistiya Sufism collided with Bengal's more ancient Hindu and Buddhist Mysticism in the 14th century resulting in a sea-change that saw the birth of the Boishnob faith, spearheaded by Sri Choitonno, a friend of the Sufis and of the Muslim King Allauddin Hossain. Simultaneously, Chisti Sufism shed its clearly Islamic orientation to absorb various Tantric and Boishnobi practices. The outcome: a way of life that actively established a non-sectarian platform from which to search for all that is good in everything. This has been the religion of Bengal — the very soul of it — for centuries. These men have tended the Light here; they have nourished our spirits against all odds, even through imperialism and oppression — often taking up the physical struggle against our tormentors. The audacity of these 'mollahs' to presume that they can now replace the mystics as our teachers is anathema and about as alien to our being as cancer. We should resist it with every fibre.

To heap irony upon irony, these 'mollahs' aren't even following their own Tariqah accurately. Followers of Muhammed (pbuh) should know much better than that. Never did Muhammad physically assault someone for his or her religious convictions. In fact it is poignantly pointed out that when he re-entered Mecca, not a single person was harassed. His own uncle, who raised him, never became a Muslim and never did Muhammad hold it against him. The Quran has no verse anywhere that instructs a Muslim to pressure anyone to follow anything at all. Quite the opposite, the Quran repeatedly reminds believers, even Muhammad himself, that they are 'not managers of men, but plain advisers'. It also stresses the importance of letting people be, 'la Qum din U qum, waliya Deen' translates literally to 'your way for you, and mine for me'; then there is the ever present 'La Ekra fi Deen', which means 'there is no compulsion in religion'. This sentence is backed up by its lesser known complement – 'Truth stands out clearly from falsehood'.

Indeed Truth does stand out clearly from falsehood. This is not to say that the Bauls are true and 'standard' Muslims are not. True Bauls are as true as true Muslims, and the false versions are as false as each other. But this is not about religion at all. This is about arrogance on the one hand, and human dignity on the other. That the Bauls also profess to be followers of Muhammad (pbuh) is of no consequence. It doesn't matter what they follow. What matters is that they are entitled to follow whatever they want. And we, as beneficiaries of their wisdom or even just as believers in justice, are obliged to protect them.

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Zeeshan Khan works as a broadcast journalist for Independent TV.