Sanskrit and appears to have had a Brahmanical
initiation. Basavanna studied the VEDAS and was a
devotee of Shiva from an early age, but he was also
a political activist and social reformer. He believed
that the caste divisions and ritualism of traditional
Indian society should be abolished.
Basavanna became a powerful minister to a
king, while establishing a new religious movement
in which caste, class, and sex were disregarded
and only devotion to the Lord was important. He
rejected traditional ritualism; in place of temples
and icons to Lord Shiva, every Virashaiva was
required to wear the LINGAM, or sign of Shiva,
around the neck. Basavanna’s vacanas or poems
were pure expressions of BHAKTI, or devotion,
declaring that one’s own body was the true temple
of Shiva, not some stone shrine. Virashaivas decry
all external religion in favor of the religion of the
heart.
Further reading: K. Ishwaran, Speaking of Basava:
Lingayat Religion and Culture in South Asia (Boulder,
Colo.: Westview Press, 1992); L. M. Menezes and S. M.
Angadi, trans., Vacanas of Basavanna (Sirigere: Annana
Balaga, 1967); A. K. Ramanujan, Speaking of Shiva
(London: Penguin Books, 1973).
Baul sect
A loosely organized sect originating in Ben-
gal around the seventh century C.E., the Bauls
sought escape from orthodox Hindu thought and
ritual practice, which they deemed lifeless, seek-
ing ecstasy through music and dancing. They
are known for their unconventional manner, as
indicated by their name: the Bengali word baul
(Hindi: baur) is derived from the SANSKRIT vat-
ula, meaning “mad,” or vyakula, meaning “per-
plexed.” Bauls are referred to as “madmen drunk
with God.” Songs are their unwritten scriptures,
yet they do not record either the words or the
music.
The original Baul devotees drew inspiration
from several religions that flourished at the time
in Bengal. They adopted practices from TANTRISM,
the non-dual or ADVAITA conception of the Abso-
lute from VEDANTA, YOGA disciplines, elements of
Sufi dance and music, and the emphasis on the
love in the human heart found in VAISHNAVISM. To
these, the Bauls added a tenet that each individual
must remain free and individual, and each must
become a divinized subtle being.
Central to the spiritual path of Bauls is their
reverence for gurus. Each guru writes his own
songs from his personal experience, so that most
songs remain original and individual. Some songs
have become common to the community and are
repeated at yearly festivals, or melas, which are
held in Bengal, near Shanti Niketan, the university
founded by Rabindranath TAGORE (1861–1941). It
was Tagore who took the Baul sect out of obscu-
rity by collecting the words of many of their songs
and many of their simple melodies. He felt that
these creations by the Bauls expressed the highest
truth in simple language.
Most Bauls are illiterate members of the poorer
classes. Others are learned Brahmins who have
been rejected by their caste, Muslims disaffected
with orthodoxy, and Sufis who fear persecu-
tion from Islamic law. Baul groups are scattered
throughout India but remain centered in Bengal.
Recently Baul musicians and dancers have
begun to tour Europe and the United States to
perform their songs.Further reading: Charles Capwell, The Music of the
Bauls of Bengal (Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press,
1986); Surath Chandra Chakravarti, Bauls: The Spiritual
Vikings (Calcutta: Firma KLM, 1980); Lizelle Reymond,
To Live Within: The Story of Five Years with a Himalayan
Guru (London: George Allen & Unwin. 1971).Benares (Varanasi, Kashi)
Benares on the GANGES is the most visited pil-
grimage destination in all of India. It is one of the
seven primary pilgrimage cities in India, one of
the 12 jyotir LINGAM (lingam of light) sites, andBenares 69 J