Baul Tradition: Sahaj Vision East & West

This book traces the Baul Path, a Tantric spiritual tradition, from its earliest roots in the subcontinent of India, to its dissemination in the West in modern times. In the East, for centuries, Baul bards and yogis wandered the dusty roads of Bengal singing and dancing with joy in praise of God. Their poetry-songs uplifted ordinary people, transporting all above the daily grind for survival and into a direct experience of the sublime. Sahaja is the hallmark of the Baul Way, referring to the naturally ecstatic essence of being. According to the Bauls, sahaja nature is inborn, and underlies one’s human personality and habitual social conditioning. It is a blueprint of love, beauty, bliss, wisdom and dignity. From the Baul view, to rediscover sahaja is to love God. The outstanding contribution of this book is its first-hand account of the introduction of Baul spirituality to the modern world through the life and work of Khepa Lee Lozowick (1943-2010), an American teacher and the spiritual Heart Son of Yogi Ramsuratkumar, the revered Beggar Saint of Tiruvannamalai, south India. In 2008, M. Young accompanied Khepa Lee to Bengal where they met with eminent Baul gurus and practitioners, many who had long awaited an exchange with their American brother . On this trip, his band of Western Bauls shared their American rock and blues in a unique interplay between East and West.