jAH bAULIANA - Silence as a Weapon of Choice

Muslim bigots try to pull down a sculpture named Baul at Zia International Airport in Dhaka on Wednesday. NEW AGE

Dear friends and Comrades in Thoughts,

I have received a lot of Facebook messages, emails and SMS text from many of you, since my enforced silence following the destruction by rabid Mullahs on 15th October 2008, the first ever Monument to the bAULs of Bangladesh.

I thank you very much from the core of my heart.

I am sharing a message I exchanged with my friend Andrew Biraj which I think is relevant and valid for everybody. I humbly expect your whole hearted support for the bAUL fraternity at these trying times – as also hope that we fight the issue with sILENCE - keeping the lofty ideals of the bAULs that "Disquiet is sIN" in our belief system:

QUOTE:

My Dear Andrew,

My heart is heavy and my lips are sealed, I have no option but to remain silent as it is not in the teaching of our /\sHAIJI to make a great noise, to gang up together, to destroy monuments statues and idols, or seek to harm or kill fellow mAN as a mean - or form of protest.

This ‘fight’ or ‘struggle’ – however you wish to view it, is one of reason, of fighting with our senses, and one that began in our part of the world thousands of years ago. To expect it to end overnight - or even in our lifetime is expecting the impossible and borders on foolishness.

Tokenistic ‘fights’ or ‘protests’ of the kind we see today and one we will forget as early as tomorrow morning - are ones I wish to discourage and do not support. I am not game about photo opportunities while we form so-called ‘human chains’ outside the Press Club or do the same while sitting in the hallowed precincts of the Shahid Minar.

The Mullahs and Politicos combine wish us to be reactive and replicate their reactionary character. We do not consider them ‘worthy opponents’ or ‘worthy adversaries’ or even ‘worthy Comrades’. All we say is let us be – for we did not in the first place as a fraternity 'demand' or ask for any Monuments to our glorious ancestors, our forefathers did we?

Those who have already commenced their ‘protest’ do not have either the bAUL’s or Bengal’s schools of socio-spiritual thoughts as an objective to further. Indeed, their objective and aspirations are narrow – as they wish to piggy-back on the bAUL issue to aspire for even narrower political expediency – the capture of state power – made even more complex give the restlessness prevailing in the country.

This is the oldest game known to mANKIND and epitomized in many bAUL songs:

Tumi Chor re kou churi koro/
Go tell the thief to steal

Grihosterey kou dhoro dhoro/
Go tell the peasant to catch him

Tobey keno mANUSH shontan hoilo gUNAHGAR go/
Why do you then call the children of hUMANs - sINNERs?

For the bAULs there is no such thing as 'gain' or 'loss'. Let us all therefore watch in silence with our 'inner eyes'....our SPIRIT and our sOUL which do not deceive.

This ‘fight’ is not about winning or loosing – it is more about reminding ourselves that 'To resist is to win' and 'Dissent is the highest form of patriotism'.

Let them scream on their mikes and sound system as they make veiled attempts to scare us into subjugation.

They perhaps think – gOD is hard of hearing!

Please keep the pEACE, spread the word and NEVER GIVE UP THE FIGHT

jAH bAULIANA /\

Mac

UNQUOTE