Note: Unfortunately these talks about the Bauls were posted out of order. But the sound quality is much better on this one, which is also the most detailed in its explanation of who the Bauls were. And this talk develops into a wonderful, rich discussion of consciousness. Lola says that not many people have heard of the Bauls because they had no organization or dogma or scripture. They were freewheeling practitioners who loved dance, music and poetry—and looked within. Zen Roshi, Lola McDowell Lee, explains how the Indian Bauls were a group of Hindus also were joined by a sect of Sufis when the Muslims invaded India. The Bauls did not use the term “God.” They focused mainly on the “essential man within you.” Baul literally means “affected by the winds.” The doctrine of Shakti and the follower, or Shakta. Shakti refers to the divine feminine cosmic energy and creative power that underlies all existence. It's the active principle of the Godhead, responsible for creating, sustaining, and dissolving the universe. Shaktas, or believers in Shakti, felt that the ultimate divine being is best understood and worshipped as the feminine principle, and manifests in countless forms as different goddesses. Lola recounts the story of Krishna’s origins, per the Bhagavad Gita. Bhakti Yoga, the practice of devotion thru submission to find the secret knowledge. Lola explains that Being and Awareness is like love. Love can only be known by loving. It can’t be described or taught, it needs to be experienced. She extends the metaphor to swimming. You can’t be taught how to swim outside the water. But if you go into the water and can’t swim, you fear you’ll drown. So it seems like an impossible, paradoxical situation. Spiritual practice carries with it a similar paradox. Lola discusses Ramana Maharshi. She talks about how, when we sit in silence, one puts a downward pressure into that which is within us. Eventually that pressure releases something inside that allows one to become “a man of the heart.” The pressure allows the Being to overcome the Ego. What is consciousness? That is, Lola says, the primary question of all religion. The search, in consciousness, to grow in consciousness. Through observation and alertness… of all the activity within and without—we can stir a moment of clarity, of insight. In that flash of perception consciousness sees, and knows instantly what comes from within and what comes from without. Sep 13, 1987
