“Music in the soul can be heard by the universe.”
― Lao Tzu, Te Tao Ching
My search for art as a way of transformation had brought me to this little village named Gorbhanga, in the borders of Bengal, India. This was a village of the ‘Bauls’ (Wandering Minstrels) who sing for the love of humanity. This was a pious place of knowledge amidst natural abundance where the folks encouraged inner growth.
They believe music enables major transformation in a human being. Their company made me recognize that everything in this universe is alive, even a kernel of rice is filled with great potential. The conversations and songs shared by the baul singers had a profound impact on me. One of the narrations shared a deep understanding of how ‘we human beings can heal wars by first getting rid of our own inner conflicts and misconducts, improve our attitudes and one of the ways of doing that could be thought art.’ These people were like Alchemists who revealed to me how every human being is an Alchemist in a continuous process of deciphering the great secret of life. I understood that by focusing on self, I could nurture empathy and love, which are major transformative agents. I live for myself as well as others and if I have the capacity to transform myself then I can do the same with others.
Credits: I sincerely thank Amitava Bhattacharya, founder and director of Banglanatak.com and his team for the support in my research.