Images from Rural Bengal
A Fakir, a Sufi ascetic on his spiritual journey, seeks alms from travellers on National Highway 60 (NH 60).
Suri Level Crossings, Birbhum district
Images of Bengal, India
Fakirs of Bengal
Ever since Islam came to Bengal in the 13th century it participated, via a merging of Sufi inputs with vernacular strands of Vaisnavism (Vishnuism), tantrism and local folk cults, in a very rich blend of religious beliefs and practices in the lower strata of the society. The Fakir (Sufi ascetic), as a sub-section of the Bengali Bául with a more or less defined Muslim identity, are at present the largest group in Bengal perpetuating this form of 'Islamic syncretistic tradition'.
Lalan Shah or Lalan Fakir (?1774-?1890) is a product and proponent of purely Bengali syncretism. His writings and his teachings tell a story of merging Hinduism and Islam into a universalistic religion transcending the boundaries of any single religion.
The Hindu Bául and the Muslim Fakir share the same tenets of an mystic quest based on the intimate human-divine connection within every human being, cultivated through a philosophy and practices that emphasize the human body as locus and means for finding the essence of God. The path is taught in the traditional guru-disciple relationship where the guru is like the figure of the Sufi saint, in whom the divine is accomplished, merged with the human. More: openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/bitstream/handle/1887/17365/ISIM...
Images from Rural Bengal
A Fakir, a Sufi ascetic on his spiritual journey, seeks alms from travellers on National Highway 60 (NH 60).
Suri Level Crossings, Birbhum district
Images of Bengal, India
Fakirs of Bengal
Ever since Islam came to Bengal in the 13th century it participated, via a merging of Sufi inputs with vernacular strands of Vaisnavism (Vishnuism), tantrism and local folk cults, in a very rich blend of religious beliefs and practices in the lower strata of the society. The Fakir (Sufi ascetic), as a sub-section of the Bengali Bául with a more or less defined Muslim identity, are at present the largest group in Bengal perpetuating this form of 'Islamic syncretistic tradition'.
Lalan Shah or Lalan Fakir (?1774-?1890) is a product and proponent of purely Bengali syncretism. His writings and his teachings tell a story of merging Hinduism and Islam into a universalistic religion transcending the boundaries of any single religion.
The Hindu Bául and the Muslim Fakir share the same tenets of an mystic quest based on the intimate human-divine connection within every human being, cultivated through a philosophy and practices that emphasize the human body as locus and means for finding the essence of God. The path is taught in the traditional guru-disciple relationship where the guru is like the figure of the Sufi saint, in whom the divine is accomplished, merged with the human. More: openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/bitstream/handle/1887/17365/ISIM...