KILLING THE GURU - ANTI-HIERARCHICAL TENDENCIES OF BAULS OF BENGAL

The conferral of immense symbolic importance on so-called 'Bauls' by e ducated, urban Bengalis from the end of the 19th century derives from and has contributed to various hinds of essentialisation of the catego ry 'baul'. Assumptions of uniformity and continuity have resulted in a scholarly over-emphasis on the role of the institutional guru. It is argued hers that the authority of this guru is far from absolute, even in theory. It is undermined by the plurality of gurus, the option of internalising or universalising the notion of the guru, and the crucia l role of self-cultivation on the part of disciples. Moreover, esoteri c practice necessitates a male-female pair and the theoretical and pra ctical importance conferred on women by 'Bauls' tends to subvert the p redominantly male guru lineages ('Hindu', Muslim or mired), as does a readiness to divinise human beings as such, rather than only perfected human beings.