According to Osho, the Bauls have no single founder; they are not an 'ism' but a timeless happening—an ecstatic, spontaneous way of being in love with life. Like roses or birdsong, they arise naturally from existence. Every child is born a Baul, later conditioned away. If there was any beginning, Bauls began with the first human—expressions of the essential man.
Nobody invented Bauls; they’re the natural, joyful way humans are before the world teaches them otherwise.
From the Discourses
Passages where Osho speaks to this question — each links to the complete discourse.
Who has originated bauls? Please explain.
PEOPLE LIKE BAULS ARE NEVER ORIGINATED. Religions like the Baul religion are more like happenings. Who originated the roses? Who originated the songs that the birds go on singing every morning? No, we never ask that question. It has always been there. Philosophies are originated; you can find the originator. 'Isms', dogmas, creeds are originated. The Baul is not a creed, it is a spontaneous way of life. People have always lived that way. People who have ever lived have always lived that way. People who have ever been alive have been alive in no other way. Whether they were known as Bauls or not is immaterial. The name may have some origin somewhere; I'm not concerned with it. The word simply means 'the madman': madly in love with existence, madly in love with life -- but this madness has always been there. And it is good that a few…
Who is a baul? Please tell us the definition.
IT should have been asked in the beginning; now this is going to be last. But in a way, it is good. If in the beginning you had asked about the definition of a Baul, it would have been almost impossible to say anything. Not that now I can define, but at least now I can say it is indefinable. The Baul is not a metaphysics, the Baul is a mystique. I can invite you to participate in that mystery, but definition is not possible. So I am not going to define. Instead, I will tell you a story. Maybe that will give you a definition; but you will have to find it yourself. I have heard.... Once upon a time, an angel came to earth to see man and his world, because he had heard so many stories of man's splendor that he could not resist his curiosity. The…
Only a connoisseur of the flavours of love can comprehend the language of a lover's heart, others have no clue. The taste of lime rests in the core of the fruit, and even experts know of no easy way to reach it. Honey is hidden within the lotus bloom -- but the bee knows it. Dung-beetles nestle in dung, discounting honey. Submission is the secret of knowledge.
Bauls belong more to the Tantras than to the Vedas. There is only one improvement on Tantras; that is the only difference. Tantra is all-inclusive, more feminine than male. The Vedas are more male-oriented, the Tantras are more feminine. Of course, woman is more inclusive than man. Man is included in woman, but woman is not included in man. Man seems to be a sort of specialization. Woman seems to be more general, more fluid, more round. Tantra is the way of the feminine, just like Tao. But the Bauls have improved upon Tantra also. Tantra is too technical. The very word 'Tantra' means technique. It is a little harsh, more scientific. Bauls are more poetic; Bauls are more soft -- singers and dancers. Tantra uses sex to rise higher than it, but it uses it. Sex becomes instrumental. Bauls say that is not very respectful: "How can you USE…
Question: THE MILK OF THE LIONESS IS SEEN AT ITS BEST WHEN STORED IN A GOLDEN CUP. WORSHIPPING PROSPERS IN A PROPER CONTAINER. THE LOVER WHO WHOLLY LOVES, CAN REACH REALITY, COMPREHENDING THE UNATTAINABLE MAN. THE SECRETS OF DEATH ARE REVEALED TO HIM WHILE HE IS FULLY ALIVE. WHAT DOES HE CARE FOR OTHER SHORES OF LIFE...? The methods of the Bauls are very simple. They say that if you can dance, many blocks will disappear from your being -- because when a person dances and really moves into dance, and becomes movement, then he becomes liquid. Have you not seen it? If you have seen somebody lost in dancing, can't you see it? that he is no longer solid? He is flowing. The solidity is gone; he has become liquid. This liquidity melts the blocks. So dancing is the Yoga of the Baul; he dances for hours together.