THE relevance of Lalon Fakir and his preaching seems out of the domain of the life we live in the era of Industrial Revolution 4.0. But does it really seem so? Who was Lalon and what did he teach or preach? Born in about 17 years after the Battle of Plassey in a Hindu family of lower sub-cast called Kayasta, the people dependent on agriculture for their sustenance 鈥� in Nadia under the then British India (there are contradictory opinions about his birth place and family), Lalon had been a gifted thinker and observer of his surroundings since his early age. Especially, he naively looked at the difference of approach to life and living between the disciples of different religions, including Hinduism and Islam. He noticed that the difference between the creeds was very thin concerning the fundamental teaching of them: truthfulness, honesty, integrity, morality and social cohesion.
Lalon鈥檚 preaching is composed of what he had learnt from life. He was devoted to his mother and married early so that he and his wife could serve his mother well. At the same time, he was interested in pilgrimmage, religious discussions and debates. Being driven by the urge to know more about religion, Lalon, accompanied by a few acquaintances, visited the pilgrimage of the Hindu religion at Baranasi. But at some point of his return journey, he fell ill as he contracted small pox. He was then left by the riverside by his companions to die as the disease was contagious and dreaded by people that time.
Lalon, however, was found by the side of the River Kaliganga by a pious man named Molom Shah who took him home and there, having been fed and nursed by both Molom and his wife, a childless couple,, Lalon recovered. After some time, he returned to his village to see his mother and take his wife with him out there in the world with a view to search and find the supreme existence behind everything on earth. But he found himself rejected by the conservative Hindus of his village, his own mother and even by his wife who refused to join him to live together, with Lalon鈥檚 fault being identified by his family and neighbours as his being a Hindu by birth and now, during his illness, treated by a Muslim family, nourished by the meals in that house. Lalon left his village not to return ever.
This event opened up a new horizon of thoughts for Lalon and he developed his belief, philosophy and a way of life of his own. The message of his teaching could be summerised as (a) human being鈥檚 perpetual struggle to uplift his soul from the quagmire of mundane needs; (b) as a result, his vile and degraded life on earth always misguide him to follow the path of greed, plundering and always keeping him busy gratifying physical needs such eating, drinking and merriment and while so doing, he becomes (c) conceited, self-indulging and mean. These attained attributes do not let a human being reach the abode of the creator, the omnipotent who, according to Lalon, decides not away from one鈥檚 physical body. Thus, the human body is the microcosm of the all-pervading presence (pan-humanism) of the sustainer of the earth.
Lalon propagated the idea that until a human being could purify himself from greed, idiocy and meanness by having control over his ever-craving body for pleasure through self-restraints and integrity, he would die a despicable death. Lalon did actively pursue his belief to be transmitted to others and he organised a band of followers numbering around 10,000 that time covering several districts such as Kushtia, Sirajganj, Faridpur, Rajshahi, etc. However, there is no record that Lalon ever came in conflict with followers of other faiths and creeds. And, that is the beauty of his preaching.
Now, some of us might think that he had not the capacity to explain life and its happenings on earth the way I have just put here. But we need to acknowledge that renowned pundits such as Kangal Harinath, Mir Mosharrof Hosssain and Rabindranath Tagore admitted that he had acquired profound knowledge and wisdom of the contemporary Indian belief systems and their impact on life. Especially, Rabindranath Tagore reckoned Lalon鈥檚 spiritual power in uniting both the Hindus and the Muslims in terms of avowing his mentorship and neither did it sprout any conflict regarding the lessons of the holy scriptures of these two prominent faiths in the British India.
It is at this point of discussion on Lalon Fakir鈥檚 life and philosophy that we today need to relate with the society of ours. Today, our society has been infested with religious zealotry and its byproduct 鈥� intolerance of other鈥檚 voice. Greed for wealth, easy money, reigns supreme at every stratum of social life. Rational voices do not get ground. The more power humans are vested with, the more accessibility to plundering and squandering collective wealth they attain. The values of thousands of years are tossed away by the members of tender age in society as grains of sand are thrown behind by the speeding horse. But surely, while doing so, unlike a galloping horse, the youngsters do not go anywhere. neither do they wish to. That is the stalemate and barrenness of today 鈥� the period of utter decadence. We all today do not speak of anything, neither do we hear. While gathered to talk and discuss any time at any place for a purpose, we rather roar or growl. Our attempt to produce meaningful sound is often marred by noise.
But Lalon did not growl and roar while he sat with his disciples. They discussed the greatness of humans in their birth but how as they get snared by worldly allurements of various nature as they learn to tread the path of life. They expressed their remorse for failing to uphold the greatness of the supreme soul by singing and dancing. Lalon鈥檚 disciples, like him, lived on begging alms. In the akhra, the gathering of bauls, Lalon鈥檚 disciples, both men and women, chanted in their shrill and cracked voices the message on how people belonging to all casts and creeds were entangled in garbs, symbols and rituals instead of making efforts to freeing themselves from falsehood, hypocrisy and prepare for the coveted union with the supreme presence.
Lalon searched for his maner manush, the dear one, to be united with, to make his life a worthy one. On his journey towards that union, he gave more emphasis on devoting himself in the service of mankind, not any deity residing in heaven or anywhere else. It was the same message coming from Fakir Lalon, Sree Chaitanya Deva and later, from poet Nazrul Islam, that Rabindranath after Lalon鈥檚 death, termed as manabdharma, the religion of humanity.
Today, after about 134 years of Lalon鈥檚 demise, we are on the search sonar manush to build a sonar bangla, meaning a population free of corruption, full of zeal, for upholding values such as honesty, morality and integrity in society. Did Lalon throughout his life aspire for something other than what we, as a nation, dream of now?
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Md Mukhlesur Rahman Akand is joint secretary in the cultural affairs ministry.
