Lalon Fokir
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Lalon Fokir Saint /Sai, Shah সাঁই, শাহ (from Persian سای) |
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Lalon's only portrait sketched during his lifetime by Jyotirindranath Tagore in 1889.
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| Native name | লালন |
| Born | c. 1772 Bengal Presidency, British India |
| Died | 17 October 1890 Cheuriya, Kushtia, Bengal Presidency, British India (now in Bangladesh) |
| Resting place | Cheuriya, Kushtia, Bangladesh 23°53′44″N 89°09′07″E / 23.89556°N 89.15194°E |
| Other names | Baul Shamrat |
| Title | Mahatma/Fakir |
| Spouse(s) | Bishōkha |
Lalon, (Bengali: লালন) also known as Lalon Sain, Lalon Shah, Lalon Fakir or Mahatma Lalon (c. 1772 – 17 October 1890; Bengali: 1 Kartik, 1179), was a Bengali Baul saint, mystic, songwriter, social reformer and thinker. Considered an archetypal icon of Bengali culture, Lalon inspired and influenced many poets, social and religious thinkers including Rabindranath Tagore,Kazi Nazrul Islam, and Allen Ginsberg albeit he "rejected all distinctions of caste and creed". Widely celebrated as an epitome of religious tolerance, he was also accused of heresy during his lifetime and after his death. In his songs, Lalon envisioned a society where all religions and beliefs would stay in harmony. He founded the institute known as Lalon Akhrah in Cheuriya, about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) from Kushtia railway station. His disciples dwell mostly in Bangladesh and West Bengal. Every year on the occasion of his death anniversary, thousands of his disciples and devotees assemble at Lalon Akhrah, and pay homage to the departed guru through celebration and discussion of his songs and philosophy for three days. In 2004, Lalon was placed at number 12 in the BBC's poll of the Greatest Bengali of All Time.
Everyone asks, "What religion does Lalon belong to in this world?"
Lalon answers, "What does religion look like?"
I've never laid eyes upon it.
Some use Malas (Hindu rosaries),
others Tasbis (Muslim rosaries), and so people say
they belong to different religion.
But do you bear the sign of your religion
when you come (to this world) or when you leave (this world)?
There are few reliable sources for the details of Lalon's early life as he was reticent in revealing his past. It is not known whether he was born in a Hindu or a Muslim family. Lalon had no formal education.
One account relates that Lalon, during a pilgrimage to the temple of Jagannath with others of his native village, he contracted smallpox and was abandoned by his companions on the banks of the Kaliganga River, from where Malam Shah and his wife Matijan, members of the weaver community in a Muslim-populated village, Cheuriya, took him to their home to convalesce. They gave Lalon land to live where he founded a musical group and remained to compose and perform his songs, inspired by Shiraj Sain, a musician of that village. Lalon lost the sight of his one eye in smallpox. Researchers note that Lalon was a close friend of Kangal Harinath, one of the contemporary social reformers and was a disciple of Lalon.
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