Bauls sing of the Beloved

I knew about the Bauls from the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. But the experience of reading Osho's words on Bauls was profound (The Beloved Vols. 1 and 2) Here are some of his words:

The Bauls are called Bauls because they are mad people. The word 'Baul' comes from the Sanskrit root VATUL. It means: mad, affected by wind. The Baul belongs to no religion. He is neither Hindu nor Mohammedan nor Christian nor Buddhist. He is a simple human being. His rebellion is total. He does not belong to anybody; he only belongs to himself. He lives in a no man's land: no country is his, no religion is his, no scripture is his. His rebellion goes even deeper than the rebellion of the Zen Masters -- because at least formally, they belong to Buddhism; at least formally, they worship Buddha. Formally they have scriptures -- scriptures denouncing scriptures, of course -- but still they have. At least they have a few scriptures to burn.
Bauls have nothing -- no scripture, not even to burn; no church, no temple, no mosque -- nothing whatsoever. A Baul is a man always on the road. He has no house, no abode. God is his only abode, and the whole sky is his shelter. He possesses nothing except a poor man's quilt, a small, hand-made one-stringed instrument called AEKTARA, and a small drum, a kettle-drum. That's all that he possesses. He possesses only a musical instrument and a drum. He plays with one hand on the instrument and he goes on beating the drum with the other. The drum hangs by the side of his body, and he dances. That is all of his religion. Dance is his religion; singing is his worship. He does not even use the word 'God'.

There is a great Baul singer, performing and travelling a lot these days, Parvathy Baul. She is one of rare female Baul singers, and has a presence that locks you in. This You Tube video is a good one:

then, there is an hour-long interview, very well done, in English. You can watch this, and please don't mind the marketing clutter around the video. It is a good interview that brings out the authentic Baul singer that she is.
One final word. When asked how she handles people who want to surrender to her and wish her to lead them spiritually, she shrugs off that onerous responsibility... she says she's after all a singer. That is the reality of life. There is no "One", whether a musician, a dancer, an artist or a master, or a self-proclaimed guru, to whom you can surrender and hope to move ahead. Finally your guide is within yourself.. at the centre of your being, and not at the circumference which is our sensory world. But surrendering to anyone or anything is a vital first step... it cuts off your head!
Here is the video interview link... and happy watching!
http://video.webindia123.com/interviews/dancers/parvathybaul/index.htm