The second most important institution for bauls is the Shadhu Shongo (Shongo henceforth) or regular “conclaves of the wise” ie, congregation of masters in music and spirituality with seekers. Scriptural discourses set the tone of each Shongo and can last anywhere from three to five days. It is estimated that at least 1000 small to medium to large Shongo are held every year (meaning up to three every day) somewhere or the other in rural Bangladesh – with the one centring Fakir Lalon Shah in Seuria, Kushtia in the Bangla month of Choitro and Kartick, being by far the largest. Discourses and singing go on non-stop, and bauls, irrespective of caste, creed, religion, or gender, live and eat communally during the period of the Shongo. Unlike other cultures that are tokenistic and revolve around peripheral “cultural activism,” Baul music, and the culture associated, is organic, one that has to be lived and practiced as a lifestyle statement.
Other than the assembly of various “shadhu Gurus” (the eldest shadhu denoting practitioner, derived from the word “shadhona”), these events witness different schools of baul thoughts, passionately discussing the tunes and tones of baul music as well as the inherent and esoteric meanings of verses which are reverently referred to as “powd” or “kalaam.” A Guru holds special importance among the bauls, for they are literally considered “God heads,” or the fountains of knowledge from which spirituality and music flow. Each Guru holds a shongo every year, and in many cases a second one, commemorating the death of his own Guru. It is very rare that a Guru leaves his “ashon” (assigned seat) during the course of a shongo, so that no shishwa or disciple misses the chance to hear him speak and share their unique interpretation of verses, scriptures, and the music in question. This in essence reinforces Guru-shishwa parampara, or interaction, which is a continuously evolving non-traditional educational process.
Other than music, spirituality, and the quest for knowledge, the Shadhu Shongo institute consciously emphasises on “Sheba” – the rites of food, which is a pivotal demonstration of baul lifestyle. Bauls are vegetarians and the only “meat” they consume is fish. Food for bauls is sacred as it is ultimately a gift from Doyal or the munificent creator. Sheba, as the word denotes, is an offering and not “eaten” as we understand it, but shared. Sharing, serving, and consuming food are acts of God, and more profoundly because bauls believe that God dwells within human souls, we feed the “God within us,” not necessarily ourselves. Thus, when and with whom food is shared is in itself a meditative process, and one that has survived centuries, as the rite is so meticulously observed by bauls.
Cooking is done in a communal kitchen with firewood since no fossil fuels are permitted. There are three specific sheba: Guru sheba – dinner, which usually takes place after midnight, at the end of a shongo; balya sheba – breakfast where children are fed first and whatever else is left is shared by adults; and punyo sheba – which is lunch. Shongos usually end after this particular sheba and everybody leaves the venue in a state of “punyota,” or complete blessing from the Guru.
From the pot to the serving bowl, everything comes fresh and untouched by human hands, and none are permitted to taste any of it ahead (even to check the amount of salt) before it is blessed by the Guru and then served. Each and every seeker has to squat on the floor while the food is served equally – yet not eaten right away. It is after a signal from the shadhu Guru that the rite commences. Likewise, at the end of a sheba, hands are washed communally and again, only on signal from the presiding Guru, does it end and everyone can leave.