বাংলা 
English 
One hundred and twenty-nine years on from those days, some dishonest persons, without knowing the mystic sage Baba Lalon Shaiji's true philosophy, guidance, teachings, dress and manners, are now busy giving wrong and made-up interpretations! Many, without embracing Lalon Shaiji's true ideals, have not only published made-up interpretations but have also confined themselves to adopting the dress. So said a Lalon lover from Hooghly in India, more than ninety years of age.
In the light of this statement of his, in answer to the writer's question he said: renouncing all the temptations and illusions of worldly abundance, Baba Lalon Shaiji gave himself away through the service of his guru. And he taught his devotees the lesson of self-liberation. Not knowing the circumstances of the environment, many now make up their own fancied sayings. Lalon Shaiji never in his life took ganja or any intoxicant; rather he always took a hard line against it. He further said that to him life meant humanity, and the ideal of life meant the love of man. He wore the plainest of clothing and encouraged a simple way of living. He taught his devotees devotion, respect, humility and freedom from worldly temptation and illusion. Today, centring on his mazar or ashram, this country's government administration, its officials and the committee are busy granting Baba Lalon Shaiji's one-day Tirodhan Dibas the three days of joyful assembly they wish, building stages and providing security — in terms of publicity this is praiseworthy indeed, I shall say no more. But I do wish to say that it is true that certain marked dishonest persons have broken Baba Lalon Shaiji apart and sunk themselves in their own cravings.
This devotee of Lalon Shaiji told the writer further: here, only for self-purification and the liberation of the soul, one should express one's offering with tears in the eyes out of respect for one's own guru — there is no place here for anyone else, so to speak. For those who do not believe that without a pir, murshid, ustad or guru there is no liberation, it is better they do not come here. When the writer asked for the identity of this devotee of Lalon's and a photograph of the person, he again showed reluctance.
On the basis of the opinions of quite a few Lalon devotees it may be said that Lalon devotees can no longer observe the commemoration themselves according to Lalon's ideals. Ordinary people who have not taken diksha or bayat in his philosophy have now turned it into an arena of entertainment. Then, setting aside the teaching of respect for the guru and of taking initiation, at the hands of the local administration and political leaders it has taken shape as a social institution and a means of entertainment under the name of Lalon Academy. The mystic sage Lalon Shaiji says in his songs: "Leaving man, O mad one, you will lose the root; serve man and you will become a golden man. The murshid is the Rasul himself; there is no fault in this — God Himself becomes so; Lalon does not say this, the Quran says it. First shut the door of the chamber of desire; man will flash forth to behold the form." Along with such songs, Lalon Shaiji also wrote countless songs against the quarrels of caste and communal conflict.
On the occasion of the 129th Tirodhan Dibas of the mystic sage Lalon Shaiji (16, 17 and 18 October), from today, Wednesday, the three-day Lalon commemoration has begun in the courtyard of Lalon Shaiji's mazar at Cheuria on the bank of the Kalinadi beside Kushtia town. Before the commemoration began, most of his devotees had already arrived. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday — over these three days, with the meeting of guru and disciple and the exchange of devotion and respect, this Tirodhan Dibas will be observed with a variety of programmes. On the occasion of the celebration of the 129th Tirodhan Dibas of the mystic sage Lalon Shaiji, the Lalon mazar has been adorned in a new setting. The assembly of devotees has seated itself within the mazar. With the cooperation of the Ministry of Cultural Affairs and under the arrangement of Lalon Academy, discussion meetings and cultural programmes will run for three days from six in the evening. Besides, at Cheuria on the bank of the Kalinadi there will be a three-day Lalon Mela from today, Wednesday.
About the mystic sage Lalon Shaiji it is known that at the very time when the British rulers' merciless oppression was poisoning the life of the village common folk, following the path of truth and giving man the guru's diksha, Lalon Shaiji then appeared as the guide of humanity's path at Cheuria beside Kushtia town. Though there are many opinions about Lalon Shaiji's birthplace, the mystery of his birth remains unknown to this day. He was childless. He could not receive any formal education. But he was self-taught. It is known that in his youth, setting out on pilgrimage for full gain, the turning-point of his youth and the entry into a sadhana life took place.
During the pilgrimage he was attacked by smallpox, and his companions abandoned him. Later, after regaining his life under the shelter of Molom Shah, in the proximity of the sadhak Siraj Shaiji he came to be known as a sadhak guru. At first he engaged in sadhana beneath a mango tree in the deep woods of the village of Cheuria in Kumarkhali. Later he received the help of the local karigar community. For building the meeting of guru and disciple, the Lalon devotee Molom Shaiji donated sixteen bighas of land. On that donated land the Lalon Akhra rose in 1823. At first a large straw hut was built there for Lalon's dwelling and sadhana. It was in that hut that his sadhana and devotion began. From the founding of the akhra at Cheuria until his death he remained surrounded by disciples and devotees. He wrote nearly a thousand songs. At dawn on 17 October 1890 this mystic sage Lalon Shaiji gave up his body, and he was buried within the hut of his sadhana. Today the Lalon Akhra Bari at Cheuria, or the mazar of Lalon Shaiji, has won popularity throughout the world.
