\u201cConference of\u00a0 the Birds\u201d by Mohammed ibn Farid-ud-din ATTAR<\/p>\n
The purpose has been to look at two Teaching Stories from the Sufi Tradition, both originating from Medieval Islam\u00a0 :\u00a0 one a so-called \u201cphilosophical romance\u201d from 12th cent. Andalucia, entitled\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAwakening of the Soul\u201d \u2013 the story of Hayy by Ibn Tufayl;\u00a0 and one a \u201cmystical fable\u201d from 12th cent. Persia , \u201cThe Conference of the Birds\u201d, a narrative poem by Attar.\u00a0\u00a0 And through these beautifully crafted works, to understand more of the inner message of Sufism,\u00a0 and perhaps also something of modern-day Fundamental Islam.\u00a0\u00a0 Background notes are provided for personal study and investigation, but it is the texts of the Stories themselves that provide the Teaching:\u00a0 that is –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 the Path of the Sufi Mystic.<\/p>\n
This is another story about a spiritual journey, a search for union with the Divine\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 But it is not a solitary quest; it tells of a great company of souls journeying together \u2013 represented by birds (a frequently used symbol).\u00a0\u00a0 Like the Story of Hayy, it has definite stages along the Way,\u00a0 but it belongs to a different mystical Tradition, that of Fable and Morality tale.
\nThe original poem has over four and a half thousand lines of rhyming couplets.
\nThis Talk is based on three versions of the text (listed in Bibliography) and the Commentaries that accompany them, selecting passages from each as appropriate, to bring out the \u201cfeel\u201d of the Story.<\/p>\n
Three Key-words –\u00a0 Symbols of the Quest\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (These trace the Mystic Path we are to follow from multiplicity back to Unity )<\/p>\n
BIRDS are very frequently used to symbolize human souls;\u00a0 the earliest examples are found in the hieroglyphic art of ancient Egypt, and they often appear in Islamic art.\u00a0\u00a0 It is said that when Mohammed went to Heaven he found the Tree of Life whose fruit restores youth to all those who eat of it, and on its branches were many birds, brilliantly coloured and singing melodiously:\u00a0 these are the souls of the faithful.\u00a0\u00a0 So by definition \u201cthe poem is a fable because the birds talk and act as humans\u2026the birds are identified by their species, and each species clearly indicates a human type\u2026\u201d\u00a0 \u201cit shows a kind of folksy humour\u201d and would have been a familiar theme \u2013 even Avicenna wrote a short treatise called \u2018The Bird\u2019.<\/p>\n
The HOOPOE\u00a0 emerges as the birds\u2019 guide and leader,\u00a0 \u201che is therefore the equivalent of a sheikh leading a group of religious adepts, or would-be adepts, along their path\u201d
\nLaleh Bakhtiar says:\u00a0 \u201dThe hoopoe is the symbol of inspiration\u201d and she sees the initial gathering of the birds as the assembling of the spiritual faculties to begin the Quest, and their language is the language of self in the human world\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0 And the Penguin ed. of the Poem says:\u00a0 \u201cAttar very frequently gives the impression of merging his personality with that of the hoopoe \u201c \u2026 \u201cmany of the stories at first reading seem obscure\u2026the reader is being asked to look at some problem in an unfamiliar way, rather than logically (c.f. Zen koans)\u201d<\/p>\n
The SIMURGH\u00a0 is the Divine King which they seek at the end of their journey.\u00a0 He is the \u201cBeloved\u201d,\u00a0 the Sovereign Lord.\u00a0\u00a0 Traditionally it is an enchanted bird whose feathers have the power of healing and renewal:\u00a0\u00a0 a mystical griffin or peacock.
\n(It is to be noted that all the characters are birds, whether human or divine.)<\/p>\n
Introduction to the first stage of the journey (from the Penguin edition) :
\n\u201cThe allegorical framework of the poem is as follows:\u00a0 the birds of the world gather together to seek a king.\u00a0\u00a0 They are told by the hoopoe that they have a king \u2013 the Simurgh \u2013 but that he lives far away and the journey to him is hazardous.\u00a0\u00a0 The birds are at first enthusiastic to begin their search, but when they realize how difficult the journey will be they start to make excuses. \u2026 \u201c
\nAnd in response to each there are stories, anecdotes and admonitions.
\nThe Story begins \u2013 with the words of\u00a0\u00a0 the Hoopoe :\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDear Birds I am one who is engaged in divine warfare,,, and I am a messenger of the world invisible.\u00a0\u00a0 I have knowledge of God and of the secrets of creation\u2026Yet my days pass restlessly and I am concerned with no person for I am wholly occupied by love for the King\u2026I talk with Solomon and am the foremost of his followers\u2026For years I have travelled by sea and land, over mountains and valleys\u2026I have measured the bounds of the world.\u00a0\u00a0 I know well my King, but alone I cannot set out to find him.\u00a0\u00a0 Abandon your timidity, your self-conceit and your unbelief\u2026be generous with your life.\u00a0\u00a0 Set your feet upon the earth and step out joyfully for the court of the king.\u00a0\u00a0 We have a true king, he lives behind the mountains called Kaf.\u00a0 His name is Simurgh and he is the king of birds.\u00a0 He is close to us, but we are far from him.\u00a0\u00a0 The place where he dwells is inaccessible, and no tongue is able to utter his name.\u00a0 Before him hang a hundred thousand veils of light and darkness, and in the two worlds no one has power to dispute his kingdom\u2026He does not manifest himself completely even in the place of his dwelling, and to this no knowledge or intelligence can attain.\u00a0\u00a0 The way is unknown, and no one has the steadfastness to seek it\u2026Even the purest soul cannot describe him, neither can the reason comprehend\u2026\u2026.Do not imagine that the journey is short, and one must have the heart of a lion to follow this unusual road\u2026As for me, I shall be happy to discover even a trace of him\u2026.to live without him would be a reproach.\u00a0\u00a0 A man must not keep his soul from the beloved but must be in a fitting state to lead his soul to the court of the King.\u00a0 Wash your hands of this life if you would be called a man of action.\u00a0\u00a0 For your beloved, renounce this dear life of yours, as worthy men.\u00a0\u00a0 If you submit with grace, the beloved will give his life for you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thus,\u00a0 the Author introduces us immediately to the two main themes\u00a0 of Sufism :
\nthe necessity for destroying the lower self and its attachments
\nthe importance of passionate love (whatever the cost, or however unexpected, which the Penguin\u00a0 ed. describes\u00a0 as :\u00a0 \u201clove that flies in the face of either social or sexual or religious convention\u2026Attar\u2019s concern is to demonstrate that the Sufis\u2019 truth exists outside of human conventions\u2026to insist that \u2018normal\u2019 apprehensions and expectations are questionable, to turn them inside out\u201d<\/p>\n
Masani says:\u00a0 \u201dHere then we see a large assemblage of birds.\u00a0 These feathered friends, who represent human souls, have set their hearts on attending the mysterious court of Simurgh, the King of Birds.\u00a0\u00a0 In the language of the Sufis, the Simurgh is the type of Divine Unity, embracing all plurality.\u00a0 Despite the hardships and perils of the journey, these birds have mustered strong under the banner of their daring leading, the Hoopoe, who has undertaken to guide them through all the dales and deserts to the seat of the Sovereign Bird..\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 BUT\u00a0 –\u00a0 not quite yet\u2026<\/p>\n
The initial response of the birds to the Hoopoe is natural enthusiasm and emotion
\n\u201cat once the birds \/effusively responded to his words.\/ All praised the splendour of their distant king;\/all rose impatient to be on the wing;\/ each would renounce the Self and be the friend\/of his companions till the journey\u2019s end,\u00a0 \/ But when they pondered on the journey\u2019s length,\/they hesitated, their ambitious strength\/dissolved: each bird, according to his kind,\/felt flattered but reluctantly declined.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In other words, they either cannot or need not go:\u00a0 they are still attached to worldly affairs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cConference of\u00a0 the Birds\u201d by Mohammed ibn Farid-ud-din ATTAR The purpose has been to look at two Teaching Stories from the Sufi Tradition, both originating from Medieval Islam\u00a0 :\u00a0 one a so-called \u201cphilosophical romance\u201d from 12th cent. Andalucia, entitled\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAwakening of the Soul\u201d \u2013 the story of Hayy by Ibn Tufayl;\u00a0 and one a \u201cmystical […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":319,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[21,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-300","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-joyce","category-storytelling"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/wisdomtales.org\/wpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/conferencebirds2.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4gVax-4Q","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/wisdomtales.org\/wpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/300","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/wisdomtales.org\/wpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/wisdomtales.org\/wpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wisdomtales.org\/wpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wisdomtales.org\/wpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=300"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/wisdomtales.org\/wpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/300\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":301,"href":"http:\/\/wisdomtales.org\/wpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/300\/revisions\/301"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wisdomtales.org\/wpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/319"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/wisdomtales.org\/wpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=300"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wisdomtales.org\/wpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=300"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wisdomtales.org\/wpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=300"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}