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Sufi Biography:
Farid ud Din Attar
Faridi-ul-Din Attar (or Faridudin) was born in Nishapur, in the
Iranian province of Khorasan and died in the same city. He has often
being referred as Farid-ul-Din of Nishapur. The word 'Attar' (perfumist)
derives from Arabic/Persian word 'Itur/Atur' meaning perfume. Attar
therefore refers to profession of Farid-ul-Din which eventually became
more of his pseudonym.
Farid-ul-Din left his profession to travel for the ultimate question of
discovering oneself. It is being reported that he was at his shop when
he encountered a sufi saint at his shop. The event influenced his life
so much that he abandoned his perfume sgop and went on a spiritual
pilgrimage to Kufa, Mecca, Damascus, Turkistan, and India, meeting with
Sufi sheikhs - and returned to Nishapur promoting Sufism. Ilahi nama and
Manteq al-Tayr are his greatest works.
Conference of the Birds
Manteq al-Tayr
(Conference of the Birds) is Attar greatest work. It tells of a
conference of different birds, each representing a certain attribute or
sin. The story revolves around their painstaking journeys though 7
valleys in a quest to find their King, Simurgh. These valleys are:
· The Valley of Quest
· The Valley of Love
· The Valley of Understanding
· The Valley of Independence and Detachment
· The Valley of Unity
· The Valley of Astonishment and Bewilderment
· The Valley of Deprivation and Death
The journeys
undertaken by birds profoundly represent the spiritual pilgrimages of
man, in quest of the God, as he goes through different phases.
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Attar began The Conference of the Birds (Mantiq al-tair) with an invocation
praising the holy Creator in which he suggested that one must live a
hundred lives to know oneself; but you must know God by the deity, not by
yourself, for God opens the way, not human wisdom. 'Attar believed that God
is beyond all human knowledge. The soul
will manifest itself when the body is laid aside. One cannot gain spiritual
knowledge without dying to all things. When the birds assemble, they wonder
why they have no king. |
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The Hoopoe presents herself as a messenger from the
invisible world with knowledge of God and the secrets of creation. She
recommends Simurgh as their true
king, saying that one of his feathers fell on China. The Nightingale says
that the love of the Rose satisfies him, and the journey is beyond his
strength; but the Hoopoe warns against being a slave of passing love that
interferes
with seeking self-perfection. The Parrot longs for immortality, and the
Hoopoe encourages the Peacock to choose the whole. The Duck is too content
with water to seek the Simurgh. The Hoopoe advises the Partridge that gems
are just colored stones and that love of them hardens the heart; she should
seek the real jewel of sound quality. The Humay is distracted by ambition,
and the Owl loves only the treasure he has found. The Hoopoe reprimands the
Sparrow for taking pride in humility and recommends struggling bravely with
oneself. She states that the different birds are just
shadows of the Simurgh. If they succeed, they will not be God; but they will
be immersed in God. If they look in their hearts, they will see the divine
image. All appearances are just the shadow of the Simurgh. Those loving
truly do not think about their own lives and sacrifice their desires. Those
grounded in love renounce faith and religion as well as unbelief. One must
hear with the ear of the mind and the heart.
A total of 22 birds speak to the Hoopoe or ask questions about the journey.
Short anecdotes are told to illustrate the Hoopoe's points. The Hoopoe says
that it is better to lose your life than to languish miserably. The Hoopoe
says,
So long as we do not die to ourselves, and so long as we identify with
someone or something, we shall never be free. The spiritual way is not for
those wrapped up in exterior life. You will enjoy happiness if you succeed
in withdrawing from attachment to the world. Whoever is merciful even to the
merciless is favored by the compassionate. It is better
to agree to differ than to quarrel. The Hoopoe warns the sixth bird against
the dog of desire that runs ahead. Each vain desire becomes a demon, and
yielding to each one begets a hundred others. The world is a prison under
the devil, and one should have no truck with its master. The Hoopoe also
says that if you let no one benefit from your
gold, you will not profit either; but by the smallest gift to the poor you
both benefit.
She says, Good fortune
will come to you only as you give. If you cannot renounce life completely,
you can at least free yourself from the love of riches and honors. A pupil
becomes afraid in facing a choice between two roads, but a shaikh advises
getting rid of fear so that either road will be good. The Hoopoe tells the
eighth bird that only if death ceases to exercise power over creatures would
it be wise to remain content in a golden palace. The ninth bird is told that
sensual love is a game inspired by passing beauty that is fleeting. The
Hoopoe asks what is uglier than a body made of flesh and bones. It is better
to seek the hidden beauty of the invisible world. An anecdote about Jesus
yields the following lesson:
Strive to discover the mystery before life is taken from you.
If while living you fail to find yourself, to know yourself,
how will you be able to understand
the secret of your existence when you die?
The Hoopoe advises the eleventh bird that giving yourself over to pride or
self-pity will disturb you. Since the world passes, pass it by, for whoever
becomes identified with transient things has no part in the lasting things.
The suffering endured is made glorious and is a treasure for the seer, for
blessings will come if you make efforts on the path. The fifteenth bird is
told that justice is salvation, and the just are saved from errors. Being
just is better than a life of worship. Justice exercised in secret is even
better than liberality; but justice professed openly may lead to hypocrisy.
A story of two drunks teaches that we see faults because we do not love.
When we understand real love, the faults of those near us appear as good
qualities. When you see the ugliness of your own faults, you will not bother
so much with the faults of others. The journey of the birds takes them
through the seven valleys of the quest, love,
understanding, independence and detachment, unity, astonishment, and finally
poverty and nothingness. In the valley of the quest one undergoes a hundred
difficulties and trials. After one has been tested and become free, one
learns in the valley of love that love has nothing to do with reason. The
valley of understanding teaches that knowledge is temporary, but
understanding endures. Overcoming faults and weaknesses brings the seeker
closer to the goal. In the valley of independence and detachment one has no
desire to possess nor any wish to discover. To cross this
difficult valley one must be roused from apathy to renounce inner and outer
attachments so that one can become self-sufficient. In the valley of unity
the Hoopoe announces that although you may see many beings, in reality there
is only one, which is complete in its unity. As long as you are separate,
good and evil will arise; but when you lose yourself in the divine essence,
they will be transcended by love. When unity is achieved, one forgets all
and forgets oneself in the valley of astonishment and bewilderment.
The Hoopoe declares that the last valley of deprivation and death is almost
impossible to describe. In the immensity of the divine ocean the pattern of
the present world and the future world dissolves. As you realize that the
individual self does not really exist, the drop becomes part of the great
ocean forever in peace. The analogy of moths seeking the flame is used. Out
of thousands of birds only thirty reach the end of the journey. When the
light of lights is manifested and they are in peace, they become aware that
the Simurgh is them. They begin a new life in the Simurgh and contemplate
the inner world. Simurgh, it turns out, means thirty birds; but if forty or
fifty had arrived, it would be the same. By annihilating themselves
gloriously in the Simurgh they find themselves in joy, learn the secrets,
and receive immortality. So long as you do not realize your nothingness and
do not renounce your self-pride, vanity, and
self-love, you will not reach the heights of immortality. 'Attar concluded
the epilog with the admonition that if you wish to find the ocean of your
soul, then die to all your old life and then keep silent.
Illahi
Nama (Book of God)
In the Book of God (Ilahi-nama) 'Attar framed his mystical teachings in
various stories that a caliph tells his six sons, who are kings themselves
and seek worldly pleasures and power. The first son is captivated by a
princess, and his father tells him the adventures of a beautiful and
virtuous woman who attracts several men but miraculously survives
their abuse and then forgives them. They acknowledge that carnal desire is
necessary to propagate the race but also recognize that passionate love can
lead to spiritual love, which can annihilate the soul in the beloved. Other
stories indicate the importance of respecting the lives of other creatures
such as ants or dogs. One only thinks oneself better than a dog because of
one's dog-like nature.
The second son tells his father that his heart craves magic; but his father
warns him against the work of the Devil. A monk tells a shaikh that he has
chosen the job of locking up a savage dog inside himself, and he advises the
shaikh to lock up anger lest he be changed into a dog. The father suggests
that this son ask for something more worthy and tells an anecdote in which
Jesus teaches a man the greatest name of God. The man uses it to make bones
come alive into a lion, which devours him, leaving his bones. Jesus then
says that when a person asks for something unworthy, God does not grant it.
Birds and beasts flee from people, because people eat them. God tells Moses
to watch his heart when he is alone, to be kind and watch his tongue when he
is with people, the road in front when he is walking, and his gullet when he
is dining. A saint tells a shaikh that love is never denied to humans, for
only the lover knows the true value of the beloved. Another saint warns that
unless you pray for protection from negativity of devil and shall not enter
the court of God.
The third son of the
caliph asks for a cup that could display the whole world. 'Attar concluded a
story by saying that Sufism is to rest in patience and forsake all desire
for the world, and trust in God means bridling one's tongue and wishing for
better things for others than for oneself. This son asks why his father
seems to disparage the love of
honor and the love of wealth which all seem to possess. The caliph replies
that in the crazy prison of the world one can achieve greatness only by
devotion. Since one speaks to God through the heart and soul, it is
difficult to speak with God of worldly things. The third son asks if he can
be allowed to seek power in moderation; but the father still
warns that this will place screens between him and God. Each screen created
by seeking power will create more screens. One must see both the good and
the bad inside and outside oneself to understand how they are connected
together. Saints who reach their goal see nothingness in all things, ma<ing
sugar seem like poison and a rose like thorns. Ayaz advises the conquering
sultan Mahmud to leave his self behind since he is better being entirely We.
In the last story for his third son, the father says that thousands of arts,
mysteries, definitions, commands, prohibitions, orders, and
injunctions are founded on the intellect. What cup could be more revealing
than this? The fourth son seeks the water of life, and his father warns him
against desire. A wise man considers Alexander the Great the slave of his
slave, because the Greek conqueror has submitted to greed and desire, which
this wise man controls. If the son cannot have the water of life, he asks
for the knowledge that will illuminate his heart. In one story 'Attar
concluded that if you are not faithful in love, you are in love only with
yourself. The fifth son asks for the ring of Solomon that enables one to
communicate
with birds and other animals. The Way is summarized as seeing the true road,
traveling light, and doing no harm. The father tells this son that he has
chosen an earthly kingdom, because he has not heard of the kingdom of the
next world. He advises this king that since his sovereignty will not endure
not to load the whole world on his shoulders. Why take on the burden of all
creation? The caliph suggests that his son practice contentment, which is an
eternal kingdom that overshadows even the Sun.
When Joseph was thrown
into a pit, the angel Gabriel counseled him that it is better to notice a
single blemish in yourself than to see a hundred lights of the Unseen. The
sixth son desires to practice alchemy, but his father perceives that he is
caught in the snare of greed. Gold is held more tightly by a miser than the
rock grips the ore. The son observes that excessive poverty often leads to
losing faith, and so he asks God for both the philosopher's stone and for
gold; but his father replies that one cannot promote both faith and the
world at the same time. In the epilogue the poet commented that since he
receives his daily bread from the Unseen, he does not have to be the slave
of wretched men, and 'Attar concluded this work with the satisfaction that
he has perfumed the name of God with his poetry.
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Ilahi Naama 1 |
Ilahi Naama 2 |
Ilahi Naama 3 |
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