{"id":7199,"date":"2021-07-16T08:50:55","date_gmt":"2021-07-16T15:50:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/?p=7199"},"modified":"2021-07-16T08:50:55","modified_gmt":"2021-07-16T15:50:55","slug":"farid-ud-din-attar-mysticism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/2021\/07\/16\/farid-ud-din-attar-mysticism\/","title":{"rendered":"Farid ud-Din Attar – Mysticism"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mysticism
\nby Farid ud-Din Attar<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

English version by Coleman Barks<\/font><\/p>\n

The sun can only be seen by the light
\nof the sun. The more a man or woman knows,
\nthe greater the bewilderment, the closer
\nto the sun the more dazzled, until a point
\nis reached where one no longer is.<\/p>\n

A mystic knows without knowledge, without
\nintuition or information, without contemplation
\nor description or revelation. Mystics
\nare not themselves. They do not exist
\nin selves. They move as they are moved,
\ntalk as words come, see with sight
\nthat enters their eyes. I met a woman
\nonce and asked her where love had led her.
\n\u201cFool, there\u2019s no destination to arrive at.
\nLoved one and lover and love are infinite.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/a> \u2014 from The Hand of Poetry: Five Mystic Poets of Persia, with Lectures by Inayat Khan<\/a>, Translated by Coleman Barks<\/font><\/p>\n


\/ Image by Eyebags<\/a> \/<\/em><\/font><\/p>\n

The sun can only be seen by the light
\nof the sun.<\/i><\/p>\n

The sun here is, of course, a reference to God. But then, what does it mean to say that God can only be seen by the light of God? <\/p>\n

One doesn\u2019t perceive God as a separate, objectified reality. There is no place \u2018outside\u2019 of God to stand in order to observe God as something exterior. In fact, there is no eye in the common sense that can view God. <\/p>\n

The only way to see God is by the \u201clight\u201d of God. That is, instead of looking, looking everywhere, we must stop looking and notice the divine radiance already present, right here, right now. We are drawn to that radiant presence, growing closer to it until we are \u201cdazzled\u201d \u2014 confounded by the scintillating wholeness that is beyond the mind\u2019s ability to conceptualize. <\/p>\n

Entering the radiance more deeply, we are finally swallowed by it \u201cuntil a point \/ is reached where one no longer is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mystics
\nare not themselves. They do not exist
\nin selves.<\/i><\/p>\n

The little self that imagines itself as a being separate from others and the world around it no longer exists in the fluid unity of this radiance that fills and connects everything. <\/p>\n

At that point there is only the \u201clight of the sun\u201d, only divine radiance, within and without \u2014 everywhere! When the light is recognized as being all-pervading, nothing separate or left out, that is when the Divine is truly witnessed in wholeness and unity.<\/p>\n

But have we gotten anywhere? No, since the question implies we have left one place or state of awareness and entered another, which is still perceiving reality from a sense of separation. Instead, we have recognized the unlimited nature of Reality. And we are individual (but not separate) points of awareness within that wholeness.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no destination to arrive at.
\nLoved one and lover and love are infinite.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n


\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/a>Recommended Books: Farid ud-Din Attar<\/font><\/b><\/p>\n\n

<\/p>\n

\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Poetry for the Spirit: Poems of Universal Wisdom and Beauty<\/a><\/small><\/td>\nThe Drunken Universe: An Anthology of Persian Sufi Poetry<\/a><\/small><\/td>\nMusic of a Distant Drum: Classical Arabic, Persian, Turkish & Hebrew Poems<\/a><\/small><\/td>\nPerfume of the Desert: Inspirations from Sufi Wisdom<\/a><\/small><\/td>\nThe Conference of the Birds<\/a><\/small><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
More Books >><\/a><\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

<\/center>
\n<\/p>\n\n\n
\n\"Farid<\/a>\n<\/td>\n\nFarid ud-Din Attar<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Iran\/Persia (1120? \u2013 1220?) Timeline<\/a>
\nMuslim \/ Sufi<\/a><\/a>
\n<\/a><\/a><\/em>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

<\/p>\n

Farid ud-Din Attar was born in Nishapur, in what is today north-east Iran. There is disagreement over the exact dates of his birth and death but several sources confirm that he lived about 100 years. He is traditionally said to have been killed by Mongol invaders. His tomb can be seen today in Nishapur.<\/p>\n

As a younger man, Attar went on pilgrimage to Mecca and traveled extensively, seeking wisdom in Egypt, Damascus, India, and other areas, before finally returning to his home city of Nishapur.<\/p>\n

The name Attar means herbalist or healer, which was his profession. (The profession can also carry implications of alchemy.) It is said that he saw as many as 500 patients a day in his shop, prescribing herbal remedies which he prepared himself, and he wrote his poetry while attending to his patients.<\/p>\n

About thirty works by Attar survive, but his masterpiece is the Mantic at-Tayr (The Conference of the Birds). In this collection, he describes a group of birds (individual human souls) under the leadership of a hoopoe (spiritual master) who determine to search for the legendary Simurgh bird (God). The birds must confront their own individual limitations and fears while journeying through seven valleys before they ultimately find the Simurgh and complete their quest. The 30 birds who ultimately complete the quest discover that they themselves are already one with the Simurgh they sought, playing on a pun in Persian (si and murgh can translate as 30 birds) while giving us an esoteric teaching on the presence of the Divine within us.<\/p>\n

Attar\u2019s poetry inspired Rumi and many other Sufi poets. It is said that Rumi actually met Attar when Attar was an old man and Rumi was a boy, though some scholars dispute this possibility.<\/p>\n

Farid ud-Din Attar was apparently tried at one point for heresy and exiled from Nishapur, but he eventually returned to his home city and that is where he died.<\/p>\n

A traditional story is told about Attar\u2019s death. He was taken prisoner by a Mongol during the invasion of Nishapur. Someone soon came and tried to ransom Attar with a thousand pieces of silver. Attar advised the Mongol not to sell him for that price. The Mongol, thinking to gain an even greater sum of money, refused the silver. Later, another person came, this time offering only a sack of straw to free Attar. Attar then told the Mongol to sell him for that was all he was worth. Outraged at being made to look like a fool, the Mongol cut off Attar\u2019s head.<\/p>\n

Whether or not this is literally true isn\u2019t the point. This story is used to teach the mystical insight that the personal self isn\u2019t of much real worth. What is valuable is the Beloved\u2019s presence within us \u2014 and that presence isn\u2019t threatened by the death of the body.<\/p>\n

More poetry by Farid ud-Din Attar<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mysticism by Farid ud-Din Attar English version by Coleman Barks The sun can only be seen by the light of the sun. The more a man or woman knows, the greater the bewilderment, the closer to the sun the more dazzled, until a point is reached where one no longer is. A mystic knows without […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[44,348,60,193,2283,658,19,762],"class_list":["post-7199","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-poetry","tag-attar","tag-farid-ud-din-attar","tag-light","tag-muslim-poetry","tag-no-self","tag-self","tag-sufi-poetry","tag-sun"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7199","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7199"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7199\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7200,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7199\/revisions\/7200"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7199"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7199"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}