beroq
04-10-2009, 07:27 AM
Nowadays, I have been reading an Oriental classic, Mantiq al-tayr by Farid al Din Attar, the great Persian sage and it has a huge message that refers directly to the very creation of man, his eternal search for and unity with his Creator.
Here, without being too wordy, I'd like to relate you a short story told inside the book that I mentioned above. This story has evoked me different thoughts and was so beautfully told that I couldn't help feeling sorry for getting acquainted with it this late.
In the 20th section of the book, Attar introduces the story in question. The incredible story of Shaykh-i San'an, which I believe is one of the peak works of Sufi literature. The story of Attar deals with the tale of a celebrated Sufi master who, after fifty years of spiritual practice and hundreds of disciples, falls in love with a young Christian woman. He renounces his reputation, fame, his function in the society as a spiritual leader, and, finally, even his religion for the sake of his love for the woman. He wears the belt of Christian monks, drinks wine, takes care of a herd of pigs while his body and soul burn for the love of the Christian maiden. As a result of his abjuration of religion and other actions, he faces every form of rebuke, yet no force can alter his love which burns and consumes his very being.
In this state of ecstacy, he sings;
"I have passed many a night in ascetic practices,
But no one has revealed such nights as these.
Whoever has been granted one night such as this,
His day and night is spent in burning passion.
On the day when they were moulding my destiny,
They were preapring me for such a night.
O Lord, what are these signs tonight?
Is tonight the Day of Judgement?
Reason, patience, the friends have departed,
What kind of love, what kind of pain, what kind of affair is this?"
His disciples use all the means to bring their master back but they are of no avail. Finally, in his dream, the appearance of the Prophet does the Shaykh awaken to his original way of life agan,thereupon the Christian maiden, observing the transformation that has overcome Shaykh-i San'an, also embraces his way of spiritual life. Their union is then becomes possible on the level of the manifested Truth which has appeared only when both were ready to embrace and absorb it.
In this brilliant tale, many a lesson does appear in a very powerful depictions of innumerable colors: The power of love, the inner and outer nature of man, the importance of being steadfast, the danger of pride in one's spiritual ascent, and finally, the possibility of love, that goes hand in hand with the ultimate knowledge of the Creator.
The iconclastic nature of this story is also very impressive. It indicates very clearly the crossing of the religious bondaries through esotericism. Here, the maiden is not merely a symbol of love, but also a person belonging to a different religious domain. Through the attraction of love, the sufi master is not only carried away the world of substance to the world of Essence, but also goes beyond the religious boundaries. The unitiy and universality of all divine religions is thus emphasized very strongly in a way that the transcendant unity of love in the presence of the Beloved can outdo even the historical and geographical boundaries set between genuine religions of the world, such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
I guess, the true meaning of corporeal love is thus more understandable to the heart and mind of the modern man.
As last word, I should add quickly that, Persian literature and philosophy are great sources to be discovered and studied by both the intellectuals of the Orient and Occident. As a person beloging to the Oriental world, I feel ashamed to be so detached from the roots of my own universe, just as I am also detached from the great tradition of the Western Middle Age and from the works of great philosophers of that time, such as Dante's Divine Comedy and Thomistic Philosophy of Thomas Aquinas. I don't know when I will have the time and the means to dwell on all these without anxiety of any kind.
Here, without being too wordy, I'd like to relate you a short story told inside the book that I mentioned above. This story has evoked me different thoughts and was so beautfully told that I couldn't help feeling sorry for getting acquainted with it this late.
In the 20th section of the book, Attar introduces the story in question. The incredible story of Shaykh-i San'an, which I believe is one of the peak works of Sufi literature. The story of Attar deals with the tale of a celebrated Sufi master who, after fifty years of spiritual practice and hundreds of disciples, falls in love with a young Christian woman. He renounces his reputation, fame, his function in the society as a spiritual leader, and, finally, even his religion for the sake of his love for the woman. He wears the belt of Christian monks, drinks wine, takes care of a herd of pigs while his body and soul burn for the love of the Christian maiden. As a result of his abjuration of religion and other actions, he faces every form of rebuke, yet no force can alter his love which burns and consumes his very being.
In this state of ecstacy, he sings;
"I have passed many a night in ascetic practices,
But no one has revealed such nights as these.
Whoever has been granted one night such as this,
His day and night is spent in burning passion.
On the day when they were moulding my destiny,
They were preapring me for such a night.
O Lord, what are these signs tonight?
Is tonight the Day of Judgement?
Reason, patience, the friends have departed,
What kind of love, what kind of pain, what kind of affair is this?"
His disciples use all the means to bring their master back but they are of no avail. Finally, in his dream, the appearance of the Prophet does the Shaykh awaken to his original way of life agan,thereupon the Christian maiden, observing the transformation that has overcome Shaykh-i San'an, also embraces his way of spiritual life. Their union is then becomes possible on the level of the manifested Truth which has appeared only when both were ready to embrace and absorb it.
In this brilliant tale, many a lesson does appear in a very powerful depictions of innumerable colors: The power of love, the inner and outer nature of man, the importance of being steadfast, the danger of pride in one's spiritual ascent, and finally, the possibility of love, that goes hand in hand with the ultimate knowledge of the Creator.
The iconclastic nature of this story is also very impressive. It indicates very clearly the crossing of the religious bondaries through esotericism. Here, the maiden is not merely a symbol of love, but also a person belonging to a different religious domain. Through the attraction of love, the sufi master is not only carried away the world of substance to the world of Essence, but also goes beyond the religious boundaries. The unitiy and universality of all divine religions is thus emphasized very strongly in a way that the transcendant unity of love in the presence of the Beloved can outdo even the historical and geographical boundaries set between genuine religions of the world, such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
I guess, the true meaning of corporeal love is thus more understandable to the heart and mind of the modern man.
As last word, I should add quickly that, Persian literature and philosophy are great sources to be discovered and studied by both the intellectuals of the Orient and Occident. As a person beloging to the Oriental world, I feel ashamed to be so detached from the roots of my own universe, just as I am also detached from the great tradition of the Western Middle Age and from the works of great philosophers of that time, such as Dante's Divine Comedy and Thomistic Philosophy of Thomas Aquinas. I don't know when I will have the time and the means to dwell on all these without anxiety of any kind.