Untitled - Azam Abidov - poet and translator

When Navoi read Farrididun Attar’s The Conference of the
Birds as a youth he immediately fell in love with it. He spent much
time with the book, so much so that his parents were worried about
his schooling and took away the book. What they did not know
is that he had already committed the book to heart. As a youth he
already knew how to grasp inspired poetry! Later, after a lifetime
of meditation, Navoi wrote his own version called The Language
of the Birds. In the introduction he shares how he made room
for Attar’s book to change his own life. “I devoted myself to the
wonderful stories within it, the metaphors and allegories told by
the bird became dear to me. Its preciousness has helped me into its
world and be free from the senselessness of this world.”
When Navoi read Attar’s The Conference of the Birds,
he did not read about the birds search for God, instead he sought
God through them. He did not read about their hardships on the
journey, instead he experienced their hardships for himself. When
we approach inspired literature we must not just read what it says
about truth, but we must experience its truth. We should not read
about God, but we should read God.
The best kind of inspirational literature for ‘reader poets’
is the kind that is fairly simple and somewhat practical. It does
not need to be deeply philosophical, but it should be practically
mystical. Approach it quietly and humbly. You may read other
literature quickly, perhaps seeking for the main point, but with
inspired literature you must be careful. Take it in fully and gently.
After having tasted it, make sure you digest it. Christian mystic
Madame Guyon aptly taught her disciples to “not move from one
passage to another, not until you have sensed the very heart of what
you have read. You may then want to take that portion of Scripture
that has touched you and turn it into prayer.” 5 Something that is
precious must be treated with care and given much consideration,
and like Navoi its preciousness will help us become less entangled
with the senselessness of this world. We need the poet and the poet
needs you.
5
Jeanne Guyon Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ. Beaumont, TX; The
Seed Sowers, 1975, p. 8.
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