Conference-Of-The-Birds

36 The Conference Of The Birds By Farid Ud-Din Attar
engraved in his heart forgets all and forgets himself. Ask him, “Art
thou, or art thou not Hast thou or hast thou not the consciousness of
existence Art thou in the midst, or art thou not Art thou on the
border Art thou visible or invisible, perishable or immortal Art thou
the one or the other, or neither the one nor the other Lastly, art thou
thou or art thou not thou” To these questions the poor bewildered
soul will reply: “I know absolutely nothing of these things. I know
neither this nor that. Nay, I know not myself. I am in love, but I know
not with whom. I am neither a Musalman nor an infidel. What am I
then I am not even conscious of my love. My heart is at once both full
and void of love.”
A MOTHER’S GRIEF
A mother was weeping over her daughter’s grave. On seeing her a
passer-by exclaimed: “This woman is more fortunate than men are, for
she knows what we do not know. She knows from whom it is that she
is cut off, and of whom she is deprived and rendered desolate. Happy
is he who understands his condition and knows for whom his tears are
shed! As for me, grief-stricken and afflicted, how painful is my
condition! Day and night I sit and mourn. I know not for whom it is
that my tears come forth like rain. So great is my grief that I do not
even know whom I have lost, and for whom this terrible suffering. This
woman has the advantage over thousands such as I am, because she
has found the secret of the being she has lost. It is a pity that I have not
found the secret, and my blood is shed with my grief and I perish in
bewilderment. In such a place where there is no trace of the heart—
nay the place itself has become invisible—reason has let go the reins
and I can no longer find the gate to the dwelling-place of thought.
Whoever arrives in this place will lose his head in it. He will find no
gate to this four-walled enclosure. Should, however, anyone succeed in
finding the path, he would immediately discover the whole of the
secret he seeks.”
THE LOST KEY
A Sufi once heard a man saying, “I have lost a key. Has any one found it
anywhere The door of my house is shut and I am without shelter in
the street. If the door remains closed, what shall I do I shall be for
ever miserable. What shall I do”
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