[.ca] Penguin Classics Conference Of The Birds (ISBN 0140444343)

From Amazon.co.uk:
Like "Rumi" and "Hafiz", the name "Attar" conjures up images of passionate attraction to the divine. A Persian Sufi of the 12th century, Attar's masterpiece is the Conference of the Birds, an epic allegory of the seeker's journey to God. When all the birds of the world convene and determine that they lack a king, one bird stands forth and offers to lead them to a great and mighty monarch. Initially excited, each bird falters in turn, whereupon their leader admonishes them with well-targeted parables. These pithy tales are the delight of this four-and-a-half thousand line poem, translated deftly into rhymed couplets. What is your excuse for not seeking God--your life is fine already, you prefer material pleasure, you aren't holy enough, you have pride, lack courage or are burdened with responsibility? Attar has an answer to encourage you on the path. And when you get to the promised land, who is the king that you will find? It may not be who you would expect, but you must make the journey to see. --Brian Bruya

Reaching to oneself:
Fariduddin Attat is a wonderful commentator of sufi thought. In this epic poem of self actualization and self realization he reachs and touches the essence of sufic thought. The beautiful thought classically woven in the form of poetry by Attar in such a manner that one enjoys the form and contents equally. In a very subtle way another book"Journey to the East" by great German novelist Hermann Hesse is a reflection on this poem, specially when thirty birds reaching destination find that Simrogh was nobody but themselves. This is what its all about reaching to onself but not just like that, but through quest. This is a book very highly recomended for reading.

Excellent Translation, worth the read:
Mr. Davis' translation of Attar's masterpiece is indeed very good and as it has the cachet of appearing in the Penguin series I hope that it will lead more Westerners to take Middle Eastern, particularly Persian, language and culture more seriously. While Islamic spirituality has been in vogue in some circles over the last couple of decades (witness the popularity of Rumi), its audience unfortunately tends to consist of seekers of exotic spirituality rather than people who are willing to put in the spade work to understand the cultural context in which this spirituality came into existence. No doubt there was a time when I would have been in spiritual raptures over this book. At my age, however (I'll be 51 next month) I am less inclined to expect much direct spiritual benefit from a book, but I like to think that I can appreciate a good piece of literature when I read it. Attar is indeed good literature, and Mr. Davis' translation is simple and balanced, with a feeling of intimacy that mirrors Attar's style. It is never overworked or sentimental - if you're expecting Fitzgerald's Khayyam you'll be disappointed. As for the Sufic interpretations of the content (how profound! how obscure!) I must admit that the more I read of such things the less I understand them. On first reading at least, I suggest to the reader to let the book stand on its own merits as literature, and only afterwards seek any hidden meaning.

Essencial read for muslims and others:
This book is concentrated psychological sufi insight beyond our simple western conceptions about poetry. If you want a solid and practical spirtual book which will give you something permanent read this. A book to be read by everyone Muslim and non muslim who values practical spirtuality.

Difficult to read owing to the need for rhymes:
I have been a reader of this text for years, typically the C.S. Nott translation (prose style). In comparison, I find this text quite difficult to "get into", what with the problem of rhyming Persian poetry in English. In Persian, the majority of words rhyme, either in their dominant vowels or their endings, because of the way the language is constructed. Since English does not have this, there are far fewer rhymes available, and so trying to duplicate the Persian leads to either changes in the meaning, or changes in the phraseology. For those who want to read the insights contained in this book, I highly recommend a prose translation.

A good story about discovering oneself:
This book is about birds who set out on a voyage to find G'd (Simorgh). Using a number of parables and metaphors, the author uses the voyage as a process of self discovery. In the voyage, many birds fall by the wayside, while their leader questions them why they are giving up; these questions are the same questions, in theory, everyone should be asking themselves. The translation is very good, though sometimes I questioned the fidelity of it, since it was rhymed in Persian and the author made it rhyme in English as well. As a comparison, Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist has some similar lessons (such as seeking oneself), but Farid's work is much more subtle and interesting from the point of view of allegories and symbolism. Of course, in the end there is a surprise in both, but I will leave it to the reader to find out.