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The Conference of the Birds QUOTES

The Conference of the Birds QUOTES

1 " Heart’s blood and bitter pain belong to love,
And tales of problems no one can remove;
Cupbearer, fill the bowl with blood, not wine -
And if you lack the heart’s rich blood take mine.
Love thrives on inextinguishable pain,
Which tears the soul, then knits the threads again.
A mote of love exceeds all bounds; it gives
The vital essence to whatever lives.
But where love thrives, there pain is always found;
Angels alone escape this weary round -
They love without that savage agony
Which is reserved for vexed humanity. "

― Attar of Nishapur , The Conference of the Birds

2 " The Beginning is lost;
the End stretches into eternity.
Don't bother with them, they're all irrelevant.
And since all is really nothing,
then nothing is truly everything. "

― Attar of Nishapur , The Conference of the Birds

3 " في قرارة كل شخص مــائة خنزير...فإما أن يسفك دم الخنزير، أو أن يعقد الزنار "

― Attar of Nishapur , The Conference of the Birds

4 " Ils s’annihilèrent donc, cette fois pour toujours
Et l’ombre disparut dans le Soleil, enfin !
Pendant qu’ils cheminaient, la parole régnait
Une fois le but atteint, il ne resta plus rien
Ni début et ni fin, ni guide, ni chemin
Et c’est pourquoi, ici, la parole s’éteint. "

― Attar of Nishapur , The Conference of the Birds

5 " ¿Conocen la historia del pájaro que se extravió y nadie fué en su busca?
Se convirtió en piedra y lloró.
Lloró pequeñísimos guijarros. "

― Peter Sís , The Conference of the Birds

6 " The ocean can be yours; why should you stop
Beguiled by dreams of evanescent dew?
The secrets of the sun are yours, but you
Content yourself with motes trapped in beams. "

― Attar of Nishapur , The Conference of the Birds

7 " I doubt my doubt, doubt itself is unsure
I love, but who is it for whom I sigh?
Not Muslim, yet not heathen; who am I? "

― Attar of Nishapur , The Conference of the Birds

8 " I'd rather die deceived by dreams than give
My heart to home and trade and never live. "

― Attar of Nishapur , The Conference of the Birds

9 " Who trusts the sea? Lawlessness is her law;
You will be drowned if you cannot decide
To turn away from her inconstant tide.
She seethes with love herself - that turbulence
Of tumbling waves, that yearning violence,
Are for her Lord, and since she cannot rest,
What peace could you discover in her breast?
She lives for Him - yet you are satisfied
To her His invitation and to hide. "

― Attar of Nishapur , The Conference of the Birds

10 " ...Rise up and play
Those liquid notes that steal men's hearts away. "

― Attar of Nishapur , The Conference of the Birds

11 " Since love has spoken in your soul, reject
The Self, that whirlpool where our lives are wrecked;
As Jesus rode his donkey, ride on it;
Your stubborn Self must bear you and submit -
Then burn this Self and purify your soul;
Let Jesus' spotless spirit be your goal. "

― Attar of Nishapur , The Conference of the Birds

12 " وما علمنا فى أى وقت أنعم علينا بالقلب "

― Attar of Nishapur , The Conference of the Birds

13 " When they had understood the hoopoe's words,
A clamour of complaint rose from the birds:
'Although we recognize you as our guide,
You must accept - it cannot be denied -
We are a wretched, flimsy crew at best,
And lack the bare essentials for this quest.
Our feathers and our wings, our bodies' strength
Are quite unequal to the journey's length;
For one of us to reach the Simorgh's throne
Would be miraculous, a thing unknown.
[...] He seems like Solomon, and we like ants;
How can mere ants climb from their darkened pit
Up to the Simorgh's realm? And is it fit
That beggars try the glory of a king?
How ever could they manage such a thing?'

The hoopoe answered them: 'How can love thrive
in hearts impoverished and half alive?
"Beggars," you say - such niggling poverty
Will not encourage truth or charity.
A man whose eyes love opens risks his soul -
His dancing breaks beyond the mind's control.
[...] Your heart is not a mirror bright and clear
If there the Simorgh's form does not appear;
No one can bear His beauty face to face,
And for this reason, of His perfect grace,
He makes a mirror in our hearts - look there
To see Him, search your hearts with anxious care. "

― Attar of Nishapur , The Conference of the Birds

14 " A thousand for his love expired each day,
And those who saw his face, in blank dismay
Would rave and grieve and mourn their lives away-
To die for love of that bewitching sight
Was worth a hundred lives without his light.
None could survive his absence patiently,
None could endure this king's proximity-
How strange it was that man could neither brook
The presence nor the absence of his look! "

― Attar of Nishapur , The Conference of the Birds

15 " How strange it was that man could neither brook
The presence nor the absence of his look! "

― Attar of Nishapur , The Conference of the Birds

16 " I am alone; make me your single goal --
My presence is sufficient for your soul;
I am your God, your one necessity --
With every breath you breathe, remember Me. "

― Attar of Nishapur , The Conference of the Birds

17 " His part is mercy, ours is endless praise. "

― Attar of Nishapur , The Conference of the Birds

18 " Lift your head out of this hurricane to find solace and tranquillity. If you stay caught in the storm, your head will whirl as fast as a millstone and you will know so little peace that even a single fly can buzz away your peace. Parable "

― Attar of Nishapur , The Conference of the Birds

19 " It was in China, late one moonless night,
The Simorgh first appeared to mortal sight –
He let a feather float down through the air,
And rumours of its fame spread everywhere... "

― Attar of Nishapur , The Conference of the Birds

20 " In this valley, Love is represented by fire, Reason by smoke. When Love bursts into flame, Reason is forthwith dissipated like smoke. Reason cannot coexist with Love’s mania, for Love has nothing whatever to do with human Reason. If ever you attain a clear vision of the unseen world, then only will you be able to realize the source of Love. By the odour of Love every atom in the world is intoxicated. It owes its existence to the existence of Love. If "

― Attar of Nishapur , The Conference of the Birds