From the Sufi works

In Sufi works, a person’s soul is seen as a caged bird,

which is a wonderful metaphor, don’t you think?

When a person dies, the bird is released from its

cage and flies away to explore eternity. 

(I would like to hope that my soul is a beautiful bird,

but alas I have a feeling it is more like the common

street pigeon)

In Surfish, the soul can travel on many paths, ‘seyr-i

süluk’ and the levels he passes are seen in the form

of the Simurgh. In the poem ‘Mantiku’t-Tayr’ or The

Conference of the Birds, the story can be seen.

In the poem, the birds are desperately seeking a

leader of all the birds, as without a leader there can

be no order. The hoopoe bird, known for its wisdom,

calls out that they should seek the Simurgh, and so

this is what they attempt. Each of the birds who set

out to seek the Simurgh represent one of

humankinds faults, which means that they will never

reach enlightenment. 

The hoopoe tells the birds that they have seven

valleys to cross before they reach their goal, which

seems like a lot of effort! The valleys are as follows:

Quest 

Love

Knowledge

Detachment unity

Wonderment

Poverty 

Annihilation (Who would want to cross that valley is

beyond me!)

As you can imagine, the birds are daunted by the

thought of the journey, and before they even start

the nightingale, parrot, peacock, goose, partridge,

huma, falcon, heron, owl, and many others find

reasons why they cannot possibly undertake the

journey. 

What reasons do the birds give? Let us look at their

reasons.

The nightingale cannot undertake the journey it

protests because it is in love with the rose, and the

love it feels is enough for the nightingale.

The parrot will not go as he is afraid to die.

The peacock says he cannot possibly go as he has

been thrown out and banished from heaven itself for

working with devil and he wants nothing more but to

be able to go to heaven again. 

The partridge says there is nothing more valuable to

him than jewellery and so there is no need for him to

go.

The huma, the silly bird, feels he is already superior

to the Simurgh, so he does not need to make the

journey. 

However, the hoopoe, who it turns out is a good

negotiator, convinces them to set out.

As the journey progresses, time and again the birds

question the use of the journey and the hoopoe

convinces them to carry on but they grow tired and

begin to fall by the wayside, until only 30 birds cross

the valley and reach the home of the Simurgh.

At the end of their journey paper is placed in front

of them and it tells the whole story of their journey,

their struggles and their doubts. When the Simurgh

appears, all the birds see is their own reflection.

They see themselves in the Simurgh and the Simurgh

in themselves. The 30 birds realise that they are the

Simurgh and that there are no longer any more paths

to follow. The birds disappear into the body of the

Simurgh, and become one.