Omid Safi – Sufi Heart – Ep. 12 – The Conference of the Birds

Omid Safi - Sufi Heart - Ep. 12 - The Conference of the Birds

In this episode of the Sufi Heart Podcast, Omid shares the celebrated literary masterpiece “The Conference of the Birds” from Sufi poet Farid ud-Din Attar.

The Conference of the Birds

Omid introduces the “The Conference of the Birds” and it’s author, the Sufi poet, Farid ud-Din Attar.

Listen to another poem from Farid ud-Din Attar on Ep. 1 of the Sufi Heart Podcast
Beginning with God (8:45)

Our poem begins with a heartfelt invocation of God. Omid helps us understand the Sufi perspective of God that Attar writes from.

“All is God. God alone exists and everything other than God is but a name.” – Farid ud-Din Attar

The Winding Path (17:30)

Omid reflects on the ever-winding and unfolding spiritual path we each walk on. He looks at the role of the prophet on our spiritual path and the special that light they shine on us. We explore parallels between the story of “The Conference of the Birds” and our own spiritual path.

“The totality of ‘The Conference of the Birds’ is built around a pun. Where the birds who complete the path come to see themselves as a reflection of the divine. Attar already tells us at the beginning about this punchline. That we set on the path having been told the ultimate mystery, that we are reflections of God. Yet when we come to the end of the path, we realize ,with surprise, that we are in fact the reflections of God.” – Dr. Omid Safi

God’s Milk (28:50)

We look at a story within our main story that reflects the main themes of devotion and realization. Omid examines the ways that Attar challenged popular conceptions like gender and authority centuries before popular opinion would begin to catch up.

 Omid Safi - Sufi Heart - Ep. 12 - The Conference of the Birds

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