The Symbolism of Birds and Flight WJ in the Writings of Razbihan Baqii Carl W. Emst “The imagery of birds and flight has long been a universal symbol ofthe ascension ofthe human soul tea higher reality! From the winged deities of the ancient Neat East to the angels of the Bible and the winged souls of Pato's Phaedrus, poets and ‘prophets have depicted the power ofthe wing to lift the soul through flight to para- {ise Among non-scriptural peoples, its especialy inthe complex of Central Asian and Siberian religous practices called ‘shamanst” thatthe symbolism of lights powerfully displayed In the Islamic tradition, notable early explorations of the Symbolism of birds and flight can be found in the writings of philosophers, Sufis, and poets such as Ibn Sind (4428/1037), al-Ghazzai(, 504/111), Suhraward (3 '587/1191), Khiqani (4, 595/119), and above alli the great mystical epic of Farid ‘Din “Alar (4 ca,617/1220), Mantigal-jayr or The Language of the Birds.” But if we thnk in terms of Persian Sufism, one author in particular claims ous attention for his extensive use ofthe symbolism of birds and fight. This fs Rozbihan Bagh (4. 606/120), the Sufi master of Shira, a prolific and powerful writer of works on Sufism in both Persian and Arabic. Ruzbihin’s charateiscally poetic style employs the full ange of metaphors of birds and flight to express the diferent modes of mystical experience. RUzbin's concentration onthe experiential dimen- sion of Sufism makes his work especially valuable for revealing the mystical unde. standing of literary vopes" Although he frequently stains symbols tothe breaking Poin, his constant clarification of this mystical significations makes him one of the ‘most revealing authors in the Persian Suft adtion 1. Manabu Wald, "Bink.” Encyclopedia of Religion (New York: Macmillan Publishing Company 1987) 2224-227; Wiliam K: Mahony, ight tid, 5349-353, 2. Mircea Eliade, Shananiim, Archaic Technguesof Ecsta, tran, Wild. Trask, Bolhgon ‘Sere LXXVI (Princeton: Princeton Universty Pest 1978) pp. 477-482." Maca Might the ‘xpresion bah ofthe soul's autonomy and of esas)” ibid.p. 479). 53 ForIbn Sins a Ghazl and the philosopher Suhrawar, see Henry Corbin Avicenna and the Visionary Recital tres. Wilad R. Trask, Bollingen Seis LXVI (Princeton: Princeton Univer sy Prose 1960; pit ed, Dallas, TX: Spring Publietion, Ine. 1980) pp. 168-203, and Fara fl Din Attar Nchab, antiga ay, e8. Mubsammad Jawad Masha (3 ed, Tetan: Nasi Thusraw 1968, nection, pp. X28 ti. The pom by Khagai called Mai azar found fn Divan Khagini Shirwan (Tehran Inishirat Anta 1362, pp 31-34 tan. Peter L. Wi son and Naxolah Pewavady, The Drunken Universe: An Anthology of Persian Sut Poetry (Grand Raps, Mi: Phanes Press 1988), pp. 119-129. 4. Simul analyses cool ye wef insights into Ruzbihn’s us of other prominent symbols and ‘metaphors, sch dest, ocean, mor son, ongue, bide, vel ight mie, clothes, and sun354 Comparative Religion and Symbolism The Conference of Birds. From a manuscript of “Attr's Mantg al-tayr, dated 98/1493, MS. Eliott 246, fol. 25v (Courtesy ofthe Bodleian Library. Oxford) CW. Emst_ The Symbolism of Flight in Rucbihan Bagli 35S Rizbihaan lived in Shiraz when it was a small island of prosperity and culture un er the rule of the Salghurid atabegs, after the decline ofthe Seljuks and before the storm of the Mongol conguest.' He continued the line of Sufi tradition in Shiraz that, ‘went back to Iba al-Khafif (4. 372/982) and through him to Baghdadian Sus such asthe martyr al-Hallaj (d. 3101922). One may ask, however, from a purely literary point of view, how significant the works of Ruzbihdn are forthe understanding of Jater Sufism through the fifteenth century. Direct references to Razbihin in later Persian Sufi literature are not teribly common, and they tend te focus on his repu- tation as a lover of beauty.” He is known for his prescription of the three things, which the gnostics require of a singer when listening to music (sama‘): fine fra- grances, a beautiful face, and a sweet voice (rawath-itayyiba wa wajh-isabth wa sawt-i malih). Frequently one also finds mention of the wellknown episode in which he forbade a young woman to veil her face, on the grounds that separating beauty and love would be a crime Riizbihan's writings were difficult, however, and there are not many explicit responses to his works by later authors. Some commentaries on his writings do ‘exist, however; an Anatolian Nagshbandi Sufi named “Abdullah Ishi Simabi (d '396/1491) commented on the Risdlat al-quds (Treatise om the Sacred), a work on Sufism addressed to novices,* and an anonymous writer also glossed Ruzbihan’s treatise on love, the ‘Abhar al-‘ashigin (Jasmine of the Lovers):> We know that Razbihan’s works were studied by authors such as Tami (4. 897/1492) in fifteent century Herat, and that they attracted the interest of the Mughul prince® Dara 1. CECE. Boswort, ‘The Plital and Dynastic History ofthe anlan Ward (A.D. 1000-1217), {in The Cambridge History of ram. vo. 8, The Sallg and Mongol Periods, ed. J. A. Boyle (Cambeidge Unversity Press 1968) pp. 172-173. 2. Set, eg. Fakhr al-Din ‘rai (ate), The Song of Lovers, ed and ans J. Atbery (Cale: Islamic Reseach Association 1939), pp. 88-90 (ext), 57-58 (vans) See aso A. Artery, ‘Shire: Persian City of Sait and Poets (Norman: Univers of Okara Press 1980). pp 8 fora beef sketch of Rerbiin' ie and wos 3. Jans, Tubfr abahrar (Lucknow: Tej Kuma, 1966), pp. 61-62. Jani also tll the story in Nfahiea-uns wa hadardta-quds, eo Mab Tawhidipa (Teban: Kirt yt Mabenad 1337/1957. p.286 4 This commentary, ented Mande! a-gla is proted in Muhanad Tat Danishpuzhuh,e ‘ushhan-name, Sis [sara Anjuman Atha Mill, 0 (Tebrar: Chap Khana Bab ‘sn, 134771968), pp. 387-420, rom a MS. Hom Yugoslavia 2 other NSS. ofthis text ae in Egypt and another reported to be in Manisa, Turkey cf. Aba Mubammed Razin al Ball Sie, Kah Mashrab al-arvah ed. Naif Hoca, Inbal Universes Eoebiya Fakes! Yay lan, No. 1876 (tana: EdebiatFaktet Matbss, 1974), lnvoductionp.I- On lh Simab \who studied in Samarand, mot Jam! in Herat and dled in Rumelia, sce Autbihan-ndma, pp. 6 (G6, Se also Ruzbihan Bag Shire, Risalaral-quds wa ghalaa a sal, ed, De J. Nurbakhsh (Tehran: Chip-hana-y Firdaws 1351/1972). ‘5.Rbzbihan Bagi Shia, ABhar al'ashigh, ed. Henry Corbin and Muhammad Mu‘, Ganja ‘yi Nivihthavy an, 8 (Tebran: Anjuman! ei-shnas-ytFarnsa dar “eh 1360/1981). pp 149-202, These glosses appear to date rom the early Safavid period bid, Persian Introduction, 108) ‘61Dira Shikth had Ruban’ yr, ‘Aras a-bayan translated ito Pesan, and he weet an abeidgement and update of Ruzbihn’s commentary on the estate sayings of the early Sut (Sharh shah under the tle Hasanar alan (p. 386, 2). Fee the original text, ce biban Bag Shitz, Shar sharia ed Henry Corbin, Bblotbegu:Iinlenne 12 Tern Departement deanologie de Masta France-anien 1966)356 Comparative Religion and Symbolism Shikah (4. 1069/1659) inthe seventeenth century. All these later figures testified to the difficulty of Rozbihan's style, which at times 4s admittedly convoluted at ‘obscure. Jimi remarked that “he has sayings that have poured forth from him in the state of overpowering an ecstasy, which not everyone can understand.” Da Shiki found his style “fatiguing.”? Despite the preservation of Ruzbinin's legacy by his son and grandson in Shiraz, and forall chat Louls Massignon has traced the existence ofthe zariga-i Rizbihaniyya as far as Timbuktu, it must be admitted that none of his physical or spiritual descendents has been able to reach Razbihn's level ‘of mystical attainment or to match him as a stylist in Persian or Arabic.’ It is not, hhowever, the frequency of references to Rozbiban that makes him relevant t0 the study of Persian Sufism; itis, rather, the penetration of his existential insight that ‘makes his writing significant. Its only in recent decades that the rediscovery and publication of his writings has led to a renewed appreciation of his importance for the understanding of Sufism. Mubammad Mu‘in, the pioneering editor ofthe “Ab- har al-‘ashigin, remarked about this text, that "to understand the works of mystics such as “Attar, Romi, “Iraqi, Awhadi-i Kirmant, and Haflz, researches on this book are quite necessary." I would enlarge upon this statement and say tha the various ‘writings of Ruzbihan Bagli form a vital resource for understanding the experiential basis of Persian Sufi Iiterature, azbihan regards the symbol of the bird as multivalent, capable of standing for wide variety of spirits, persous, and experiences. The importance of this image in Ravbian's writings may be gauged by the frequency with which he uses it in the beginnings of his treatises immediately fllowing the praise of Gd andthe Prop ‘When commenting o a phrase used by Hallj, “the fortunate bird,” Ruzbihin offered a startling number of possible interpretations: The ‘fortunate bird’ i the hoopoe of Solomon, on whom be peace, othe phoenix ofthe wes, othe royal huma, o the bird of success, or the bird of Inspiration, ofthe bird of the’ spirit, or lucky augury, or the bird of light who circumsambulaies the | ars, Nef, 255. 2. Dirt Shih, Hasanct aan, ed. Makhdur Rabin (Tehran 1382/1973), p. 3 3. Lous Massgnon ‘La viet es oeuvres de Rusbehan Bagh In Opera Mina, ed. Y. Moubarac (era: Da ak Maret 1963), 451-468, exp. 485.486 forthe orga As far asthe subject of ths pape Is concerned, Ruzhars descendans have very litle t say; there arena teferences to the {ymboism of Might in thelr ographies of Rabin, and the only mention of sf an incident inwhich Rarbinan detected tha chicken ofered to him 3 foo was not ful RazbiNin nama, p48, 220221, «Moin Inroduction to “ABhar p84, In his sepect, Mo'in shared the view of Dr. isin Gh ‘that “rom the pont of view ofthe gretnes of hn mystical tation, and fromthe perspective of ‘estas and spitual state, Shaykh Razbhin son the lee of Shaykh Ab Hasan Krag and ‘Shaykh Abu Sa'lé-tAbU'-Khayr Gani also placed Razin prominently in is list of twenty ‘ight major Suf authors. See his Balok dar athar wa afta wn akwa-s Half ol 2, Tari ‘ajowh dar islam wa takaeurdt we tahowulats maa naz drt lm tagr afg Cebean: Kiaburash Zawwar 13401961) p.398.m. 2; 9945, 5. Extensive passages with bid imagery are found at the beginning in Rozbihin’s Koran commen tary ‘Ards al-bayon (p.364,n-2) in bis leet Id al-Din Kim (p36, 8 and inthe ‘isla lg (p. 362.1), and pases with bed imagery are frequen inthe exo o thet texts aswell eg. Sharh shahiyar,p 4, bosom {6.Sharhs sharhiyat,p 365. This passages a commentary on Hall's Rivdya 21, which the 1 Tunate birds one ofthe symbolic waster ofa hadith CW. Emst_ The Symbolism of Flight in Razbihdn Baglt 357 Rizbihan Bagli Preaching in Shiraz. From a manuscript of the Majalis al ‘ushshag, dated 959/1552. MS. Ouseley Add. 24, f. 4a (Courtesy of the Bodleian Library, Oxford)358 Comparative Religion and Symbolism throne, or the white cock that is beneath the throne, oF Gabriel, oF the chosen one [Mubainmad], blessings of God upon him, Frequently, also, RUzbihin speaks of the Prophet Mubammad using bird sym- bosm, calling him "the nightingale ofthe love of pre-terites, the Simurgh ofthe rest of post-ctemities."! The two birds, the Simurgh and the nightingale, have sharply differing qualities as symbols of the divine beloved and the human lover (Giscussed below), but the dynamic role of the Prophet mediates between these two poles. Likewise the Sull saint Bayazid Bistimi (d. 260/874) is called “the bird of the aes of jsolation,” alluding tothe spiritual state (fd) with which Bayazid is associated? Sufis who have been persecuted and killed ae called “the birds of sane tity” who have returned to their nests. In an unedited text on theology, Rizbihin calls upon the imagery of birds flying in a celestial garden to indicate the role of prophets, angels, and salnts: “He manifested the gardens of intimacy and called them “the enclosure of sanctity,” and in it flew the spirits ofthe elect, among the Prophets, messengers, cherubs, spirituals, gnostics, and unitarians."4 Somewhat mmiove abstractly, Razbihan uses birds and their songs to symbolize particular spiri- twal experiences that have been revealed by the ecstatic expressions (shathiyyat) of Sulis such as Bayazid and Hall ‘The bind of isolation sang “Allah, Allah,’ the bird of uniting (xawhid) said, "tam the Real ana al-hagg)” the bird of sanctification said “Glory be to me (subhani).”" When they arse from the New Year's garden of witnessing, they flew with the wings of [pre-ciermities inthe postetemiis of post-etenites, Those birds of divinity brought the secret of divinity to the palace of humanity, and spoke with the soul of divinity inthe tongue of humanity. Similarly, when the divine essence retracts and the soul is cut off from spiritual experience, we ar told that “the bird of manifestation has gone tothe nest of eer- nity."* Razbihan has been followed by his commentator Ih Simaby inthis tenden- cy to use birds to symbolize spiritual experiences, in this case regarding the primacy ‘of the experience of “opening (faith) as a pre-requisite for receiving "unvellings of the divine sanctity: “From the atmosphere in which the spirit's Simurgh {flies}, before this the bird of “opening” (furuh) has been seen."" In other words, before the spirit can soar Uke the Simurgh, it must frst take fight with the experience of ‘opening.’ The anonymous commentator on the ‘Abhar al-"dshigin has also seen 1. Abharalashigin p12; alo p.20, 2. Sharh shat p35, 53D 933, 4 Rombihin Bali, Lawimi”a-awhd, MS 1460 Abt Sais, Topkap Library, Istanbul, fl 4b ‘This fine manuscript. which was not ndced by previous fsearchers (Mu, Inirodction 10 ‘Ribihan-ndma . 1; Dansh-purhh Rachid na, p. 264-266 [eta 3410 8) seems tobe the sole existing complete copy ofthis wo by Ruzbihin. Is an elementary ieatte on the ‘logy in 35 flea by another shore et previously nt found, Masaka tawhid. in 21 fs, (el Mavi, py and Rizbihdn-ndma,p. 342, no. 23). 5. Sharh shakin p. 32. On the sabject of thajh, see my Words of Eesasy in Sufism (Albany, N-Y: State University of New York Press 1985). 6. Share sophia. 187 7. Simtbi Mandi a- qu, n Ribibdn-nama, p, 402 (vers), commenting onthe phrase “unveil lng ofthe saci of sanctity in Risa gu od. Norbaksh 4 CW. Emst_ The Symbolism of Flight in Rizbihin Baglt 359 that Ruzbibin's use of bird imagery is meant to recall spiritual experiences. This ‘can be scen in a passage in which Ruzbihan speaks of the trapped bird as an image ‘of the soul trapped in the body: “See what bird is in your trap, that the nest of the ‘Simurgh of the throne cannot bear its grain!” The commentator remarks that “the universal intellect is incapable of comprehending [the sous] emanation, which is love." "The particular birds most frequently invoked by Rozbihan are the nightingale and the phoenix-like bird called Simurgh or ‘Angad. Unlike Rumi or ‘Attar, Razbihan is not too interested in describing other varieties of birds and the qualities they represent? The nightingale, of course, isa staple of Persian poetry, a the fig ure of the impassioned human lover addressing the unattainable beauty of the divine rose,’ The Simurgh, at frst a supernatural bird and helper of humanity in ancient Iranian mythology, has become a symbol of the divine in Persian literature.* Be: cause Ruzbihan so often stresses the ascension from human attributes to divine ‘ones, he frequently blurs the distinction between the nightingale and the Simurgh. ‘Thus he urges his reader to ascend tothe true home, the heavenly nest: Remove the belongings of the Simurgh from this narrow hut, for the orient of the throne i the nest oF your eteral soul, Take the power of Jesus soul from the heaven of pre-etemiy, so that with the birds of angeliity you complete a house for this nightingale of power. ‘Sometimes he combines the Simurgh with the Huma, the royal bird whose shadow designates a king. “Cast off the shadow of temporality’s veil from existence, so that the Huma ofthe Attributes opens the wings of pre-eterity, and the Simurgh of maj- ‘ety comes from the orient of eterity.”® But always the injunctior is the same: the soul ascends like a heavenly bird to find its identity, and like che birds in “Atar's tale it finds God as its true self"When the Stmurgh ofthe sou flies from the realm of humanity tothe world of divinity, the growing soul speaks to itself in the rose- bowerof Adam's clay; those seeking the reflection of hat shadowing ‘Anga become the shadow of God.” At times the ‘Angd as the transcendent God becomes over- whelming: “Existence in relation to His might is less than an atom, and all the |. Abharal-ashigop. 190, commenting on ext, p62. Ina sini fasion, thls commentator Ken ies the "tts of sence (ext, p60) othe peopl of concentration and meditation (p87) 2. Occasionally Razbihin spat of se peacock (Sharh shathiyat pp. 226, 236: ‘ADhar al ‘ashigin,p. 142) the Rooper (Sharh sharia pp. 365, 370), othe crow (ip. 257 Righiin dma, p 322) 3. Annemarie Schimmel, Rose und Nachtpall Numen V (1958) pp. 85-109. Fora survey of ret erences fobs nearly classical Persian pociry, ee C. H. de Fouchecour, La Description de lt Inaure dans la poste Iyrgue persane du Xlesiele: Invenaive et analy des homes (Pas tai C:Klinctteck 1989), pp. 138150. 4.CE Alessandro Busan, ‘Leteratura Neopersiana,' tn Antonino Pagar and Alessandro Bau- sani Storia dla eneratura persian (Mian: Nuova Accademia Eat 190) pp. 290-293: fo ‘ann Custoph Burge, The PeutherofSimargh: The Lil Magic of the Artix Medieval Islam (ew York: New York University Pres 1989), p. 57 5. Shen shahiya, p28. 6. fh, p18, Te foolish Huma as image ofthe human soul appears in ‘Abhar lashigin, "62 wile in a veese by Rozhiban the Huma is the divinity which cannot no the gest of Ne ‘human heart (Ruzbibdn-ndma 358) 1. Share shaphyp.31.360 Comparative Religion and Symbolism angels ofthe heaven of power are lowly locusts in the beak of the ‘angdof his eter- nal wrath." Yet at other times, the soul overwhelmed by the ecstasy of shark shifts from the selfeffacement of the nightingale to the audacity of the hoopoe, who did ‘ot hesitate to show off his knowledge before Solomon, ‘The lly of beauty reached the stage ofthe nightingale of perfestion. The shadow of the blessed tee of eternity became the illumination of the spring ef the nightingales ‘who chant “Tam the Real.” At the cosluence ofthe sources of pre-ternity the hoo- oes ofthe spits drank the water of lie of "Glory be to me.” Thus ta the feast of the Solomon of unity, from intoxication they became the sovereigns of exisience. ‘With hidden tongue ofthe human iotllect inthe sanctified nest beyond canopy ad ‘throne they said" leamed Something which you didnot" ‘The plasticity of the nightingale and the Simurgh in Ruzbihan's imagery is a direct result of the sudden and precipitous outbursts of his spiritual experiences, which he has chronicled in more direct terms in his autobiographical Kashf al- asrdr.? Keeping in mind the freshness of these images in Rizbihan's hands may help to counter the impression one frequently gets in later Persian poetry, that im- ages such as the nightingale and the rose have been deprived of all life and lovel- ness a the hands of mediocre poets. Rizbihdn's use ofthese symbols to indicate the ascensional experiences of the soul can help remind us of what a mystical interpre- tation of Persian poetry can be. Razbihan makes use of an extended complex of imagery related to bieds to express various mystical insights. When combined, these images provide a more comprehensive picture of the celestial habitat of the soul-bird." As we have already seen, the nest of the bird i a symbol of transcendence that reveals thatthe bird's true hhome is not earth but heaven. The nest must inevitably be located ina tree that isin the heavenly garden, such as the lotus or Tuba tre, as the bird discovers when finally gains admission: "Since I saw that rose ofthe rose garden and the dark nar cissus, the lotus and the Taba trees are in my garden.” But getting to that heavenly Ibid, 9-96 2 bid, p20, quoting Koran, XXVI 22, the speech ofthe hoope to Solomon (lo cited aii, a7 3. Forths text, sce Henry Corbin, En Ila raion: Aspect sprue et philosophies, vol. 3, Les Fidees damour, Shue et soufome (Pars: Editions Gallimard. Bibithaque des Wess, 1972) Pomions ofthe Arabic text have been published by Paul Nvyia, J. Waga' al Shaylh Richa el Bagl al Shirds! mugtaafr' min kt Kes o-asrar wa mukashaat a anwar’ AlMashrig Luv (1970), pp. 385-06, and by Nerf Hace, ed Richa ol-Bkl ve Kia Raf a-arar le Farsca bas giver, Ianbal Universes aebiyit Fakes Yaynlan, No. 1678 (sta ebiya Fabs! Mabuas 1971), pp. 103-118, Othe base ofthe complete tex, which was pa tally edd from 3 MSS, by Heae) Corbin, a complete French translation hasbeen promised by ‘DePaul Balsa ofthe Sorbonne 4. Forte mot ofthe sul-bird in general, see Annemarie Schimmel, As Through a Vel Mystical ‘Potryn slam (New Vook: Comba University Press 1982), pp. 75-6: Kl, The Trumpha San ‘A Std) of he Works of Jaloddn Rar (Landon: Fine Books 1978), p. 113-124, To the stan Gard sock of tages, Razin des ot heat to ad even the ordinary dagusting picture of ‘bird lsgorging Stones from is erop: “The anosations of those seas belong fo the soul beds, who from tne to ime at forth he pearl of "am the Rea from te shells of tee crops” (Share shathiyyap. $01). 5. Verse in Rizhihdn nda, p. 34, n the mots of heavenly tees, se Bausan, p. 286-29, CW. Emst_ The Symbolism of Flight in Ruzbihdn Bagli 361 is not so simple. Because of the rebellious nature of the soul, it must be trapped with bait of grain or sugar. Sometimes itis only the hope of that grain that holds the bird in the trap: “Such a sweet-singing nightingale with so many thou- sands of songs suddenly fell inthe hunters trap of persecution, and in hope of the grain of seeing the visage of that moon-faced beauty in the thorny rose garden, It remained an altendant atthe feast of his pain." Rumi also writes of love tapping the bird of the soul with sugar.? This is reversal of the pessimistic view of the birds entrapment as a metaphor for the fall of the soul into matter, as Adam fell, also snared by a grain of wheat? Ina complex extended passage, Ruzbihin speaks ofthe entrapment of the bird as the soul's imprisonment in the body, but he opt- ‘mistically predicts that the soul will free itself and ultimately attain the statu of be- {ng the hawk on the wrist ofthe divine hunter: ‘Know that when the spirit of humanity was placed inthe lay of Adam, and the brides ofthe spirits were imprisoned in those mines, and the gates ofthe heart were barred with the obstacles of desires, twas forthe sake of testing, so that eage-break- ‘ng bird would break out ofthe prison of temporality with the existence-holding beak, and flyin the atmosphere of divinity, and st in tbe gardens of witnessing on the branches of the rose of sufficiency, and with a tongUeless tongue tll to the beloved the pain of separation from the face ofthe beloved. But it acquires a taste forthe reins of desites it will be imprisoned inthe four walls f nature, and wil be ressained rom light inthe atmosphere of pre-etemty ‘Yes, ifthe secret of longing enters upon him, and he rates the chain of eternal Jove, and he brings up that rational spit fom the eageof the body, and makes it fy in the garden of lordship, that hawk (bdsha) will wheel about in the existence of an- elicit, and overtook the seraglio of might, and will ind himself at no other place than the wrist ofthe hunter of pre-cternity, who catches the bids of the mountains ‘of love with the fove-charm of fate. “The soul must take constant effort to practise discipline and avoid bad company, says Ruzbihan: “Start removing yourself from this flock of foolish sparrows, for in the flight of the Western ‘Angd, your soul will not fly with a broken wing.” But the divine mercy will also help te bring the hapless bird ou of ts imprisonment into the heavenly garden, calling it as God called to Moses on Sinai: “Praise to that lord who brought the bird of felicity from the cage of persecution to the rosebower of purity and trust, with the singing cry of “We called him from the right side of the ‘mountain’ (Koran, IXX 52), who expelled the crows of nature from the gardens of reality, and who called the nightingale of the most holy spirit with speech.”® Break ing out of the cage of the body will involve a death, whether physical or spiritual, before the soul ean return to its home.” But when it does finally return to the gar- den, Razbibin is sure thatthe bird ofthe soul will perch on the branches of the rose 1 bhar a dshignp 2, Annemarie Schimmel, As Throwph Vel p. 112, with notes 207 and 208 3 Forte theme in Romi ce Shimel, Trtmphal Sun. pp. 113-114 4 Rusdlat agus. p29 5. Sharh sharin, p59. {Letter to Imad al Din Kimani, in 7. Sone ofthe ast verses that RU wrote fo is fiend teated the soul bird's Might fem the cage ofthe body” (Schimmel, As Through a Vellp. 94),362. Comparative Religion and Symbolism and sing, recalling and fulfilling the primordial covenant it made by saying yes to God's question, “Am I nck your lord” (Koran, VIL 171). "Let the rose of beauty ‘grow before those nightingales of everlastingness onthe branches of majesty, let the nightingale of "Am I not [your loré} (alast)” speak the secrets of love with those birds ofthe throne,”"! According to Rizbihan, the epiphany of God as the red rose 4s the supreme moment of this reunion. ‘There are times when Ruzbihdn abandons the nation of the bird as symbolic of the soul, taking it instead as a symbol of creation, He is led to do this especially when considering Hallas exegesis of an enigmatic verse of he Koran addressed to Abraham, “*Take four birds and sacrifice them’ (Koran, I 260}, for the Real does not fly.” Rozbihin inthis way treats the birds as representing the unstable four ele- ‘ments of matter, which must be annihilated and abolished from conscioustess, so thatthe ego can be destroyed and the Real can be revealed: 1 you wish to know our allusion in reality, and to understand knowledge in one- ness, and to arive at that which we deseribed ofthe anibilation ofthe creature in {he creator, cal he four birds ofthe elements near to you, and with the sword of in- toxieation, love, and desire, cut them o pleces..Cut the throat of each bird in the court ofthe spirit jealousy, because the elements fy [away] and become unsteady: the Knowledge of that doesnot fly {away]...When you have killed and annihilated te birds of the elements, and torn off from them the wings of spatal dimensions, and loosened yourself from those weights of creation, then no duration time, place, ‘or witness remains; you each the world of yuer nonexistence, and are astonished in it so that you do not know who you ate... ? Ina similar vein ahi Simabi on occasion deals with birds as symbols of earthly life, the physicality of which must be transcended: Every pigeon Mes in acertain way, but his pigeon [flies in a directionless direction. ‘We are not kino the birds of the ar, and our grain isa graitess gra So at times the bird-symbolism is used to denote the limitations of physical exist: ence. Most typically, however, RUzbihan sees the bird as an image ofthe “rational spirit (rahi natiqa),” the inner essence of humanity, which is forever seeking its divine counterpart even while rapped inthe body. “The bird of intimacy, which is the rational spirit lis inthe lesser existence, which is the human body, in convet- sation with love inthe eage of the heart."* In a surprising shift of images, Razbihin |. Rislaral-guds, p. 3. The nlgingale singing onthe rose branch recurs in Shar sharia, pp '92, 225,290 and ‘Aba alashigin p12 2. Sharks shahisya, pp 84-485, commesting on a-Halli’ Tawdsin 4.2, which cont the quo- tatlon of Koran, 1260. Ruzihin ako offerte ineretation thatthe four bids are sou, esr, Intellect, and spit, which must be humbled o acknowledge the greatness of God: id, pp 385. 486, The symbolism of bids asthe fur elements ever nip. 152. Ram defies he four binds allegorical as representations of different lowly dears; ce, Schimamel, Tamphal Sur, p 13 3. Tah Simibl, Mandel al. qu, in Ricbiin-nama,p. 403 (mashnat vere). Tis verse fom Rimi, Mashnawi-y ma’nai, 8 & wats. RA. Nicholson, 8 vole, Gib» Memorial Series, as (London 1925-40), Bk V 351-52 4 Abhara-‘shitn, pp. 70-71. or the use ofthis characteristic pase ri ndtige, which derives from the vocabulay of al-Halls), see Risdlata-quds,p. 29 (quoted above, p36: Sharh shayhiyat, pp 248, 336, 40-61, 363, 408, 414, 603, 622. CW. Emst_ The Symbolism of Flight in Rucbihan Baglt 363 _saretches the symbol of the soul-bird to the limit, by showing how the’ soul's wings Gre constimed by the experiences of nearness and unveiling; the bird has now been- transformed into a moth, burning up inthe flame of love: When the sacred birds of the spirits fly from the ose branches of witnessing tem= porality, and traverse the atmosphere ofthe heaven of certainy, tele nests ate no- Uiere but inthe gardens of nearess.... The fire of witnessing reached from the Tight of unveiling tothe wings of thelr souls. Prom the wrath ofthis fire, the wings hei souls ae burned, and fey remained wingless outside the door of the hidden ofthe hidden... Sinoe no wing remained, in that station of theirs another wing 3p- peated from pure love. With that wing lke moths they lew again; round the c Erbeauty, onthe basin of nearness, the light oftheir union flamed. When every wing, from spit in spirit, had burned, they collected the knowledge of realities inthe pal- fcr of pre-ctemity, That knowledge became their wings of love and longing, and they flew in the atmosphere of uter nearness. ! ‘The successive destruction ofeach pair of wings at every level asthe Soul Mies high: -erconveys the devastating power of this experience of transcendence. Perhaps the most remarkable guise in which birds appear in RUzbihan's writings is as personifications of Koranic verses and hadith sayings. Many poets relied on the Koran’s statement, that “There is nothing that does not glotify him with praise” (XVII 44), to show how all creatures praise God; the beautiful songs of birds were natural examples to useas a metaphor foreteation’s testimony to the creator (ef. Ko ran, XX1 79; XXIV 41). Ruzbihan has, in a way, Inverted the process ofthe met- aphor. The symbol of the soul-bird had given an externalized form to a sychological reality, the process ané experience of transcendence. Now Rizbin Fe-psychologizes the image of the bied, reducing its image content to a minimum ‘and making the symbol as transparent as possice to the underlying experience. Ko ranic verses, to Rizbihan, are not mere words, but verbal theophanies, which act as catalysts for the transformation of the listening soul. The power of the Koran to bring about such a transformation is such that certain verse, for Rizbiban, an- ounce themselves like birds proclaiming the identity ofthe divine beloved. Thus we find that its frequently “the bied of ‘Am I not (your Lord]" (ef. Koran VIL 171) who reminds us of the primordial covenant by which humanity was sealed to God inpre-etemity.?. The bird of Koranic theophany does not only speak of the primor- al covenant, ut also recites the epiphanies to Moses on Mt. Sinai. “Have you not heard from Sinais tree the ‘Anga's cry of “Truly I am God’ (Koran, XXVIIi 30)?" The bird's Koranie proclamation of divinity does not concern some distant king, but {s a reminder of intimate presence. “If from the suffering of love I heard the call of the birds of the morning of ‘God spoke [to Moses]’ (IV 164), I would be the partner and companion of the Sinai of “There is no conspiracy [of tare but Iam the fourth)” (LVIII7)." Finally, Rizbihan puts the prophetic seal on ths bird-manifestation of “Abhara-ashigin, p12. abo pp 48 and 88 for moth imagery. . 2 Share hap pp, 225, 290-231, 257 (here God gives the per of “Am Tn" the crows ‘fcreation), 316; Ria al quds 3 (quoted above, a 3). 23. Share shrhiyya, p31 ep. 175: the bids of manifestation seke the bell of “Truly Tam ‘God [Koran, XXVII 30] fromthe tre of Moses.” 4. Sharh shaping 29.364 Comparative Religion and Symbolim scripture, through birds that recall the ascension of the soul, modelled on the Proph. et Muhammad’s night journey (isra’) to paradise and his confession of his inability to praise the infinity of God, Do you not know that kiowledge isthe wings of nearness, upto the gateway of eter. nity? Beyond that, onccan fly further with these... Whoever does not come out from the twilight of nature, and does not travel the journey of “Glory to him who ‘brought this sevant} by night” (Koran, XVII I] inthe night ofthe sus ascension, ‘doesnot know ths cry of the nightingale of "I canmot count [your] praise inthe par don of he throne." Inshis way, Koranic verses become birds that fly like messengers from God and ‘humanity, proclaiming divine lordship. Moreover, not only the Koranic revelation, but also the act of exegesis itself, becomes another bird-flight, in tesponse t0 the divine word. In a revealing passage located at the very beginning of his massive Koran commentary, the “Ards al-baydn of Brides of Explanation, Rizbihan describes his approach fo scriptural Interpretation as one long flight in bird formato the paradisal garden of the Koran, ‘When the binds of my mysteries (asrdr had finished flying in the states an stations, rising beyond the batifields of spiritual combat and self-observation, reaching the ‘gardens of unveiling and witnessing, alighting on the branches of the flowers of ‘nearness, und imbibing the wine of union, they became intoxicated by Seing the di vine beauty, love-stricken in the lights of divine splendor. and they recoveted fom [their intoxication) withthe station of sanctity by the taste of intimacy. From the dawn of the Unmanifest they seized the blossoms ofthe subteties ofthe Koran ind the refinements ofthe truths of the Criterion. They soared on wings of gnosis, and ‘warbled the best elucidation by means of the melodies of paradise. [inoning] the ‘mysteries (rami) of God (a-Hagg) by means ofthis tongue, mysteries tat He has hidden from the understanding of the poople of forms.” The bird of the spirit ascends, then, in response to the call of the bird of revelation, Flights primary metaphor for spiritual experience. Ruzbihan states this boldly in his lexicon of Sufi terminology, when he defines the term “overwhelmings (ghalabat)” as “the flight of the spirit in angelicty.”® In his commentary on 1001 spiritual stations, he describes flight (fayran) as station number 924, and he removes any suggestion of merely physical levitation from the term: “In the station of flight, itis the khalifas who fly with the angels in spirit and body, for they are spiritual in whom i the likeness of the angels... Thave not flown inthe air because of my knowledge, but I found that meaning by which they fly in me.”* Thus he knows the fight of the exalted figures called “successors (khalifas)” not by external ‘light but by perceiving them in the atmosphere of his soul. One begins practicing |. bid, p 316. Forth welFknown hah, “cannot count your pas.” see Annersre Schimmel ‘Mystical Dimensions of Islan (Chapel Hil: Th Universit of North Carina Mes), pp. 126, 162 20% Bad" a Zaman Furtelnéac, Abadi! Marna, Imisari Ding! Tehran, 283 (Teta: Chap-khanay\ Danishgth 1334/1950), p.2, 90.3 2.‘Ara'sal-bayan fhaga'ig a Quran (Caleta 1883), I 3, rans. Alan Gods, “The Quranic ‘Hermeneutics of Ruzhihana-Bagi,” PhD. dissertation, University of Calforia at Berkeley. I ‘would ike to express my thank to Alan Gods for bringing ts passage to my attention, 3. Sharh sharp, 533 ‘8 Mashrabal-anwsh, p24, CW. Emst_ The Symbolism of Flight in Razbihan Bagli 365 this kind of flight by meditation, which Rdzbihin describes in a chapter entitled “On the Meditation which is the Wing for the Bird of Intimacy in the Station of {Love In this section, all the metaphors of trapping birds inthe desert are used to convey the approach to the beloved through the meditation of love." At its highest, the experience of love brings the lover (0a state of utter nearness to the beloved, nd then “he may fly like the spiritual of anglicity in the highest ofthe high with the peacocks of the angels like Khhdr, Ilys, Iris and Jesus.”* Spiritual experience ‘as light in this Way encompasses the highest realms of the angels and prophets. From the viewpoint of mystical experience, ascension to divinity Is the key 10 the symbolism of birds and flight. Many of Ruzbihan’s allusions to flight explicitly invoke the most famous account of mystical ascension in Sufi literature, the ascen- sion of Bayazid Bistimi. Ruzbihin himself commented extensively on Bayazid's ascension in his Sharh-i shaphiyyar.’ Bayazid had described himself as becoming a bird with a body of oneness, and wings of everlastingness, flying in an atmosphere ‘without quality until he reached an eternal tee, of which be ate the fruit; he then realized that all of this vision was a deceit, a trick of his own imagination Razbihan in his commentary amplified on the imagery of wings and flight, intro- docing, for example, the moth-like burning ofthe wings of the soul inthe flame of divine majesty. The entire sequence of Bayazid's vision, if understood as a return of the soul-bird to the heavenly garden, fits very well with Razbihan’s symbolic picture of the b's Might to its nest on the branch ofthe celestial tree, where it will sing to its beloved the song of its pain. In one variation on this theme, Razbihan says, ‘The pigeon of temporality escaped the beak ofthe falcon of love. I spread its wings the atmosphere of identity, near the Simurgh ofthe orient of eternity, and i flew atthe edge of union, Them, with the tongueless tongue of "T cannot count your alse," bepan ell secrets tothe bird of pre-eternity. When If was finished with the hidden sere, i thought that there was no one else but itself. In the end, the images of birds, wings, and ascensions are only images, figures through which the soul attempts (0 comprehend its own nature. Therefore Bayazid 1. Adar al-aq, p. 106: "When the caravans of inlets pick up the burdens ofthe spits ‘practic, ight in the atmosphere of the heaven of etemityhecomes eax. The soul reaches the beloved place of vistatian, the br of love joins the cage of the bird of intimacy in the station ‘of meditation and the hunter tap coches the birds of manifsaion in the desert of he heart” 2D, p12. 53 Shark shahiyd, pp. 80-62. Se my Words af Eetas, Append pp. 167-169, fora tansation ‘ofthis pasage The ast sentence ofthe commentary on p 169 be comected as follows: "That ‘which he said concems the eclipse of the Atiribte cherie, he who ofthe Essence — Alas!” For another mata we ofthe tr “eclipse (as,” cf. Sharh shat 92, ine 2 4 Its surpeising that RC. Zachoers fancifl theory ofthe Upanishadic orp of his symbolism ‘as once again been revived, even if na limited frm, by Jian Back, fa Mystical lam: An troduction to Sufism (London: 1. B. Fars, 1989, The imagery of wings, bids, and tes s ‘bundantly present inthe ascension iteratre ofthe Neat Rast rom ancient ines onwards, abd it hardly seems necessary or meaning to sppce that Bayazid could only hae learned of soch an Image from Indian sources, which n any eae have altogether differen suuctrs. 5. Shar shay, p40. For oter allusions io Baya acenson, cf. fbi, pp. 22 129,167, ‘24: Risa al-gds: pp. 29 (quoted above, p. 361). 31,Abhar a ashigin, pp, 124366. Comparative Religion and Symbolism ultimately denounced them asa deceit. ‘The fundamental experiences of the soul in tension toward the divine need to find expression, however. Sometimes this can be done verbally, through the abstract technical terms of Sufism, through the eestatc expressions of the mystics, ‘of through scriptural passages that can act as the locus for the human-divine encounter, But i is also necessary for these experiences to take form, tobe refracted in the medium of consciousness and assume the density of symbols taken from the natural world, Then, as Rumi put it, the secret of the beloved can be revealed through stories about others. The poetic imagination uses imagery to express expe- rience. Ifthe poet is successful, the images will continue to function transparently; ‘if the poet i less sucessful, the images will still work on the level of abstract alle- ‘gory. But from the point of view of the mystic, the images become false when they solidify to the point of blocking out vision altogether, and take on an importance ia themselves. The symbolism of birds and flight always remained, for Ruzbihan, a pliant and dynamic one, ia which the lover's nightingale at any moment might be transformed into the beloved’s Simurgh. The alienation of existence was felt as a ‘cage, from which the soul sought escape by flight, a last to find the heavenly gar- den, or even to perch on the wrist ofthe celestial hunter. The soul's ascent through self-transcendence was symbolized by the burning or ripping away of its wings, Which were ever replaced by new ones. Birds and flight imagery thus formed an extensive complex of images from the natural world, one which was particularly well adapted forthe expression of the realities of the soul. Rizbihan reminds us that the flight of the bird covers the distance between heaven and earth; its arival on ‘earth and its departure to heaven imitate and embody the journey ofthe soul from its origin to its end, just as the bird’s song can praise God or deliver a scriptural epiphany to humanity. When, therefore, we read Persian poets telling for the thou sandkh time of the nightingale’s song to the rose, or the bird who nests in eternity, we should not be lulled into dullness, anaesthetized by mere repetition. Mystical authors like Ruzbihan can help us recover the experiential power ofa symbol even when it becomes threadbare in the hands of lesser writers. Then, perhaps, when we ‘encounter these symbols, we will follow the advice of one of Rizhihin’s followers, and recall that “These are the places of the descent of the Simurgh of the spirit [and] the ascent of the ‘Anga of the hear.” 5 Simib, Mandi agua in Rizhihan-ndma,p. 408 ‘Abd al-Rahman Chishti & the Bhagavadgita: “Unity of Religion” Theory in Practice Roderic Vassie INTRODUCTION ‘The legendary Shaykh San‘an of “Attr's Mantigal-sayr is exceptional in Sufi liter- ature in turning apostate—albeit temporarily —in his quest for greater fulfillment ‘This being the case, what does it teach us about the realization, perceived in the writings of so many eminent Sufi masters, of a transcendental unity of religion? Given the extent ofthe debt owed by Sufi writers to the Koraa and Sunna for inspi- ration when measured against their borrowings from other religious sources, has anything been said by affirming the unity of religions other than thata set of beliefs, niles, laws, etc. recognized as falling within the group ‘religions’ must, by defini- tion, share some similarities with other members of the same group? To take the question a stage further, have Sufis ever actually taught that all Islam's necessary goals can be achieved by following the religious teachings of one's choice? Is it not rather the case that the interchangeability of religious symbols and ideas in Sufi verse and prose forms part of the art of mystical allegory, of which the Persian- speaking Sufis were consummate masters? (On the basis of ‘Abd al-Rahmin Chishti's Indo-Persian treatise, Mir‘ar al haga’ itis clear that in the Mughal empire Suis conceived of only one tradition a capable of guiding the believer to the magsid-i birang (sublime goal), all other ways being toa greater or lesser extent deficient. That tradition was Islam, albeit its broadest Koranic sense (“He named you ‘Muslims’ previously and inthis book, Koran, XXII 78). ‘ABD AL-RAHMAN CHISHTI “Abd al-Rahman ibn “Abd al-Rasil ibn Qasim ibn Shih Budh ‘Abbas! ‘Alawt CChishti belonged to the Sabie branch of the Chishti Order. He inberited the mantle (of Shaykh from his brother, Hamid, upon the latter's death in 1623. Initially based ‘in Rudauli, he later moved west toa small village called Dhanithi on the banks of the Gomti River nearer to Lucknow. In 1683, nearing the age of a hundred, he died and was buried in the building he had himself constructed. Biographies of the Sabiri branch show that he was not only blood relative but also a spiritual descendant of his grea-grandfather, Budh. However, in arate auto biographical passage in his most important work, the hagiographical Mir‘ar a |. Bris Library MS. OF. 1883, £259,