The Conference of the Birds by Farid Ud-Din Attar is a classic in Sufi-literature and Islamic esoteric teaching. The work is also known from other translations from Persian as “Speech of the Birds”. The story takes place at a meeting where the birds are to find a new king to rule them. The birds embark on a quest through seven valleys to find their coming king, the legendary Simorgh. Each bird represents human faults, standing in way for personal and spiritual development.
The book was written in the twelfth century and used to be required poetry for Sufis, and the story is widely regarded as a metaphor for life itself.
Download The Conference of the Birds as a free PDF e-book in full length (55 pages/2MB):
The Conference of-the-Birds
Director Ayten Mutlu Saray has made a movie based on The Conference of the Birds. It can be seen here in full: