Attar heavily influenced Rumi. At age six Rumi and his father on the way to migrating to Turkey visited Attar and he said to his father that, “this boy will set fire to hey stack of all thinkers”. Attar wrote the Masnavi Mantegh-ot-Tair, which are the stories given by the birds. Rumi’s Masnavi Manavi is influenced by this magnificent piece of literature:
Please note, what it comes below is only scratching the surface of theoretical Sufism and this text in no way can honor the depth of this subject as Rumis said:
"Pen was rigorously writing until it got to the concept of love then it suddenly split open".
Attar’s seven cities of love mentioned in Mantegh-ot-Tair:
Explore: Is when you look for your beloved. You have some general ideas but you haven’t found him/her yet.
Fire: Is when you find your beloved one and the fire of love ignites. It’s feverish and painful. It is lonely and depressing but it’s extremely joyful and addictive to the lover.
Knowledge: Is when you look at your beloved with all your attention to keep track of his/her every motion. This is where you learn more about him/her.
Disdain: The more you know about him/her the more you love him/her to the point you become all request to get closer to him/her. This is when you beg for her/him to stay close to you.
Unity: Unfortunately in the western culture the unity is the end of love but far from it. You are still half way there. When you get united to your beloved one all your pains are cured and fever is gone. The begging stops and the joy of unification starts.
Wonder: Is the ultimate joy after unification when you become speechless. You just stare and wonder at your beloved one and swim in the joyful sea of marvel.
Poverty: Is when you nearly forget about yourself and you become poor in ego and selfishness. But the selfishness is still there as the mind still kicking.
Ruin: Is when you completely and selflessly give yourself to your beloved one and you totally forget about yourself. Then you just become a shadow to your beloved. As he/she moves you move and you identify yourself as part of your beloved.
Rumi’s six stages of maturity mentioned in Masnavi Manavi:
Solid: Is when you are cold, and senseless completely isolated from your surroundings.
Plant: Is when you have a primal reaction to your surroundings. You do no harm but tend to give no benefit willingly.
Animal: Is when you actively pursue your primal needs and you do fights and tricks to fulfill you own needs. You pay attention only to your own needs and a few around you.
Human: Is when you use your mind to fulfill your own needs and others around you. You still have the animal in you but your mind can shape that animal to select and improve upon it.
Angel: Is when you forget yourself by parts and you become a person who doesn’t need to get but is happy to share and give.
Inexistence: Is when you totally forget about yourself and you are ready to sacrifice whatever you have for no gain. You don’t even give to get happiness. You just give without expecting to receive. You become like a sound of music that everybody hears but nobody can see.
From these two pieces of ancient Persian knowledge, there comes the core secret that efforts, endurance and sacrifice are only tools to climb the ladder of love.
Sources:
Attar's Image: http://onetruename.com/attar.htm
Rumi's Image: http://www.ideachampions.com/heart/archives/2008/10/rumi_quatrains.shtml
