Attar's message for his readers is to become aware of the inner and outer structures of consciousness and consciously embark on the journey of ‘full awakening’. Attar wants us to know that the full blossoming of human potential is possible, and full awakening is not limited to a few. The story of Conference of the Birds and the sheer diversity of the types of birds and characters involved in the story is, therefore, an invitation to become curious about our quest for truth. Now, since we are on this quest together and believe we can build smart cities differently, we are doing something a little bit different in this episode. We are asking questions and allowing Attar’s wisdom to guide us in our quest to build and live in truly Mindful and Smart Cities.
How can we use smart citizenship as a vehicle of full awakening?
In this episode of Fridays with Attar, I will explore the characteristics of each valley of Conference of the Birds and then analyse key takeaway messages of each valley that can be used in today’s modern and urban life.
The theme of the quest for truth and the journey towards its discovery is perhaps one of the universal templates used for awakening and ascension to higher elevated states of being-ness. How we are is a direct reflection of our state of consciousness. Our collective being or collective “we-hood” is a reflection of how our collective state of consciousness. To experience higher states of awareness, many seekers have sought solitude or gone into the so-called “cave”.
But, almost all the seekers had to make a difficult choice of leaving the comfort of the cave, facing life and eventually becoming awake to their inner truth and helping the world become a better place. I often ask myself what would Attar say or add to the story of the conference of the birds if he were to live in today’s modern urbanised world?
Would the hoopoe bird suggest that Parrot leave his attachments to cars and start using bikes instead? Would he invite the birds to imagine the Simorg living in a fully automated, high-tech city built remotely? Would the birds want to meet a high-tech, robotised, and AI-enabled King? But, when read carefully with a receptivity, finding the king as a metaphor for a fully realised human being is not about the kind but, surprisingly, about the transformation of the birds themselves. At the end of the story, the 30 birds become the Simorg. The word Si in Persian means thirty, and the word Morgh means bird. Si morgh means, therefore, 30 birds. The message is this: once we awaken to our full awakening, we experience the world differently and therefore show up qualitatively differently.
So, how are these all connected to smart cities?
Smart cities are the new types of cities we search for. As a global urban community, we desire to live in smarter cities. But, we have not yet awakened to the true meaning of ‘smart’ and how it can manifest in our lives. Up to today, we thought smart meant to be technologically advanced. Smart technologies can now be pervasively found in all walks of our lives. Smartwatches, smartphones, smart cars, and smart infrastructures are being sought after in the hope that they can help us live better and more in line with the world around us.
However, the kind of ‘smart’ we seek here is much bigger. And qualitatively different.
We are asking and seeking whether, in these modern times, we could use the notion of “smart'“ and life in cities as a path or, as Attar would say, a valley towards mass full awakening.
The more I read through the story of Conference of the Birds, and the more I become aware of the beauty of the journey of full awakening and Attar’s masterful use of metaphors, the more I become convinced that a large part of mature full awakening is to help to build a better world together.
So with this mission and desire to contribute to the smart city space, this Friday with Attar is devoted to the following question:
If Attar was a Smart City Guru, how would he define a smart city?
What would be his advice to us?
How would he guide us through the Seven Valleys and achieve Full Urban Awakening in Smart Cities?
What would the Simorg look like?
Missed the Previous Events? WATCH THE VIDEO RECORDING.
