The Orchard: The Bostan Of Saadi Of Shiraz by Saadi, Idries Shah pdf download

The Orchard: The Bostan Of Saadi Of Shiraz by Saadi, Idries Shah

THE ORCHARD

The Bostan of Saadi is one of the finest Sufi Classics. These two writings, together with his Gulistan, are considered to be the pinnacles of both literature and Sufi thought.

They are almost unrivaled in terms of material richness and poetic beauty.

Proverbs, quotes, and practical advice abound in the Bostan. However, it contains considerably more than moralistic aphorisms and instructive anecdotes, much like the Gulistan (The Rose Garden).

Eminent Sufis see the Bostan as containing the full spectrum of the deepest Sufi wisdom that can be written down.

The fire of His friend He turneth into a flower

garden; through the water of the Nile He sendeth

His foes to perdition.

Behind the veil He seeth all, and concealeth our

faults with His own goodness.

He is near to them that are downcast, and

accepteth the prayers of them that lament.

He knoweth of the things that exist not, of

secrets that are untold.

He causeth the moon and the sun to revolve,

and spreadeth water upon the earth.

In the heart of a stone hath He placed a jewel;

from nothing hath He created all that is.

Who can reveal the secret of His qualities;

what eye can see the limits of His beauty?

The bird of thought cannot soar to the height

of  His presence, nor the hand of understanding

reach to the skirt of His praise.