Having read four fiction books of Paulo Coelho, and reading the fifth, I've been able to figure out the common message in them all. The books I have read are:
- The Alchemist [requires a separate blog post]
- The Pilgrimage
- The Fifth Mountain
- By The River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept
- The Valkyries
- The devil and Miss Prymm
- The witch of Portobelo
- Veronika Decides to Die
- The Zahir
In addition am currently reading "Aleph". I do not find myself worthy of 'reviewing' a book but i can say with confidence that The Alchemist and 'The Devil and Miss Prymm' are a must read! Moreover if someone chooses not to read "The Pilgrimage" still its chapter 'Personal Vices' is a must must read, I would have recommended it for education curriculum but i am not in charge of that!
Keeping the broader perspective while reading Paulo's books:
His books have lots to say about Christianity and we must read it with a broader perspective and as Karen Armstrong says (in her book "Letter to Pakistan") that if you explore another faith your belief in your own religion will not be 'diluted' rather it would be strengthened. So we must have a broader perspective and go through all the Christianity related stuff and fit it into our own custom religion settings. Further his books are symbolic. For example in his book The Alchemist sheep are sometimes a symbol for human race sometimes a symbol of the inner instincts of the Shepard and so on depending upon the imagination of the reader.
The concept of 'Fight with God' in one of his books:
In his book "The Fifth Mountain" as far as i gather the central character suffers so much in his life as a Prophet that he faces defeat after defeat but he never gives up, later in the book he is referred to be fighting with God. Which means (as I Infer) that he can even fight with God to reach his objective. This must not be taken in literal sense. As a Prophet he fights with all adversaries the tough and trying circumstances one after another and finally does not even get a glorified victory (though not a literal defeat as well) but he has the peace of mind that he 'tried with all heart' and has won many small battles in the larger war.
The common agenda of his books:
- You should never give up being a child when it comes to 'dreaming' and till the last moment of your life you should be in pursuit of that dream which he calls the 'good fight' in his book "The Pilgrimage". A lot of emphasis is laid on this (in all of his books) as he asserts that one must be open to taking risks in pursuit of your dream no matter how stupid your dream might feel to others. And that pursuit should continue endlessly in tough circumstances.
- The fear of death is bad but the fear to live is worse! and even worse if you can't speak your dream just because it is not possible. He thinks that we must have the confidence to speak and seek our dreams/ambitions.
- Luck favors those who have the courage to fight the 'good fight'.
- Faith should be as pure as that of children, and your excitement towards even the smallest joys should be like that of children.
- One should never hesitate in living, speaking and realizing his dreams, the 'excitement' of one's self should be preserved.
- Everyone can perform miracles in our own circle of influence and effect. And life is not just 'fate' but its a web of cause and effect.
- Anything done for good is the manifestation of love.
Some excerpts to remember:
"A warrior accepts defeat. He does not treat it as a matter of indifference, nor does he transform it into a victory. The pain of defeat is bitter to him; he suffers with indifference and becomes desperate with loneliness. After all this has passed he licks his wounds and begins everything anew. A warrior knows a war is made of many battles; He goes on"
"The best warrior is the one who transforms an enemy into a friend"
"A child can teach an adult three things: to be happy for no reason, to always be busy with something and to know how o demand with all his might that which he desires"
--The Fifth Mountain
"We are always trying to convert people to a belief in our own explanation of the universe. We think the more people there are who believe as we do, the more certain it will be that what we believe if true. But it doesn't work that way at all"
(No wonder I've been proving Imran Khan the only solution for Pakistan all the time!)
"Human beings are the only ones in nature who are aware that they will die... Still being fragile, humans always hide from them the certainty that they will die. The do not see that it is death itself that motivates them to do the best things in their life... they would be even more daring to go much further in their daily conquests because they will have nothing to loose-- for death is inevitable"
--The Pilgrimage
"We are our own greatest surprise!" (this is was in the context of our own strength)
--By The River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept
"When God wants to make a person insane He grants that person's every wish"
--The Valkyries
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