19 October 2007

The Pilgrimage - Paulo Coelho

The Pilgrimage...magical is the word for this book...

It is the tale of Paulo Coelho's own personal pilgrimage along the road to Santiago ...he recounts his trials during the journey across Spain in search of a miraculous sword... However, slowly we realise that the true purpose of this trip is the spiritual wisdom that he gains as a spin-off of the search...

As he travels he recognises life's great truths...truths which we have actually known all along and dealt with in our day to day life...but refused or failed to acknowledge...

He talks of magic, mysticism, secrets, and mysterious ways...which I don't necessarily believe in...but there will be a learning from each of his experiences...something to apply in our daily lives...One does not have to say the prayer and hope that god will actually have pity...but there is so much that one can apply to one's practical life from that.
The scene where he is wounded but expected to erect the cross...he thinks its impossible...he wants to refuse...one hopes for a miracle to solve the problem...but applying his learnings he is able to do it...my take here is that...for all problems, one should look at the un-obvious ways to solve them too...

It’s a thought provoking book...about achieving the ultimate goal - the way to know oneself and the purpose of one's life.

Traveler that I am...I obviously enjoyed the travel perspective of the book and hope to do the trek myself someday!!!

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