“True wisdom consists in respecting the simple things we do”
Paulo Coelho author of the "The Alchemist", whose books have sold more than 100 million copies worldwide described his own sacred pilgrimage, a soul-searching journey through Europe, Africa and Asia between March and July 2006 in "Aleph".
‘Aleph,’ as described in the book is a place where time and space converge.
The novel opens with the dissatisfaction of Paulo Coelho in his life and the stagnation of his spiritual growth. He talks about it to his master J. and as per the suggestion from him, Paulo sets off onto a journey starting from Africa, and then to Europe and Asia via the Trans-Siberian Railway. Most of the novel plays around the Paulo’s experiences during the train journey he took with his publishers, Editor, Translator and a girl whom he meets in the journey.
There is a girl whom Paulo met while singing the books of reader and she insisted that she will join the journey with him – as Paulo soon will find out that – is Hilal a violinist from a famous Music School of Russia. Paulo experienced The Aleph for the first time in the train looking into the eyes of Hilal and discovers the details about the past life. The author discovered that she is the girl whom he loved five hundred years ago in a different incarnation. What follows is a very personal account where the author talks about the relationship with Hilal in the previous incarnation. Hilal in this life is a gifted violinist but she never valued it.
The other important character in the book is Yao, the translator for Paulo in the journey. There are many interesting conversations between Yao and the author including the story about Yao wife's death,aikido, meeting with Shamans etc.
Paulo also talks in length about love and forgiveness. The author describes about a technique "the ring of fire" he uses to know about his past lives. Though the technique seems to be very easy, and Paulo learned this while reading a book on the same subject, at last he warns the readers about not using it without really knowing what we are attempting at.
I read Pualo Coelho because of the beauty of few sentences that leave a lasting impression on me. Even though the novels are translated into English, the magic of his words in few places is overwhelming.
Below are the few sentences like this from Aleph:
“Only two things can reveal life's great secrets: suffering and love.”
“Don’t be intimidated by other people’s opinions. Only mediocrity is sure of itself, so take risks and do what you really want to do.”
“God only allows us to see such things when he wants something to change”
“Love is just a word until someone comes along and gives it meaning.”
“Each time we embrace someone warmly, we gain an extra day of life.”
“Is it possible to deviate from the path God has made? Yes, but it's always a mistake. It is possible to avoid pain? Yes, but you'll never learn anything. Is it possible to know something without ever having experiencing it? Yes, but it will never truly be part of you.”
“When we turn around & come face to face with our destiny, we discover that words (spoken) are not enough. I know so many people who are brilliant speakers but are quite incapable of practising what they preach. It's one thing to describe a situation & quite another to experience it.
I realised a long time ago that a warrior in search of his dream must take his inspiration from what he actually does & not from what he imagines himself doing.”
“We become imprisoned by our memories, and that makes our lives wretched.”
“Sometimes you have to travel a long way to find what is near”
“The trouble with words is that they give us the illusory sense that we are making ourselves understood as well as understanding what others are saying. However, when we turn around and come face-to-face with our destiny, we discover that words are not enough..... I realized a long time ago that a warrior in search of his dream must take his inspiration from what he actually does and not from what he imagines himself doing”
“O God, when I listen to the voices of animals, the sounds of trees, the murmurings of water, the singing of birds, the whistling of the wind, or the boom of thunder, I see in them evidence of Your unity; I feel that You are supreme power, omniscience, supreme knowledge, and supreme justice.
I recognize You, O God, in the trials I am going through. May Your pleasure be my pleasure, too. May I be Your joy, the joy that a Father feels for a son. And may I think of You calmly and with determination, even when I find it hard to say I love You.”
“That is what marks out the warrior: the knowledge that willpower and courage are not the same thing. Courage can attract fear and adulation, but willpower requires patience and commitment. Men and women with immense willpower are generally solitary types and give off a kind of coolness. Many people mistakenly think that (they) are cold (people) when nothing could be further from the truth.”
“When we're focused on what we want, things begin to slot perfectly into place.”
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