The Alchemist: A Journey Towards the Destiny

A good book is like a treasure, which always has place in the bookshelf for generations to read.

 

Last week, I finished reading a famous book entitled “The Alchemist”, written by a Brazilian author Paulo Coelho, which I bought few weeks back at a book fair. Although it is a fictitious novel, but I so badly moved away with the story of this book that, I am still not able to come out of it. To summarize in three points, this story tells about, following your dream, listening to your heart and never giving up when you are on the mission to conquer the destiny.

 

Is this all about the story of this book? No, there is much more to be learnt from the story. More important is, the author’s effort to convey his message or thoughts using simple and elaborative language, which makes you feel that you will feel to relate yourself to the main character of the story. As you go on reading, you will feel that at many points, the story relates to your life.

The story begins at a small village in Spain, where a shepherd boy named Santiago, while sleeping below a tree near an old church, sees a dream of a treasure hidden below Pyramids of Egypt. Confused with the dream, he meets a Gypsy woman and share about his dream. She says, this dream has shown him his destiny (Finding the treasure below Pyramids in Egypt), for which he has to travel all the way to Pyramids to find that treasure. He gets embraced when one more old man, he meets at a market claiming the king of Salem says the same thing what the Gypsy woman told. Furthermore, the old mans says, the dream has came out of soul of universe, so it is boy’s of life to go there and the whole universe will conspire to reach the destiny. The boy has left with no other option and he begins his journey towards Egypt. A very long journey, which offers him to visit many places and good as well as bad people. If some of them helps him where as some others will rob his money and belongings. A time will come, when he loses everything, he has. Not even having money to buy anything to eat. At that moment, he thoughts of giving up his travel to Pyramids. Somehow, he meets an Arab merchant, who sells crystal glass utensils. Although his business was hand to mouth, but he helps boy to give a job. The boy Santiago stays there for some years, giving new business idea to merchant to excel in his business and in turn he gets more salary. After couple of years, he acquires enough money. There comes the thought to drop the idea to travel to Egypt and to go back to Spain, buys sheep and live usual life. But, his heart warns him that, he has already travelled long and few more weeks to reach Pyramid (Destiny), so if he gives up at this find, he will have to regret whole life for not accomplishing the dream. He again continues his journey, listening to his heart, reaches Sahara desert, meets the Alchemist, a man who learn scientific techniques to make gold from lead from his ancestors. The Alchemist repeats same, what the old man told him in market. But, he promises to help the boy to give company to reach till his destiny. While crossing the desert towards Egypt, the Alchemist shares his life experiences and learnings to boy. He also tells the importance of listening to the heart, which knows the purpose of life. Finally on one fine day, boy succeeds to reach Pyramids and tears of joy flow out from his eyes. What a destined journey and what a life learning experience.

At the end, whether he finds treasure there? What happens next, is secret that I should not reveal, for the simple reason to motivate people to read this book.

Apart from all that has been told, what I felt personally after reading the book is, in the journey of life, whatever the place you visit and whomever you meet is not accidental. There is some purpose behind that. You will realize only when you connect those visits or meetings, you can realize there is a purpose for everything that happens to help you to achieve your destiny………