“The Alchemist”A magical fable about following your dream

- Paulo CoelhoVP

Jan 2008

What is so special about this What is so special about this book?book?

“... beautifully poetic but his message is what counts .... he gives one a hope and puts a smile on one’s face”

“Life enhancing impact on millions of people”

“A modern classic – Publishing phenomenon ---- 43 million copies and translated into 56 languages”

The experienceThe experience

“Reading The Alchemist was like getting up at dawn and seeing the sun rise while the rest of the world

slept”

What is the book about?What is the book about?

“Teaches us about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts

and following our dreams”

What is the book about?What is the book about?

The fable is about Santiago, theShepherd Boy, who is chasing his

dream with a single minded intensity

It can very well be your and my experiences if we follow our dreams

Personal CallingPersonal CallingSomeone asked Paulo Coelho what wasthe secret behind such a huge successof this book. His answer was, “I don’t know. All I know is that like Santiago,the shepherd boy, we all need to be

aware of our Personal Calling”.

“What is a Personal Calling? It is God’s blessing, it is the path that God chose for you

here on earth” – The Alchemist

Four obstacles to Personal CallingFour obstacles to Personal Calling

• Conditioning from childhood that it is impossible– Over time the personal calling gets buried

• Fear of hurting those we love– We do not realize those who genuinely wish us well would like us to be

happy and will be willing to accompany us on this journey

• Fear of defeats– Yes defeats are likely to happen as we fight for our dream– But the secret of life is to fall seven times but get up eight

times!

• Fear of realizing our dream!– If you believe you are worthy of what you fought so hard to get, you

understand why you are here

Why is it so important to live our Personal Why is it so important to live our Personal Calling?Calling?

(especially if we are going to suffer more than others)(especially if we are going to suffer more than others)

“Because once we have overcome the defeats we are filled with a greater sense of peace

and euphoria .....” – The Alchemist

The FableThe FableSantiago, a boy from the Andalusia region of

Spain, chooses to become a shepherd because he wants to travel far from his land.He has a recurring dream that tells him to go to the Egyptian Pyramids because a treasureawaits him. He follows this dream and comesacross various experiences including meetingan Old King (God?) who inspires him to follow

his dream and The Alchemist (Guru?) who guides him to the treasure. In the processthere is a huge transformation in this boy.

In the following slides, let me just pick up somekey experiences of this shepherd boy and

highlight them, along with the lovely learning ineach one of them.

The boy leaves his homeThe boy leaves his homeHis father tries to discourage him from his burning desire to become a shepherd and travel with his

sheep. Finally when he finds him pretty madeup in his mind, he gives him money to buy

sheep and blesses him.

While blessing him on his way the father tells the boy,“Take to the fields and someday you will learn our countryside is the best and our women the most

beautiful”(Home sweet Home !)

GypsyGypsy’’s interpretation of his dreams interpretation of his dream

A gypsy interprets his recurring dream as a signthat he should travel to Egyptian Pyramids and

that a treasure awaits him there.

He does not give much credence to this and isback on his travel itch ...... in fact to see a girl he has taken a fancy to, during his previous

year’s visit.

And then ........ he meets this Old King (God?) It changes the course of his life .....

And then he meets this Old King .....And then he meets this Old King .....

At first the boy is irritated at this Old Mantrying to strike a conversation with him. Butthen he is startled to find that this Old Man

knows everything about his past and that he is a King. The boy asks, “Why would a King be

willing to speak to a shepherd boy?”

The Old King says ................. “Because you have succeeded in discovering

your destiny”

Does the author imply the “Old King” is none other than God???? God communicates with one who succeeds in discovering one’s destiny?

The Old King .... to the BoyThe Old King .... to the Boy

“ .... There is one great truth on this planet: whoever you are when you really want something, it is because

the desire originated in the soul of the Universe. It is your mission on earth”

“And, when you want something, the whole universe conspires in helping you to achieve it”

“To realize one’s destiny is a person’s only real obligation”

The Old King .... to the BoyThe Old King .... to the BoyThe Old King tells Santiago that he will appear whenever one who is

chasing his destiny is frustrated and is at the point of giving up.

“I always appear in some form or other. Sometimes in the form ofa solution or a good idea. At other times, at a crucial moment, I make it easier for things to happen ...... but most of the times

people do not realize I have done them”

He relates how a miner had abandoned everything to go mining for emeralds and after five years of single minded back breaking efforts he is at the point of giving it all up. Since the miner had sacrificed everything to his destiny, the Old King decided to get involved. He transformed himself into a stone that rolled up

to the miner’s feet. The miner with all his frustration and helpless fury of his five fruitless years picks up this stone and throws it aside. But he threw it with such a force it fell on another stone and broke it. And there embedded in the

broken stone was the most beautiful emerald in the world.

The Old King .... to the BoyThe Old King .... to the Boy

“In order to find your treasure (destiny) you will have to follow the omens. Godhas prepared a path for everyone to follow. You just have to read the omens

that he left for you”

A certain shopkeeper sent his son to the wisest man on the earth to learn the secret of happiness. This wise man lives in a huge palatial place. He asks this boy to carry a spoon filled with some drops of oil, wander around the palace and return, without

spilling the oil drops in the spoon. When the boy does so and returns, he asks him what all he saw in the palace. The boy’s abashed reply was he was so focused on the oil

drops that he could not see anything. The wise man sends him back asking him to see the wonders of the palace and come back ... the spoon with the drops of oil still in the

hand of the boy. This time the boy sees all that the palace had to offer and on his return recounted what all he witnessed. But the wise man asks him why the oil drops in the spoon were missing. Only then the boy realized that he has spilt the oil drops. Then the wise man tells him, “The secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the

world and never to forget the drops of oil in the spoon”.

On goes Santiago On goes Santiago ---------- Tangiers Tangiers ------ EgyptEgyptThe shepherd boy goes on and finds himself in Tangiers. Robbed of his belongings, allalone in a strange country which speaks an unknown language, he feels quite dejected

but decides to work, earn enough money and go back home. He starts working in a Crystal Glass shop and gets so involved in it that he makes the shop-owner very

successful with his ideas and hard work. In the process he learns ........ “there is a language that everyone understands ...... the language of enthusiasm, of things accomplished with love and purpose, and as part of a search for something

believed in and desired”. Suddenly he realizes Tangiers is no longer a strange city and just as he had conquered Tangiers he could conquer the world.

He asks himself why he wants to go back to home and his sheep and not go after his dream of a treasure in the Pyramids. He acknowledges to himself the comfort that the familiar life (home & sheep) offers and the fear that the unknown (desert) evokes. And

then he decides to go after his dream and joins a caravan that goes towards Egypt.

“Taking a decision is only the beginning of things. When someone makes a decision he is really diving into a strong current that will carry him to places he

had never dreamt of when he made his decision”

GnanaGnana Yoga Yoga vsvs Karma Yoga !Karma Yoga !In the caravan Santiago meets an Englishman who is in search of a particular Alchemist

known to live in the desert .... to learn the science of alchemy .... which converts anymetal to its highest form of purity.

In my opinion this part of the book is where it gets very interesting. Here are two guys, traveling in the unknown, one elderly Englishman in search of The Alchemist, the other a young man from Spain in search of his dream. The Englishman steeped in constant study of the books filled with equations and formulae on Alchemy and Santiago immersing himself in the desert and learning constantly from it. Both are getting enriched in their own ways. At one point they exchange the roles. Santiago tries to read the books on alchemy and the Englishman tries to observe the desert. But both give up, finding it futile. The Englishman expresses that alchemy is a serious discipline requiring every step to be followed exactly as done by the Masters. He feels the boy’s soul is too primitive to understand all these. On the other hand the boy is getting more and more convinced that alchemy can be learnt through one’s own daily life.

The boy tells himself, “Everyone has his or her own way of learning things. Hisway is not same as mine nor mine as his. But we are both in search of our

destinies, and I respect him for that”

DesertDesert’’s teachings ... to the boys teachings ... to the boyIn the desert not knowing when tribal war might strike, the Camel driver in the caravan

tells the boy, “I am alive. That is all I think about. When we are marching I just concentrate on marching. If I have to fight, any day to die is as good as any other day. I do not live in my past or the future. If you concentrate on the present you will be a

happy man. Life is the moment we are living right now”

“Future? The secret is here in the present. If you pay attention to it you

can improve on it. And if you improve on the present what comes

later will also be better. Forget about the future. Live each day according

to the teachings.”

“The dunes are changed by the winds but the desert never changes”

DesertDesert’’s teachings ... to the boys teachings ... to the boy

The closer he got to the realization of his dreammore difficult things became. He was

being constantly subjected to tests of hispersistence and courage.

He could not be hasty or impatient.”

The boy meets The Alchemist (the Guru?)The boy meets The Alchemist (the Guru?)

It is the Englishman with his books and formulae who is searching for The Alchemist inthe desert but The Alchemist identifies the boy as his student that God has sent to him.

When the boy asks The Alchemist whether he is going to help him towards his destiny, The Alchemist says, “No. You already know what you need to know. I am only going to

point you in the direction of your treasure”.

“Remember that wherever your heart is, there you willfind your treasure. You have got to find that treasure,so that everything you have learned along the way can

make sense” – The Alchemist

The boyThe boy’’s dialogue with The Alchemist s dialogue with The Alchemist (the Guru?)(the Guru?)

To whoever reads the book, I would suggest pay a lot of attention to Pages # 114 &115. Here The Alchemist tells the boy the consequences of not following your dream.

And the vacuum that gradually ensues.

The boy asks The Alchemist why he could not understand about alchemy from the Englishman’s books. And whether he should be understanding those codes. The

Alchemist says, “Perhaps, if you were in a lab of alchemy ... but you are in the desert. Immerse yourself in it. The desert will give you an understanding of the world (Karma Yoga?). In fact anything on the face of the earth will do that. You don’t even have to

understand the desert. All you have to do is contemplate on a single grain of sand and you will see in it all the marvels of creation”.

“How do I immerse myself in the desert?”

“Just listen to your heart. It knows all the things because it came from the Soul of the World (Brahmam?), and one day it will return there”

“What kind of things the author is referring to here in these dialogues? Aren’t they all sounding very very

familiar!

Great quotes from The AlchemistGreat quotes from The Alchemist

“Before a dream is realized the Soul of the World tests everything learned along theway. It does not do this because it is evil, but so that we can, in addition to realizing

our dreams, also master the lessons we have learned as we moved towards that dream. That is the point at which most people give up. In the language of the desert,

one dies of thirst just as the first of the palm trees have appeared on the horizon.”

“Every search begins with beginner’s luck. And everysearch ends with the victor being severely tested”

“The world is only the visible aspect of God. What the alchemy does is to bring spiritual perfection into contact

with material plane”

The Alchemist The Alchemist –– the Grand Finalethe Grand FinaleThe boyThe boy’’s transformations transformation

“And there was a smile on the face of The Alchemist”

The boy turned to the hand that wrote it all. As he did so he realized the universe fell silent. The boy reached to the Soul of the World. He saw that it

was part of the Soul of God. And he saw that the Soul of God was his own soul. And that he a boy could do miracles. In fact he transforms himself into a wind.

The Epilogue The Epilogue -- The boyThe boy’’s treasures treasure

Want to know how the book ends this fable? Does the boy find histreasure? In the Pyramids? ....There is a twist in the tail!

Just look at slide 11 and read what the boy’s father had said whenthe boy was itching to commence his journey. Therein lies the

beautiful end to this beautiful fable!

(beyond saying this, I do not want to be a spoilsport spilling the beans as howCoelho ends the book. Do buy/borrow/steal a copy and read for yourself)

The book goes on to show that the boy reaches the Pyramids and searches for the treasure. He listens intently to his heart to find where the treasure is.

The heart whispers, “Be aware of the place where you are brought to tears. That is where I am and that is where your treasure is” ........

In a nutshell ......In a nutshell ......

“Teaches us about the essential wisdom of listeningto our hearts and following our dreams”

“And, when you want something, the whole universe conspires in helping you to achieve it”

“Remember that wherever your heart is, there you willfind your treasure. You have got to find that treasure,so that everything you have learned along the way can

make sense” – The Alchemist

The heart whispers, “Be aware of the place where you are brought to tears. That is where I am and that is where your treasure is” ........

What this book means to me?What this book means to me?

As I read through it .... the boy’s chasing his dream, his learning from everything he comes across, the helping hand from the Old

King, the guidance from The Alchemist and his remarkable transformation ...... all together make this book look like a tribute by the author to .... “Karma Yoga, the Guru in one’s life and God’s

constant kind presence nearby”!

Each human being was given two qualities: power and the gift. Power directs us towards our destiny; the gift obliges us to share with others

what is best in us- Paulo Coelho

Each human being was given Each human being was given two possibilities: action and two possibilities: action and contemplation. Both lead to contemplation. Both lead to

the same place.the same place.-- Paulo Paulo CoelhoCoelho

(has this author studied our (has this author studied our SrimadSrimad BhagavadBhagavadGitaGita!)!)

Thank you!