“Everything will happen as was written by the lord”, replied the prophet.

“There are moments when tribulations occur in our lives, and we cannot avoid them. But they are there for some reason.”

“What reason?”

“That is a question we cannot answer before, or even during, the trials. Only when we have overcome them do we understand why they were there.”

The bestselling author Paulo Coelho, takes us to the world of thoughts to reassess our own inner selves in order to fulfil the destiny bestowed upon us with daring credence through his book – The Fifth Mountain.
The story revolves around the life of a 23 year old Prophet Elijah who is forced to flee from his homeland and accept the magical inevitability of life. The trials and tribulations he faces become the harsh winds during his voyage through the ocean of life. And there are directions and visions from the angel of God like an island of hope for a shipwreck victim. 

Even though the protagonist tried to run away from his destiny and tried to lead a normal life; again and again he was drawn by the magical realities around him towards what was written by the supreme hands. “He thought about the reason for his existence, and obtained no answer. He thought about where he should go, and discovered that he was surrounded.” There are moments when Elijah loses his hope and falls deep into the darkness of despair. But still we can see the sacred illustrations of life hitting him once more in order to usher him to the very meaning of his existence on earth. “Elijah listened attentively to what his soul was saying: ‘But no one can lose sight of what he desires. Even if there are moments when he believes the world and the others are stronger. The Secret is this: do not surrender’ “

The story with its prophetic tone and spiritual nature tells us about Elijah, who was a carpenter, forced to flee from Israel, his homeland, as the newly crowned princess; Jezebel ordered to execute all the prophets who worship the Lord. Fleeing from the land, he went to Zaraphath which is also called as Akbar and finds refuge in the house of a widow. Climbing up the fifth mountain which is the dwelling place of the the god of Baal and receiving a vision from his Angel out there and then saving son of the widow from death; he becomes a man of influence in Akbar. And when finally when the city of Akbar gets destroyed in the war against Assyrians, he starts to rebuild the city with the people left; widows, aged and children. And also teaches them to read and write. The story ends with him fleeing to the fifth mountain and remaining there, after the incident of him going back to the Homeland; he dethrones Jezebel and orders execution of all the prophets who betrayed the Lord. 
The life of Elijah is an ocean of wisdom to look deep into ourselves and to recheck our own notions about the sacred truth called life.

A must read; poetic but spiritual work by Paulo Coelho.

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