Monday, July 30, 2007

The Secret Of Happiness

A certain shopkeeper sent his son to learn about the secret of happiness from the wisest man in the world. The lad wandered through the desert for forty days, and finally came upon a beautiful castle, high atop a mountain. It was there that the wise man lived.

Rather than finding a saintly man, though, our hero, on entering the main room of the castle, saw a hive of activity: tradesmen came and went, people were conversing in the corners, a small orchestra was playing soft music, and there was a table covered with platters of the most delicious food in that part of the world. The wise man conversed with everyone, and the boy had to wait for two hours before it was his turn to be given the man’s attention.

The wise man listened attentively to the boy’s explanation of why he had come, but told him that he didn’t have time just then to explain the secret of happiness. He suggested that the boy looked around the palace and return in two hours.

“Meanwhile, I want to ask you to do something,” said the wise man, handing the boy a teaspoon that held two drops of oil. “As you wander around, carry this spoon with you without allowing the oil to spill.”

The boy began climbing and descending the many stairways of the palace, keeping the eyes fixed on the spoon. After two hours, he returned to the room where the wise man was.

“Well,” asked the wise man, “did you see the Persian tapestries that are hanging in my dining hall? Did you see the garden that it took the master gardener ten years to create? Did you notice the beautiful parchments in my library?”

The boy was embarrassed, and confessed that he had observed nothing. His only concern had been not to spill the oil that the wise man had entrusted to him.

“Then go back and observe the marvels of my world,” said the wise man. “You cannot trust a man if you didn’t know his house.”

“Relieved, the boy picked up the spoon and returned to his exploration of the palace, this time observing all of the works of art on the ceilings and the walls. He saw the gardens, the mountains all around him, the beauty of the flowers, and the taste with which everything had been selected. Upon returning to the wise man, he related in detail everything he had seen.

“But where are the drops of oil I entrusted to you?” asked the wise man.

Looking down at the spoon he held, the boy saw that the oil was gone.

“Well, there is only one piece of advice I can give to you” said the wisest of wise men. “The secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the world, and never to forget the drops of oil on the spoon.”

... The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

I was very focused reading the story from the beginning to the end (it was like trying to fix the eye on the oil). However, when it came to the last sentence, I had no idea the moral of the story! I know it's bad but hey, I've never been a good English or Literature student :o)

I understood the part about observing and appreciating the marvels of the world (Allah's creations and man's creations, with Allah's will of course) but I'm lost at the part where you need to observe the oil as well. Why is it that doing both lead to secret of happiness? Could you help to elaborate on that please?

Lampu said...

If you want something, the whole world will conspire to help you.
:-) I got this book as a birthday gift long long ago and in it was written.... profanity in simplicity.

Precious.

TheHoopoe said...

applewhite,

I cannot claim to know for sure what Coelho meant, but I guessed the beauty is in discovering for yourself between (*hint*) "the marvels" and "the drops of oil" in your personal journey of life.

We all have them...

Wallahu'a'lam

TheHoopoe said...

saedah,

You are lucky to have friends giving you such great books :)

This is indeed Coelho's best book, at least to me. It has something for everyone - despite faith. Maybe we should be doing this book after we finish The Conference of the Birds? :)

Hold your breath: the last I heard, they are making a movie version of this. But being a purist, it will never be compared to the exquisite beauty of the literature book, to me...

isamuhammad said...
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isamuhammad said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
isamuhammad said...

Assalmualaikum, I apologize for deleting the other posts, but after rereading my comment I needed to change a few words and add some, but here goes. After reading this story I came up with two different views or degrees in views. I do not know if the author had this in mind, but this is what came to my mind. The first one was about balance. To be so concentrated on one thing (the oil) you lose out on the rest of life (the house). But at the same time if you admire everything in life (the house) you forget about what your one job was (the oil). From this view I switched gears to Allah and Islam. It is my job to serve Allah, but at the same time enjoy the blessings that have been bestowed on me. If I indulge in the blessing that have been given to me, I will forget that it is my job to serve Him. If I seclude myself from life and only concentrate on Him then I would not be following the Islamic path and I would not be able to enjoy the blessing in life that Allah has given me. A balance life is an Islamic life and to me that is the secret of happiness.

TheHoopoe said...

Exquisitely on point and crystal :)

Anonymous said...

Just finished reading the book today. excellent. How the alchemist guided the boy is somehow a bit similar to how the Philosopher guided young Sophie in 'Sophie's World'.

Anonymous said...

Salaam aleikum,

I must confess that I have not read this book but this summary says so many things to me that I can relate to.

The oil in the spoon - Mans purpose in life - to worship Allah with utmost devotion.

The house and all it's wonders - to seek knowledge even onto China, or in this case grasp every opportunity to appreciate the wonders of Allahs creations. (I believe that this too is a form of worship).

The second journey the boy had to take - the importance of finding a good balance between the two - Like Isa Muhammed said, a balances life is an Islamic life.

I seek to do this in life as much as possible dispite the discouragement of relatives and friends.

I guess I need to share a copy of this book with them all.

Ma salaam,

Mahasssin

TheHoopoe said...

Dear Mahasssin,

Persevere forth... for God is always with us.

This is merely one event throughout the book, The Alchemist. There are many more...

A must read :)

TheHoopoe said...

applewhite,

It seems what Saedah said came true: If you want something, the whole world will conspire to help you.

SubhanAllah! Just look at how the world has come into this small Blog and shared their knowledge with us.

Indeed, blessed are we :) Alhamdulillah...

TheHoopoe said...

Dear Mahassin,

Perhaps you miss us here in Singapore??