Warrior of the Light: A Manual (1997) by Paulo Coelho: A Special Read #NovNov24

Book Beginnings on Fridays (hosted by Rose City Reader):

Just off the beach to the west of the village lies an island, and on it is a vast temple with many bells," said the woman.

⚔ I rarely talk about politics in this blog, as I'm not a political person. But just for once I'll make exception, because we have just got a new President! Mr. Prabowo Subianto has been sworn in as Indonesia's eighth president on October the 20th. Not only that he is an avid reader like me (his library is an enviable room for every bookworm!), his favorite authors include Alexandre Dumas (one of mine too), Sir Walter Scott, and Paulo Coelho.

⚔ Coelho is a well known Brazilian novelist who has penned more than a dozen international best-sellers, the most well known is The Alchemist. He might not be ranked as my personal favorite, but he has a special place in my life, because he happened to be one of two authors (the other is J.K. Rowling) that tied a special literary bond between me and my late father. Like me, Papa adored The Alchemist, and we both had read and discussed few more books together; By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept, and The Devil and Miss Prym were our favorites.

⚔ You can imagine, therefore, how delightful I was when learning from one of our president's interviews, that his personal favorite book, which has also become his main inspiration, is one from Coelho: Warrior of the Light. Now, though the book was published in 1997, Papa and I have never read it. When I read the interview, I instantly thought of Papa; of how thrilled we would have been that we shared a favorite author with our president. At that moment, I knew instantly that I must read that book, Warrior of the Light. Partly because I wanted to know what had inspired our president, and partly, to connect with the memory of my beloved father. And today I proudly report that I had achieved both.

⚔ A mysterious veiled woman told a boy that there is a vast temple with many bells on an island "just off the beach", can he hear the bells? The boy listened but heard nothing. Local fishermen said there used to be a temple, which was longtime ago swallowed up by the sea on an earthquake. But sometimes they heard the bells. The boy became obsessed. He's no longer a boy now, but he keeps coming to the beach though never hears any bells. And just when he becomes used to the beach, the sound of waves breaking on the shore, and the seagull's cry, one day he hears the bells!

⚔ The mysterious woman returns just at that moment, and begins to teach him about the Warrior of the Light. It's not something endowed by others, but something that we work ourselves. Everyone could become a Warrior of the Light. Some key "ingredients" which makes a Warrior of the Light are adept, humble, free, persevering, honorable, courageous, reflective. A Warrior is not without flaws, he did foolish things in the past, made bad decisions, humiliated and defeated. But instead of regretting it, he lets it strengthening him in his fights to achieve his dreams.

Friday 56 Quote (hosted by Head Full of Books):

A Warrior of the Light always keeps his heart free of any feelings of hatred. When he goes into battle he remembers what Christ said: "Love your enemies." And he obeys.
But he knows that the act of forgiveness does not mean that he must accept everything; a Warrior cannot bow his head, for if he did he would lose sight of the horizon of his dreams.

⚔ In short, this is a manual book that instructs us to be happy, to be a better person, to overcome our fears, to prepare us for a good fight, and encourages us to achieve our dreams. It also works as a companion book to The Alchemist. It's such an inspiring little book that is quite doable and not at all preachy. Almost every instruction is useful or inspiring, that I could have highlighted them all along the way! I'm grateful of having read this, and feel honored to have shared this inspiration with our president. Now I am confident that he will do good for our country, as I recognized from his speeches or gestures, that traces of Warrior of the Light are in him. I pray to God I'm not wrong.

More quotes:

"The Warrior respects the suffering of others and does not try to compare it with his own. The cup of suffering is not the same size for everyone."

"Even though he fights against oppression, at no point does he attempt to judge the oppressor. Each person will answer for his actions before God and so, once the Warrior has completed his task, he makes no further comment."

"A Warrior of the Light is on in the world in order to help his fellow man, not to condemn his neighbor."

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Read the book for:

Novellas on November 2024 #NovNov24

hosted by Cathy @ 746 Books & Rebecca @ Bookish Beck

A Spiritual Canticle by St. John of the Cross

I have been meaning to read this book for some times, but I have always dreaded I won’t have enough time to plough the depth of the canticle. So, I have decided to read the forty stanzas in forty weeks—one stanza a week. I read the Indonesian translation, along with comments that St. John added later, which I found very helpful to understand (a little more) the canticle.

Let me give you a peek of some earlier stanzas:

Stanza #1

Where have You hidden Yourself,

And abandoned me in my groaning, O my Beloved?

You have fled like the hart,

Having wounded me.

I ran after You, crying; but You were gone.

It’s about a soul’s search for unity with God—pictured as a bride who is seeking her bridegroom. It loves God so much that it hurts—longing for the perfect happiness, which is unity with God in Heaven. But when it is still on earth, it must be satisfied by just getting a glimpse of Him. Right when it feels Him, He would flash out of its reach; and this bleeds the soul so much more.

Stanza #2

O shepherds, you who go

Through the sheepcots up the hill,

If you shall see Him

Whom I love the most,

Tell Him I languish, suffer, and die.

The soul needs an intermediary (pictured as shepherds) to express its love lamentation to God (pictured as hill—or the highest peak). Here the commentator suggests that the intermediary could be its own longing and affection; or it could also means the angels—I am more inclined of the latter. So the soul begs the angels to speak about its sorrowful love to Him (whom the angels could reach easier than the soul) when the time is right for Him (or if God is willing) to listen to it (“if you shall see Him”). Here the soul does not demand anything; it just gives hints about its anguish and let the Lover do what He desires. By humbling itself, God would take more pity to the soul.

Stanza #3

In search of my Love

I will go over mountains and strands;

I will gather no flowers,

I will fear no wild beasts;

And pass by the mighty and the frontiers.

Laments and intermediary does not suffice the souls to reach its Beloved; it must move and take active action [‘searching’], i.e. by exercising contemplative life towards wisdom (mountains—higher place) and self-denials (strands—lower place). The soul decides to purify itself from vain pleasures which would block it from God (gather no flowers). Besides that, there are three other enemies that put the soul away from God: 1) The world (wild beasts)—which threatens the soul of losing its friends and belongings; 2) Satan (the mighty)—who will strive the soul from unity with God; 3) The natural rebellion of the flesh against the spirit (the frontiers)—the flesh is the frontier that hinder the soul on its spiritual journey. The soul determines to pass through all these obstacles to find its Lover.

Stanza #4

O groves and thickets

Planted by the hand of the Beloved;

O verdant meads

Enameled with flowers,

Tell me, has He passed by you?

After preparing the long journey to reach God (on stanza #3), the soul starts its spiritual journey by getting to know Him through His creations. It’s as if the soul begs the nature: show me how beautiful He has created you! It reflects the soul’s longing to grasp His traces/His touch on the creation. While it is still far away from the Lover, at least it can touch and adore His works. Just as a lover loves to touch or kiss a shirt belongs to the absent beloved one.

Stanza #5

A thousand graces diffusing

He passed through the groves in haste,

And merely regarding them

As He passed,

Clothed them with His beauty.

Nature answers the soul’s entreaty by revealing that God has created the creatures in a very fast [‘He passed…in haste’] and simple action, yet abundant in graces [‘a thousand’]. He created the creatures ‘in haste’ reflects that the universe is just a small act compared to the Incarnation of the Word and the mysteries of the Christian faith. ‘Regarding them’ means that God regards us through His Son. He bestows us graces and gifts to make us perfect (as is in the book of Genesis). [Clothed them with His beauty] means that when Jesus incarnated to man, God exalted mankind, and bestows them with beauty and dignity.

======

And the journey continues on till the fortieth stanza, where the soul finally united with God.

This is probably one of the most difficult books I have encountered. I could relate with only the early eight or ten stanzas. While I could imagine the soul’s longing for “marriage” with God (like in the Book of Song of Songs), I still can’t get how it possibly happen to ordinary people like us, whose focuses are much occupied by worldly matters. However, it is gratifying to learn that it is possible for man to achieve that holy unity with his Creator. And it certainly encouraged me to be a better person day by day.

3 / 5

Siddharta by Herman Hesse

I have thought that Siddharta was about THE Siddharta Gautama—the Buddha—and that this book is all about Buddhist thing. But after finishing it, I just realized that Herman Hesse did not focus on a certain religion, but in the universal search of our Creator.

Siddharta was not the Buddha. He was a Brahmin son who was thirst of finding the “ultimate reality”. He is a brilliant young man, and when great teaching didn’t quench his thirst, Siddharta shook off his monk robe and took on every worldly habit he got on his way: sex, gambling, business—in short becoming “the child people” as he used to call ordinary people. He enjoyed these habits at first, and believed that only in becoming acquainted with worldly issues, that he would find peace. Instead of peace, he felt terrible emptiness in the end that he felt like jumping in a ditch. And then, while he was at the lowest bottom, his conscience led him to follow the spiritually inspirational river, and becoming a ferryman. Only then and there that Siddharta finally found the ultimate peace.

This little book has so much wisdom to contemplate on. I found it very soothing and calming. One day I brought the book to the apartment’s garden near the pool. There I have a favorite spot near one of the tower’s door to the pool; it is shaded in the afternoon, and quite secluded from the pool. Only people from that tower would occasionally pass there, but usually they just pass by and ignore me (maybe for them I am just a strange girl who choose to read a book in the hot afternoon, while everybody else is swimming!) Anyway, there I was on one hot afternoon, reading the last chapters where Siddharta loves to “listen” to the river’s voice; and I thought how lucky anyone who can lead a peaceful life like that! And I believe, after this, I would never listen to gurgling sounds on the lake or river without remembering Siddharta!

Siddharta’s long journey to find ultimate peace is so relatable to our modern life. Many people have been trying hard to seek God—sometimes by comparing one religion to another—but few really find the Ultimate Truth, and some have never even found it. And many more are still disputing over which religion is better and higher than the other. While the answer is very simple—Herman Hesse has shared it with us all these years through Siddharta.

The most interesting part of this book for me is how Siddharta listen to the voice of the river. I didn’t understand what it means at first, but I think the key here is the serenity. Being in the tranquil river means you can clear out your cluttered mind and soul, and only then that you can really listen to your conscience. The medium can be different for each person—for Siddharta it is the river, but for me, it is the rustling of leaves or the chirping of birds. It is not that Siddharta really sees a person’s face or an event reflecting from the water, but with his mind clear, he can see what is really in the depth of his conscience. So the voice of the river is really the voice of God.

I am very grateful that I have ever read this book—so inspiring, so soothing.