Have you spent lazy evenings musing about the meaning of love or the definition of freedom? Or spent sleepless nights wondering about the purpose of life or what’s in store for us in the afterlife? Many a time, these conundrums don’t have an answer. More often than not, these reflections are also accompanied by a plethora of emotions. Some happy, others not so much. You may agree that it is quite hard to express such feelings through words. However, Lebanese-American philosopher and writer Kahlil Gibran describes these emotions effortlessly in his book The Prophet, a collection of prose-poetry.
The book begins with the protagonist Almustafa thinking about the time he has spent in Orphalese, and the people of the town he is going to leave forever. Almustafa has spent 12 years of his life in exile in Orphalese. Eventually, the people of the town look up to him as The Chosen One or The Prophet. Before he departs, he is asked a set of questions on various subjects by the townsfolk. Each of these topics makes for an individual chapter in the book. Be it an expectant mother asking about parenting, a rich man talking about charity, a priest seeking the purpose of religion, or a lawyer asking about the law of the land, the Prophet answers them all with great insight.
Comments