Mysticism In Paulo Coelho's Veronica Decides To Die

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The Brazilian writer, Paulo Coelho, [1947] who is one of the most widely read authors of the world, is known for his different themes. In his lifetime he has faced different problems. Once upon a time, he was the most frustrated man who was so unpredictable, that he had to get admitted to an asylum, a mental hospital and was being treated as a mad person. Paulo Coelho spent many days in the mental hospital. He has used his own experience in his novel ’Veronica Decides to Die’. The thrust of the present research paper is to revisit Paulo Coelho’s novel ‘Veronica decides die’ to realize the mystic, experienced by an abnormal character Zedka. Background - The story of veronica takes place in a mental hospital, Villete. Veronica, who is fed up with her life tries to commit suicide but …show more content…

In today’s material world, everything is measured logically with reason and explanations. So mysticism is not commonly accepted, rather it is discarded as illogical. Mysticism is a vague or ill-defined religious or spiritual belief, especially associated with the occult. The Cambridge English dictionary defines mysticism as- ‘The belief that there is hidden meaning in life or each human being can unite with God’. Dan Merkur, [mysticism, Encyclopedia, Britannica] defines mysticism as- ‘Mysticism is popularly known as –‘Become one with the absolute or the infinite, but it is also referred to as a ‘kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which has a spiritual meaning’. For Gellman, Jerome, [mysticism’, The Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy2011].Mysticism is -‘An insight, in ultimate or hidden truth’. But in the modern era mysticism has been assigned to any extraordinary experience or extra-sensory experiences. In the Greek language, mystic means to conceal. [Sharf, 1995-b] opines about mysticism as - ‘Mystical experiences are marking insight into religious truth is a modern development. It is based upon the background and experience of the