The Celestine Prophecy – an Adventure by James Redfield

Published in 1993, James Redfield’s The Celestine Prophecy condenses some of the ideals of the New Age Movement. While we’re on the topic, a word about ‘New Age’ - this term was used as early as 1809 by the mystic English Poet, William Blake. The ideology behind the movement is believed to have had its inception as early as the 1600s. So, perhaps it’s time to coin a more fitting label to describe this philosophy that draws inspiration from many ancient spiritual traditions, and finds common ground among practitioners of different faiths.

The story begins with the unnamed Narrator meeting with an old friend, about a mysterious Peruvian manuscript containing Nine Insights, the sequential realization of which will lead to the spiritual transformation of humanity. On the trail of these insights, the Narrator sets off for Peru, and comes across sudden perils, unexpected friends/guides, and an awakening awareness.

The book touches upon many issues fundamental in spirituality – an awareness of the role of destiny in lives, the realization that each individual is part of a grander design, and, that oneness with the Universe is inseparable from Love. These beliefs are not new, in the same way that Truth is not new, and is ever worth re-telling.

The author shares other insights with regard to diet, environment, parenting, intuition, and power plays within human relationships. Interestingly, each particular insight is relayed to him through a messenger who might be considered most apt to talk on the subject. Most of them are academics. Two of them are priests, and one is the mother of a small child.

 Like, Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist, the book takes the form of a parable, a modern fantasy adventure with a hero in search of his own personal Holy Grail. The Nine Insights are interspersed over nine chapters, with no bold font or italics to cue in the inattentive reader. Though the style is light and undemanding, the writer needs to be lauded for whetting our curiosity, and allowing the narrative to gradually draw us in, enveloping us in the unfolding tale.