Jonathan Livingstone Seagull by Richard Bach

Reading is a good habit to develop and at times when you come across books like Jon Seagull you thank your stars for the gift you have. Certainly there are other good books like Siddharth, Autobiography of a yogi etc, but the thing going for this book is that it is more of a sort of a short story that you can finish in half hour. But it will force you to think and if you dig a little deeper you would be amazed at the beauty and truth of the lesson contained therein.
Well I had heard about the book but was unaware about its content. I had no inkling abouth what kind of book it was and though I had opportunities to read the book before, somehow I always ignored it for the more racy fiction titles. So it was today that I came across it again in an eBook format and having nothing better to do decided to read it. And I am glad that I did.

In the start we are introduced to Jonathan Livingstone who is somewhat different from the other gulls of the flock. While others think of nothing more than eating, Jon thinks about flight and how he can overcome the limitations. His mother asks him at one point,” Why is it, so hard to be like others in the flock, Jon?”. And he replies,” I just want to know what I can do and what I can’t”.

And so he is turned out of flock for daring to think and act differently. But he doesn’t stop to practice and is in search for new dimensions of flying, and it is through him that we know these priceless wisdoms : …And it was pretty just to stop thinking [ Very correct according to me as very few among us like to really think and are satisfied in rolling along with the life. How many among us can sit alone with themselves without any stimuli like book, tv or drugs? ]. And then, “….the most important thing in living was to reach out and touch perfection in that (one loves to do )….”.

And in time he perfects many flights and a time comes when he is asked into another world where he can go higher. So he goes there and meets characters like Sullivan and Chiang. At one point Sullivan asks him,” Do you have any idea how many lives we must have gone through before we even got the first idea that there is more to life than eating or fighting or power in the flock? “, and continuing says,”… there is such a thing as perfection….. our purpose for living is to find that perfection and show it forth.”

Then Chiang implies to him that,” heaven is not a place or a time. Heaven is being perfect….. and … perfect speed my son is being there.” The most important lesson taught by chiang, the elder of the council is that a gull’s nature lived everywhere at once across space and time. And one could go anywhere by being aware of this truth.

So Jon on feeling empathy for other flocks on earth returns to earth to teach them to fly better. And at one point asks,”Why is it the hardest thing in the world is to convince a bird that he is free.” His wisdom:
• Every thing that limits us, we have to put aside.
• We’re free to go where we wish and to be what we are.
• The only true law is that which leads to freedom.
• You’ve to practice and see the real gull, the good in every one of them …..
• And in the end, “ You need to keep finding yourself, a little more everyday” , at the point of parting with Fletcher.
It is definitely a must read story. The amount of wisdom contained inside applies to our daily lives. Though it is a story about the gulls, they think and act like humans. The banishment of Jon because he dared to be different; he being called the son of the Great Gull ; and later being called a devil as he brings Fletcher back to life…. All these are (loose) symbolisms of the life of Christ. And the central idea that each man is free and can come to know so by his search for perfection in whatever he does or loves to do. And that one will have to do all the hard work himself, there is no shortcut.