Where The Truth Is – Spiritual Story by Paulo Coelho

“Some disciples are always asking where the truth is,” said Maal-El. “So one day I decided to point in one direction, trying to show them how important it is to follow a path, and not just to think about it.

“Instead of looking in the direction I had pointed, the man who had asked the question started examining my finger, trying to find out where the truth was hidden.

“When people seek out a master, they should be looking for experiences which can help them avoid certain obstacles. But unfortunately, reality is different: they adopt the law of minimum effort, trying to find answers to everything.

“He who accepts, without question, the truths of his master, will never find his own path.”

Paulo Coelho is a Brazilian author who has sold more than 100 million books, which include 14 short story collections and the novel “The Alchemist.” He has been a fan of the Internet since the early 1990s. He spends at least three hours a day online, writing e-mails back and forth with his readers and posting photos on Flickr, MySpace and a blog.

Coelho's online activities also include promoting pirated copies of his own books. Since 2005 he's been directing his readers to an online site where they can download his books, in languages from German to Japanese, for free. “I always thought that when, at the beginning of your career, you strive to be read, you can't change your mind later and become greedy about it.”