Summary of The summit within
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This story is experiences of Major H.P.S. Ahluwalia, a member of the first successful Indian expedition to Mount Everest. Ahluwalia was full of humility when he stood on the summit of Everest. He thanked God for his physical success. It was the highest of the goals for him. While getting down from the Summit he asked himself why he climbed Everest and what made him to do so.
The people climb mountains because they present great difficulties. Man takes delight in overcoming obstacles. A climb to a summit means the demonstration of climber’s endurance, Persistence and will power. Since childhood, the narrator has been attracted by mountains. For him mountains are nature at its best. They have a challenging beauty and majesty. They are a means of communion with God. Everest is the highest and the mightiest and has defied many previous attempts. On climbing its summit, one has the sense of victory and of happiness. Its view brings a spiritual change in his mind. It poses a challenge before him which was difficult to resist. One feels connected with the supernatural element on reaching the Summit. One becomes conscious of his own smallness in this large Universe. It provides physical, emotional and spiritual fulfillment.
Climbing a mountain is a highly risky job and needs others’ help also. The fellow climbers prove to be a source of inspiration. They remember their Gods to feel confident. It is far more difficult to climb the summit within oneself than to climb the summit of a mountain. One can get a fuller knowledge of oneself merely by climbing one’s personal and internal mountain peak. It is fearful and unscalable like the climb to the summit of a mountain. Both the climbs teach one much about the world and about oneself. The internal summits are much Higher than Everest. The climber gets the inspiration to face life’s ordeals with determination.