Class:- 8 English (Honeydew) Chapter - 5 The Summit Within Summary, Word Meanings, NCERT Solutions & Frequently Asked Questions

Class:- 8 English 

(Honeydew)

Chapter - 5

The Summit Within

Summary, Word Meanings, NCERT Solutions & Frequently Asked Questions  

-- Summary --

⭐ Summary In English

The Summit Within begins with the author expressing how he felt as he stood at the summit of Everest. Despite the physical exhaustion, the serene view made him feel multiple emotions, the dominant of which was humility. He believes that a man who has been to the mountains is never the same before. He further talked about climbing the summit of the mind once he had climbed the summit of Everest. As soon as he got rid of his physical exhaustion, his mind started wondering as to why people climb mountains. Most people would simply say, “Because it is there” but the author had a more personal answer to the question. He had always been fascinated by the mountains and would get miserable on being away from them. He mentions how the obstacles in climbing a mountain are physical. A climb to a summit means endurance, persistence and will power. He talks about another question that is, “Why Everest?”, simply because it’s the highest and mightiest. No wonder how difficult the passage is upwards, the sense of fulfillment, excitement, joy and satisfaction while standing on the top of the summit is incomparable. The experience is other-worldly. He says that there is no perfect answer to the question as to why he climbed Everest. He compared it to why people breathe. He explains how fellow climbers help each other in fulfilling this conquest. Famous climbers have left records of help without which they would have given up. Standing on the summit makes you realise that the struggle was worthwhile. The view motivates you to rise above your current situations. It provides a means for communion with God. on the highest peak, he explains how you bow down and make your submission to the God you worship. The group had left pictures and relics of the Gods they believed in. He then continues talking about the other summit, the summit within which is harder to climb. But any climb, regardless of physical or spiritual, holds the capacity to change you completely. He expresses that having successfully climbed the Everest has given him the strength to face life’s problems and that climbing a summit, internal or that of a mountain, is a worthwhile experience.

 

⭐ Summary In Hindi

शिखर सम्मेलन की शुरुआत लेखक द्वारा यह व्यक्त करने के साथ होती है कि एवरेस्ट के शिखर पर खड़े होने पर उन्हें कैसा लगा। शारीरिक थकावट के बावजूद, शांत दृश्य ने उन्हें कई भावनाओं का अनुभव कराया, जिनमें से प्रमुख विनम्रता थी। उनका मानना ​​​​है कि एक आदमी जो पहाड़ों पर गया है वह पहले जैसा नहीं रहता । उन्होंने आगे एवरेस्ट की चोटी पर चढ़ने के बाद मन के शिखर पर चढ़ने की बात कही। जैसे ही उन्होंने अपनी शारीरिक थकान से छुटकारा पाया, उनका मन सोचने लगा कि लोग पहाड़ पर क्यों चढ़ते हैं। अधिकांश लोग बस यही कहेंगे, “क्योंकि यह वहाँ है” लेकिन लेखक के पास इस प्रश्न का अधिक व्यक्तिगत उत्तर था। वह हमेशा पहाड़ों पर मोहित रहता था और उनसे दूर होने पर दुखी होता था। उन्होंने उल्लेख किया है कि कैसे एक पहाड़ पर चढ़ने में बाधाएं भौतिक हैं। शिखर पर चढ़ने का अर्थ है धीरज, दृढ़ता और इच्छा शक्ति। वह एक और सवाल के बारे में बात करता है, “एवरेस्ट क्यों?”, सिर्फ इसलिए कि यह सबसे ऊंचा और सबसे शक्तिशाली है। कोई आश्चर्य नहीं कि ऊपर की ओर का मार्ग कितना कठिन है, शिखर के शीर्ष पर खड़े होने पर तृप्ति, उत्साह, आनंद और संतुष्टि की भावना अतुलनीय है। अनुभव आलोकिक है। उनका कहना है कि इस सवाल का कोई सटीक जवाब नहीं है कि उन्होंने एवरेस्ट पर चढ़ाई क्यों की। उन्होंने इसकी तुलना इस बात से की कि लोग सांस क्यों लेते हैं। वह बताते हैं कि कैसे साथी पर्वतारोही इस विजय को पूरा करने में एक दूसरे की मदद करते हैं। प्रसिद्ध पर्वतारोहियों ने मदद के ऐसे रिकॉर्ड छोड़े हैं जिनके बिना वे हार मान लेते। शिखर पर खड़े होने से आपको एहसास होता है कि संघर्ष सार्थक था। यह दृश्य आपको अपनी वर्तमान परिस्थितियों से ऊपर उठने के लिए प्रेरित करता है। यह भगवान के साथ एकता के लिए एक साधन प्रदान करता है। उच्चतम शिखर पर, वे बताते हैं कि आप कैसे झुकते हैं और जिस भगवान की आप पूजा करते हैं, उसके प्रति समर्पण करते हैं। समूह ने उन देवताओं के चित्र और अवशेष छोड़े थे जिन पर वे विश्वास करते थे। वह फिर दूसरे शिखर के बारे में बात करना जारी रखता है, जिस शिखर पर चढ़ना कठिन है। लेकिन कोई भी चढ़ाई, भौतिक या आध्यात्मिक की परवाह किए बिना, आपको पूरी तरह से बदलने की क्षमता रखती है। वह व्यक्त करते हैं कि एवरेस्ट पर सफलतापूर्वक चढ़ाई करने से उन्हें जीवन की समस्याओं का सामना करने की ताकत मिली है और यह कि एक शिखर पर चढ़ना, आंतरिक या पहाड़ पर चढ़ना एक सार्थक अनुभव है।

-- Word Meanings --

1. Emotion  :- भावना , जज्बा
2. Dominant :- प्रबल
3. Tinge :- झलक
4. Formidable :- डरावना , दहला देने वाला
5. Obstacles :- रुकावट
6. Grim :- भयानक , कठोर
7. Ennoble :- उदात्त बनाना 
8. Resolutely :- दृढता से 
9. Summit :- शिखर
10. Humility :- विनयशीलता
11. Endurance :- सहनशक्ति
12. Persistence :- संकल्प

-- NCERT Solution --

Comprehension Check (Page 80)

Question 1:- Standing on Everest, the writer was

i) overjoyed
ii) very sad.
iii) jubilant and sad.
Choose the right item.

Question 2:- The emotion that gripped him was one of
i) victory over hurdles.
ii) humility and a sense of smallness.
iii) greatness and self importance.
iv) joy of discovery.
Choose the right item.

Question 3:- “The summit of the mind” referes to
i) great intellectual achievements.
ii) the process of maturing mentally and spiritually.
iii) Overcoming personal ambition for common welfare.
iv) living in the world of thought and imagination.
v) the triumph of mind over worldly pleasures for a noble cause.
vi) a fuller knowledge of oneself
Mark the item(s) not relevant.

Answers:

1. iii) jubilant and sad.
2. ii) humility and a sense of smallness.
3. vi) a fuller knowledge of oneself.

Working With the Text (Page 81)

Question 1:- Answer the following questions.
i) What are the three qualities that played a major role in the author’s climb?
Answer:- The three qualities that ensured the success of the author were ‘endurance, persistence and will power’.

ii) Why is adventure, which is risky, also pleasurable?
Answer:- Mountain climbing is a great adventure but is also risky. It is a great challenge and a doing challenging job is in itself pleasurable. It gives immense joy to the doers.

iii) What was it about Mount Everest that the author found irresistible?
Answer:- Mount Everest attracted the author because it is the highest, the mightiest and has defied many previous attempts. It takes the last ounce of one’s energy.

iv) One does not do it (climb a high peak) for fame alone. What does one do it for, really?
Answer:- Conquering summit is a great physical achievement. But more than that, it gives the climber the emotional and spiritual satisfaction. It satisfies man’s eternal love for adventure.

v) “He becomes conscious in a special manner of his own smallness in this large universe”. This awareness defines an emotion mentioned in the first paragraph. Which is the emotion?
Answer:- That emotion is ‘humility’.

vi) What were the ‘symbols of reverence’ left by members of the team on Everest?
Answer:- The author left on Everest a picture of Guru Nanak. Rawat left a picture of Goddess Durga. Phu Durgi left a relic of the Buddha. Edmund Hillary, being a Christian, buried a Cross under the rock. All these were symbols of reverence for God.

vii) What according to the writer, did his experience as an Everester teach him?
Answer:- The experience of having conquered Mount Everest changed him completely. It made him realise his own smallness.

Question 2:- Write a sentence against each of the following statements. Your sentence should explain the statement. You can pick out sentences from the text and rewrite them. The first one has been done for you.

i) The experience changes you completely.
One who has been to the mountains is never the same again.
_________________________________________________
ii) Man takes delight in overcoming obstacles.
_________________________________________________
iii) Mountains are nature at its best
_________________________________________________
iv) The going was difficult but the after-effects were satisfying
_________________________________________________
v) The physical conquest of a mountain is really a spiritual experience
_________________________________________________

Answer:-

ii) The obstacles in climbing a mountain are physical. A climb to a summit is a test of endurance and will power. It is a challenge that is difficult to resist.
iii) Everest is the highest and the mightiest and has defied many previous attempts.
iv) When the summit is climbed, there is the joy of having done something, one has the feeling of victory and of happiness.
v) Mountains are a means of communion with God.