Siddhartha

A pox on every English department and English Instructor that pushed this book on me every year in High School and in College and withheld GK Chesterton from me only to discover him years after my academic career ended. A POX ON ALL OF YOU!!!!

In a nutshell the "Siddhartha" is a story of man's eternal quest for ultimate happiness and tranquility. Like with many other books that I have liked, at first the story seemed to me somewhat corny and not so thrilling, but I hopefully kept on going and after a little while found myself deeply immersed with the plot and ideas that are elaborated with much elegance and clarity. A central idea to which Hesse is leading(or so it seems to me), is that of unity or oneness of the world. According to main hero our world is conveniently separated into pieces, people are stratified as good or evil, young or old etc, etc. But the underlying reality is that of one indestructible, undeniable, ever-flowing, self-repeating, timeless world, a wold of change and stability at the same time. For instance the idea of unity is nicely demonstrated by main hero Siddhartha by telling his old friend that everything that happens is predetermined, that there is no free will, that we are not shaping our destiny with our actions and paving way for the future by leaving present in the shadow of past. The sinner who becomes a holly priest through hardships and long suffering is merely a deceiving illusion, a convenient picture, a way to break things into pieces for our easy comprehension. While in reality the holly priest has always lived inside the thief and existed ever since the birth and inevitably awaiting for revelation through necessary life experience. With the same token he goes on to further explain that all his life including past, present and the coming future has always been present in him at any moment. Inextricability of the world and time is the reason for loving everything surrounding us, be it a tree a piece of rock or a human being, since after all everything is a part of everything and it always goes on in a life circle and constantly transforms into all sorts of forms and hence everything you perceive is part of you and thus should be loved the same way as you love yourself.

But as Siddartha says it is difficult to describe the wisdom by words, and it frequently sounds foolish when someone attempts to do it, instead it is best gained through experience, so I think one needs to experience Hesse's masterpiece to taste a bite of his wisdom.

Hesse poses and answers the great philosophical and religious questions for everyman in a mere 100 pages. He fairly outlines the various paths to knowledge, wisdom and salvation in the life of Siddhartha and his friend Govinda, a classic pair of seekers. Eastern and Western, classic and modern answers are considered and lived.
There is no simple answer to the question "what is the meaning of life?" or "how do I lead a good life?"
Simple asceticism and hedonism don't work. Escapism does not work. Following a religious tradition or leader are only partial answers. The path for one person is different from the path for others. Random and unexplained events are inherent in life. Wisdom is learned through experience rather than from texts. We often don't know what we don't know. Appearances may be deceiving, but the underlying form or soul is not everything.
The solitary individual can not learn meaning or control his own life. The community, friends and family are necessary for understanding and living. Love is a cardinal virtue and experience. Sharing and giving are a good practices. Life is a journey and new learning is possible throughout. Individuals should not try to control the world. Hesse's main conclusion is Eastern, but stated in a way that can be used by religious and secular Western thinkers. The individual is part of the community. The individual experience is part of a more global experience. Current experience is linked to the past and the future. Hesse writes that life has meaning for individuals living in time because that experience is integrally connected with all of time and reality. This can be partially known and embraced.
In a post-rational, existential world, Hesse's story provides some comfort and hope in a time where wisdom is elusive.

Herman Hesse's book, Siddhartha, is a very good read. Entertaining yet spiritual, it's perfect when you like to ponder life and its meaning; I recommend it.

Siddhartha was a young Brahmin and thirsted for knowledge. Although he learned the art of saying "Om" and became the epitome of Braham, he was not happy and his curiosity was not satisfied. In order to find his true self, he decided to join Samanas. He became a business man, learned art of sex, became a rich man, lost everything, and became a ferry man. He finally understood that he knows that money is not important from the beginning, but in order to understand it, he has to be a rich man and a business man to experience such nauseated life. For me, Siddhartha is more sacred than Gotama the Buddha.