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"Siddhartha" means "one who achieved his goals" or "every wish has been satisfied". The name of Buddha, before his renunciation, was Prince Siddhartha Gautama, later after attaining enlightenment he came to be called as Gautama Buddha. The literal meaning of Buddha is one who has attained Bodhi; and bodhi is meant wisdom, so Buddha means “the enlighten one”— the knower.
I had wanted to read Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse for a long time. I am not very fond of spiritual literature, and even shun it many times, but still something in this book caught my attention. I had heard enough good things about this author to understand that giving Siddhartha a chance was worth it. So I started it, driven more by impulse than by something painstakingly deliberate and planned.
So I bought this book in around 2018 and read the first two chapters in two weeks. This may not speak highly of the literary or spiritual content of Siddhartha, but I actually feel that I failed to advance at an adequate speed because at that time I had not "opened up" to what Hesse could tell me. However, in 2020 during the lockdown, I gave him a chance again and tried to embark on reading in a different way, perhaps more private or personal; and, as you will see, I have already finished it. And I must accept that it was an extraordinary journey, through which I traveled with the Sramana Siddhartha in his search for supreme wisdom and peace of the soul in a voyeuristic but no less authentic way.
When it comes to Hesse, there is no need to talk about how well written his novel is, about the perfect approach he makes to nature, about the poetry that jumps off the pages when he talks about man and his tribulations. When it comes to Hesse all this is inherent, it is preferable, I think now, to speak of sensations.
Siddhartha, speaks to us about many things, is very spiritual and deep in the sense of self, being and soul. It is a book that can be read quickly, in two days if you have time, but I think you have to take it gently, in order to understand it, at least try to understand it and I think that I had to read it often, to be able to give it meaning of words, although some are clearer than water.
The many teachings that the book has is a mystery, because there are several, the philosophical sense, the venerable, cultured interior answer, depth of knowledge and knowledge.
The plot is narrated from the perspective of Siddhartha, son of Brahmans (priestly caste of India), who cannot find through regulated religiosity a way to satisfy his thirst for knowledge, his desire to find the first cause of things. Therefore, he decides to leave and go his own way in search of the ultimate truth of life.
In my view it is precisely the words of Hesse that make this novel such a delicacy. Its symbolism, its universality and the delicate simplicity when expressing Siddhartha's reflections, his fears and concerns, the questions inherent to the human condition.
Making an interpretation of the work from its universal philosophical intentionality, I praise the quality of Hesse and I prefer what, for me, is the main message of the work; each one must trace his own path, we must be our own guide.
In Siddhartha's words:
“I will no longer allow Siddhartha to escape me! I will no longer occupy my thoughts and my life in the search for the Atman or with inquiries about the suffering of the world. I am not going to kill myself again and fragment myself to search for a mystery behind the ruins. I will no longer be instructed by the "Yoga-Veda", the "Atharva-Veda", the ascetics or any other doctrine. I want to learn about myself, be my own disciple, know myself and penetrate this enigma called Siddhartha "
Words of Wisdom
“Once you hear this phrase: you are wise when it is useless. He believed that only time and perseverance teach us.”
“Premature knowledge is just a mere illusion of true knowledge that only arises in the middle of the years and the different experiences of life.”
“I have needed time to learn, and I still have not managed to understand that nothing can be learned! How true!”
“Words are harmful to the secret meaning of things; everything changes slightly when we express it, it seems a bit distorted, a bit silly ... "
“The human does not know how to live and does not know what he lives for, he has erroneous dreams and vain goals, we despise what we should love and we love what we should hate. Little by little we move away from our humanity and meaning, but we do not get to see the ambiguous paths that we choose, we do not see the paths that society itself has implanted for us to follow.”
Concluding thoughts
As this story tells us, wisdom cannot be taught. Decomposing information into language may become feasible, but it is not so with experience. Wisdom is achieved through the inner being, from the outside to the inside, and it is highly personal. Similarly, Siddhartha, somewhat contradictorily, can make many ideas clear, some somewhat controversial and others revealing. It is a reading that I highly recommend, as long as it is read with an open mind. I cannot say more since this path must be traveled by oneself and discovered in private. So here you go, go ahead and let yourself go.
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Reviews with images
A tale of learning
Your impression after reading this book will depend on the matter whether you have just read it as a normal book or felt and experienced it. If this book be read just as a normal book, nothing will be achieved. But if you start feeling the experiences the main character passed through, then you will love it. This book is not an ordinary book, as I can say.This book was published in 1922 (102 years ago) and the author had won the noble prize in literature. So, I started reading it with high expectations.The main character Siddhartha is not Gautam Buddha, but a contemporary boy who was a son of a Brahmin. This boy had a great curiosity to be enlightened about the true meaning of life. He decided to join the Samanas and he almost forced his father to agree to it and bid him farewell. His close friend Govinda became his companion. After living the life of almost cloth-less dwellers, they came to know about Gautam Buddha and then joined his disciples. But Siddhartha started finding gaps in Buddha’s teachings and left him. That’s how he and his companion Govinda parted away.After that, he started realizing that he can only learn about life by experiencing everything, not by the teachings of any Guru. Then his journey starts. He lived his life as a samana, a merchant, a lustful lovemaker, a gambler, a ferryman and as a father. At the ending, he met his companion Govinda again and told him about the ultimate truth he learned. To know this ultimate truth, one should read this famous book.There are many adult contents. But it is also a spiritual read. If you are able to feel the emotions and the experiences of the characters, you can read this.
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