Siddhartha

This book is everything to me now.

It holds a special place in my heart and has become an essential part of my life.

Every time I pick it up, I am transported to a different world, filled with unique characters and exciting adventures.

The words on the pages seem to come alive, painting vivid pictures in my mind.

I can feel the emotions of the characters as if they were my own.

This book has taught me many valuable lessons and has broadened my perspective.

It has inspired me to dream bigger and reach for the impossible.

I am truly grateful to have discovered this amazing book, and I know that it will continue to be a source of joy and inspiration for me in the years to come.

By the latter part of the 19th Century, the colonial spread of European powers across the world was in full swing.

The British ruled India and Australia and had gone to war with China to force opium on the population. Africa, South America, and the Philippines had been portioned out for Western rule and control of resources.

However, tyranny does not travel only in one direction. When Medieval European knights returned from the crusades, they brought back mathematical principles, Greek and Roman texts, and thus the European Renaissance was kindled by the Light of Islam. Africans brought to America as slaves also changed the culture, giving us blues, jazz, and African-descended words.

The colonial powers of the fin de siècle brought back stories, myths, fashions, art, and philosophies. Many Europeans became obsessed with foreign religions, but there was a problem: they got almost all of it wrong.

A Frenchman could spend a lifetime studying Catholicism and still make errors, despite his culture being steeped in it. Imagine a 19th Century Gascon trying to do the same with Buddhism, facing language and cultural barriers.

The Theosophists and similar groups ended up with garbled versions. What emerged was the 'New Age Movement', dressing up old Western ideas as Oriental wisdom. Hesse's work belongs in the 'Spiritual Self-Help' section, with its vague mysticism.

If you want to understand Buddhism, look elsewhere. But if you want to see Lutheranism explained with misused Hindu terms, this might be the book for you.

A small book that hides great wisdom within its pages. As Sartre once said, wisdom is not transmitted. One must search for it, live it. One can be strengthened by it and perform wonders. But one cannot teach it. Only knowledge is taught.

So perhaps I haven't been taught many things, but by reading this book I felt as if I had a dialogue. I relaxed, I calmed down and I enjoyed it.

Fairy tales always tell the greatest truths. This is what I have to say.

This little book is like a hidden treasure chest. It doesn't spoon-feed you with ready-made answers but rather encourages you to think deeply and discover the wisdom within yourself. Each story in the book seems to have a hidden meaning that unfolds as you read on. It makes you reflect on your own life and experiences, and perhaps see things from a different perspective.

Reading this book was a truly enriching experience. It not only entertained me but also made me grow as a person. I would highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a source of inspiration and wisdom.

Siddhartha was growing up surrounded with love. However, his mutinous mind didn't let him be at rest. It made him seek. What is verity? Where it can be found?

Did not the ancient source of all springs flow within his own heart? This was what must be found, the fountainhead within one’s own being; you had to make it your own! All else was searching, detour, confusion.

He decides to choose a way of asceticism. There he finds no final wisdom. He visits Gautama. Still, no final wisdom. And now his inner self awakens.

He looked around as if seeing the world for the first time. How beautiful it was, how colorful, how strange and mysterious! Here was blue, here was yellow, here was green; sky and river were flowing; forests and mountains stood fixed: Everything was beautiful, everything mysterious and magical, and in the midst of all this was he, Siddhartha, in the moment of his awakening, on the path to himself.

So now he studies in the school of life. He befriends a courtesan. He participates in trading. He loses himself in the mire of routine. And now he must find a way out.

Most people are like a falling leaf as it twists and turns its way through the air, lurches and tumbles to the ground. Others, though – a very few – are like stars set on a fixed course; no wind can reach them, and they carry their law and their path within them.

The meaning of life doesn't hide from us. It is in everything we touch and see. We just need to have the eyes to perceive it and the heart to understand it. Siddhartha's journey is a reminder that the search for truth and meaning is a personal one, and that we must each find our own way in this beautiful and mysterious world.

Rereading Siddhartha After Many Years

I read Herman Hesse's short novel "Siddhartha" during my high school days, just like many of my contemporaries did and as numerous young people still do. I vividly remember being profoundly moved by the book, which led me to explore more of Hesse's works over the following years. However, after that, I set Hesse aside for a long time. Even when I developed a serious interest in Buddhism several years ago, I wasn't compelled to revisit "Siddhartha" or Hesse's other works.

After rereading "Narcissus and Goldmund", I finally returned to "Siddhartha". It's challenging to recapture the feelings from so many years ago, but I was once again touched by Hesse's book, perhaps seeing it from a different perspective than when I was young. Although the book mainly appeals to young readers, there is still much to be gained from reading it later in life. This book has rightfully achieved fame and will reward readers of any age.

Hesse's novel chronicles the life of the title character from his youth to old age. Siddhartha is the son of a prosperous Brahmin and a talented student with a good friend named Govinda. As an adolescent, Siddhartha experiences spiritual unrest and, to the dismay of his father, joins an ascetic sect called the Samanas, who wander the forest practicing self-mortification. After several years, Siddhartha realizes he is still dissatisfied. He and Govinda, who has joined him, go to listen to the teachings of the Buddha. Govinda becomes a follower, but Siddhartha, after a conversation with the Buddha, continues on his journey in search of experiences rather than teachings. After crossing a river with the help of a mysterious ferryman, Siddhartha arrives in a town, meets and falls in love with a beautiful courtesan named Kamala, and eventually becomes rich, successful, and Kamala's lover. Siddhartha again feels the emptiness of this life and wanders off, where he meets the old ferryman and, with the guidance of the ferryman and the river, spends the rest of his life ferrying people across the river and finally attains peace and contentment.

Young people probably read "Siddhartha" because of the protagonist's search for the meaning of life, which begins in youth. When reading it later in life, one might think more about Siddhartha's old age. It might be tempting to assume that Siddhartha rejected the materialism and sensuality he adopted in the middle years of his life, but that's not the case. It seems to me that the elderly Siddhartha accepted his activities and experiences during those years and saw them as part of a continuous and timeless whole. Similarly, some might refer to Siddhartha's search as "finding oneself" in today's jargon, but Siddhartha is actually seeking to lose the sense of a separate self and try to see reality as a whole.

Unlike the rejection of American society by the counter-culture of my youth, Siddhartha finds acceptance of himself, others, and the culture in which he lives. He says at one point that the difference between the wise and others is that the former avoid taking the part for the whole, and even that insight can be overdone. Although Siddhartha comes to believe in the inadequacy of words and concepts to express the full reality, he attempts to explain his insights several times in the latter part of the book. When he meets his old friend Govinda again, who has become a faithful disciple of the Buddha, Siddhartha struggles to explain what he has learned.

"[I]t seems to me that everything that exists is good -- death as well as life, sin as well as holiness, wisdom as well as folly. Everything is necessary, everything needs only my agreement, my assent, my loving understanding; then all is well with me and nothing can harm me. I learned through my body and soul that it was necessary for me to sin, that I needed lust, that I had to strive for property and experience nausea and the depths of despair in order to learn not to resist them, in order to love the world, and no longer compare it with some kind of desired imaginary world, some imaginary vision of perfection, but to leave it as it is, to love it and be glad to belong to it."

There is a sense of understanding one's life and a love and acceptance of reality as a whole, and more specifically, of the society in which one lives, which becomes an important part of Siddhartha's wisdom. Some aspects of this understanding may not be obvious to young readers who love Hesse's novel or, indeed, to other readers who are sensitive to social criticism, as was the case in late 1960s America and still is today. There is much to be learned from a spiritual vision that might have eluded youthful readers.

I gained a great deal from rereading and reflecting on "Siddhartha" and from thinking about my initial reading of the book when I was young.

Robin Friedman

Στιγμές στιγμές εμπνευσμένο, στιγμές στιγμές αδιάφορο.

It is a journey of self-awareness and inner exploration. If one reads it at a young age, it may even change his life. However, from a certain point in time onwards, it is difficult for anyone to identify with the ideas and teachings of Hesse.

In general, it is a possible read, but not excellent in my opinion. The book contains some inspiring moments, but also some rather indifferent ones. The story takes the reader on a path of self-discovery, yet as time passes, the relevance of its message may fade for some. While it has its merits, it may not reach the highest echelons of literary greatness. Nevertheless, it still holds value for those who are willing to embark on this particular journey of the mind and soul.

Old pre-read review

In life, we are constantly faced with choices. We are told to choose life, which seems so simple yet encompasses a multitude of decisions. We are expected to choose a job, a career path that will define our professional lives. Then comes the choice of a family, deciding who we want to share our lives with and build a future together.

We are bombarded with choices of material possessions too. We can choose a fucking big television to satisfy our entertainment needs, along with washing machines, cars, compact disc players, and electrical tin openers. Health is also a consideration, so we are encouraged to choose good health, low cholesterol, and dental insurance.

Financial decisions are crucial as well. We have to choose fixed interest mortgage repayments and a starter home to establish a sense of stability. We also get to choose our friends, those who will support and陪伴 us through life's journey.

Leisure and appearance are not overlooked either. We can choose leisurewear and matching luggage, as well as a three-piece suit on hire purchase in a range of fucking fabrics. DIY projects are an option, but they often leave us wondering who the fuck we are on Sunday morning.

And let's not forget the mindless entertainment. We can choose to sit on that couch, watching mind-numbing, spirit-crushing game shows, while stuffing fucking junk food into our mouths.

But at the end of it all, what do we have? We may find ourselves rotting away, pissing our last in a miserable home, nothing more than an embarrassment to the selfish, fucked up brats we spawned to replace ourselves. We are constantly told to choose our future, but why would one need to do that anymore when one has found enlightenment? [ Adapted from here.]

This was the third book that I was reading.

The first book was Demian, which was difficult to read and a bit cold. I didn't like it when I was reading it.

The second book, the story of my friend, had relatively smooth literature, but like Demian, it was cold! It couldn't establish a good connection with its world.

And now the third book, Siddhartha...

Before I went to it, I had heard a lot of descriptions about it, and it had even been recommended to me many times from non-Persian sources.

I went to it with the expectations of a masterpiece, but well, it didn't happen... For me, it wasn't as it should have been. Because all the beliefs and philosophical frameworks in my mind, regarding life, regarding love and enjoying life, were completely in conflict with this book!

Page by page and line by line, I endured the pain of the feeling I had towards its text!

Neither Brahmanical beliefs were understandable to me, nor Shamanic ideas!

Neither do I have a happy heart from apostates, nor am I interested in Buddhism!

And I believe that in life, just as we are in pursuit of discovering the real self, we should also use and benefit from the pleasures and essence of the world!

The asceticism, Brahmanism, Shamanism, Buddhism, and behaviors such as causing harm to the body, covering the eyes from the pleasures of the world, anger at sexual desires, disregard for wealth, and neglect of the body, etc., which are talked about a lot in this book, are not in line with my desires and parallel to my line of thinking!

The next point is that Hesse writes very difficultly! Every hundred pages of his book carry as much potential and energy as two hundred pages of other books!

Now combine this difficult writing with Soroush Habibi's translation! What happens!

The book has been translated very poetically, to the extent that it touches the heart!

I'm not saying it's not beautiful, it is beautiful. Honestly, there were sentences and pages in the book that perhaps I had never read like them in other works, but it was now too poetical, it had too many non-ordinary sentences, and I was very annoyed!

Or maybe I didn't have enough taste to understand the greatness of the book and the beauty of its prose! :)

I feel that anyone who reads this writing will definitely block me! Because almost all the criticisms of this book are described from it! :))

But believe me, to the extent that I could endure! I could write more quickly and more forcefully! :))

I don't mean to bother you, neither Hesse is my author, nor Siddhartha is my book, nor Soroush Habibi is my translator!

I don't belong to this world! :))

Unfortunately, I have two other books by Hesse that, since I paid for them, of course I'm forced to read them! :))

I suggest you don't rely on my tasteless words, read the opinions of other friends as well, and evaluate the book yourself.

But I didn't like it! I'm giving it two stars...