3,5 αστεράκια
Λίγο με απώθησε στην αρχή, αλλά στη συνέχεια αποκτά ενδιαφέρον. Μεταφέρει κάποια μηνύματα ή μάλλον διδαχες που σε βάζουν σε σκέψεις. Γλυκό παραμυθάκι με ένα βαθύτερο νόημα!!

This novel is a story about a man named Siddhartha who spends a lifetime seeking ultimate enlightenment. The story occurs during the time when the Buddha is still alive, so one would think there’s no need to seek further enlightenment after meeting him. Siddhartha is satisfied that the Buddha has reached ultimate enlightenment, but it’s impossible for his experience to be satisfactorily communicated to others by way of his teachings.

Thus Siddhartha decides to move on to a life filled with a variety of experiences all the while seeking the meaning of truth—ascetic beggar, sex with a woman, luxurious life of wealth, simple life as a ferryman, love and care of a son, and the experience of his son leaving. So finally Siddhartha is on his death bed, he has finally achieved enlightenment, and his friend asks him what insight he has learned from life. Siddhartha replies with the following:

“… this is now a teaching … the most important thing of all. To thoroughly understand the world, to explain it, to despise it, may be the thing great thinkers do. But I’m only interested in being able to love the world, not to despise it, not to hate it and me, to be able to look upon it and me and all beings with love and admiration and great respect.”

His friend responds to this by saying that this is pretty much the same as what the Buddha taught; Why not simply be his follower? To this Siddhartha replies the following:

"I know that I am in agreement with Gotama (a.k.a. the Buddha). How should he not know love, he, who has discovered all elements of human existence in their transitoriness, in their meaninglessness, and yet loved people thus much, to use a long, laborious life only to help them, to teach them! Even with him, even with your great teacher, I prefer the thing over the words, place more importance on his acts and life than on his speeches, more on the gestures of his hand than his opinions. Not in his speech, not in his thoughts, I see his greatness, only in his actions, in his life.”

So there you have it—enlightenment!

Hesse's most known novel, a beautiful parable, albeit at times a little too pathetic. It's a 'Bildungsroman' also: all stages and experiences of human life are touched upon, in a quest that essentially is a self-discovery. The central message to us Westerners is counterintuitive: "searching is not finding". Of all his novels this one clearly is the one in which Hesse has most incorporated his fascination with Eastern spirituality, and by that I don't mean only Buddhism, because in the end Siddhartha more or less takes his distance from the Buddha. Hesse's message seem to be that everyone has to find his own way, not just copy a model.
Read this in German.

In the time of the Buddha another holy man in India appears, Siddhartha unremembered who sought wisdom. As the son of a Brahmin he had all the advantages in the long-distant past , including boredom nothing it seemed consequential. Rich but poor of soul his brain in constant turmoil and the need, the compulsion , the quest to find answers to the mysteries of life. A strange sadness fills him with great despair there must be something else, nothing here in his father's luxurious house satisfies, not a home though, would quench the thirst. The endless road to discovery on dismal, glum Earth, knowledge, truth...maybe if possible...Nevertheless Govinda his only friend from childhood will travel his path no matter where it leads ...probably to oblivion. Everywhere the same, misery and death for the people, the bleakness, the unloved wretches by the millions, as few are contented , they have wealth, the many live in filth just barely surviving. However reality quickly becomes apparent, most people aren't seeking Nirvana, just trying to find the next meal ," but they are all falling leaves". The two friends join the Samanas a group of ascetic destitutes, yet happy men looking for salvation, always elusive , around the other side of the hill . Gentle Govinda after both at last hear the Illustrious One Gotama speak to the thousands , chooses to follow him. Crushing the spirit of Siddhartha , still the wanderer continues he can't go back. Adventures over the years make him wealthy, he meets a quiet beautiful courtesan Kamala that has money and a merchant Kamaswami who teaches all the tricks to the trade. Naturally he will again reject prosperity it is not what he wants . But slowly too he views nature's wonders, a pretty river's forever waters not caring if the human race exists. Hermann Hesse's famous novel which influenced countless generations ...can happiness and humans be compatible, will people always try but never reach Nirvana. This book has many questions that can be asked for eternity, but never answered to the satisfaction of everyone, well worth reading.

“‘Yes, Siddhartha,' he said. 'Is this what you mean? That the river is everywhere at the same time, at the source and at the mouth, at the waterfall, at the ferry, at the current, in the ocean and in the mountains, everywhere, and that the present only exists for it, not the shadow of the past, nor the shadow of the future?’”

This story was beautifully told and incredibly thought provoking!

This book presents the evolution of a man through the various essential stages of his life, and it does it remarkably well.
How beautiful is the thought of Siddharta! She is refining, growing, and unique from page to page, and for us readers, it is a joy to have had this impression of growing up with Siddharta and finding oneself as changed at the very end of the book.
The writing is beautiful, and although the message is profound, the book seems to be accessible to a large number of people!
Embark without fear on this little philosophical tale. This spiritual journey may mark you forever.

What would I say about “Siddhartha”? It’s a book; I had long cherished as to read someday. And now when I have read it, how do I feel? Do I feel enthralled? Do I feel that it has added to my knowledge of the unknown and the mysterious? Sadly, I don’t. But then the author doesn’t attempt to do that, does he? He gives an account, of the life, of a seeker. Of how the seeker moves forward in his quest, how he goes through the phases of his life (inspired by the Hindu religion’s Four Ashramas, namely the Brahmacharya, Grihastha, Vanprastha and Sanyasa). How he experiences different states of happiness, sorrow, despair, desire, satiation and struggle like every other human being in the world. How he constantly defies any belief or doctrine as followed by others, to move on with the quest, all by his self.

What really absorbed me here was this, this stand of Siddhartha to defy the already known beliefs, things which couldn’t give him a just answer. This is the essential quality of a seeker. That is, to seek. But here I could discern the essential doctrine, as preached in Hindu religion, to be accepted by Siddhartha. That is, the one of a Guru and Disciple. It proves that the author did study the Hindu beliefs in depth, before writing this work. Siddhartha, the seeker, when seeking on his own, in various phases of his life, is unable to find the answers by himself. He then seeks the ferryman by the river and the river itself, to learn afresh. This relationship speaks about the importance given to Guru- Disciple relationship in Hindu beliefs, which says that a disciple necessarily should seek a Guru in order to cross this river of life, that without a Guru, a person wouldn’t be able to live through this life peacefully. Yes, it is there everywhere.

The major turn about in this book was the point where Vasudeva asked Siddhartha to listen to the river. And listen carefully. This may be compared to the Krishna-Arjuna sanwaad in The Geeta, where Krishna, whom Arjuna takes as his God and Guru (as Vasudeva too seems like a God to Siddhartha), shows Arjuna, the unity of life, of every being on earth. The River, depicting the various faces, emotions, relations and then merging into one, is the portrayal where Arjuna sees every thing, every being in this world, merging with the God. The river, thus depicts the ever-present, it also depicts the importance of unity, and of taking every thing in life as it comes. The state that Siddhartha reaches later, the one of known, too finds illustrations in different verses, where, it is asked to practice compassion and love towards fellow beings, while still renouncing every desire and relationship, in order to attain Nirvana.

The author, through a beautiful and absorbing narrative, does describe the struggles that Siddhartha goes through in order to attain a meaning or a state of Nirvana, but this is just a worthy collection of valuable ideas that he might have studied. So, while I did not, actually learn anything new from here, it did induce me to think more.

"Nothing was and nothing will be: everything is, and everything is present and has existence."

I feel strangely ambivalent towards this book. I neither liked nor disliked it. I read it, but can’t say it affected me at a deeper level. Siddhartha decides to seek enlightenment via practicing asceticism**.

I can’t pretend to begin to understand the need for this at all. Siddartha does this for several years; he freezes in the icy rain, he doesn’t sleep, he feels immense hunger. His mind and body are desensitized to the world around him. Then his life does a 360 degree turnaround. He leaves the woods and asceticism behind, and spends the next few years living it up, meeting a beautiful woman, having riches beyond his wildest imaginings, losing those winnings, getting them back etc etc etc. He feels empty, and decides to return to the spiritual path…

There are many beautifully written passages in this book. Such as where a gilded bird is being set free, and the beauty and life force of the river. These bits spoke to me. But this was not enough for me to feel any warmth towards the story. It just didn’t work for me. It was far too esoteric and above my head.

At least I can tick this one off my reading bucket list!

However, I am keen to read his last work "The Glass Bead Game", as he's obviously a very good writer. I think this would be interesting, and more up my alley.

** asceticism is the practice of abstinence from sensual pleasures, material possessions & earthly indulgences to attain spiritual goals.

there are certain roles i relish in this life.

when i was younger, i loved to play the part of Cool Teenage Girl while babysitting, because it was the most effective and energy efficient way to get children to like me. answering "do you have a boyfriend" and "do you go to parties" 800 times is way easier than running around or doing crafts.

i am still a big fan of embodying Sympathetic Customer at any retail or service establishment i go to. thanks to years of retail/service work this is actually more a truth of myself than a persona, but i amp it up so much that it still applies.

but my ALL TIME FAVORITE character will always be English Student Who Is Devoted Enough And Sufficiently Respected To Get Away With Sh*t Talking The Assigned Reading In Class.

and boy oh boy did i go for the gold on that with this book.

when i was in high school, there was also a cult of white boys who refused to even make eye contact with any girl who wasn't Asian. there were probably six of them floating around the halls, actively fetishizing - seven if you count Hermann Hesse via the copies of Siddhartha that half the junior-year english classes had to read.

this book is just bizarre.

this is part of a series i am doing where i - i've said it before and i'll say it again - claim to be reviewing books i read a long time ago, but more actively reveal unasked for truths about my high school experience.

Siddartha is an allegory; a story wrapped around the ultimate premise 'Happiness for Dummies'. Okay, maybe not so simplistic, but it deals with the attainment and nature of happiness nonetheless.

Premise

Like its eponymous protagonist, the novel breaks down in several milestones or turning points that signal the development of the story and the growth of the character, marking the changes that have been wrought at each stage by happenstance or when the central character experiences, what they generally call, 'awakening.'

Now, I have generally never been fond of that word; I look upon it with slightly cynical eyes that have been tainted long ago with the endless and ubiquitous New Age slogans and advertising jingles and other such byproducts of a spiritually-hungry-but-commercially-eager-to-cash-on-in-that-hunger culture that is so pervasive. For that reason, any word (especially buzzwords like awakening, purpose, destiny, soul - to name just a few, which must surely count as eternal favourites of those who specialise in Spiritual Quests) - any word bearing resemblance or connection to this New Age school of thought immediately props up red flags in my mind and, in response to that, my mind reciprocates my sentiments with a certain two-syllable word, namely, 'bullshit'.

However, being as wary of this as I am, I am compelled to acknowledge that Siddhartha does not bear resemblance to those works proffering liberation and claiming to offer answers to your spiritual questions, at least, not in the typical sense. Hesse is not trying to sell you happiness in a How-To-Guide book form wrapped with a ribbon on top. Hesse isn't trying to sell you anything. What he is doing, though, is telling a story that puts this search, this spiritual hunger in an allegory form and examines the ways it comes about and the way it is resolved.

A historical perspective

We must put Siddhartha in its historical context to achieve a full perspective towards understanding this work. Herman Hesse was a German writer who, aside from being a pretty depressive kid and showing signs of serious depression even in childhood, was also the winner of Nobel Prize in literature. Bam. His parents had served as Christian missionaries in India. His exposure to the work of Arthur Schopenhauer, the German philosopher, renewed his interest in Indian culture. Hesse's work is informed with tenets of Buddhist and Hindu philosophy and, in the case of Siddartha, forms the setting of the story itself.

Siddhartha is important because, published in 1922, way before the Beat movement and the hippiedom of the 60s, it was the first major work dealing in Eastern philosophy and thought written in the West. What many of the world now knows or may appreciate as Buddhist/Zen philosophy as a school of thought, Siddhartha put forward first. Hesse influenced the work of Jack Kerouac, and many others of the Beat Generation ahead of its time. It witnessed a resurgence in the counter-culture movements of the sixties.

Underlying themes and meaning

Hesse examines the search for spiritual fulfillment by having his characters embody aspects of personality and living that are unified, at various stages, by the protagonist Siddhartha himself. Govinda, like Siddhartha, is a seeker and then a Samana, or an ascetic who has renounced all wordly possesions. Kamala, the woman who instructs Siddhartha in the art of physical love and later, the mother of his child, embodies hedonism and sensuality. Kamaswami, the merchant, signifies the chief example of the 'child people', the materialist. The ferryman, Vasudeva, exemplifies quiet understanding and wisdom, just like the Gautama Buddha, the Sublime One.

At various stages of his life, Siddhartha experiences the different aspects of these different personalities himself; he changes and grows as a person by becoming and unbecoming these traits. He is first and foremost, a seeker, who leaves his home to become a Samana, an ascetic giving up the ways of 'the child people'. He is then the lover, basking in the pleasures of love and sex. Then he is the trader, the materialist, consumed by worldly woes. He is the gambler, giver and taker of riches, losing sight of what he was before. Then he is the suicidal depressive who has reached a breaking point, a crises in life, realised that the journey he traced out until this point left him empty, hollow, broken. Then he is the awakened, the conscious, the curious. He is the child, born-again, who laughs to himself realising that he has been given a blank slate to begin anew.

Siddhartha's journey is one of trial and error. He sets of with the one goal of escaping the 'ego', the vanquishing of the Self to achieve oneness with the universe, the Brahman. Yes, that sounds a bunch of wish-washy terms strung together to sound fancy. Admittedly, they wouldn't look that great on a resume, or seem out of place in daily conversation. 'What do you want to do with your life?' 'Oh, you know, just vanquish the Ego and stuff...and become one with the Universe. Can you pass the ice-cream, please?' Yup. However, let's give the Brahmin kid a break.

To that end, he traces out a path that wavers between two extremes - two opposite paths that might lead to one destination that is his goal. The first path, of course, is the one of renouncing of the worldly wealth, the path of the Samanas, the path of hermits, one of patience and fasting and suffering and simple living to overcome material wants and excesses. The second path, which he embarks upon after meeting Kamala, is directly opposite to his former one: instead of giving up pleasures and possessions, it encourages him to pursue them with active desire. When it turns out that this was not working either, Siddhartha runs away from it too and reaches that dreaded dead-end, suicide. This breakdown is the culmination of another lesson, heralding a new beginning, a clean start.

Siddhartha's mistakes are numerous and his teachers many; from his Samanas, the Buddha, Kamala, Kamaswami, the ferryman, and ultimately the river. His loves, much like his paths and means to the journey of fullfilment, know many faces and forms. At one point in the novel, Siddhartha asserts to Kamala: 'Maybe people like us cannot love,' and yet in time he himself comes to experience the many aspects of love. He knows platonic love, in relation to his best friend Govinda, brotherly love suffused with profound respect to Vasudeva, romantic love to Kamala, and familial, fatherly but unrequited love to his son.

Conclusion

Compared to other books tackling existential angst such as the likes of The Stranger by Albert Camus, or Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Siddhartha is different in that it is uplifting and somberly optimistic in tone. Hesse's prose is languid and well-written, with a tendency to become simple at times, but not simplistic. The central message of the novel is exemplified in the final meeting of Siddhartha and Govinda, fraught with the difficulty of Govinda seeking to glean understanding from the learning of Siddhartha, and Siddhartha asserting its impossibility: Wisdom cannot be taught. Knowledge can be passed on, but wisdom cannot. That Siddhartha spent his entire life trying to learn it himself, and made many mistakes along the way, but fumbling and falling, made it through, underlies this claim.

Different people will interpret novel differently. Some might think it is trite, some might think it changed their life. It didn't change mine. But it gave me some nice things to think about.

How happy we are with the life we are so busy in living?
And how busy we are in thinking all other worldly doings than life itself….
And here Hermann’s Sidhartha points a score over us.
When we look back into years that have passed, the moments that are gone, the memories fading away swiftly, and new ones forming in their place with equal swift, what all these counts are wanting is the incidence of inner-peace. It might be there, ensnared, crumpled, and terse but we never partook the uttermost sense of being at peace...did we?
The novella drags along three main themes, of enlightenment, inner-peace and Love..
Sidhartha is never at peace with heart, continually in search of enlightenment and always in midst of loved-or-not-loved. His transformative journeys from a Hindu to ascetic to Samana to Buddhist to ferry man and a man-enlightened Is encapsulated with such brilliance and precision that nothing is left untouched neither is said unnecessary.
Hermann proves to be annoying at certain moments no doubt, the immaturities of Sidhartha’s resolves, the allegedly high claims of him to be superior over others, the insatiable quest of something apparently of no existence and unnecessary philosophy-loaded dialogues of every other person are just tainting the sheer beauty of rhetoric.
coming toward the essential philosophy preached in whole story,
Siddhartha proposes that one must find “unity” in all of the world: “And all of the voices, all the goals, all the yearnings, all the sorrows, all the pleasures, all the good and evil, all of them together was the world.” (135)
This approach completely dismisses the reality that life is of constant conflict and one’s goal should be to struggle against injustice – rather than ignoring it. This philosophy inherently teaches passivity, which is dangerous and destructive. Sure Siddhartha may have achieved peace next to the river, but the merchant continued to rob, the elites continued to exploit, and the poor continued to go hungry. In this light, Siddhartha’s world outlook is both naïve and hardly instrumentive to bringing about a better world.
The world we can make a better place to live in, better than some imaginary eternal happy fields, and better than the scriptures proposes it to be...

Siddhartha explores different ways of life, such as becoming a monk and living in luxury, but neither brings him true happiness.

Wisdom does not come from books or teachers but from directly experiencing and feeling life.