Siddhartha by Herman Hesse
May 21st, 2006 admin
Siddhartha is the story of a young Brahmin boy, Siddhartha, and his personal quest for peace. In his early adulthood he discerns oncoming discontent. He realizes that the best intent and efforts on the part of his family, his pious father, his learned teachers, the glorious writings in all sacred books, would not be able to satisfy his search for meaning, his search for Brahman. The main doctrine in the book, which makes many critics call this book a harmonious blend of Eastern and Western Philosophies, is that true wisdom can not be taught. It exists, but has to be reached by each person by his or her own path.Siddhartha’s journey takes us through his mastery of Brahmin rituals early in his life, but which still leave him uncertain and wanting. Then he gives up his notion of self, and becomes a Samana. A wanderer. He learns to overcome the throes of hunger and thirst, the urge to speak, and practices patience. After several years of mastering the life of a Samana, he realizes that he has not yet found an answer to satisfy his sense of purpose in life. He meets Gotama, the Buddha, during that time and has a very interesting conversation, where he accepts graciously the greatness of the Buddha for achieving his end in life, but disagrees respectfully with the Buddha about the ability to impart wisdom through teachings of any kind. Buddha acknowledges Siddhartha’s point of view and lets him continue his search. This discussion between Siddhartha and the Buddha is a pivotal point in the book. The fact that Siddhartha shares the same first name and to some extent the same pangs of soul-searching as the Buddha, indicates that it is no coincidence that Herman Hesse chose to name the protagonist of this story so. He is really probably trying to say how the supposedly Western concepts of individualism and freedom of thought, were really not just tolerated by the Eastern philosophies as when the Buddha acknowledges Siddhartha’s personal quest, but indeed, are the origin of the Eastern philosophies. Gotama, before he became the Buddha (which literally means the Enlightened One), went through several experiences in life that left him unsatisfied and with a sense of purposeless rote, just as the experiences Siddhartha went through. The rituals, the mythology, the communal conformity and sense of peace in humble acceptance of fate that mark Eastern religions and philosophies, the author probably argues, only bring some order to an otherwise fierce sense of individualism, and an undercurrent of potentially chaotic search for one’s own religion.
Siddhartha, tires of the Samana philosophy, for even the elder Samanas in his company are second-handers, unsure about what they are doing, often just ending up tormenting their selves and bodies, out of sheer practice, than any inherent conviction. He then enters the world of sensual pleasure - learning from the courtesan Kamala, the art of love, from a merchant, the art of trade, and from yet others, the art of gambling. The tries to find satisfaction in any of these. He does for a while, while the experiences are new and he is constantly learning something. But when he has learnt all that others could teach him, he realizes there is still more he is capable of learning, and nobody but he himself must learn it.
He leaves the company of all monetary, bodily, intellectual pleasures for they were short-lived. He would master the art and then there was nothing to prove beyond that. He is attracted to the life of a ferryman who lives alone in a small hut by the river, tending to his boat, ferrying people across the river and listening to the river. Siddhartha too joins Vasudeva, the ferryman, and learns to ferry people across the river and listening to the river. Vasudeva lives a simple, yet happy life, and claims that the river has taught him everything he knows. This excites Siddhartha. The river as a teacher, really implies one has to listen to one’s innermost voice. Vasudeva and Siddhartha practice listening to the river together, and realize the true essence of life. The link between the eternal and the fleeting, the omnipresence of the Brahman. Siddhartha realizes the love for his child from Kamala, his father’s love for him when Siddhartha left him to be a Samana, his attempts to be a Samana, a Brahmana, a merchant, his attempts to find the final truth, were all just parts of an endless stream of events, with no particular start nor end. The unity of it all, the eternal presence of it all, the continual struggle, yet the continual acceptance of the struggle, that was his final discovery. He ends his journey having attained his peace.
In some sense, the ending did not make as much of an impact on me as I would have expected from a book that is as famous as this. Yet, is that not the greatest accolade one can give this book? Think about it. What was Siddhartha’s final answer, need not be my final understanding. And if the book teaches anything, that would be the main lesson. And so searching for a satisfying answer after reading this book is contradicting the “teachings” of the book. Hence I leave it at that. You read it, keep an open mind, and maybe it will help you unlock a little door on your own personal quest.
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I usually do not read pure fiction, where the pure involves fiction without any after-effects. Fiction that ends when the book ends is not something that excites me. But what is a story if not fiction. Be it facts or ideas, they become so much more tangible when served with a soup of characters, with their quirks and their passions, with incidents that resonate with something that every person can participate in, with a story. A yarn pulled out of thin air may often last longer than a string pulled out of rigid, limited spool of the collective observation. It’s the same with newspapers. They become a boring, tiresome and apparently pointless jumble of facts, unless the editorial tries to show a subjective view-point that ties together the brutal reality that the other reports blandly serve up, into something that makes a story. The reporters job is to be objective and precise. The editor can then provide his commentary. Not his facts, but his commentary. His story.I usually do not read pure fiction. This book is purely fictional, but reveals much more than any number of factual observations can ever attempt to. This book is not pure fiction. The after-effect is strong. The book provides answers. The answers are everywhere in the book, but never is it provided in a direct, authoritative tone. The answers are provided by raising simple yet pertinent questions. The hero of the book, shows us the meaning of belief and the reason for belief.