Siddhartha

In some ways, it is similar to Voltaire's Candide, another story of truth being sought by a youth. The great difference is in the nature of the quest - whereas Candide is a simple child of the world, forced to mature through the cynical experiences of life, Siddhartha embraces suffering and learning in an active and uncynical attempt to find wisdom. His greatest discovery is that you cannot just "find" it.

This is a novel that can serve as a metaphor for all and everything. As a novel it is simple and beautiful; as a metaphor, it is important, as important as any other that exist in religion or spiritualism. Hesse writes openly and without prejudice - Hindus have no quarrel with Buddhists here. Here is a quick dose of fresh thought for anyone with a bit of time. I notice the trend of "little books of wisdom" is starting to wane...thank goodness - reach for something more substantial, right here.


All Is Connected   November 9, 2000
Donald Mitchell (Boston)
34 out of 35 found this review helpful

Siddhartha is that most unusual of all stories -- one that follows a character throughout most of his life . . . and describes that life in terms of a spiritual journey. For those who are ready to think about what their spiritual journey can be, Siddhartha will be a revelation. For those who are not yet looking for "enlightenment," the book will seem pecular, odd, and out-of-joint. That's because Hesse was presenting a mystery story, also, for each reader to solve for herself or himself. The mystery is simply to unravel the meaning of life.

As the son of a Brahmin, Siddhartha would naturally have enjoyed access to all of the finest lessons and things of life. Knowing of his natural superiority in many ways, he becomes disenchanted with teachers and his companions. In a burst of independence, he insists on being allowed to leave home to become a wandering Shramana (or Samana, depending on which translation you read). After three years or so, he tires of this as well. Near the end of that part of his life, Siddharta meets Gotama, the Buddha, and admires him greatly. But Siddharta continues to feel that teachers cannot convey the wisdom of what they know. Words are too fragile a vessel for that purpose. He sees a beautiful courtesan and asks her to teach him about love. Thus, Siddhartha begins his third quest for meaning by embracing the ordinary life that most people experience. Eventually, disgusted by this (and he does behave disgustingly), he tires of life. Then, he suddenly reconnects with the Universe, and decides to become a ferryman and learn from the river. In this fourth stage of his life, he comes to develop the wisdom to match the knowledge that direct experiences of the "good" and the "sensual" life have provided to him.

Few will find Siddhartha to be an attractive character until near the end of the book. Hesse is trying to portray his path towards balance and understanding by emphasizing Siddhartha's weaknesses and errors. But, these are mostly errors that all people fall into. Hesse wants us to see that we make too much of any given moment or event. The "all" in a timeless sense is what we should seek for.

There is a wonderful description of what a rock is near the end of the book that is well worth reading, even if you get nothing out of the rest of the story. The "mystery" of what Gotima experiences when he kisses Siddhartha's forehead will provide many interesting questions for each reader to consider.

I recommend that you both listen to this book on tape and read it. Hesse's approach to learning is for us to observe and feel. You will do more of that while listening than by simply reading. I was able to find an unabridged audio tape in our library for my listening. I encourage you to go with an unabridged tape as well. You will get more out of Siddhartha that way. I read the Hilda Rosner translation, and liked it very much.

After you finish listening to and reading the book, I suggest that you think about what you have not yet experienced that would help you get a better sense of life. If you have tried to be a secular person, you could try being a spiritual one. If you have focused on being a parent, you could focus on being a sibling. If you have focused on making money, you could pay attention to giving away your time. And so on. But in each case, give yourself more opportunities to experience and learn from nature. That is Hesse's real message here.

Ommmm


A Mystical Look at a Universal Problem   August 8, 2000
51 out of 56 found this review helpful

Set in India, Siddhartha is subtitled an "Indic Poetic Work" and clearly it does owe much to both Buddhism and Hinduism, however the philosophy embodied in Siddhartha is both unique and quite complex, despite the lyrically beautiful simplicity of the plot.

Siddhartha is one of the names of the historical Gautama and while the life of Hesse's character resembles that of his historical counterpart to some extent, Siddhartha is by no means a fictional life of Buddha and his teachings.

Siddhartha is divided into two parts of four and eight chapters, something some have interpreted as an illustration of Buddhism's Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path to Enlightenment.

Elements of Hinduism can also be found in Siddhartha. Some critics maintain that Hesse was influenced largely by the Bhagavad Gita when he wrote the book and that his protagonist was groping his way along a path outlined in that text. Certainly the central problems of Siddhartha and the Gita are similar: how can the protagonist attain a state of happiness and serenity by means of a long and arduous path?

Hesse's protagonist, however, seeks his own personal path to fulfillment, not someone else's. It is one of trial and error and he is only subconsciously aware of its nature. Although many see Siddhartha's quest as embodying the ideals of Buddhism, Siddhartha objects to the negative aspects of Gautama's teaching. He rejects Gautama's model for himself and he rejects Buddhism; Siddhartha insists upon the right to choose his own path to fulfillment.

The primary theme of Siddhartha is the individual's difficult and lonely search for self-fulfillment. Both the means used by the hero in his quest and the nature of his fulfillment are of prime importance and reflect recurring themes that thread their way through all of Hesse's work.

Although Siddhartha listens with great respect to the words of Buddha and does not reject Buddhism as being right for others, he, himself, does not become Buddha's disciple, but decides to pursue his goal through his own effort, not by following a teacher. As in Demian, Nietzsche's influence is apparent; the reader is strongly reminded of Nietzsche's Zarathustra who exhorts his listeners not to follow him, but to excel themselves.

Siddhartha's sense of fulfillment is a mystical one and cannot be defined with precision. In this respect, it resembles the Nirvana of Buddhism. The most important aspect of Siddhartha's growing awareness, however, is an unselfish and undirected love.

The division of the world into the two opposing poles of masculine and feminine is another common theme in Hesse's writings. The Father World, or masculine, is dominated by the intellect, reason, spirit, stability and discipline; the Mother Word, or feminine, by emotion, love, fertility, birth, death, fluidity, nature and the senses.

While this symbolism is more pronounced in other works, such as Demian and The Glass Bead Game, it is also present and consistently developed in Siddhartha.

Siddhartha's position vis-a-vis the two worlds changes during the course of the novel. At times, he seems to embrace one world more than the other; at other times he unites the virtues of each.

Two symbolic elements thread their way through Siddhartha; that of the river and that of a smile. Suggestive of fluidity as well as the paradoxical union of permanence and flux, the river is an age-old symbol of eternity and spiritual communion.

A second important symbol in Siddhartha is that of the smile. The characters in the story who attain a final state of complete serenity are each characterized by a beautiful smile reflecting a peaceful and harmonious state of being.

Each of these symbols is associated with Siddhartha at key junctures in his quest.

Siddhartha is written in an extremely simple style, in keeping with the inherent simplicity of the plot, theme and general tone of the book. The syntax is uncomplicated and except for a few technical terms from Indian philosophy, the vocabulary is straightforward. Frequent use is made of leitmotifs, parallelism and repetition and, in the original German, the language is rhythmic and lyrical, reminiscent of a poetic religious text with a definite meditative quality.

Siddhartha is told by an omniscient third person narrator with frequent direct and indirect quotations of the words and thoughts of various characters, especially Siddhartha. The narrator, almost invariably, looks at things from Siddhartha's perspective, and even when other characters are discussed or quoted, it is always to shed light on Siddhartha, himself.

A mystical and lyrical book, Siddhartha is a beautiful story of a truly personal quest towards the self-fulfillment we all must strive to attain.


The secret of Siddhartha.   April 23, 2001
G. Merritt (Boulder, CO)
26 out of 27 found this review helpful

"A path lies before you which you are called to follow," Hesse writes in this story of enlightenment. "The gods await you." Hesse's 1922 novel opens with Siddhartha (not to be confused with Siddhartha Gotama, the Buddha) beginning "to feel the seeds of discontent within him." For the young man, "the world tasted bitter. Life was pain." Because of his unhappiness, Siddhartha abandons the comforts of his home and family, and joins the Samanas, "wandering ascetics . . . lean jackals in the world of men," with the goal of "becoming empty of thirst, desire, dreams, pleasure and sorrow." After travelling with the Samanas for three years, Siddhartha encounters the Buddha, and decides "to strike a new path" by following the Buddha's teachings on suffering: Life is pain. The world is full of suffering. There is a path to escape pain. However, always the wanderer, Siddhartha eventually rejects the Buddha's teachings--or so he believes--as he sets out to discover the truth from his own experience instead.

In time, Siddhartha finds himself "deeply entangled in Samsara," caught in the empty prosperity, possessions, and riches of the world, like "a shipwrecked man on the shore." In the spiritual poverty of his material wealth, Siddhartha's inner voice becomes silent. In his despair, Siddhartha again renounces the comforts of his life by becoming a ferryman. He ultimately learns from the river. "Above all, he learned from it how to listen, to listen with a still heart, with a waiting, open soul, without passion, without desire, without judgment, without opinions." Throughout Siddhartha's wanderings and enlightenment, Hesse offers up profound insights into the human predicament.

This is one of my all-time favorite novels. It teaches us that "your soul is your whole world." SIDDHARTHA had a profound impact on me when I first read it more than twenty five years ago, and now it has spoken to my soul again as I travel through my middle years. Wherever you are on your path through life, you will find SIDDHARTHA a meaningful novel.

G. Merritt


Truth is not as much out there as in here.   December 26, 1999
Jane Chin (California)
12 out of 12 found this review helpful

I'm looking at the different reviews about this book and while majority has been favorable, there are some that are not towards this book. Each of these reviewers is exactly correct about this book for him/herself. It's about being on a particular path in your life that is exactly the right one for you at this time of your life. Siddhartha was very intelligent, yet intelligence has nothing to do with enlightenment that he desperately sought. He often felt superior to others, yet could not experience the intensity of passion that others experienced. It wasn't until he experienced humanity himself, including the hurts of love and conceit and sorrow with the appearance and disappearance of his son, that he understood that each person's path towards enlightenment is one's alone, yet intertwined with everyone else's. My favorite part was when Vasudeva reminded him that his role was not to spare his son of pain because each person has to experience life for himself in order to fully understand his own existence within that context.