Reading a good book more than once is like stealing a kiss from a little kid – different and yet delightful, every time. ‘Siddartha’ by Hermann Hesse is one such a book. Picking it up 5 years after I first read it, I felt the emotions and expressions take a grip on me in an entirely new way.
To brief you on the plot, Siddartha is a young, wise Brahmin boy, who reigns supreme amongst his peers and is the darling of his town, due to his personality as well as Vedic acumen. Also, his spiritual orientation is very deep, making him the pride of his community and his family. However, Siddartha is not quite satisfied with whatever he has learnt through the Vedas about the Self (Atman) and the Supreme Soul. He gets his father’s permission to go and join the Samanas in the forest. His good friend Govinda, who had accompanied him like a shadow since childhood, follows suit. Both of them spend a long time with the Samanas, mastering all the techniques of carnal mortification and the tricks of spiritual conquests. However, the thirst for realizing and conquering the Self remains unsated within Siddartha as he is not quite satisfied with merely fasting and physically tormenting himself for no avail. Just then arrives the news about the enlightened one, the Gautama Buddha.
Siddartha leaves the Samanas and goes in search of the Buddha. With Govinda following him as always as a loyal comrade, they come to the place where the Enlightened One is staying. Govinda is convinced about the spiritual supremacy of the Buddha and decides to join the order. However, Siddartha is not satisfied with learning the bliss of Enlightenment from the Buddha and wants to feel the enlightenment by himself. He once again moves, leaving behind the wisdom of the Buddha as well as his long-time companion, Govinda.
His journey in search of the Self takes him to a town, where he comes the courtesan Kamala. Pretty and lascivious, Siddartha falls for Kamala. He learns the art of seduction from her and joins Kamaswami, a wealthy merchant, in order to earn money to satisfy Kamala. Though he doesn’t feel the normal, mundane bondage for wealth or women in the beginning, slowly the worldly life takes a firm grip on him. Did Siddartha learn the futility of the worldly pleasures? Did he attain the supreme enlightenment that he had been searching for his whole life? What is the wisdom that he attained at last? This book answers all this and more.
Hermann Hesse weaves the story with the expertise and wisdom of a sage, handling with élan topics that are always considered the forte of Eastern philosophers. I would like to safely say that each of us could connect ourselves with all those hurdles, hassles, cravings, yearnings and quests that Siddartha goes through. We all go through the same cycle – starting off as special beings, being wise, testing the waters of the world, slowly but surely ending up being bogged down into the mire of the worldly passions and emotions. The question is, are we willing to awaken our divine inner selves and walk the path of spirituality?!
Ashok Krishna
To brief you on the plot, Siddartha is a young, wise Brahmin boy, who reigns supreme amongst his peers and is the darling of his town, due to his personality as well as Vedic acumen. Also, his spiritual orientation is very deep, making him the pride of his community and his family. However, Siddartha is not quite satisfied with whatever he has learnt through the Vedas about the Self (Atman) and the Supreme Soul. He gets his father’s permission to go and join the Samanas in the forest. His good friend Govinda, who had accompanied him like a shadow since childhood, follows suit. Both of them spend a long time with the Samanas, mastering all the techniques of carnal mortification and the tricks of spiritual conquests. However, the thirst for realizing and conquering the Self remains unsated within Siddartha as he is not quite satisfied with merely fasting and physically tormenting himself for no avail. Just then arrives the news about the enlightened one, the Gautama Buddha.
Siddartha leaves the Samanas and goes in search of the Buddha. With Govinda following him as always as a loyal comrade, they come to the place where the Enlightened One is staying. Govinda is convinced about the spiritual supremacy of the Buddha and decides to join the order. However, Siddartha is not satisfied with learning the bliss of Enlightenment from the Buddha and wants to feel the enlightenment by himself. He once again moves, leaving behind the wisdom of the Buddha as well as his long-time companion, Govinda.
His journey in search of the Self takes him to a town, where he comes the courtesan Kamala. Pretty and lascivious, Siddartha falls for Kamala. He learns the art of seduction from her and joins Kamaswami, a wealthy merchant, in order to earn money to satisfy Kamala. Though he doesn’t feel the normal, mundane bondage for wealth or women in the beginning, slowly the worldly life takes a firm grip on him. Did Siddartha learn the futility of the worldly pleasures? Did he attain the supreme enlightenment that he had been searching for his whole life? What is the wisdom that he attained at last? This book answers all this and more.
Hermann Hesse weaves the story with the expertise and wisdom of a sage, handling with élan topics that are always considered the forte of Eastern philosophers. I would like to safely say that each of us could connect ourselves with all those hurdles, hassles, cravings, yearnings and quests that Siddartha goes through. We all go through the same cycle – starting off as special beings, being wise, testing the waters of the world, slowly but surely ending up being bogged down into the mire of the worldly passions and emotions. The question is, are we willing to awaken our divine inner selves and walk the path of spirituality?!
Ashok Krishna
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