| Title | Siddhartha |
| Author | Hermann Hesse |
| Year of Publication | 1922 |
| Genres | Novel |
| File Format | |
| Rating | Click to rate this post! [Total: 1 Average: 5] |
Siddhartha is a novel by Hermann Hesse dealing with the spiritual journey of self-discovery by a man named Siddhartha during the time of the Gautama Buddha. The book, Hesse’s ninth novel, was written in German, in a simple, lyrical style. It was published in the United States in 1951 and became influential during the 1960s. Hesse dedicated the first part to Romain Rolland and the second part to Wilhelm Gundert, his cousin.
The word Siddhartha is made up of two words in the Sanskrit language, siddha (accomplished) + artha (what was sought), which together mean “one who has found the meaning (of existence)” or “one who has accomplished his goals”. In fact, the Buddha’s own name, before his resignation, was Siddhartha Gautama, Prince of Kapilavastu. In this book, the Buddha is referred to as “Gotama”.
The classic novel of a quest for knowledge that has delighted, inspired, and influenced generations of readers, writers, and thinkers, a permanent favorite for graduation gifts.
Nominated as one of America’s Most Beloved Novels by PBS’s The Great American Read
Although set in a place and time far removed from the Germany of 1922, the year of the book’s debut, the novel is imbued with the sensitivity of the Hermann Hesse era, synthesizing disparate philosophies: Eastern religions, Jungian archetypes, Western individualism, in a single vision of life as expressed through a man’s search for meaning.
It is the story of the search for Siddhartha, a wealthy Indian Brahmin who casts aside a life of privilege and comfort to seek spiritual satisfaction and wisdom. On his journey, Siddhartha meets wandering ascetics, Buddhist monks, and successful merchants, as well as a courtesan named Kamala and a simple boatman who has attained enlightenment. By traveling among these people and experiencing the vital passages of life: love, work, friendship, and parenthood, Siddhartha discovers that true knowledge is guided from within.
Table of Contents
Book Summary
The story takes place in the ancient Indian kingdom of Kapilavastu. Siddhartha decides to leave his home in the hope of gaining spiritual enlightenment by becoming a wandering ascetic beggar of Śamaṇa. Along with his best friend Govinda, Siddhartha fasts, he becomes homeless, renouncing all his personal possessions and meditating intensely, eventually personally seeking and speaking with Gautama, the famous Buddha, or the Enlightened One. Then both Siddhartha and Govinda recognize the elegance of the Buddha’s teachings. Although Govinda hurriedly joins the order of the Buddha, Siddhartha does not follow him, claiming that the Buddha’s philosophy, while extremely wise, does not explain the necessarily different experiences of each person. He argues that the individual seeks an absolutely unique and personal meaning that a teacher cannot present to him. Thus he resolves to continue his search alone.
Siddhartha crosses a river and the generous boatman, whom Siddhartha cannot pay, cheerfully predicts that Siddhartha will return to the river later to somehow make up for it. Venturing into city life, Siddhartha discovers Kamala, the most beautiful woman he has ever seen. Kamala, a courtesan, observes Siddhartha’s handsome appearance and quick wit, telling him that he must get rich to earn her affection so that he can teach her the art of love. Although Siddhartha despised materialistic activities like Shramana, he now accepts Kamala’s suggestions. She directs him to the job of Kamaswami, a local businessman, and insists that he have Kamaswami treat him as an equal and not as a subordinate. Siddhartha succeeds easily, providing a voice of patience and reassurance, which Siddhartha learned from his days as an ascetic, against Kamaswami’s passion attacks. Thus Siddhartha becomes a wealthy man and lover of Kamala, although in his intervening years, he realizes that the luxurious lifestyle he has chosen is simply a game that lacks spiritual satisfaction. Leaving the hustle and bustle of the city, Siddhartha returns to the river fed up with life and disappointment, contemplating suicide before falling into a meditative sleep, and saved only by an internal experience of the holy word, Om. The next morning, Siddhartha briefly reconnects with Govinda, who is passing through the area as a wandering Buddhist.
Siddhartha decides to live the rest of his life in the presence of the spiritually inspiring river. Siddhartha thus meets with the boatman, named Vasudeva, with whom he begins a more humble way of life. Although Vasudeva is a simple man, he understands and relates that the river has many important voices and messages to spread to anyone who can listen.
A few years later, Kamala, now a Buddhist convert, travels to see the Buddha on his deathbed, accompanied by his reluctant son when he is bitten by a poisonous snake near the Siddhartha River. Siddhartha recognizes her and realizes that the child is her own child. After Kamala’s death, Siddhartha tries to comfort and raise the furiously resistant boy, until one day the boy flees completely. Although Siddhartha is desperate to find his runaway son, Vasudeva urges him to let the boy find his own way, just as Siddhartha did in his youth. Listening to the river with Vasudeva, Siddhartha realizes that time is an illusion and that all his feelings and experiences, even those of suffering, are part of a great and finally joyous communion of all things connected in the cyclical unity of nature. After Siddhartha’s moment of enlightenment, Vasudeva claims that his work is done and he must depart for the forest, leaving Siddhartha peacefully satisfied and only once more.
Towards the end of his life, Govinda finds out about an enlightened boatman and travels to Siddhartha, without initially recognizing him as his old childhood friend. Govinda asks the now old Siddhartha to relate his wisdom, and Siddhartha replies that for every true statement there is an opposite that is also true; That language and the limits of time lead people to adhere to a fixed belief that does not explain the fullness of the truth. Because nature operates in a self-sustaining cycle, each entity carries with it the potential of its opposite, and therefore the world must always be considered complete. Siddhartha simply urges people to identify and love the world in its entirety. Siddhartha then asks Govinda to kiss his forehead, and when he does, Govinda experiences the timeless visions that Siddhartha himself saw with Vasudeva by the river. Govinda bows to his wise friend and Siddhartha smiles brightly, having found enlightenment.
Characters
Siddhartha: The protagonist.
Govinda: Close friend of Siddhartha and follower of Gotama.
Siddhartha’s Father: A Brahmin who was unable to satisfy Siddhartha’s quest for enlightenment.
The Samanas: Traveling ascetics who tell Siddhartha that deprivation leads to enlightenment.
Gotama: The Buddha, whose Teachings are rejected but whose power of self-experience and self-wisdom is completely praised by Siddhartha.
Kamala: A courtesan and Siddhartha’s sensual mentor, and mother of his child, Young Siddhartha.
Kamaswami: A merchant who instructs Siddhartha on business.
Vasudeva: An enlightened ferryman and spiritual guide of Siddhartha.
Young Siddhartha: Son of Siddhartha and Kamala. Lives with Siddhartha for a time yet runs away to Adan
Book Review
In the novel, Siddhartha, a young man, leaves his family for a contemplative life, then, restlessly, dismisses him for one of the meats. He conceives a son but bored and sickened by lust and greed, he goes on. Almost desperate, Siddhartha reaches a river where he hears a unique sound. This sound marks the true beginning of your life: the beginning of suffering, rejection, peace, and finally wisdom.
About The Book Author Hermann Hesse
Hermann Hesse was a German-Swiss poet, novelist, and painter. In 1946, he received the Nobel Prize for Literature. His best-known works include Steppenwolf, Siddhartha, and The Glass Bead Game (also known as Magister Ludi) which explore an individual’s search for spirituality outside society.
In his time, Hesse was a popular and influential author in the German-speaking world; worldwide fame only came later. Hesse’s first great novel, “Peter Camenzind”, was received enthusiastically by young Germans desiring a different and more “natural” way of life at a time of great economic and technological progress in the country.
Throughout Germany, many schools are named after him. In 1964, the Calwer Hermann-Hesse-Preis was founded, which is awarded every two years, alternately to a German-language literary journal or to the translator of Hesse’s work to a foreign language. There is also a Hermann Hesse prize associated with the city of Karlsruhe, Germany.
Siddhartha PDF
