Jan 05, 2011 11:48 PM
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Book Review Siddhartha
Siddhartha, by Hermann Hesse is a fabulous tale of the struggle of a man to find his own true self. The story of Siddhartha told ever so lucidly, flows across the barriers of time and space and reaches its proper end.
It’s the story of how an idealist Brahmin turns into a Samana, an ascetic, then he further turns into a Sansaari, and finally into a ferryman, when he meets his nemesis and comes to realize his true self.
Hermann Hesse is a master story teller, and the tale of Siddhartha’s journey is fascinatingly told. As a Brahmin, Siddhartha learns a lot from his father but true happiness eludes him.
He follows the path of the Samanas with his dear friend Govinda, but that too doesn’t lead him to his true self. In fact, so steadfast is Siddhartha in his own self, that he refuses to join in the ranks of the Buddhist monks, and carries on his journey alone.
He encounters many difficulties on his way but survives each one of them, all the time learning his lesson well. He gathers a lot of experience and knowledge, but true happiness eludes him still.
He argues with the Buddha that the experience that Buddha had of enlightenment cannot be preached and hence refuses to follow any doctrines, religious practices or paths. He leaves his dear friend Govinda with the Buddha and proceeds onward in his journey of self realization.
After leaving the path of an ascetic he becomes a rich trader, dabbles in romance with a courtesan and learns all the tricks of the trade, but never is his heart really in any of the worldly pursuits.
At the end of some years, he realizes the divine voice within him has almost died, and he tries to kill himself; so full is he of wretchedness, and so hard does he detest himself.
As he nears the river in which he is about to plunge, the river teaches him a lesson. He finds his voice back, learns that the all the voices in the river are actually originally from the word Om, and he gets back his old, pure and untainted self.
After that he meets Vasudeva, the old ferryman, who teaches him about the river and the fact that he himself has acquired all his wisdom from the river.
Siddhartha then, becomes a disciple of Vasudeva and learns the lessons of life from the river.
Towards the end of the story, Siddhartha comes to realize that unity which he experiences in all of nature and humanity and himself. He shuns the doctrines of Maya, claiming that if the world is an illusion, so is his body.
He goes further on to say that since the enlightened one resides in himself all the while, the world and everything else attached is not an illusion.
He realizes that love alone works for the world to function, and that there is no evolution of the soul from birth to birth and that man is realized in his own ignorant self.
He also questions the concept of time stating that time is the only reason that there is Sansaar and Nirvana, that without time there would be no duality and no evil and good.
As such, Siddhartha has gone beyond time and has realized his true self by denying action, thought, deprivation as also sense pleasures. In the end, when he meets his old friend Govinda, who is now an old monk, Siddhartha expounds his teachings. He states that for every truth the opposite is also true.
He goes on to add that truth can not be expressed in words and that any attempt to express it in words would mean that the speaker would be limiting the truth in some way. He also adds that the realized person is always in the ignorant person’s self, but is unmanifest, through lifetimes to come.
He further shows Govinda the vision of the unity of the universe, his many life forms and Gautam Buddha; that they are all in essence, one. And thus ends Siddhartha journey.
The book is a revolution for those seeking and those stuck in a rut of either self denial or self gratification. Siddhartha is an exemplary look at how life should be led and how we can all acquire that sense of fulfillment and purpose in our lives.
The language is clear and simple, so are the logic and the profound truths revealed in the book. A definite re-read!
