Book Review - Siddhartha by Herman Hesse

By Chris Sarcletti

Synopsis / Plot

A young man grows up living with his father who is a Brahmin (a concept of God found in Hinduism). He respects his father and his wise lifestyle. However, after realizing that he has learned all he can from his father, he begins to look for more answers regarding the nature of existence. He thirsts for knowledge and decides to leave his father to travel with his best friend Govinda and a group of Samanas (wandering monks). He believes he may find answers to his questions with the Samanas.

He travels with the Samanas, suppressing all bodily desires by fasting, breathing control, and living in poverty. His only truth is the natural world and meditation is practiced regularly. The most valuable lessons he learns during this period of his life are how to think, wait and fast. These lessons benefit him throughout his life. He learns but still searches for answers. He meets Gotama Buddha and learns from the greatest teacher of all but still wishes to understand the world for himself since all teachings have failed to accomplish this for him, even those of the Buddha. Siddhartha wishes to have the enlightenment that Buddha has attained by listening to the voice of his Self instead of denying it. He leaves his childhood friend and the Samanas to explore the world.

He continues to learn something new at every step. He sees life differently now and gives into the desires of the flesh. He meets a beautiful woman, Kamala, and the strong willed Siddartha is determined to learn love from Kamala. He uses the skills he has learned (to wait, fast and think) to get the riches (gifts, money, fine clothing) Kamala tells him he needs to learn from her. Things come easily to Siddhartha and he becomes a successful merchant. Riches in hand, he visits Kamala often and learns the pleasure of sex, gambling, drinking and love. He becomes comfortable in his “easy” lifestyle, but he never takes his career seriously. He sees it as a game and doesn’t get stressed like others. He learns about material possessions, but this doesn’t last forever. Eventually, the soul sickness of the rich creeps over him and his pleasures become a chain and a burden. He realizes that this part of his life is over. Ashamed of his sins, he leaves Kamala and his merchant life, disappearing into the forest.

Siddartha is now in deep despair. He is lost, confused and even seeks death. While resting near a river, he runs into his old friend Govinda who doesn’t even recognize him. Slowly, his despair dissipates. Siddhartha learns from the river and the ferryman Vasudeva who is a great listener. He realizes that only after living a life of self-denial and then experiencing sins for himself has he been able to find the wisdom about the world. Vasudeva teaches him how to listen to the quiet sounds of the river, endlessly flowing, and he realizes that the world is simply a recurring cycle. He realizes that nothing really changes at all and his selfish ego is destroyed. Siddhartha realizes the unimportance of his life alone since his life is a part of the greater unity of things. He realizes that no teacher could have brought him salvation. He finds ultimate peace for many years as he lives with the ferryman in a life of relative solitude.

Siddartha meets Kamala again. She passes away and he feels pain but soon after finds the greatest gift of his life when he meets his son through Kamala. His son lives with him after she passes and Siddhartha feels worldly love deeply to an extent that he has never felt before. However, his son resents him and his kindness and way of life. His son lived a life of luxury before and never wanted to leave that life. He, like Siddhartha, also wants to experience the world. The ferryman explains this to Siddartha and he understands but chooses to continue to try and win his sons love with kindness. Eventually, young Siddhartha (the son) runs away, leaving his father and the ferryman.

Siddartha searches for his son to no avail. He struggles to understand why others (even criminals) can have their child’s love but he cannot. He now is like everyone else. He has succumbed fully to love and is warm, curious and sympathetic to all people. He can relate to them and understand them and they are now all his brothers. He is heartbroken that his son must endure the same trials of sin and depression that he himself has already overcome but realizes that he put his father though the same thing when he was a child long ago and this is part of the cycle of life.

In the end, Siddartha meets his friend Govinda again. Govinda is amazed at Siddhartha's transformation given that he led a life of sin before coming to peace. Two childhood friends meet again; one has progressed and found meaning in life, and the other has spent life stagnating, by blindly following the teachings of another rather than teaching himself by trial and error. It is personal experience, not age, which teaches wisdom.

Importance to me

Siddhartha is about the endless cycle of life. It is full of lessons that anyone can apply to some aspect of their life. Every time I read Siddhartha, I see something different. I think there are lessons in this book for everyone that will help them understand themselves better. In the process, they will become a better human being. They will become more effective in their personal life and will be better able to relate to, work with and understand others.

Here are a few of the nuggets of wisdom in the book:

• “Wisdom is not communicable. The wisdom which a wise man tries to communicate always sounds foolish.”

• “Above all, he learned how to listen, to listen with a still heart, with a waiting, open soul, without passion, without desire, without judgment, without opinions.”

• “Seeking too much can be a problem. A seeker only sees what he is seeking, but doesn’t see what’s under his nose as a seeker can’t absorb anything they come across because they are absorbed with their goal.”

• “Which father, which teacher, could prevent him from living his own life, from soiling himself with life, from loading himself with sin, from swallowing the bitter drink himself, from finding his own path? Do you think, my dear friend, that anybody is spared this path? Perhaps your little son, because you would like to see him spared sorrow and pain and disillusionment? But if you were to die ten times for him, you would not alter his destiny in the slightest.”

However, the true beauty of Siddartha is that everyone learns different lessons depending on where they are at the point in their life when they read this book.

Siddartha is a store about life. It is about understanding life and has many lessons within its pages. However the lessons are different to each reader.