He had to lose everything in order to find himself!
"Most people...are like a falling leaf that drifts and turns in the air, flutters, and falls to the ground. But a few others are like stars which travel one defined path: no wind reaches them, they have within themselves their guide and path."
Book: Siddhartha (1922) | Author: Hermann Hesse
Genre: Fiction (Novel)
Life without meaning isn't worth living. Humans have been searching for the meaning of life from time immemorial. Some find it in religion, others in material world, and still some in nature. However, this is a never ending process. Many books have been written on this topic. Siddhartha is one of such books. Hermann Hesse wrote this short novela in 1922.
Siddhartha is simple yet a profound short story. It's a book about self-discovery, life's struggles and hardships, and most importantly, contentment in one's life. It provides to one's soul nourishment just like water revitalize wilting grass. Although it is written in a simple prose and lyrical style, the contents of the book are not easy to comprehend. Every new read of the book provides new perspectives and insights about life.
The novel's eponymous protagonist quest for finding truth, enlightenment and peace in life takes him to different lands, people and experiences. During his spiritual journey, he adapted himself to the role of an ascetic, a student, a lover, an ordinary man, and lastly, a ferryman - where he finally finds peace.
Core Message of Siddhartha
One should becomes a finder rather than a seeker to attain enlightenment in life. Enlightenment lies in everyone's heart. One has just to become conscious of it - i.e. turn unconscious to conscious. If one seeks too much, he may missed the enlightenment, that resides in his heart, entirely. The later can't be achieved unless and until we accept who we truly are. Accepting our roles in the universe that nature has assigned to us is the first step towards peace and contentment in life. If nature made you an owl, you can't decide you want to be an ostrich. Similarly, pain and suffering, pleasure and joy are part of the continuous flow of life - just like a river. Water of the river changes different shapes while flowing, but it's still part of the whole, i.e. the river. Therefore, when the quest for meaning in life shifts inwards to ourselves from the outside and we accept the assigned roles, life becomes peaceful and beautiful.
Other Valuable lessons
On Wisdom and Knowledge
Wisdom cannot be imparted. Wisdom that a wise man attempts to impart always sounds like foolishness to someone else ... Knowledge can be communicated, but not wisdom. One can find it, live it, do wonders through it, but one cannot communicate and teach it.
There is a difference between knowledge and wisdom. Knowledge is simply knowing, while wisdom is the ability to make sound judgements. Hermann Hesse claims that wisdom can only be experienced, not thought. In my opinion he is right. For instance, how can one claim to be expert on love when he/she hasn't loved someone? How can one know the nature of greed when he hasn't experienced wealth and greed? Love and greed will always attract us unless we know its true nature - unless we have experienced it. Hence, teaching wisdom is not possible.
On Words
Words do not express thoughts very well. they always become a little different immediately they are expressed, a little distorted, a little foolish. And yet it also pleases me and seems right that what is of value and wisdom to one man seems nonsense to another.
It's a fact that our language hinders our ability to completely express our thoughts. Sometimes, we do not find the right words for what's going on in our cognitive machinery. People often say to each other, "you can't understand my pain," because it's inexpressible; there are no right words to explain that pain. Therefore, due to the limitations of language, wisdom cannot be expressed in words, and even if it is expressed, it becomes knowledge.
Overall, this is wonderful book. It's beautifully written and appeals to one's emotions. It makes a reader think and contemplate about life. I strongly recommend this book to all the readers out there. I hope you enjoy reading this book as much as I did.
Some quotes from the book that I couldn't resist sharing:
When someone seeks," said Siddhartha, "then it easily happens that his eyes see only the thing that he seeks, and he is able to find nothing, to take in nothing because he always thinks only about the thing he is seeking, because he has one goal, because he is obsessed with his goal. Seeking means: having a goal. But finding means: being free, being open, having no goal.
It is not for me to judge another man's life. I must judge, I must choose, I must spurn, purely for myself. For myself, alone.
I have had to experience so much stupidity, so many vices, so much error, so much nausea, disillusionment and sorrow, just in order to become a child again and begin anew. I had to experience despair, I had to sink to the greatest mental depths, to thoughts of suicide, in order to experience grace
What could I say to you that would be of value, except that perhaps you seek too much, that as a result of your seeking you cannot find.
Your soul is the whole world.
. . . gentleness is stronger than severity, water is stronger than rock, love is stronger than force.
The writer can be reached at sherazreads@gmail.com.
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