Dreams and restless thoughts came flowing to him from the river, from the twinkling stars at night, from sun's melting rays.
Book: Siddhartha (1922) | Author: Hermann Hesse
Genre: Fiction (Novel)
Siddhartha, the handsome Brahimin's son, lives with his father. Brahimin is the highest and holiest cast in Hinduism. As a boy, Siddhartha posses good qualities such as piousness, obedience, and devotion to his parents, rituals and prayers. Everybody admires him. Even his friend, Govinda.
However, something is not right. There is discontent and emptiness in his heart. Suddenly, the inner voice of his heart tells him to leave his home in order to find his real self and enlightenment in life. He feels that his father has conveyed all the wisdom he has to him. He now must gain knowledge from others. So, Siddhartha follows his heart and leaves his home and joins Samanas - the ascetics who abstain from worldly things and desires and live in a forest. Govinda, his friend, also joins him in this spiritual journey.
Siddhartha's goal is to conquer his self. He wants to become empty, become empty of thirst, desire, dreams, pleasure and sorrow; so that he can experience peace and pure thoughts, and most importantly, his real inner being. He learns the art of self-denial. In order to eliminate the pleasures of the world, he exposes his body to hunger, scorching sun, dust, rain, water and storms. Despite self-denial, Siddhartha still feels discontent within his heart. He concludes that one can learn nothing from a teacher; the only way out is to learn from himself. Siddhartha and his friend decide to leave the ascetics in the forest to meet Gotama Bhudha.
Gotama Bhuddha is certainly an enlightenment man and Govinda is greatly impressed from him. However, Siddhartha is still not content with his life. He argues that wisdom cannot be learned unless one has experienced it. He leaves again this time, but Govinda wants to stay back with Gotama Bhuddha.
Siddhartha enters a town by crossing a river in a ferryman's boat. In the town, he sees a beautiful courtesan, named Kamala. His heart rejoices and asks Kamala for her affection. She asks him what he can offer. Siddhartha replies that "he can think, wait, and fast." She is impressed, but demands that he must have wealth to earn her affection. In order to aquire wealth, Siddhartha finds employment with a local trader. Soon he becomes a wealthy man himself and earns Kamala's companionship. However, in the process, he indulges in pleasure of the world - drinking, sex, and gambling - and his inner voice, that always guides him, disappears. He becomes a man without a purpose. After many many years, he realizes that the material world has made his soul filthy and he has wasted his whole life. He detests his wealth now, and therefore, leaves the town without informing Kamala and the trader. Kamala, who is carrying Siddhartha's son in her womb, isn't surprised because she knew he will leave her one day.
Siddhartha comapares himself with animals. He detests life so much that he wants to drown himself in the river. Govinda, now a monk, meets Siddhartha by the river, but he doesn't recognize him. However, Sidhardha immediately recognizes him and tells Govinda who he is. Govinda is shocked and says that you're not an ascetic anymore; you're a rich man. Siddhartha says that he is neither a rich man or a samana now. And he is still searching for enlightenment.
After wandering around the river, he meets the ferryman again and asks for his apprenticeship. The ferryman, named Vasudeva, accepts him as his companion. They both lived together in a small hut beside the river. After a long time, Kamala with her son comes to the river to meet Gotama Bhudha. Unfortunately, snake bites her and she dies in Siddhartha's presence. His son is addicted to riches of life and doesn't respond to his father's love. Siddhartha loves his son, but his son hates him. One day, his son runaway from the river and never returns. Siddhartha chases him for a while, but then leaves him and remembers how his father must have felt when he left his own house.
The ferryman advises Siddhartha to listen to the river. Over the years, he learns something valuable from the water of the river. He starts contemplating his whole life, and concludes that just like the water of the river, different forms of life has no end or biginning. Time is useless. What matters is the present. If he stops worrying about time and the fleeing monents, he can reach his inner self. Moreover, Pain, sorrows, desires and sufferings are all part of life. Life is a unity of different events - both good and bad.
Siddhartha realizes he is like a river. Every individual and every experience contributes to the unity of life. He doesn't regret anything now. He is grateful that he learned from his father patience; from Samanas (the ascetics) fasting, wait and thinking; from Kamala the art of love; from trader the art of business, from wealth the nature of greed; and from the ferryman the language of the river and his final enlightenment.
The ferryman dies and Siddhartha takes his place. He becomes a sage and people visit him for guidance. One day, Govinda, his old friend, visits him because he is still searching for enlightenment. Since Siddhartha believes that wisdom cannot be learned and that it can only be achieved by experience, he asks Govinda to kiss him on his forehead. By touching his forehead, Govinda realizes the concept of unity and gains enlightenment. The novel ends here.
Coming Next: Detail Review of Sidhartha
The writer is an officer at National Savings. Reading books is his passion and life. He likes sharing his thoughts on whatever he reads with other people. He can be reached at sherazreads@gmail.com.
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