Book Report: Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
Herman Hesse
(Bantam Classsic, Reissue 1981)
Siddartha, a title made up of two words in the Sanskrit language, siddah (achieved) and artha (meaning or wealth), which together mean "he who has found meaning (of existence)" or "he who has attained his goals", is a story of a man searching to understand the meaning of life.
Set during the time of the Buddha, Siddartha, the son of a Brahman, sets out to explore the three pathways of life in order to achieve personal peace. The first is a strict contemplative life, the second a life of the flesh, and the third is a balance between the two. A timeless tale, this simple story speaks to the age old search for the unique and individual practice of achieving balance and personal peace.
Siddhartha crosses a river and the generous ferryman, who Siddhartha is unable to pay, merrily predicts that Siddhartha will return to the river later to compensate him in some way. Venturing onward toward city life, Siddhartha discovers Kamala, the most beautiful woman he has yet seen. Kamala, a courtesan of affluent men, notes Siddhartha's handsome appearance and fast wit, telling him that he must become wealthy to win her affections so that she may teach him the art of love. Although Siddhartha despised materialistic pursuits as a Samana, he agrees now to Kamala's suggestions. She directs him to the employ of Kamaswami, a local businessman, and insists that he have Kamaswami treat him as an equal rather than an underling. Siddhartha easily succeeds, providing a voice of patience and tranquility against Kamaswami's fits of passion, which Siddhartha learned from his days as an ascetic. Thus, Siddhartha becomes a rich man and Kamala's lover, though in his middle years realizes that the luxurious lifestyle he has chosen is merely a game, empty of spiritual fulfillment. Leaving the fast-paced bustle of the city, Siddhartha returns to the river and thinks of killing himself. He is saved only by an internal experience of the holy word, Om. The very next morning Siddhartha briefly reconnects with Govinda, who is passing through the area and remains a wandering Buddhist.
Siddhartha decides to live out the rest of his life in the presence of the spiritually inspirational river. Siddhartha thus reunites with the ferryman, named Vasudeva, with whom he begins a humbler way of life. Although Vasudeva is a simple man, he understands and relates that the river has many voices and significant messages to divulge to any who might listen.
Some years later, Kamala, now a Buddhist convert, is travelling to see the Buddha at his deathbed, escorted reluctantly by her young son, when she is bitten by a venomous snake near Siddhartha's river. Siddhartha recognizes her and realizes that the boy is his own child. After Kamala's death, Siddhartha attempts to console and raise the furiously resistant boy, until one day the child flees altogether. Although Siddhartha is desperate to find his runaway son, Vasudeva urges him to let the boy find his own path, much like Siddhartha did himself in his youth. Listening to the river with Vasudeva, Siddhartha realizes that time is an illusion and that all of his feelings and experiences, even those of suffering, are part of a great and ultimately jubilant fellowship of all things connected in the cyclical unity of nature. With Siddhartha's moment of illumination, Vasudeva claims that his work is done and he must depart into the woods, leaving Siddhartha peacefully fulfilled and alone once more.
Toward the end of his life, Govinda hears about an enlightened ferryman and travels to Siddhartha, not initially recognizing him as his old childhood friend. Govinda asks the now-elderly Siddhartha to relate his wisdom and Siddhartha replies that for every true statement there is an opposite one that is also true; that language and the confines of time lead people to adhere to one fixed belief that does not account for the fullness of the truth. Because nature works in a self-sustaining cycle, every entity carries in it the potential for its opposite and so the world must always be considered complete. Siddhartha simply urges people to identify and love the world in its completeness. Siddhartha then oddly requests that Govinda kiss his forehead and, when he does, Govinda experiences the visions of timelessness that Siddhartha himself saw with Vasudeva by the river. Govinda bows to his wise friend and Siddhartha smiles radiantly, having found enlightenment." -Wikipedia
This book really reminded me of the work of Duane Michals- the ideas of process and self discovery, as well as self reflection, one that is often warped.
Another artist this book reminded me of is the work of Tony Orrico, a performance artist who makes beautiful patterns by leaving his body in one place and making repeated marks. His practice really spoke to me of the rhythm of life, where you can't see what you're making when you're up close, you just do things again and again. It's only when you step back and look at what it all makes together that you see the beauty.
This book was short, beautiful, and definitely worth a read. Although it was a common story of achieving the balance of a healthy life, it treated it in a way that was incredibly profound.
If you liked this book and wanted more like it, two books that I found dealt with the similar concept of finding a balance between "fleshly" and "spiritual" paths were The Witch of Portobello by Paulo Coelho and Eat Pray Love by Elisabeth Gilbert. Another book that I would recommend to every single individual on the face of the planet, that had a similar type of profundity to Siddhartha is Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein.
And what I'm listening to today: