Siddhartha

Siddhartha

Author: Hermann Hesse

152 pages; paperback

Originally written in 1922

 Translated into English in 1951 by Hilda Rosner (several others have translated this work at later dates).

While in Branson, MO this summer, we were with Hannah in an antique shop and Russell spied the book Siddhartha and bought it.  He had read it in high school and liked it.  Later, when he and I were traveling I did not have a book to take so he recommended I give it a try.  I started it, lost interest, read several other books after reading the first chapter,  then recently started it again reading through to the conclusion.  Here are my thoughts of Siddhartha.

Born in Germany, writer Hemann Hesse traveled to the East several times before he wrote his novella Siddhartha (in fact his parents were Christian missionaries to India).  Siddhartha, (the name of the Buddha as well as the story’s main character) is a story of the struggles and triumphs of a man in India that lived during the lifetime of Buddha. Concepts of Buddhism, Hinduism and existentialism are touched upon throughout the telling of how one can strive to reach self-awareness, wisdom and ultimately peace that can be attained with the ceasing of seeking, according to Siddhartha.    This dense short story provides much to think about with each page.  However, the telling of the many transitory passages of life (from young boy to old man) is discouragingly sad and in my opinion does not offer lasting hope.  Where is the meaning?  What really matters? 

In the first chapter we get a glimpse of the sadness of a father who allows his son to go on a spiritual quest that will mean he will never see his son again and in the end Siddhartha himself feels this same anguish when his own son leaves him for a life away from the river that became Siddhartha’s greatest teacher.  Hermann Hesse’s character Siddhartha is consistent and authentic in his desires and because of this you care about him as a friend.  I wonder what it would have been like for Sidd to have met Jesus as he was searching for Truth.  I cannot help thinking his life then would have had the meaning he was pursuing all along. 

At the close of the book, Siddhartha, now an old man, again meets his boy-hood friend and he asks Siddhartha for a word of hope, something that will help him as he continues on his quest.  I smile after reading Siddhartha’s several pages of reply when his friend simply says, “I thank you, Siddhartha, for telling me something of your thoughts.  Some of them are strange thoughts. I cannot grasp them all immediately.  However, I thank you, and I wish you many peaceful days.”  Inwardly, however he thought: Siddhartha is a strange man and he expresses strange thoughts. His ideas seem crazy… 

Critics claim that this book is one of Hermann Hesse’s most influential works and that it will linger in both one’s mind and spirit for a lifetime.  I would not recommend reading this if you are in a depressed mood but I do think reading it for the purpose of discussion would lead to many interesting ones.