Heribert Kuhn

Hermann Hesse

"Ich sehe, Gelibter dass du den Frieden gefunden hast. Gib mir etwas, das ich fassen, das ich verstehen kann ! Gib mir etwas mit auf meinem Weg. Er ist oft beschwerlich, mein Weg, oft finster, Siddhartha." Hermann Hesse, "Siddhartha" -- 4ème de couverture.

eine indische Dichtung

Siddhartha

Josephina Lucke

Vojtech

He had star­ted to sus­pect that his ven­er­able fath­er and his oth­er teach­ers, that the wise Brah­mins had already re­vealed to him the most and best of their wis­dom, that they had already filled his ex­pect­ing ves­sel with their rich­ness, and the ves­sel was not full, the spir­it was not con­tent, the soul was not calm, the heart was not sat­is­fied.

With half of a smile, with an un­waver­ing open­ness and kind­ness, Got­ama looked in­to the stranger’s eyes and bid him to leave with a hardly no­tice­able ges­ture.

“You are wise, O Samana,” the ven­er­able one spoke. “You know how to talk wisely, my friend. Be aware of too much wis­dom!”

The Buddha turned away, and his glance and half of a smile re­mained forever etched in Siddhartha’s memory.

loisesya

“AIl the waves and water hastened, suffering, towards goals, many goals, to the waterfall, to the sea, to the current, to the ocean, and all goals were reached and each one was succeeded by another. The water changed to vapour and rose, became rain and came down again, became spring, brook and river, changed anew, flowed anew. But the yearning voice had altered. It still echoed sorrowfully, searchingly, but other voices accompanied it, voices of pleasure and sorrow, good and evil voices, laughing and lamenting voices, hundreds of voices, thousands of voices.”

“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 it and teach it.”

Bart Veldhuijsen 

Hij had nog steeds een verstandiger, bezielder gezicht dan de anderen, maar lachen deed hij zelden meer, en meer en meer begon het die trekken aan te nemen, die men in het gezicht van rijke mensen zo veelvuldig vindt, die trekken van ontevredenheid, van een ongezonde levenswijze, van mismoedigheid, van traagheid, en van liefdeloosheid. Langzamerhand kreeg de ziekte van de rijke man hem in haar greep, een ziekte die de ziel aantast.

wijsheid is nooit over te dragen. De wijsheid, die een wijze voor een ander toegankelijk probeert te maken, klinkt altijd als iets dwaas.

Michal

They lacked nothing, there was nothing the knowledgeable one, the thinker, had to put him above them except for one little thing, a single, tiny, small thing: the consciousness, the conscious thought of the oneness of all life. And Siddhartha even doubted in many an hour, whether this knowledge, this thought was to be valued thus highly, whether it might not also perhaps be a childish idea of the thinking people, of the thinking and childlike people. In all other respects, the worldly people were of equal rank to the wise men, were often far superior to them, just as animals too can, after all, in some moments, seem to be superior to humans in their tough, unrelenting performance of what is necessary.

Slowly blossomed, slowly ripened in Siddhartha the realisation, the knowledge, what wisdom actually was, what the goal of his long search was. It was nothing but a readiness of the soul, an ability, a secret art, to think every moment, while living his life, the thought of oneness, to be able to feel and inhale the oneness. Slowly this blossomed in him, was shining back at him from Vasudeva's old, childlike face: harmony, knowledge of the eternal perfection of the world, smiling, oneness.

Helen 

He saw trees, stars, animals, clouds, rainbows, rocks, weeds, flowers, brook and river, the sparkle of dew on bushes in the morning, distant high mountains blue pale; birds sang, bees hummed, the wind blew gently across the rice fields. All this, coloured and in a thousand different forms, had always been there. The sun and moon had always shone; the rivers had always flowed and the bees had hummed, but in previous times all this had been nothing to Siddhartha but a fleeting and illusive veil before his eyes, regarded with distrust, condemned to be disregarded and ostracised from the thoughts, because it was not reality, because reality lay on the other side of the visible. 

 Knowledge can be communicated, but not wisdom. One can find it, live it, be fortified by it, do wonders through it, but one cannot communicate and teach it. 

nanafark

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.

So she thoroughly taught him that one cannot take pleasure without giving pleasure, and that every gesture, every caress, every touch, every glance, every last bit of the body has its secret, which brings happiness to the person who knows how to wake it. She taught him that after a celebration of love the lovers should not part without admiring each other, without being conquered or having conquered, so that neither is bleak or glutted or has the bad feeling of being used or misused.

It may be important to great thinkers to examine the world, to explain and despise it. But I think it is only important to love the world, not to despise it, not for us to hate each other, but to be able to regard the world and ourselves and all beings with love, admiration and respect.

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.

I have always believed, and I still believe, that whatever good or bad fortune may come our way we can always give it meaning and transform it into something of value.

um poema indiano : romance

Siddharta

Es un viaje interior muy profundo que se siente como un abrazo que te cura el alma.

A book—rare in our arid age—that takes root in the heart and grows there for a lifetime. Here the spirituality of the East and the West have met in a novel that enfigures deep human wisdom with a rich and colorful imagination. Written in a prose of almost biblical simplicity and beauty, it is the story of a soul's long quest in search of he ultimate answer to the enigma of man's role on this earth. As a youth, the young Indian Siddhartha meets the Buddha but cannot be content with a disciple's role: he must work out his own destiny and solve his own doubt—a tortuous road that carries him through the sensuality of a love affair with the beautiful courtesan Kamala, the temptation of success and riches, the heartache of struggle with his own son, to final renunciation and self-knowledge. The name "Siddhartha" is one often given to the Buddha himself—perhaps a clue to Hesse's aims in contrasting the traditional legendary figure with his own conception, as a European (Hesse was Swiss), of a spiritual explorer.

SONYA

some good nuggets throughout, i find it a delight to read and not as cheesy as what everyone has been saying! a good first intro to herman hesse, a lovely read, proses are beautiful

mimi nguyen

An Indian Tale

A poetic and philosophical novel that follows a young man’s spiritual journey toward enlightenment. While not a retelling of the Buddha’s life, Hesse explores similar themes—self-discovery, experience, and inner peace—through the fictional Siddhartha.

The writing is rich and lyrical, and though slow at times, it rewards patient readers with deep insights. It’s a story that emphasizes learning through 

, not just study, making it resonate on a personal level.

A short, timeless read—worth it for anyone interested in the search for meaning.

A poetic and philosophical novel that follows a young man’s spiritual journey toward enlightenment. While not a retelling of the Buddha’s life, Hesse explores similar themes—self-discovery, experience, and inner peace—through the fictional Siddhartha.

The writing is rich and lyrical, and though slow at times, it rewards patient readers with deep insights. It’s a story that emphasizes learning through living, not just study, making it resonate on a personal level.

A short, timeless read—worth it for anyone interested in the search for meaning.

One of those books that makes u think, but not in a way that blows your mind. It’s the kind of story that explores the whole “search for meaning” vibe, following Siddharta’s journey to find enlightenment. But if you’re into deep, spiritual stuff and don’t mind a slower pace, it’s worth a read. 🤍

Karel Marccenaro

Maria

not explaining, but my favorite book. i felt seen and not alone whith siddharta, i hold this book near to my heart

Kirsten Kim

wrote 3+ essays and socratic seminared every sentence of the book. still dont know what its about

anjali

Siddartha is an allegory; a story wrapped around the ultimate premise 'Happiness for Dummies'. Okay, maybe not so simplistic, but it deals with the attainment and nature of happiness nonetheless.

Premise

Like its eponymous protagonist, the novel breaks down in several milestones or turning points that signal the development of the story and the growth of the character, marking the changes that have been wrought at each stage by happenstance or when the central character experiences, what they generally call, 'awakening.'

Now, I have generally never been fond of that word; I look upon it with slightly cynical eyes that have been tainted long ago with the endless and ubiquitous New Age slogans and advertising jingles and other such byproducts of a spiritually-hungry-but-commercially-eager-to-cash-on-in-that-hunger culture that is so pervasive. For that reason, any word (especially buzzwords like awakening, purpose, destiny, soul - to name just a few, which must surely count as eternal favourites of those who specialise in Spiritual Quests) - any word bearing resemblance or connection to this New Age school of thought immediately props up red flags in my mind and, in response to that, my mind reciprocates my sentiments with a certain two-syllable word, namely, 'bullshit'.

However, being as wary of this as I am, I am compelled to acknowledge that Siddhartha does not bear resemblance to those works proffering liberation and claiming to offer answers to your spiritual questions, at least, not in the typical sense. Hesse is not trying to sell you happiness in a How-To-Guide book form wrapped with a ribbon on top. Hesse isn't trying to sell you anything. What he is doing, though, is telling a story that puts this search, this spiritual hunger in an allegory form and examines the ways it comes about and the way it is resolved.

A historical perspective

We must put Siddhartha in its historical context to achieve a full perspective towards understanding this work. Herman Hesse was a German writer who, aside from being a pretty depressive kid and showing signs of serious depression even in childhood, was also the winner of Nobel Prize in literature. Bam. His parents had served as Christian missionaries in India. His exposure to the work of Arthur Schopenhauer, the German philosopher, renewed his interest in Indian culture. Hesse's work is informed with tenets of Buddhist and Hindu philosophy and, in the case of Siddartha, forms the setting of the story itself.

Siddhartha is important because, published in 1922, way before the Beat movement and the hippiedom of the 60s, it was the first major work dealing in Eastern philosophy and thought written in the West. What many of the world now knows or may appreciate as Buddhist/Zen philosophy as a school of thought, Siddhartha put forward first. Hesse influenced the work of Jack Kerouac, and many others of the Beat Generation ahead of its time. It witnessed a resurgence in the counter-culture movements of the sixties.

Underlying themes and meaning

Hesse examines the search for spiritual fulfillment by having his characters embody aspects of personality and living that are unified, at various stages, by the protagonist Siddhartha himself. Govinda, like Siddhartha, is a seeker and then a Samana, or an ascetic who has renounced all wordly possesions. Kamala, the woman who instructs Siddhartha in the art of physical love and later, the mother of his child, embodies hedonism and sensuality. Kamaswami, the merchant, signifies the chief example of the 'child people', the materialist. The ferryman, Vasudeva, exemplifies quiet understanding and wisdom, just like the Gautama Buddha, the Sublime One.

At various stages of his life, Siddhartha experiences the different aspects of these different personalities himself; he changes and grows as a person by becoming and unbecoming these traits. He is first and foremost, a seeker, who leaves his home to become a Samana, an ascetic giving up the ways of 'the child people'. He is then the lover, basking in the pleasures of love and sex. Then he is the trader, the materialist, consumed by worldly woes. He is the gambler, giver and taker of riches, losing sight of what he was before. Then he is the suicidal depressive who has reached a breaking point, a crises in life, realised that the journey he traced out until this point left him empty, hollow, broken. Then he is the awakened, the conscious, the curious. He is the child, born-again, who laughs to himself realising that he has been given a blank slate to begin anew.

Siddhartha's journey is one of trial and error. He sets of with the one goal of escaping the 'ego', the vanquishing of the Self to achieve oneness with the universe, the Brahman. Yes, that sounds a bunch of wish-washy terms strung together to sound fancy. Admittedly, they wouldn't look that great on a resume, or seem out of place in daily conversation. 'What do you want to do with your life?' 'Oh, you know, just vanquish the Ego and stuff...and become one with the Universe. Can you pass the ice-cream, please?' Yup. However, let's give the Brahmin kid a break.

To that end, he traces out a path that wavers between two extremes - two opposite paths that might lead to one destination that is his goal. The first path, of course, is the one of renouncing of the worldly wealth, the path of the Samanas, the path of hermits, one of patience and fasting and suffering and simple living to overcome material wants and excesses. The second path, which he embarks upon after meeting Kamala, is directly opposite to his former one: instead of giving up pleasures and possessions, it encourages him to pursue them with active desire. When it turns out that this was not working either, Siddhartha runs away from it too and reaches that dreaded dead-end, suicide. This breakdown is the culmination of another lesson, heralding a new beginning, a clean start.

Siddhartha's mistakes are numerous and his teachers many; from his Samanas, the Buddha, Kamala, Kamaswami, the ferryman, and ultimately the river. His loves, much like his paths and means to the journey of fullfilment, know many faces and forms. At one point in the novel, Siddhartha asserts to Kamala: 'Maybe people like us cannot love,' and yet in time he himself comes to experience the many aspects of love. He knows platonic love, in relation to his best friend Govinda, brotherly love suffused with profound respect to Vasudeva, romantic love to Kamala, and familial, fatherly but unrequited love to his son.

Conclusion

Compared to other books tackling existential angst such as the likes of The Stranger by Albert Camus, or Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Siddhartha is different in that it is uplifting and somberly optimistic in tone. Hesse's prose is languid and well-written, with a tendency to become simple at times, but not simplistic. The central message of the novel is exemplified in the final meeting of Siddhartha and Govinda, fraught with the difficulty of Govinda seeking to glean understanding from the learning of Siddhartha, and Siddhartha asserting its impossibility: Wisdom cannot be taught. Knowledge can be passed on, but wisdom cannot. That Siddhartha spent his entire life trying to learn it himself, and made many mistakes along the way, but fumbling and falling, made it through, underlies this claim.

Different people will interpret novel differently. Some might think it is trite, some might think it changed their life. It didn't change mine. But it gave me some nice things to think about.

Blends elements of psychoanalysis and Asian religions to probe an Indian aristocrat's efforts to renounce sensual and material pleasures and discover ultimate spiritual truths.

An Indian Poem

Lindy

This was constantly referred to me as something along the lines of That Buddhism Novel but really it's so Christian it's not even funny.

roman

Ubeyd Gencer

"Arama bir amaci olmak demektir.Bulmaksa,ozgur olmak,disa acik bulunmak,hicbir amaci olmamak" hayatin tamamina farkli bir pencereden bakan bir eser.

read this in a gasping gulp, so well written & so profound. here to learn & love, truly 🪻

farro

An incredible read... love is the most important thing

egle trovato

Laura Mauler

Probably 1.5 stars, but we round up in my family. 

Just not my cup of tea.

Blends elements of psychoanalysis and Asian religions to probe an Indian aristocrat's efforts to renounce sensual and material pleasures and discover ultimate spiritual truths

Arya Bhushan

The book is written in many long, but poetic, proses. It did take me some time to adjust to Hesse's writing style, but once I did, I couldn't help but love the way he wrote.

rakshu

no words will ever be able to describe how beautiful and meaningful this book is

Siddhartha, a young man, leaves his family for a contemplative life, then, restless, discards it for one of the flesh. He conceives a son, but bored and sickened by lust and greed, moves on again.

Traci Wilbanks

A short book that says so much. 
I will definitely read it again in a few years

Wederom een groots boek van Herman Hesse. Het boek is vrij kort maar met veel inhoud. Het is ook moeilijk om te beschrijven wat het boek nu zegt, want het zegt heel veel. Het boek gaat ook over jezelf vinden en loslaten van dingen. Dit is zeker een aanrader

José Saramago

um poema indiano

Erik Wallace

Jacob Medure

This book is one of the books I feel like everyone should read. Similar to Pualo Coelho's Alchemist, but much more profound, this book artistically tells the story of enlightenment. The punchline here is that many lessons in life are only derived through experience, despite what you may have learned without experience. After reading, I feel as though that just may be the key to life, to live it.

heleen de boever

Faith Ho 

"But one cannot love words. Therefore teachings are if no use to me; they have no hardness, no softness, no colours, no corners, no smell, no taste - they have nothing but words. Perhaps that is what prevents you from finding peace, perhaps there are too many words [...]"

Slightly ironic, given this is a book. But - not really ironic. A man's journey to nirvana and the spiritual insights he has along the way. And yet it isn't an epic; he doesn't travel very far, there aren't exciting extreme circumstances - rather it is a careful process of psychological and spiritual development. 

There're probably debates over its literary or intellectual merits, but what I can say, and why the quote isn't really ironic is: it touched something in me. Perhaps that's why I read, to experience, for a ephemeral moment, of something beyond "my reality". A thirst for finding that "something" that Siddhartha starts off with, and eventually finds; but that perhaps the rest of us will spend our lives, and may never achieve. This book leaves much for me to think about, but also the contradictory point that thinking is not the way to things; knowing not just with intellect (here I admit I am often tired of thinking; because my thoughts eat themselves up, a negation, exaggerate and yet extinguish everything)- "finding means: to be free, to be receptive, to have no goal."

"And if time is not real, then the dividing line that seems to lie between the world and eternity, between suffering and bliss, between good and evil, is also an illusion [...] his future is already there [...] to leave [the world] as it is, to love it, and to be glad to belong to it."

An incredible piece of fiction about a man who sets out on a spiritual journey to discover a higher state of being. I originally left this book on hold, but after giving it another go, I couldn’t put it down. The last few chapters were thought-provoking, particularly when it touches on misaligned values and fate. It’s beautifully written, the poetic style and imagery made it easy to appreciate.

Aakankaha Dwivedi

"The purpose and essential properties were not somewhere behind the things, they were in them, in everything."

Siddhartha eine indische Dichtung

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