Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse

Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse - Book Review by Barnali Saha



Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse


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Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha is a timeless tale that takes to your life's quest of that Holy Grail, Nirvana. The book, written in simple language, talks about knowledge we derive through our daily lives. As we walk in the daily path of life, we may not be fully aware of what we really want, this book, spiritual to its core, is the quintessence of human wishes in this earthly quagmire. The protagonist of the book is called Siddhartha; he is a young Samana who wants to lead a spiritual life like none other. He leaves his home with his friend with the urge to learn from his own experiences rather being inculcated by some learned Samana. To him knowledge from some other person is incomplete, thus unworthy. The story speaks about his journey, his disillusionment. Siddhartha's tastes earthly life, carnal pleasures and money and then realizes what he really wanted.

Two other important charters in the book, who, according to my book left an indelible mark, are The Buddha, and Vasudeva, the ferryman. Gotama brings Siddhartha face to face with unspoken challenge and Vasudeva taught him, despite being a simpleton, how to learn from the sounds of nature, how to translate the rippling sounds of the river.


The book teaches you some important lessons about the spiritual journey of life, that life is a deep spring, a fathomless ocean of identity. It is your soul that is the ultimate illusion that is there in you but you are aware of its demanding presence. You are seeking the ultimate goal of Nirvana, an illusion itself, without realizing that Nirvana rests in human mind. When human mind breaks the shackles of time and sentiment, it reaches the ultimate, all powerful entity that dwells inside it. In a sense all manuscripts, however prolix they might be teach you that one thing, all religions of the world, beyond the veil of nice worlds tell you that in you dwell the Bhramha, the creator. In you weave your thoughts, your ideas, your goals---you are what you think you are. You are thy creator; it is just that you won't recognise it. In the deepest depth of your mind, in the inner core, you are sentient of your thoughts. Every one is, a criminal, a psychopath, a wise man all are aware of what they do and what they think. You cannot become a wise man if you so choose to. Your thoughts would implore you rather push you to become one, then when the whole mental puzzle is solved and you see what you want, when the riddle is clear then you see your goal--a sterling, iridescent path towards self appraisal. Human beings are what they want themselves to be, god is but a reflection of the inner self and as we believe, God guides our movements, by that, we actually mean, that he guides us rather our minds to judge and decide by itself. As without hard work, luck cannot lead you to success similarly without strong will you can never have an understanding of the world. Willingness to understand is important, the penchant for listening rather than talking, silently accepting others views, and evaluation a given circumstance is important. Until you listen, you cannot be wise. The world is always not about saints, they can never lead you to the ultimate illumination of soul, to the sense to being mingled with the holy entity. They can chant the mantras, utter incantations but unless you are willing to submerge and inundate you inner self in the thought of that holy entity you believe in, you can never be a follower of god, a believer, a son or a daughter. Feeling the mighty strength of god inside you, in your mind is most important.

The ending of the book is equally interesting when Siddhartha comes to know about his own son, also named Siddhartha who refuses to obey his father and eventually steals the ferryman's money and runs back to the town. It was a shock for Siddhartha who now understood what the essence of life which like the river flows through various courses and finally it reaches its destination. The course of life is compared to the river and Siddhartha learns from the river and its sounds. Relationships play an important role in the book; Siddhartha's father pines when he decides to leave him and so did he when his son runs away, thus bringing to life the concept that incidents in life flow in one eternal circle and that the earth is sentient of all our deeds. Friendship between Siddhartha and Govinda, the loyal love and admiration is also unique as is the relationship between Vasudeva and Siddhartha which is almost like a pupil and a teacher relation learning from each other. The balance and the simplicity of the novel is appealing. The presence of Kamala, the beautiful courtesan who gives birth to Siddhartha's son is symbolic; she represents the earthly aspects of life, the labyrinth which draws the human hearts to certain pleasures in life. Kamaswami the shrewd business man also represents the vague earthly pleasures that draw Siddhartha thus blurring his spiritual eyesight temporarily.


The novel is a masterpiece; an in-depth analysis of the spiritual life of a man and how difficult it is to leave the earthly mystic maze. It is the novel of realization, of faith, of love and relationships. Devoid of lofty ideas and arcane verbiage, the book is a delightful read appealing to all readers' eyes.