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Siddhartha


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In the shade of a banyan tree, a grizzled ferryman sits listening to the river. Some say he's a sage. He was once a wandering shramana and, briefly, like thousands of others, he followed Gotama the Buddha, enraptured by his sermons. But this man, Siddhartha, was not a follower of any but his own soul. Born the son of a Brahmin, Siddhartha was blessed in appearance, intelligence, and charisma. In order to find meaning in life, he discarded his promising future for the life of a wandering ascetic. Still, true happiness evaded him. Then a life of pleasure and titillation merely eroded away his spiritual gains until he was just like all the other "child people," dragged around by his desires. Like Hermann Hesse's other creations of struggling young men, Siddhartha has a good dose of European angst and stubborn individualism. His final epiphany challenges both the Buddhist and the Hindu ideals of enlightenment. Neither a practitioner nor a devotee, neither meditating nor reciting, Siddhartha comes to blend in with the world, resonating with the rhythms of nature, bending the reader's ear down to hear answers from the river.

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Recent Forum Posts on Siddhartha

Need Help Understanding Siddharta

Maybe this book was just not an attention getter for me, but I passively read Siddharta and did not find the fullfilment that I usually do reading other books. To me, everything was described clearly, but I did not find a satisfying ending. What realizations were made by Siddharta in the end? Or was it something that Govinda realized? To me, it just doesn't seem like the last chapter. Can anyone help me understand the last of Siddharta so I can possibly make a connection to the rest of the book? *edit: Does anyone see any types of symbolism in the book? I really want to pull meaning out of this book, but I can't find any symbolism! --tabby123

Posted By tabby123 at Fri 11 Jul 2008, 2:27 PM in Siddhartha || 5 Replies

Siddhartha by Herman Hess

I didn't see an actual thread devoted to it and it really does deserve it's own. If you've read Siddhartha, and if you haven't I strongly suggest you do, I'd like to know what you felt the most important messages or overtones were to you. One of my favorites was his thinking about language, where he stated language was only transportation for ideas, or something along those lines.

Posted By Adopt at Mon 9 Jun 2008, 4:07 PM in Siddhartha || 3 Replies

Siddhartha's beauty

Hesse describes Siddhartha's beauty. What is the importance of it? and community wise?

Posted By curious_azn at Tue 5 Feb 2008, 10:14 PM in Siddhartha || 0 Replies

Waiting, fasting, thinking. What's so special about these?

Siddhartha claims these attributes were his best; waiting, fasting, thinking. Why is this so?

Posted By RichardRR at Sun 27 Jan 2008, 3:49 PM in Siddhartha || 2 Replies

Cycle Themes

How is cycle demonstrated in this book? I know life reincarnation is one and becoming innonce and child-like again.

Posted By animeblood at Fri 7 Dec 2007, 8:34 PM in Siddhartha || 1 Reply

does siddhartha love anyone?

although Siddhartha says he cannot love anyone i believe he loves his son and possibly Kamala? feedback would be wonderful thank you!

Posted By wo0dy at Sun 23 Sep 2007, 1:26 PM in Siddhartha || 6 Replies

thank you

hey friends .. can u please send me some of your personal responses about Siddartha . i will be waiting ..

Posted By Sahil Parikh at Thu 21 Jun 2007, 10:00 AM in Siddhartha || 7 Replies

4 main things Siddartha learns

Hiya people I was just wondering if anyone could help me out. What are the 4 main things Siddhartha learns throughout the novel?

Posted By Searin at Sun 22 Apr 2007, 12:20 PM in Siddhartha || 8 Replies

hesse's disdain for words

for hesse, rejecting the idea of conventional time in favor of "all is now" seems to be the key to getting past teachings and recognizing the oneness that always is, always has been, always will be. does anyone have any more ideas on hesse's concept of time? i thought he did a nice job of explaining this often times abstracted thing in a concrete way; for instance, hesse calling "sometimes" a metaphor in the last chapter. such a simple statement, but so all-encompassing.

Posted By billyjack at Mon 19 Mar 2007, 2:47 PM in Siddhartha || 0 Replies

The way

Hesse showed amazing insight and understanding through his story telling. I was very curious as to how he would wrap things up and he did so splendidly. The Truth cant be put into words. The best that can be done is a pointing in the right direction. Siddhartha was in fact Buddha, as we all are, though we may not realize it. Unfortunately, we can never realize this being mere followers. If you want to know the path ahead, ask those coming back. Thats what we have the chance to do with this story. Though all our paths are different we are still chasing something that we dont realize is already here. Some have to learn it the hard way. Govinda spent many years with the Buddha himself and yet couldnt get beyond being a "follower". This story, in fact, contains everything, if you are ready to see it. When words and thoughts disappear what are you left with? Who are you left with? Are you still seeking, chasing and running? Where could you run anyway? The path begins and ends "here". It always has.

Posted By jpatton at Fri 26 Jan 2007, 7:20 AM in Siddhartha || 1 Reply

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