Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse

One of my favorite books assigned to me in high school was Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse. I recently read it again and found just as much enjoyment a second time. The title, Siddhartha, is formed from two Sanskrit words to mean “he who has found meaning” and contains numerous spiritual and life lessons. If you haven’t read or don’t remember Siddhartha, it’s a quick read I highly recommend.

Book Stats

• Title: Siddhartha
• Author: Hermann Hesse
• Genre: Fiction, Philosophy
• Origin Country: Germany
• Origin Language: German
• Publication Date: 1922
• Pages: 152
• Est. Reading Time: Approx. 5 hours
• My Rating: 5/5 Stars
• Buy Now: Amazon or Gutenberg Free E-book!

Siddhartha: Plot Summary

Siddhartha is the story of the son of a wealthy Indian Brahman who abandons his inheritance to seek knowledge and enlightenment. When Siddhartha first sets out with his friend Govinda, they join the Samanas. Among the Samanas, wandering monks, Siddhartha masters meditation and fasting but fears he is no closer to enlightenment. Leaving the Samanas, Siddhartha and Govinda seek out Gotama, the founder of Buddhism.

Once they find Gotama and hear his teachings, Govinda chooses to join his followers while Siddhartha decides to forge his own path. Without a clear direction, Siddhartha wanders aimlessly until he arrives in a city and beholds the beautiful consort, Kamala. Needing money to be with Kamala, Siddhartha becomes a merchant and slowly forgets his quest for enlightenment.

Then, one day, Siddhartha reflects upon his many years as a wealthy merchant with disgust. After a final visit to Kamala, he sets out once more in search of enlightenment. Somewhat by chance, Siddhartha retraces his steps from many years prior to arrive at the same ferryman, Vasudeva, who gave him free passage after he’d departed from Govinda.

Siddhartha decides to stay with Vasudeva and becomes a ferryman himself. Here, Siddhartha meditates by the river; and, from the river and all his past experiences, finally reaches enlightenment. Now old men, Govinda hears word of an enlightened ferryman and comes to visit Siddhartha. Not recognizing him at first, Govinda is delighted to learn it is his old friend Siddhartha who has achieved nirvana.

Siddhartha: Message

There are many messages one can take from Siddhartha. For me, the most prominent is that teachers are often ineffective and experiences are required to truly learn. I believe this is true for most, if not all, of us. There have certainly been many times I’ve been told how to do something properly or given advice and refused to do it “their” way. Occasionally, this has resulted in me finding a more efficient or better approach, but most often I simply end up learning the “hard way.”

“Wisdom cannot be passed on. Wisdom which a wise man tries to pass on to someone always sounds like foolishness… Knowledge can be conveyed, but not wisdom. It can be found, it can be lived, it is possible to be carried by it, miracles can be performed with it, but it cannot be expressed in words and taught.”

– Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha

Understanding Yourself

This is particularly true when seeking to better understand yourself. No one else shares your thoughts and knows you the way you do. Those closest to you may offer their perspective or advice but, as above, it is rarely accepted until you can see it for yourself. Although others may guide your path with questions or ideas to consider, ultimately, the answers must come from within yourself.

“But what is this, what you have sought to learn from teachings and from teachers, and what they, who have taught you much, were still unable to teach you?” And he found: “It was the self, the purpose and essence of which I sought to learn. It was the self, I wanted to free myself from, which I sought to overcome. But I was not able to overcome it, could only deceive it, could only flee from it, only hide from it. Truly, no thing in this world has kept my thoughts thus busy, as this my very own self, this mystery of me being alive, of me being one and being separated and isolated from all others, of me being Siddhartha! And there is no thing in this world I know less about than about me, about Siddhartha!”

– Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha

Siddhartha: Journey to Enlightenment

At the beginning of his journey, Siddhartha is very judgmental of others. He believes the sole purpose of life is to achieve enlightenment. Therefore, anyone not appearing to understand this and seek enlightenment is beneath him. This belief results in a very lonely, unhappy existence:

“He saw merchants trading, princes hunting, mourners wailing for their dead, whores offering themselves, physicians trying to help the sick, priests determining the most suitable day for seeding, lovers loving, mothers nursing their children—and all of this was not worthy of one look from his eye, it all lied, it all stank, it all stank of lies, it all pretended to be meaningful and joyful and beautiful, and it all was just concealed putrefaction. The world tasted bitter. Life was torture.”

– Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha

However, once Siddhartha realizes the many spiritual teachers he’s sought out are getting him no closer to enlightenment, he leaves to live among the very people he once despised. While living a more stereotypical, materialistic lifestyle, Siddhartha learns many new things and eventually finds a semblance of happiness. Unfortunately, this happiness doesn’t last forever and he becomes disgusted with himself, fearing he has missed the chance to reach enlightenment.

Despair

“I have had to experience so much stupidity, so many vices, so much error, so much nausea, disillusionment and sorrow, just in order to become a child again and begin anew. I had to experience despair, I had to sink to the greatest mental depths, to thoughts of suicide, in order to experience grace.”

– Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha

It is when Siddhartha is at his lowest and contemplating suicide by the river that the holy word “Om” returns to him from his meditations. He reflects back on his whole life and finds happiness in having experienced so much. Reinvigorated, Siddhartha sees the world around him in a whole new way and is drawn to the river. Where before he’d thought to drown himself in it, he now wished to learn from it.

The River

Following the river, Siddhartha joins the ferryman, Vasudeva, who had predicted that Siddhartha would return when he gave him free passage long ago. While living by the river and working the ferry, Siddhartha contemplates many questions and uses Vasudeva as a sounding board for his thoughts. Guided not by teachings, but by his inner self, Siddhartha slowly discovers the secrets of the river.

“Did you too learn that secret from the river: that there is no time? … That the river is everywhere at once, at the source and at the mouth, at the waterfall, at the ferry, at the rapids, in the sea, in the mountains, everywhere at once, and that there is only the present time for it, not the shadow of the past, not the shadow of the future?”

– Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha

Enlightenment

As Siddhartha learns more and more from the river, he becomes more at peace with himself. Until, while sitting with Vasudeva by the river, he hears the holy Om in the combined sounds and lessons of the river. Through this combined understanding, Siddhartha finally achieves enlightenment!

“In this hour, Siddhartha stopped fighting his fate, stopped suffering. On his face flourished the cheerfulness of a knowledge, which is no longer opposed by any will, which knows perfection, which is in agreement with the flow of events, with the current of life, full of sympathy for the pain of others, full of sympathy for the pleasure of others, devoted to the flow, belonging to the oneness.”

– Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha

“To thoroughly understand the world, to explain it, to despise it, may be the thing great thinkers do. But I’m only interested in being able to love the world, not to despise it, not to hate it and me, to be able to look upon it and me and all beings with love and admiration and great respect.”

– Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha

Siddhartha: Final Thoughts

In the final chapter, when Govinda comes to visit Siddhartha and hear how he reached enlightenment, much of his wisdom is lost to Govinda. In fact, much of it remains unclear to me as well. While writing Siddhartha, the author, Hermann Hesse, spent a great deal of time studying Hindu and Buddhist teachings to experience enlightenment for himself. So, I doubt many will grasp Hesse’s meanings in their entirety without his same experiences. Nevertheless, one point that resonates with me is the distinction made between searching and finding:

“When someone is searching,” said Siddhartha, “then it might easily happen that the only thing his eyes still see is that what he searches for, that he is unable to find anything, to let anything enter his mind, because he always thinks of nothing but the object of his search, because he has a goal, because he is obsessed by the goal. Searching means: having a goal. But finding means: being free, being open, having no goal.”

– Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha

I interpret this to mean that, while having a goal is not bad, a single-minded approach will cause you to miss out on experiences along the way. For example, retirement is a goal many of us share. However, if financial savings are taken to the extreme you may find yourself regretting not living life to a fuller extent in your youth. Be cautious of developing a singular focus to the detriment of all else.

While I’m sure each person who reads Siddhartha will interpret it differently, I’m confident it will get you thinking. If you enjoy philosophy or books that make you contemplate yourself, give Siddhartha a try. If you’ve already read Siddhartha, how does your interpretation compare to mine? Do you have any favorite quotes I missed? Let me know in the comments!

Caution: Check the Translation

Should you find yourself shopping for Siddhartha, be sure to check the reviews or read a few sections to verify the translation quality. I’d hate to have the wisdom of Hermann Hesse go unappreciated. Of course, this is true of any book written in a different language but I wanted to add a special word of caution since there are so many versions/editions available.

Also, be aware that Siddhartha is in the public domain in the USA. This means that if you read e-books, you’re in luck. Most Public Domain books are available for FREE online at sites like Project Gutenberg!

I plan to write an article further explaining public domain books soon. If you’re interested, please subscribe to our Email Newsletter to make sure you don’t miss it!

If you enjoyed this article, you may also like Why Read Fiction? – To Learn About Yourself and Who Moved My Cheese? By Spencer Johnson.