Siddhartha (Penguin Modern Classics) [Paperback]

`Siddhartha' is one of those books that is both simple to read and yet powerful and profound at the same time. Following a young Brahmin's son as he tries to find his spiritual path in life, this book manages to weave a tale that is both captivating and enlightening. This book is so good I could read the first 30 pages alone and put the book down a happy man, the remainder is purely icing on the cake! Hesse manages to write in a deceptively simple style that belies the depth to the message he shows us and the skill behind his writing. He won the nobel prize for good reason. This may be a short book, but it is one that will stay with you long after you have read it and will bring you back to rediscover it's delights at regular intervals. Beautiful prose, beautiful message and highly recommended indeed.

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Siddhartha, son of a Brahman, is on a quest to find the meaning of life. We follow him as he struggles on through his journey, through many different life experiences. He is on a spiritual journey to find out for himself who he really is. Along the way he meets rich people, poor people, holy people, and becomes part of their world for a short time. Through his many encounters, he learns much more about himself and the world, but for a long time he is still not satisfied and still feels a deep need to strive for more and to search for something elusive.
I think this book is relevant to everyone, because although it is telling the tale of a spiritual and religious man, it is also a tale about life and how our life experiences make us who we are. Many of Siddhartha's feelings and thoughts are common to us all as we make our way along the road of our own lives. This book reaffirms the fact that in the end we are all the same, and someone who has stayed in the same place all their life can be as wise as someone who has spent his life travelling on a long search for the truth. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Its message appears to be that we are all the same and all of our life experiences whether good or bad, are necessary for us to find ourselves, and even though everyone will go through different things, we are all bonded by the fact that we are on the same journey. I believe everyone who reads this book will be touched in some way by the simple and poignant words. I would recommend this to everyone, it's a very enlightening and though-provoking read.

There are some books everyone talks about but nobody reads. And then, there are books everyone reads but nobody understands. "Siddhartha" by Hermann Hesse seems to be one of those. I didn't expect much from this book after reading about it on the web. I expected it to be a really bad hippie book about some libertine who callously abandons his wife and kid, and then expects to "learn from the river", or whatever. I definitely didn't expect it to be Buddhist. Actually reading the book was therefore a pleasant surprise. Apparently, force-feeding high school students with "Siddhartha" is a really bad idea, LOL.

Hermann Hesse's novel, first published in 1922, is obviously based on a close study of different Hindu and Buddhist traditions. Perhaps the author also studied Tantrism. The book is very clever, and contains allusions to both the Bhagavad Gita and the legend of the Buddha. "Learning from the river" turns out to be another allusion. Note also the deliberate confusion in naming the main character Siddhartha, while referring to the real Buddha as Gotama. According to Buddhist tradition, the Buddha's full name was Siddhartha Gotama!

Whether the book is "Buddhist" or not is mostly a matter of definition. While Siddhartha rejects the Buddha, he eventually becomes enlightened himself by a path that could be accepted by some Hindu and Buddhist traditions. In the last chapter, Siddhartha realizes that samsara is nirvana, and grasps the concept of shunyata, fundamental tenets of Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. More controversial are Siddhartha's libertine escapades. I think it all hinges on how you interpret his words that the libertinism was "inevitable". Was it inevitable in the sense that the path to enlightenment goes through rank antinomianism? Outside "left-hand" Tantrism, that would be a very controversial statement. Or was it inevitable in the sense of being fated and karmic? If so, I think most Buddhists would agree with Hesse. Some people just don't get it in the present lifetime... What the correct interpretation is, I honestly don't know.

Siddhartha seems to reject four purported paths to salvation. First, he rejects the empty ritualism of the Brahmins. Then, he rejects the extreme asceticism of the Samanas. His reaction to the Buddha is more complex. On the one hand, Siddhartha admires the Buddha, who is clearly an enlightened being. On the other hand, Siddhartha feels that one cannot become enlightened by a strictly logical philosophy, or by reliance on a teacher. He senses a dualism in the Buddha's teaching, a dualism between False and True he somehow suspects doesn't exist in reality. Also, he believes that the strict logic of Buddhist metaphysics cannot explain the existence of the Buddha himself! Enlightenment looks "illogical" in a self-contained, purely philosophical system. Interestingly, the Buddha seems to tacitly accept Siddhartha's criticism, as if a secret understanding existed between them. Exoteric versus esoteric teaching?

More difficult to fathom is Siddhartha's entanglement with Kamala and Kamaswami. To some extent, it sounds Tantric. Siddhartha indulges himself in sex, gambling and money without being affected by it, like an antinomian sage. And yet, in the end he *does* become affected, sinking deeper and deeper. My personal take on this, is that our hero rejects the Tantric path as well. Eventually, Siddhartha becomes a ferryman and "learns from the river". He realizes the essential emptiness and non-duality of all things, and finally reaches salvation. His friend, the Buddhist monk Govinda, experiences a mystical vision in Siddhartha's presence, similar to Arjuna's theophany in the presence of Krishna as recorded in the Bhagavad Gita. (Note the weird fact that the monk's name is Govinda, another name for Krishna!) Govinda reaches the conclusion that although Siddhartha's words are incomprehensible and doesn't sound Buddhist, he has nevertheless attained the same state as the Buddha. Govinda throws himself at Siddhartha's feet, and there, the story ends.

Perhaps I should point out that I'm not a Buddhist by any standard. Still, I found the book to be extremely cleverly written, and it's now one of my favourites. Five stars!