Siddhartha Self Discovery

The Journey of Self Discovery

Have you ever heard of the well-known book Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse? The book Siddhartha teaches you about finding your inner self and the path to enlightenment. The author, Hermann Hesse was born into a Protestant family of missionaries and theologists. You may wonder why a Protestant man wrote about an entirely different religion. Since Hesse had parents that were theologians, he decided to follow the family tradition and become one himself. He was exposed to various faiths growing up however, he was only intrigued of Buddhism. Later on, Hesse went to the Middle East and Asia to learn more about Buddhism. After traveling and getting to know the Buddhist culture better, he wrote and later published Siddhartha.

The main character in the novel is Siddhartha.

Siddhartha is the son of a Brahman otherwise known as the “Supreme”, who lives with his father in Ancient India. Siddhartha enjoys his life with his best friend Govinda always at his side. Siddhartha follows all religious rituals in order to grant himself true happiness however, he feels that something is missing. He follows the path of Samanas (monks) with Govinda to find the path of enlightenment. After following the path of the Samanas Siddhartha is still unpleased. Govinda convinces him to seek out to Gotama, the man who has attained spiritual enlightenment. After meeting Gotama Siddhartha initially pleased with Gotama afterwards becoming dissatisfied, again. Govinda is convinced and decides to join Gotama’s followers. Siddhartha leaves Govinda sadly and embarks onto finding the true meaning of

life.
Siddhartha starts on his journey of self discovery by first catching a ride on the Ferryman's boat. The Ferryman teaches Siddhartha patience and gives advice towards finding enlightenment. “I have listened to it I have often look into its eyes, and I have always learned from it.” (27) Says Vasudeva the Ferryman. The ferryman and his inspirational words influenced Siddhartha greatly by the Ferryman, he helps Siddhartha find enlightenment. He gets off the boat where he soon meets Kamala who teaches him the true meaning of love. “But he went on visiting the beautiful Kamala; he learned the art of love; he practiced the cult in pressure.” (39) Kamala was a modern day prostitute during that time period however, Siddhartha wanted to learn the art of love and she taught him it. Next, Siddhartha meets Kamaswami. Kamaswami teaches him merchantry and wisdom in order for Siddhartha to make money to pay for Kamala’s teachings of love. Although Siddhartha wasn’t interested in money making and didn’t care much for it, he was very well trusted by his boss Kamaswami. “The merchant entrusted him to the writing of important letters and contracts, and became accustomed to discussing every important matter with him” (37) Siddhartha soon becomes a rich man and begins to engage in gambling, drinking, and more sex. He quickly realizes the material world is killing him and leaves without notifying anyone. He leaves behind Kamala who is now pregnant. He finds the same ferryman from years ago and Siddhartha studies to river with him where he soon takes from the river a spiritual enlightenment. Kamala passes away leaving her son to Siddhartha. Siddhartha’s son never grew to liking him and was always troubled. Govinda and Siddhartha reunite together and achieve the enlightenment with the help of Vasudeva they set out to find in the days of their youth.
Overall, the novel Siddhartha was spectacular and I enjoyed reading it. Hermann Hesse traveled around the Middle East and Asia to gain more knowledge on the Buddhist culture. Furthermore, the traveling he did gave him experience on the aspects of Buddhism which helped tie the book together. The prominent theme of unity stuck out to me during the duration of reading the novel. Nature had Siddhartha’s back by supporting him with spiritual and natural energy. This wasn’t a regular book for me because of how different the novel is compared to the novels I do read, however, the book was interesting and teaches you the meaning of life in a different perspective. If anyone is looking for straight forward and strikingly amazing book, I recommend Siddhartha.