Siddhartha - Hermann Hesse - Review

Atman in Hinduism is the universal, eternal self, the individual soul, that resides within the essential self. The self is the witness, or observer, of an individual's actions and deeds. The Upanishad describes three types of Self (atman): the Bahya-atma or external self (body), the Antar-atma or inner self (individual soul) and the Param-atma or highest self (the Brahman). In essence, Jiva-atman is eternal but is imprisoned in an earthly body at birth. 

Every life undergoes a continuous cycle of birth and death while the idea of salvation, which is a release from the cycle of birth happens to be a mirage to many. Hermann Hesse narrates the learnings, path and fall of events when two highly illustrious characters meet at a junction in their lifetimes, one of them is Gowthama Buddha who is regarded as the only soul to have attained moksha while the other one is a fictional character named Siddhartha.  

Siddhartha, a handsome and nimble young boy who exhibited high degree intelligence combined with the rare virtue of discipline, grows up in a brahmin family born to pious parents. The protagonist earns a childhood friend named Govinda who deeply admires the virtues of his beloved friend and vows to be in the shadows of Siddhartha, a personnel in the path to greatness. 

Having lived the early part of his years in a humble veda reciting brahmin family, Siddhartha decides to trod down the ascetic path named Samana, which essentially means choosing to live the life of a monk. The father tries hard to restrict Siddhartha by hardpressed orders but his son chose to remain motionless on a standing posture for an entire night and sought his approval. The strong resolve meant that the father had to let go of his beloved son and provides a gentle tap on his shoulders to wish him well on his hard journey. 

At daybreak Siddhartha begins his voyage and is dutifully joined by friend Govinda. They travel far and practice the life of Samana, while Govinda is within bounds of a regular monk, Siddhartha tries extreme measures to get rid of the external body and experience the soul within. On the course of struggle, he stands in burning hot sunlight all day to beat down his body, crawls through thorns which tear apart the skin thereby bleeding all over and even finds means to jump from one life form to another. However, nothing could really permeate the external self and get him towards his inner self. Siddharatha’s trial with self enforced hardships continued for years but to no avail. 

A few years flow by and both get to know about the illuminated one Gautama Buddha and set themselves on another long voyage to be enlightened by his preaching. They get to meet the great one and a momentary glance is enough to determine the greatness in the individual. They seek to be one of his followers and are admitted to be a part of the ascetic monks. As days roll by both get to hear the preaching of Buddha and seeks their allegiance towards salvation. Govinda is fully absorbed into the preaching and endorses the discourse provided by Gowthama Buddha on the seamless narrative of cause and effect leading to a never ending cycle of birth, struggle and demise. Thereby advocates the Buddha’s path to attain salvation. 

However, Siddharatha  strongly believes wisdom can only be earned through one’s own experience and never taught through a discourse. He provides his point of view to the great one, bows down in respect and proceeds in his path of discovery, leaving behind even his childhood friend Govinda. 

Having experienced and tested the ascetic world, Siddharatha drifts towards the Samsara form of living, meaning evoking the various senses of the external body and indulging in pleasure seeking activity. The fall of events that pans out due the change in path and the discovery of the universe in his own perspective forms the rest of the storyline. 

Siddharatha by Hermann Hesse is a spiritual endeavor and meant for individuals who belong to that school of thought.