Book Review - Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse

 Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse, translated by Hilda Rosner

New York: New Directions, 1951        ISBN 0811202925  (Ninth Printing)

Many years ago I read Hermann Hesse's The Glass Bead Game, and while I don't remember much about the book as a whole, I do remember the ending very clearly, as a  summing up of the mystical aspects of what was then, to me, a very strange book. I didn't know what to make of it then, and I must re-read it. I have found reading Siddhartha a similar experience: it was not what I expected, and I'm not sure what to make of this very German, and yet Indian, of books.

Siddhartha is a story of a man striving for enlightenment, and determined to achieve it on his own terms. For Siddhartha, that means experiencing not only the life of an ascetic, but also that of a rich man: to drink fully of all ways of living and thinking, before trying to make sense of life. Hesse's grandfather was immersed in Indian culture during his time as a missionary, and no doubt Hermann imbibed a lot of what he shows in this book about Buddhism and Hindu spirituality through his family connections.

To this knowledge he has added his German romantic idealism - Siddhartha is not content to follow another's teachings, even those of the Gotama himself, but he must forge his own path. He must discard his own pride and personality as well, which, he realises as time goes on, he has indulged not only when he was a rich and powerful man, but also when he was an ascetic.

It takes not a holy man, or a clever man, or a smart man, to assist Siddhartha on his journey: it is a simple ferryman, uneducated and yet enlightened, who helps Siddhartha discover that the key to it all is to understand that everything is in everything - all flows together to the same end, like the river he spends years ferrying people over.

By the end of his life he has accepted that there are no breaks or differences between earth, animals or people - that we are all one, forever. That is our victory, to understand that we are connected to everything.

This short book, written much like a fairy tale, tries to lead the reader to the same place that Siddhartha reaches, or at least show one pathway to that goal. It is a simple but wise book, and I recommend it.

Cheers for now, from

A View Over the Bell