“What could I say to you that would be of value, except that perhaps you seek too much, that as a result of your seeking you cannot find.”
Siddartha
My rating
3.5 / 5
Author
Hermann Hesse
Publisher
Amaryllis
Genre
Fiction/Spiritual
Number of Pages
96
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Publisher's Blurb
Herman Hesse's classic novel has delighted, inspired and influenced generations of readers, writers and thinkers.
This is the story of a wealthy Indian Brahmin, Siddhartha who casts-off a life of privilege to seek spiritual fulfilment.
This book chronicles the spiritual evolution of a man living in India at the time of the buddha-a tale that has inspired generations of readers.
We are invited along on Siddhartha's journey experiencing his highs, lows, loves and disappointments.
He sets out on his journey, not realizing that he is fulfilling the prophecies proclaimed at his birth.
Siddhartha blends in with the world, showing the reader the beauty and intricacies of the mind, nature and his experiences on the path to enlightenment. His eventual attainment of Nirvana does not come from someone imparting the wisdom to him but instead through an internal connection to the river, which he finds contains the entire universe. Hesse synthesizes disparate philosophies-eastern religions, Jungian archetypes, Western individualism-into a unique vision of life as expressed through one man's search for true meaning.
Hermann Hesse
Hermann Hesse was a German-Swiss poet, novelist, and painter. In 1946, he received the Nobel Prize for Literature. His best known works include Steppenwolf, Siddhartha, and The Glass Bead Game (also known as Magister Ludi) which explore an individual's search for spirituality outside society.
In his time, Hesse was a popular and influential author in the German-speaking world; worldwide fame only came later. Hesse's first great novel, Peter Camenzind, was received enthusiastically by young Germans desiring a different and more "natural" way of life at the time of great economic and technological progress in the country.
Throughout Germany, many schools are named after him. In 1964, the Calwer Hermann-Hesse-Preis was founded, which is awarded every two years, alternately to a German-language literary journal or to the translator of Hesse's work to a foreign language. There is also a Hermann Hesse prize associated with the city of Karlsruhe, Germany.
Author Info and Pic from Goodreads
- Top Quotes from Siddartha -
“Wisdom cannot be imparted. Wisdom that a wise man attempts to impart always sounds like foolishness to someone else ... Knowledge can be communicated, but not wisdom. One can find it, live it, do wonders through it, but one cannot communicate and teach it.”
“When someone seeks," said Siddhartha, "then it easily happens that his eyes see only the thing that he seeks, and he is able to find nothing, to take in nothing because he always thinks only about the thing he is seeking, because he has one goal, because he is obsessed with his goal. Seeking means: having a goal. But finding means: being free, being open, having no goal.”
“It is not for me to judge another man's life. I must judge, I must choose, I must spurn, purely for myself. For myself, alone.”
“I have always believed, and I still believe, that whatever good or bad fortune may come our way we can always give it meaning and transform it into something of value.”
“We are not going in circles, we are going upwards. The path is a spiral; we have already climbed many steps.”
“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.”
“Where should I go?" -Alice. "That depends on where you want to end up." - The Cheshire Cat.”
“What could I say to you that would be of value, except that perhaps you seek too much, that as a result of your seeking you cannot find.”
“I could tell you my adventures—beginning from this morning,” said Alice a little timidly; “but it’s no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.”
“It may be important to great thinkers to examine the world, to explain and despise it. But I think it is only important to love the world, not to despise it, not for us to hate each other, but to be able to regard the world and ourselves and all beings with love, admiration and respect.”
“I will no longer mutilate and destroy myself in order to find a secret behind the ruins.”
“Your soul is the whole world.”
“My real self wanders elsewhere, far away, wanders on and on invisibly and has nothing to do with my life.”
“. . . gentleness is stronger than severity, water is stronger than rock, love is stronger than force.”
“I can think. I can wait. I can fast.”
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