Siddhartha, An Indian Tale

My Take
I just finished reading Siddhartha, An Indian Tale (You can download the e-book using the link http://www.transitory.org/kris/ebooks/siddhartha.pdf). I enjoyed reading it. Finished reading it in 2 days flat since it is a very small book. Written by Hermann Hesse, a Nobel laureate, this allegorical novel will definitely set you thinking. This German novel was originally published in 1922 and was translated into English in the fifties. Being a translation you will find the novel’s language a tad unusual. Don’t get deterred by that. Also, let me tell right in the beginning that the protoganist of this book Siddhartha is not the same person as the Buddha, who, in the book goes by the name, "Gautama".

There is a Wikepedia page dedicated to this novel: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siddhartha_%28novel%29. And you can learn more about Hermann Hesse at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermann_Hesse.



Plot Summary:
When Siddhartha, the gifted and popular son of a Brahmin, gets weary of the formal and strict ways of Hindu prayer and sacrifice, he leaves home together with Govinda, his admiring friend. (Govinda is also one of the names of Krishna. Translated literally, it means "the protector of the cows.") They join a group of Samanas, wandering monks living in the woods who try to conquer the inner self by fasting and living like ascetics. After three years of this life, the boys hear about the Buddha and leave the samanas to listen to his teachings. Govinda joins the Buddhist monks. Siddhartha, however, is convinced that only personal experience and not external teachings can lead to true knowledge and salvation. From there he decides to "find himself" and re-enters the world.

He wanders on and reaches the house of a rich courtesan, Kamala, who begins to take a liking to the young man. She tells him that in order for her to teach him the art of love, he must find a job and return with gifts. Siddhartha becomes assistant to a merchant, Kamaswami, and turns out to be quite successful. At first he remains detached and rather amused about how seriously the "child people" take everyday matters, but gradually he immerses himself into a life of gambling and greed. Eventually, unhappy and tired of playing life like an empty game, he leaves again.

After a spell of depression, he feels the joy of new-found freedom, happy to have had the past experiences. At a river, he meets for the second time in his life the contented ferryman, Vasudeva, and decides to stay with him. (Vasudeva is also the name of an important figure in Hinduism.) The two share a deep love for the river and work together as ferrymen. Meanwhile, Kamala, unbeknownst to Siddhartha, had given birth to his son. When she and her son go on a pilgrimage to see the Buddha, Kamala is bitten by a snake near the river. Before she dies, she recognizes Siddhartha and tells him the boy is his son. Siddhartha takes care of his discontented son and tries to instill appreciation of the simple life and virtue into him. Ultimately, he fails and his son leaves the river to return to the city and live his own life. Siddhartha searches for his son and is worried for him. Vasudeva cautions Siddartha that a father cannot take away the suffering his son will experience since it is his son's suffering and the suffering is necessary for him to learn about his life.

It is after his son leaves him that Siddhartha recognizes the essence of all wisdom is the oneness of all. Together with Vasudeva, he listens to the many voices of the river which come to represent the oneness of all the people, plants and animals. The noise of the mingled voices of the river melds into the sacred syllable, "Om." After the realization, the old ferryman Vasudeva leaves for the forest . Siddhartha's friend of his youth, Govinda, comes by the river, still a Buddhist monk and still searching. When he asks about the teaching that has brought Siddhartha peace, Siddhartha replies that too much searching can get in the way of finding, that time is an illusion and all is one. Everything deserves love, except words: true wisdom cannot be conveyed with words or thoughts. At Siddhartha's request, Govinda kisses him on the forehead, no longer seeing his friend Siddhartha, but rather a sea of people, animals, plants and other objects of the world. In doing this, Govinda discovers the oneness of the universe, just as Guatama and Siddhartha had before him, leaving Siddhartha and Govinda at peace with the world.