Siddhartha

Rating:
Summary: The quintessential journey
Review: I re-read this work after I re-visited the highly overlooked, "Demian" by the same author. Though "Siddhartha" has a completely different goal in mind--that of conveying the story of the very person who "founded" what became Buddhism--"Demian" is another gem worth reading.

As some others have commented here, I ,too, read this book while I was a student--19 years old--and it is so different in reading it as an older person! I almost want to say that is what makes this work so powerful (as well as "Demian") because it seems to be written for that very important, transitional age group--the late adolescent. That just seems to be the right age to receive these works.

What prompted all this re-reading, though, is a much newer novel that deals with late-stage adolescence as it is about to metamorphose. I'm talking about the lesser known, "Simon Lazarus". Strongly recommend (note the Eckhart Tolle statements on the back cover--all true.)

Rating:
Summary: A Jewish view of Siddartha
Review: This is a beautiful novel. The story of a spiritual quest in which the young privileged hero goes out to the world , and tries to meet and know every different kind of experience. He goes through different stages of life , including one in which he tastes the sensual pleasures of life to the full. He meets old age, sickness and death. He comes to a kind of humble understanding of the nature of life and his spiritual quest is one in which he comes to a kind of peace.
The story is told with simplicity and skill, and it flows wonderfully.
My own problem with the book is that the wretch ' concentred all in self' . There is no deeper understanding of how the ordinary connections of family and community , and the giving to them provide life with meaning and dimension beyond the self. There is too no feeling that one can by one's own effort add to the goodness of the world, make a change for the better however small.
This is not to deny the truth of Siddartha's quest or understanding, but only to indicate that it is one road and not the only road or in my opinion the ideal road the person can take in this life.

Rating:
Summary: One of the most beautiful novels I have ever read
Review: Siddhartha is an excellent novel for the post 9/11 world. No, I'm not prescribing a "Buddhist" religion to Muslims or Christians; this is because the novel Siddhartha does not prescribe any religion or doctrine. Neither does it really tell you how to be happy or spiritually enlightened; the novel simply deals with the fact that enlightenment is subjective from person to person. What made Siddhartha enlightened in the novel, did not make Gotama, the other Buddha enlightened. But the saintly thing about the character Siddhartha, is he did not judge Gotama for his spiritual differences or try to convert others to any doctrine.

The prose in the novel is simple, yet lush, descriptive and profound, making it a short satisfying read, which should be taken in slowly, rather than rushing through where you might miss important words.

In Siddhartha, a young Brahmins son, leaves a comfortable life when early in the novel he joins the Samanas, a group of wandering ascetics, practicing self denial. In Siddartha's journey he begins to distrust doctrines because they brought knowllege, but no wisdom, no peace or enlightenment. He leaves the Samanas and began a life which many would call "sinful" until he changes his lifestyle again.

But the way Siddhartha by Herman Hesse is different than other religious books, is that the character Siddhartha has "to sin in order to live again." The fact is that everyone is a sinner. There is no way to not be a sinner, and Siddhartha has to have the "experience" of what is sin, to know what is moral and right. Many religious books simply tell you how to live, this novel doesn't. Please do not read it as an introduction to Buddhism, or something you can read and immediately achieve salvation, it's simply a work of art that shows spiritual freedom in the path one takes.

The message I received from the novel was that life is too complex to prescribe a way of salvation that works for everyone. As Hesse says, "Wisdom is not communicable" and the book doesn't communicate wisdom universally, because no one can. In this fanatical world, religions might not clash so much if they took this into consideration.


Rating:
Summary: Ying and Yang
Review: Life
I liked this book a lot. It's a big part of my philosophy on life

Rating:
Summary: For those who have once stopped to think about life
Review: Why are we are?. What is happiness?. What's love? These classical philosophical questions are addressed in this novel that leaves you thinking.
The story takes place in India, where a man, Siddhartha, tries to experience everything during his life in order to be able to answer these vital questions.
This book deserves to be read more than once so you can grasp the deep thoughts that Herman Hesse tries to transmit.