Siddhartha

by Hermann Hesse

Herman Hesse's classic novel has delighted, inspired, and influenced generations of readers, writers, and thinkers. In this story of a wealthy Indian Brahmin who casts off a life of privilege to seek spiritual fulfillment. Hesse synthesizes disparate philosophies--Eastern religions, Jungian archetypes, Western individualism--into a unique vision of life as expressed through one man's search for meaning.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Philosophy, Spirituality, Religion, Literature, Buddhism

Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1922

About the author

Many works, including Siddhartha (1922) and Steppenwolf (1927), of German-born Swiss writer Hermann Hesse concern the struggle of the individual to find wholeness and meaning in life; he won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1946.

Other best-known works of this poet, novelist, and painter include The Glass Bead Game , which, also known as Magister Ludi, explore a search of an individual for spirituality outside society.

In his time, Hesse was a popular and influential author in the German-speaking world; worldwide fame only came later. Young Germans desiring a different and more "natural" way of life at the time of great economic and technological progress in the country, received enthusiastically Peter Camenzind , first great novel of Hesse.

Throughout Germany, people named many schools. In 1964, people founded the Calwer Hermann-Hesse-Preis, awarded biennially, alternately to a German-language literary journal or to the translator of work of Hesse to a foreign language. The city of Karlsruhe, Germany, also associates a Hermann Hesse prize.

Reviews

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

My apologies if this review reeks of "GUSHness." However, it gave me that ONE-OF-A-KIND reading experience that doesn't come along often and so I think it is certainly worthy of the praise I shall heep upon it. Beautifully written and a deeply personal story, Hesse has created the ultimate expression of the journey of self-discovery.

The book details the story of Siddhartha, the young and brilliant son of a Brahmin in ancient India. The Brahmin are the uber revered caste comprised of poets, priests, teachers and scholars***.

[*** Quick Side Note : How refreshing is it that their most revered group is not made up of morally questionable athletes, morally suspect celebrities and morally bankrupt politicians...I'm just saying!!]

At the beginning of the story, despite having absorbed all of the teachings of his father and followed all of the religious rites and rituals of his caste, Siddhartha is not content. He knows deep inside that there is something missing and decides to leave his father and his future and seek enlightenment. He sets out, along with his life long friend to find life’s meaning. A decision that makes Siddhartha’s father less than a happy camper.


Thus begins one of the truly exceptional stories in modern literature. Siddhartha’s journey takes him from the elite of his people:

1. First, to a group of ascetics who shun personal possessions and view the physical world as the source of all pain;

2. Next to a beautiful courtesan who teaches Siddhartha the mysterious of physical love, to a world;

3. Third, to a wealthy trader who teaches Siddhartha about profit, trade and worldly pleasures;

4. Then to a life of hedonistic excess in which Siddhartha eats, drinks, gambles and indulges in numerous sexual conquests in a very SinCityesque way...


5. Finally, back to an ascetic life, but one that embraces the world and everything in it as special and unique.

Throughout the various stages of his journey, Siddhartha finds something of value in everyone he interacts with and each stage brings him closer to his ultimate goal. Through elegant and deeply evocative writing, Hesse demonstrates, through Siddhartha's journey, the fundamental value of each and every person on Earth. Everyone has something special to contribute to the universe. Siddhartha's final realization of his goal of finding enlightenment is simply amazing and one that I can not recommend more strongly that everyone read.

I'm a U.S. citizen of Irish heritage living in Las Vegas. I was raised Roman Catholic and spent most of my undergraduate and graduate academic life learning about western philosophy, history and literature. I mention the only because I was completely floored that I could identify so intensely with Siddhartha’s story, despite a background that was as far from embracing an "eastern" viewpoint as you could possibly get.

I think its ability to completely suck me in demonstrates not only the brilliance and beauty of Hesse’s prose, but also the universal nature of the story and its ability to transcend all barriers to understanding. It is an amazing read but also a deeply personal one and I think that everyone will get something different out of reading it. Hopefully it is something very, very positive.
5.0 stars. HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION!!

[Kemper · Rating 4 out of 5]

So there’s a damn dirty hippie in India named Siddhartha who is supposed to be seeking spiritual enlightenment, but instead of going to a good Christian church like a normal person, he wanders around the woods for a while with some other damn dirty hippies. After he meets Buddha, he finally gets tired of being broke-ass and homeless, and he goes into town where he makes a pile of money. This is good because everyone knows that engaging in capitalism is the only proper way to go through life. As a bonus, he also meets a beautiful woman.

Then, just when he’s having a good ole time; doing business, drinking, gambling and making time with the woman, the dang fool’s hippie ideas pop up again, and he walks away from all of it. Remember that Chris Farley routine on Saturday Night Live where he’d scream that someone would end up living in a van down by the river? Well, this hippie ends up living in a hut down by the river. And that’s even worse, because at least you could play the radio in a van.

Finally, Siddartha thinks that the river is god. Or something stupid like that. It just didn’t make any sense. Give me one of them Lee Child novels any day over this hippie dippie crap. That Jack Reacher is a man’s man!

Just kidding.

Actually, this is an elegant allegory about a guy going through different phases as he pursues a lifelong quest to rid himself of his ego so that he can know true peace and enlightenment. It’s filled with incredible writing, and it’s short and smart enough to hold the attention of even a doofus like me. I’d put this in the category of books that everyone should read at least once.

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Whatever. Blah blah blah Samana. Blah blah blah Kamala. Blah blah blah Samsara. Blah blah blah River. Blah blah blah Om.

[Sean Barrs · Rating 5 out of 5]

In life we all look for meaning, we all look for something to give us a purpose and, in essence, a reason to actually be alive. Nobody wants to get to the end of their journey and realise it was all for nothing, and that their days were utterly wasted. So how do we find this meaning?

“One must find the source within one's own Self, one must possess it. Everything else was seeking -- a detour, an error.”

We must find our own peace. Siddhartha followed the teachings of others and it granted him very little happiness. He meets Buddha, or a Buddha, and he realises that the only way he can achieve the same degree of serenity is to find it himself. The words of the man, as wise as they may be, are just air; they are not experience: they are not one’s own wisdom granted through trial. So he takes his own path, albeit an indirect one, and finally awakens his mind into a sense of enlightenment.

But, in order to do so, he must first realise the true state of emptiness. And, of course, to understand emptiness one must first experience temporary fullness; thus, he walks into the world of the everyday man. He indulges in their pleasure, gains possessions and takes a lover. He forms attachments and begets a household of servants and wealth. Through experiencimg such things, he learns that they are shallow and transitory; they will never create the feeling of lasting happiness within his soul, so he walks out once more with the full realisation that peace can only come from one place: himself.

“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.”

He experiences oneness with his own thoughts, with everyone else and anything that resides in nature: he becomes enlightened, though only through returning from the darkest of times. Suffering exists, suffering will always exist, and it is how we deal with this suffering that defines us: it is how we pick ourselves up afterwards not letting it ruin our lives, and those around us, that makes us stronger. In this Hesse capture something extremely difficult to put into words, which is something the novel frequently recognises.



How does one accurately define these vague concepts of belief? He doesn’t. So we rely on allegories to teach us these ideals, to make us understand that happiness is not equitable with materialism, and to make us realise that seeking something too ardently may mean we miss it altogether. Seeking the meaning of life is not the answer, living life, the life of peace and compassion, is. Siddhartha follows the vibrations of his soul, the sound of the river, and it takes him exactly where he needs to go.

As a student of Buddhism, as a struggling practitioner, I found this book extremely helpful. It cuts through all the rhetoric, the arguments and debates, and gets to the very heart of the matter itself. This is a book I will carry with me through life; this is a book that has so much wisdom to impart, and now the third book to truly impact me individually.

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[Ahmad Sharabiani · Rating 5 out of 5]

(Book 717 from 1001 Books) - Siddhartha. Eine indische Dichtung = Siddhartha, Herman Hesse

Siddhartha is a novel by Hermann Hesse that deals with the spiritual journey of self-discovery of a man named Siddhartha during the time of the Gautama Buddha.

The book, Hesse's ninth novel, was written in German, in a simple, lyrical style. It was published in the U.S. in 1951 and became influential during the 1960's.

سیذارتا - هرمان هسه (اساطیر، فردوس) ادبیات آلمانی؛ تاریخ نخستین خوانش: ماه دسامبر سال 2007میلادی

عنوان: سیذارتا؛ هرمان هسه؛ مترجم: پرویز داریوش؛ تهران، پرنیان، 1340، در 160ص؛ چاپ دوم تهران، آبان، 1355، در 160ص؛ چاپ دیگر تهران، فرزان 1362؛ تهران، اساطیر، 1367، 1373؛ چاپ ششم 1375، در 134ص؛ چاپ هفتم 1381؛ چاپ یازدهم 1394؛ موضوع داستانهای نویسندگان آلمانی زبان - سده 20م

مترجم: امیرفریدون گرکانی؛ تهران، فردوس، 1373؛ در 155ص، چاپ سوم 1376؛ چهارم 1381؛ ششم 1385؛ چاپ هفتم 1387؛ شابک 9645509114؛ چاپ هشتم 1388؛ شابک 9789643204143؛ تهران، جامی، 1392، در 152ص؛ شابک 9786001760884؛

مترجم: محمد بقایی؛ تهران، نشر آرمین، 1374، در 225ص؛

مترجم: پرویز چشمه خاور؛ تهران، نشر گلپونه، 1376، در 167ص؛ شابک 9646663044؛

مترجم: سروش حبیبی؛ تهران، ققنوس، 1385، در 174ص؛ چاپ دوم 1386؛ چاپ سوم 1387؛ شابک 9789643116286؛ چاپ دیگر تهران، ماهی، 1394؛ در 144ص؛ شابک 9789642092338؛

هشدار: اگر میخواهدی خود کتاب را بخوانید، از خوانش ریویو خودداری فرمایید

سدهرتها (سیذارتا)، داستان برهمن زاده ی جوانی است، که به همراه دوست برهمنش، برای جستجوی حقیقت، و دانستن وظیفه ی انسان در زمین، خانه ی پدر و مادر را ترک میگوید، به مرتاضان جنگل میپیوندد؛ در جنگل، به فن ریاضت و تفکر، به شیوه ی مرتاضان، میپردازد، میکوشد تا نفس، و موانع راه نیل به حقیقت را، در خود از بین ببرد؛ ولی هرچه بیش، پیش میرود، و هرچه بیشتر نفسش را تحت انقیاد درمیآورد، میبیند به همان اندازه، از حقیقت به دور افتاده است؛ میفهمد که ریاضت، راه وصول به مطلوب نیست؛ در آن هنگام میشنود، که کسی به نام «گوتاما» یا «بودا»، به آخرین مرحله ی کمال انسانی رسیده، موعظه میگوید، مردم، به دور او گرد آمده اند؛ «سدهرتها» و دوستش، برای دیدن بودای اعظم، گروه مرتاضان را ترک میکنند، آنها «بودا» را میبینند، و از مشاهده ی پیکر، رفتار و طرز نگاه او، شگفت زده میشوند؛ به مواعظ آن دانشمند یگانه، گوش فرا میدهند؛ «بودا» از درد و رنج سخن میگوید؛ جهان را جز رنج نمیبیند؛ دوستش در همان مجلس، سوگند وفاداری به «بودا»، یاد میکند؛ ولی «سدهرتها» به گفته ها و آموزه های «گوتامای بودا»، باور ندارد؛ روز دیگر، «بودا» را از اندیشه های خود آگاه میکند؛ به «بودا» میگوید: رستگاری چیزی نیست که بتوان با آموزش، آن را به دست آورد؛ از آن به بعد، خواهان خویشتن خود میشود؛ در صدد نفی نفس خویش برنمیآید؛ از روسپی شهر، درس عشق و لذات را فرا میگیرد؛ با بازرگانی، دوست و همکار میشود؛ باز، همه چیز را کنار میگذارد، و در صدد خودکشی برمیآید؛ میخواهد خود را به رود بیندازد؛ از رود، صدای آواز «ام» یا «روح کلمات» را میشنود؛ بخواب میرود؛ پس از بیداری، نیروی دیگری در خود مییابد؛ همه چیز زیبا، خوب و دوست داشتنی، شده است؛ در کنار رود میم��ند؛ شاگرد قایقران پیری میشود؛ قایقران، فن گوش فرادادن به آواز رود را، به او یاد میدهد؛ همسرش، پسرش را پیش او میآورد؛ اما همسرش، با نیش ماری مسموم میشود؛ «سدهرتها»، با آمدن پسر، خود را شاد مییابد؛ ولی ناصبوری پسر، زندگی او و قایقران را بهم میزند؛ آنگاه روزی پسر، پدر را به باد دشنام میگیرد، و کلبه را ترک میکند؛ «سدهرتها»، برای یافتن پسر، میخواهد از رود بگذرد؛ رود به او میخندد؛ او آواز و هزارآواز رود را میشنود؛ به جنگل میرود، تا با ابدیت و وحدانیت جهان یکی شود؛ در راه، دوستش «گوویندا» را، پیر و سالخورده میبیند؛ با بوسه ای، او را از جاودانی و یگانگی جهان، باخبر میکند

تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 28/05/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ 07/05/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی

[J.G. Keely · Rating 2 out of 5]

By the latter part of the 19th Century, the colonial spread of European powers across the world was in full swing. The British ruled India and Australia and had gone to war with China to force opium on the population. Africa, South America, and the Philippines had been portioned out for Western rule and control of resources.

But tyranny does not travel only in one direction, from conqueror to subject. When Medieval European knights returned from the crusades, they brought with them mathematical principles, Greek and Roman texts, and thus was the European Renaissance kindled by the Light of Islam. Africans were brought to America as slaves, but even being scattered and mistreated did not prevent them from changing the culture, gifting us with blues, jazz, and African-descended words like 'funk', 'mojo', 'boogie', and 'cool'.

It was the same with the colonial powers of the fin de siècle , who brought back stories, myths, fashions, art, and philosophies from all over the world. Many Europeans grew obsessed with these foreign religions, finding in them both universal truths of human existence and completely new modes of thought. Organizations like the Theosophical Society were formed to explore these religions--it was all the rage.

But there was a problem: they got almost all of it wrong.

A Frenchman could spend his entire life learning the intricacies of Greek and Hebrew in order to study Catholicism--its origins, philosophies, schisms, heresies, and history--and still find that, in the end, there is much he does not know, and that he'd made many errors along the way. This, despite the fact that his culture is already steeped in it, he can go and speak to one of hundreds of experts any time he has a question, and has access to a complete library of texts on the subject written in his own language, and by people of a similar culture.

Now, imagine our 19th Century Gascon trying to do the same thing with Buddhism, where not only the original texts on the subject but the histories and analyses are in not merely a foreign language, but a completely different language branch, where the experts are from a different culture and speak a different language, and where the complexity and depth of history are just as vast.

It's no wonder that the Theosophists and similar groups ended up with garbled, mistranslated, simplified versions that combined opposing schools of thought haphazardly. As an old philosophy professor of mine once said: "You can learn a great deal about German Protestantism from reading Siddhartha, but almost nothing about Buddhism".

What ultimately emerged from the Theosophist movement was not a branch of Western Buddhism, but the 'New Age Movement': a grab bag of the same old Western ideas dressed up as mystical Oriental wisdom. Indeed, the central idea of the inane self-help book 'The Secret' and of Siddhartha are the same: the 'Law of Attraction', which is not a Buddhist principle.

Like most of Hesse's work, it belongs in the 'Spiritual Self-Help' section, where vague handwaving and knowing looks are held in higher esteem than thought or insight. It's the same nonspecific mysticism he shows us in The Journey To The East and The Glass Bead Game , where the benefits of wisdom are indistinguishable from the symptoms of profound dementia.

If you want to understand Buddhism, start somewhere else, because you'd just have to unlearn all of Hesse's incorrect arguments and definitions. Happily, we have come a long way since Hesse's time, with experts and commentaries in many different languages available to the avid student. But, if you'd like to see someone try to explain the principles of Lutheranism using only misused Hindu terms, this may be the book for you.

[Sanjay Gautam · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was the book I read it four years back. And to tell the truth I did not liked it much at the time. I thought this guy has written a book for western audience who are not familiar with the 'philosophy of karma and dharma', or rather, in general, the basic philosophy of India, who after reading it will realize something esoteric. And so it seemed to me a book containing wisdom that didn't touched me. And I finished it with the verdict: contains wisdom, but lacks depth, boring at times, and do not grabs your heart, and is not extra-ordinary in any way. But over the years I've come to understand that it is this ordinary-ness that which makes this work exceptional. It is the story of common man, just like you and me, who goes through the struggles of life. He is a man who have the qualities that we all, common man, possess, such as: ambition, greed, possessiveness, lust, lying, and etc. And it was one day when I was pondering over the book I came to know that - it was Hermann Hesse's own life that inspired him to write Siddhartha. And it became clear to me: why he has written, the way it is written. Then it dawned on me that it was all realistic happenings that the book pointed and not something esoteric. Even the character Siddhartha, as I came to realize, was as fragile and incomplete & imperfect as me or any common man.


Now I understand, after many years, that Hesse has written from the point of view of a common man, not a protege like Buddha or Adi Shankaracharya. And it is in this light of 'the struggle of a lay man' that this book comes in all its glory. (I mean in terms of wisdom, and not in terms of reading pleasure). And as the time is passing by I'm getting deeper and deeper into this book, and understanding it better.

Highly Recommended!

[Fergus, Quondam Happy Face · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hesse never really made the grade with this one in my young mind. I read it in 1973, and found it compounded my youthful confusion. Simply put, it conflicted jarringly with an insight I had been blessed - or cursed - with three years earlier.

That insight was that the purity of Being is insulted by our widespread profligacy.

Call it ontological if you prefer, but following Heidegger I saw the Crown of Being as the very germ and goal of a spiritual quest.

Stephane Mallarme spins an imaginative simile for this effect: calling it “le cristal par le monstre insulte.” I’ve always found that metaphor apropos, because it clearly reifies the feeling as a concrete image.

There are two ways to embark on a quest: following the Eastern path, or stepping in line with the Western mystical canons.

The Eastern path, at least in modern times, is a way of peaceful meditation. It was not always so, but we moderns have relaxed our world views and our ideals. The Western way is similar nowadays, though traditionally we were made of sterner stuff.

In Hesse’s time the Eastern Way promised the lure of romantic exoticism. But by the time he wrote Siddhartha, he lived in an existential fire pit of despair. He needed its peace as well.

So in modern times the image of religion has been pasteurized, sanitized and commercialized. Kids see very little promise in it, let alone a way out of their inner storms. This is the uncomfortable legacy we have bequeathed to them, and it makes me squirm.

But for me, fifty years ago, founded in learning and philosophy, it was the Quest for Being amidst its opposing indecent insult by the world.

The real outside world offered no help. So I took my struggle within.

Now, a full half century later I’ve found rest for my soul.

And - no - it bears no resemblance to Siddhartha’s ceaseless though romanticized flux.

No.

It’s the quiet, concrete simplicity of an everyday life.

[Nandakishore Mridula · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most religions know of it as "Enlightenment" - when the individual transcends himself and sees himself as one with the ultimate reality. It can be theistic (the Aham Brahma Asmi - "I am the Brahman" or Tat Tvam Asi - "Thou Art That" of Hinduism) or atheistic (the Buddhist Nirvana, based on the Anatman - "non-soul"); but the person who achieves it, according to all sources, is caught up in profound rapture. To reach this stage, one has to tread an arduous path. Carl Gustav Jung called the process "individuation": Joseph Campbell called it "the hero's journey". Herman Hesse's eponymous protagonist of Siddhartha is a man who embarks on this enterprise.

Siddhartha, the handsome Brahmin youth who apparently has everything, is dissatisfied with life: with the whole pointlessness of it. He leaves home with his friend Govinda and joins a group of ascetics (the Samanas) who have made renunciation a way of life. However, the true seeker he is, Siddhartha finds that simple renunciation does not work for him: he joins the Buddha in pursuit of enlightenment. However, he soon understands that whatever knowledge he must possess, must be experiential.

Leaving Govinda to become a Buddhist ascetic, Siddhartha buries himself in the sensual world across the river, where Kamala the courtesan trains him up in the pleasures of the flesh and Kamaswami the merchant instructs him in the secrets of commerce. Siddhartha soon tires of these too: he returns to the river in penury (not knowing that his child is growing within Kamala), and is taken up by the aged boatman Vasudeva as a helper.

Here, ferrying people across the river, Siddhartha finally attains enlightenment - not from a great teacher, not from years of penanace and not even from the kindly Vasudeva (even though he points the way) - but from the river. Kamala's death and his son's abandonment of the stranger father completes his education, as distress turns to peace. Then it's time for Vasudeva, the mentor, to disappear - leaving his student alone with the river.

What the river told Siddhartha

The river flows, and becomes one with the ocean. The vapour from the ocean form into clouds, and descend on the mountains, becoming the river. The river keeps on flowing: it is inconstant, ever-renewing, never the same - yet it is eternal. The river flows, and the river is. On its surface, you can see the faces of all your loved ones: whether alive, dead or yet to be born. In the roar of the river, if you listen carefully, you can hear the sacred AUM - the first syllable outward, the second one inward, the third one silence...and the fourth one, the all encompassing silence which bears the sound of the cosmic ocean in its womb.

Highly recommended.

[Dr. Appu Sasidharan (Dasfill) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Siddhartha is a German novel by Hermann Hesse. This book tells us the story of Siddhartha’s quest for spiritual illumination. This book will spiritually enlighten you and teach you to identify love and love the world with certitude.

“Gentleness is stronger than severity, water is stronger than rock, love is stronger than force.”

[Himanshu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Has it ever happened to you that you are standing, facing a magnificent, breathtaking view, in solitude, and a strong wind hits you in the face? You try to stay still, with eyes closed and then an involuntary smile comes across your face? This book was like that.

[Agir(آگِر) · Rating 5 out of 5]

هنری میلر درباره این کتاب می‌گوید: سیدارتا داروی شفابخشی است که از انجیل عهد جدید مؤثرتر است

باید اعتراف کنم که سیدارتها مرا هم شفا داد
و یک اعتراف دیگر اینکه،هروقت این ریویوی پایینی را می بینم از خودم شاکی می شوم
چون خیلی ناقصه
شاید یک بار دیگه کتاب رو خوندم و آنچه را از کتاب فراگرفته ام به تمامی در اینجا بیاورم
یعنی کل کتابو
:)

:درمورد کتاب

سيدارتها پسر نوجواني است كه براي پيدا كردن شعله حقيقت بي تاب شده و ابتدا زندگي برهمني و بعد زندگي شمني را بر می گزیند.شمن ها همه تلاششان این است که "من" خویش را از بین ببرند.سیدارتها بعد از چند سال در می یابد که اي�� "من" همیشه همراه او و از بين نرفتني است
..زیبایی داستان بعد از این تحول آغاز می گردد

البته این "من" هندوئی با "من" فروید فرق داره و در اصل همان "او" یا "نهاد" فروید است که در مذهب به هوای نفسانی تعبیر می شود


:نتیجه

هر چیزی که درون آدم وجود دارد چه عقل و چه احساس هایی مثل خشم و غرور و عشق و شهوت و ... بی هدف در وجود ما قرار داده نشده اند و به قول غزالی باید از همه اینها مرکبی ساخت و سوار برآن بسوی کمال حرکت کرد
در جستجوی اینکه چرا اینجائیم خیلی از فیلسوفان و عارفان به این جواب رسیده اند که آن را باید در وجود خود آدمی جستجو کرد

گاهی در این کتاب ، سخنان حافظ برام تداعی می شد

سال ها دل طلب جام جم از ما میکرد
آنچه خود داشت ز بیگانه تمنا میکرد

در خرابات مغان نور خدا می‌بینم
این عجب بین که چه نوری ز کجا می‌بینم

غنیمتی شمر ای شمع وصل پروانه
که این معامله تا صبحدم نخواهد ماند


امام محمد غزالی با اینکه خود را فیلسوف نمی نامید ولی خیلی ها ایشان را فیلسوف می دانند
متن زیر از کیمیای سعادت می باشد

بدان که کلید معرفت خدای - عزوجل - معرفت نفس خویش است ، و برای این گفته اند: " من عرف نفسه فقد عرف ربه"...درجمله هیچ چیز به تو از تو نزدیکتر نیست ، چون خود را نشناسی دیگری را چون شناسی؟ و همانا که گویی من خویشتن را همی شناسم و از باطن خود این قدر شناسی که چون گرسنه شوی نان خوری، و چون خشمت آید در کسی افتی و همه ستوران با تو درین برابرند .پس ترا حقیقت خود طلب باید کرد تا خود چه چیزی و از کجا آمده ای و کجاخواهی رفت و اندرین منزلگاه به چه کار آمده ای و ترا برای چه آفریده اند ، و سعادت تو چیست و در چیست ، و شقاوت تو چیست و در چیست؟
و این صفات که در باطن تو جمع کرده اند ، بعضی صفات ستوران ، و بعضی صفات ددگان و بعضی صفات دیوان، و بعضی صفات فرشتگان است، تو از این جمله کدامی؟

و کدامست که آن حقیقت گوهر تست که چون این ندانی سعادت خود طلب نتوانی کرد: چه هر یکی را ازین غذائی دیگر است و سعادتی دیگر است: غذای ستور و سعادت وی خوردن و خفتن و گشنی کردن است ، اما غذای ددان و سعادت ایشان دریدن و کشتن و خشم راندن است و غذای دیوان ، شر انگیختن و مکر و حیلت کردن است و غذای فرشتگان و سعادت ایشان ، مشاهده جمال حضرت الهیت است ، و آز وخشم و صفات بهایم و سباع را با ایشان راه نیست ، اگر تو فرشته گوهری در اصل خویش ، جهد آن کن تا حضرت الهیت را بشناسی و خود را به مشاهده آن جمال راه دهی و خویشتن را از دست شهوت وغضب خلاصی دهی ، و طلب آن کن تا بدانی که این صفات بهایم و سباع را در تو از برای چه آفریده اند؟

ایشان را برای آن آفریده اند تا ترا اسیر کنند و به خدمت خویش برند و شب و روز سخره گیرند ، یا برای آنکه تو ایشان را اسیر کنی و در سفری که ترا فرا پیش نهاده اند ایشان را سخره گیری، و از یکی مرکب خویش سازی و از دیگری سلاح خویش سازی، و این روزی چند که درین منزلگاه باشی ایشان را به کار داری تا تخم سعادت خویش به معاونت ایشان صید کنی و چون تخم سعادت به دست آوردی ایشان را در زیر پای آوری و روی به قرارگاه سعادت خویش آوری

[Luís · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book presents the evolution of a man through the various essential stages of his life, and it does it remarkably well.
How beautiful is the thought of Siddharta! She is refining, growing, and unique from page to page, and for us readers, it is a joy to have had this impression of growing up with Siddharta and finding oneself as changed at the very end of the book.
The writing is beautiful, and although the message is profound, the book is, it seems to me, accessible to a large number of people!
Embark without fear in this little philosophical tale. There is a good chance that this spiritual journey will mark you forever.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

I taught this book to juniors, and when I did I became frustrated with a student when I introduced it, because he let his classmates know that he'd already read it and it sucked. I'm happy to report, now that we've finished it, that his comments didn't seem to hurt the class's opinion of the book too badly. In fact, that student himself said it was pretty good and that he'd only skimmed it the last time he read it. Lousy kids.... Another student said it was his favorite book that we'd read so far. And that it made him want to quit school and start living. I guess that's praise for the book...

The book is divided pretty neatly into thirds, and that's how we broke it up as a class. The first third is the main character (who is a contemporary of Siddhartha Gotama, the Buddha) as a youth; he is smart and talented and loved by all. He's a prodigy in all things intellectual and religious, but he's not satisfied, he's not happy. So he ends up pursuing a spiritual path through extreme self-deprivation. This part is easy enough for my students, as they're young themselves, and part of Siddhartha's growing up is leaving home and striking out on his own path. They're really (I hope) in much the same circumstance, starting to find a path for themselves that may be independent from their parents.

The second portion of the novel is harder. Siddhartha gives up his ascetic way of life and now indulges in all the pleasures he formerly eschewed. He learns all about sex from a courtesan, he becomes a wealthy businessman, eventually he becomes a conoisseur of fine food and wine, and a heavy gambler to boot. He loses himself in this life and eventually realizes how unhappy he is. His religious training, of course, always told him that these things were worthless, and he finds that these comforts do not, in fact, make him happy. I figured the students would find this far harder to relate to than I did, but as so often I am, I was wrong. By and large, they seemed to like this section as well as--or better than--the first. Maybe it was all the sex (not that it was even remotely graphic), even though they didn't actually know what a courtesan is. Many of them come from wealthy backgrounds, so maybe they have first-hand experience (sort of) in the ways that wealth isn't really satisfying. Or maybe they've just heard that over and over in our culture, that money doesn't buy happiness. Anyway, they seemed to like it well enough.

The third section was almost certainly a harder sell. It was hard for me to sell myself on it! But Siddhartha leaves his life of luxury, nearly commits suicide over his unhappiness, and ends up becoming a simple (or not-so-simple) ferryman on a river. This section is far more full of more-or-less eastern (a touch of curry: it's eastern-flavored, with strong hints of Nietzsche as well) thought and spirituality. It's tougher to really understand or get into, though the essence isn't that hard: you have to experience things for yourself, and real wisdom can be the result of this experience, but it's not really possible to communicate that wisdom. That's your Reader's Digest condesnsed version, which I shouldn't even give because it's necessarily a distortion. Read the book if you want to know it. Anyway, to round out my discussion of class discussion, I think the momentum from the earlier parts of the book carried us through, as they seemed to like the book as a whole and liked even the more dense third section as well.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

For years, and when I say years it is actually more like decades, I have seen this classic book from time to time but I have never read it. It's not a very long book, but I just never took the time to try it out. One of my Goodreads groups is reading it this month, so I figured that now is as good a time as any to give it a go.

I decided to listen to it and it kind of felt like I was listening to a story around the campfire. The biggest thing it reminded me of was when I was a kid at the museum in Cincinnati hearing Native American legends about how the constellations got in the sky. I am not sure how close to any actual lore Hesse's version is, but it was interesting to listen to.

I saw some comments out there about this book being slow. It certainly isn't action packed and there are many philosophical digressions that move away from the story into a spiritual realm. These parts of the narrative can be slow, but they do add to the atmosphere of Siddartha's journey.

Do I recommend it? If you are really into stories about philosophy and spirituality, yes. If you are into reading all the classics, yes. Otherwise, maybe or maybe not - I can't say for sure.

[فايز غازي Fayez Ghazi · Rating 3 out of 5]

- "سدهارتا" انسان متعطش للمعرفة، يبحث عن الحقيقة المطلقة، او الحقيقة التي تجعله متناغماً مع الكون من اجل الوصول الى السكينة التامة او النيرفانا.

- تبدأ الرحلة مع "سدهارتا" الشاب البرهمي (والبراهمة هم طبقة الكهنوت عند الهندوس، وهذه اطبقة من الطبقات العليا) الذي يحس ان الجواب والحقيقة في مكان آخر، بعيداً عن التراتيل والأضحية والمعتقدات الهندوسية، فيتجه الى "السامانية" ويعيش مرتحلاً معهم ويكتسب خبراتهم لكنه لا يلبث ان يتركهم ويتجه نحو "جوتاما" والتعاليم البوذية، الا ان هذه لم تقنعه ايضاً فيعود لسبيله وبحثه من جديد. تنتهي المرحلة الروحية هنا ومع التقائه ب "كامله" (كان يجب ان تترجم كاميلا لعدم الخلط اللفظي) يبدأ الخط المادي من البحث، حيث تذيقه "كامله" الحب الجسدي بأنواعه (وعلى ما يبدو فهي خبيرة كاماسوترا) وتعرفه الى التاجر الذي يأخذه معه ليعلمه تجارته. المرحلة المادية تنقسم الى قسمين: المرحلة الأولى آثار الروحانية تتحكم بالمادي (لا يعنيه مال وجاه ونساء وخسارة وربح وتجارة) ثم المادة تسيطر وتخنق الروحانية (فيتحول الى سكير لئيم مادي..) تنتهي هذه المرحلة بإستيقاظه اثر رؤية تنبع من ذاته التي بقيت صافية في كمونها. ينتهي الخط المادي ههنا ويعود الى الطبيعة بشكل انطباعي ثم يتعرف الى الملّاح الذي يرشده (ولا يعلّمه) الى الطريق الصحيح للتنوير والوصول الى النيرفانا.

- هذه الرحلة من البحث تعجّ بالمتناقضات لكنها تشكل وحدة تامة بمجملها، فكان لا بد من التدرّج في كل هذه التجارب للوصول الى النيرفانا وبذلك يضع "هيسة" المفهوم الإيجابي للتدين بالبحث الشخصي عن الحقيقة ( ص167:"الحكمة لا تقبل التوصيل، والحكمة التي يحاول الرجل العظيم توصيلها الى الآخرين، تبدو دائماً حمقاء!")، بينما يعطي المثل الآخر - اي التدين السلبي او التلقيني - من خلال "جوفيندا" صديق ومرافق "سيدهاترا".

- القصة الفلسفية تحمل رمزيات عديدة، اهمها "النهر" الذي يرمز الى الحياة ذاتها او الصوت الكوني بتعبير آخر، وحيث ان ماءه هم البشر الذين يتعاقبون والصور المتغيرة (الماء ذاته وليس نفسه الذي يجري مراراً وتكراراً) ( ص56:"ان المعنى والحقيقة لا يحتجبان في مكان ما وراء الأشياء... وانما هما في الأشياء، فيها جميعاً")، الملّاح الذي يتراوح دوره بين المعلم والمتنور فهو لا ينقل الحكمة بل يدعو اليها فقط (بدعوه للإستماع الى النهر).

- استطراداً فإن القصة ذكرتني بالرحلة التي قام بها سلمان الفارسي من بلاد فارس الى العراق والشام ثم الى الجزيرة العربية واعتقد انها افضل واعمق بكثير من هذه القصة المتخيلة.

- الترجمة كانت جافة جداً واغلب الظن انها سيئة ولم تستطع نقل لغة "هيرمان هيسة" (لأن هناك فرق هائل بين هذه الرواية ونرسيس على سبيل المثال) ويا ليت يقوم اسامة منزلجي بترجمة هذه القصة!

[William2 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set on the Gangetic Plain some 2,600 years ago, Siddhartha is about one man's search for enlightenment. Siddhartha, son of a Brahmin, even in the presence of Gautama Buddha himself, is unable to find a way if it depends on the teachings of others. There is, Siddhartha comes to believe, no single illuminated path for all men and women to follow. We must each of us make our own mistakes. We must all suffer, and no warning against it will ever help us. For to live some kind of bizarre life of comfort that prevents suffering also prevents our finding peace. The novel's especially illuminating if you have some understanding of Vedic Religion and how it fed developments in Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism. The writing style is very honed, lean, without abstruse digressions. It fulfills for me the fundamental requirement of all good fiction: that it reveal a fully imagined world. And isn't that what we really require from narrative: that it take us out of ourselves; that it, to paraphrase John Gardner (The Art of Fiction, Grendel, Mickelsson's Ghosts, Nickel Mountain, October Light, etc.), perpetuates the dream? Highly recommended. I much prefer it to Steppenwolf. Up next Journey to the East and The Glass Bead Game.

[Fabian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Uber popular & widely read in high schools & colleges all over the US, there is a goldmine of true, deep (om... indescribable?) philosophy in Siddhartha—a constant string of meditation & a neverending search through a thick forest of abstraction. The world is Westernized by the wise writer, and his easy prose is easy to follow, although the concepts take a while to sink in (I mean, how can a person really be devoid of love? How can possessions, even the indispensable ones, be so discardable? How can life be so NEATLY, ARTFULLY circular?). But of these Everyman-overtaking-his-destiny novels, this one belongs right above “The Alchemist” (you know that Coelho was completely aware of the conventions which make up these type of stories), but not superior to “The Life and Times of Michael K.” by Coetzee, and definitely not as fun, rambunctious, random, nor bafflingly-surreal as the French classic “Candide.” Students should be encouraged to read Voltaire—in this case, although not in all of them, French lit undermines the German type?

P.S. Two guests of mine have already left me a copy of this--such a tradition for literary geeks to be a part of.

[Jokoloyo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lately, even before I read this book, I was noticing some book opinion that "I-would-like-this-book-better-at-my-younger-age", especially Cecily's review about The Alchemist that I couldn't agree more. I cannot help myself comparing this book with The Alchemist, although Siddharta is the better one. I believe if I read this ten years ago, I could appreciate more about the plot. But there is a Catch-22 situation: ten years ago, I don't know enough to appreciate the Vedic jargons on the book.

The plot is obviously the journey of spiritual enlightenment. Of course I have no issue with The Buddhism (and other Vedic in general) philosophies in the story. If readers interested with the philosophy discussed on this book, there are non-fiction books that discuss them for real.

But the ending, I don't like it. Majority of the book is struggling with philosophy and then the ending... It was such a magical ending without enlightening experience for readers similar with The Alchemist, reminding me how I felt cheated. I could get more revelation reading a pulp fiction of a murder mystery fiction.

PS: I have an opinion. The plot of Siddharta is basically YA fiction. How come publishers never publish this book as YA fiction with catchy cover art? :P

[Henry Avila · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the time of the Buddha another holy man in India appears, Siddhartha unremembered who sought wisdom. As the son of a Brahmin he had all the advantages in the long-distant past , including boredom nothing seemed consequential. Rich but poor of soul his brain in constant turmoil and the need, the compulsion , the quest to find answers to the mysteries of life. A strange sadness fills him with great despair there must be something else, nothing here in his father's luxurious house satisfies, not a home though, would quench the thirst. The endless road to discovery on dismal, glum Earth, knowledge, truth...maybe if possible...Nevertheless Govinda his only friend from childhood will travel his path no matter where it leads ...probably to oblivion. Everywhere the same, misery and death for the people, the bleakness, the unloved wretches by the millions, as few are contented , they have wealth, the many live in filth just barely surviving. However reality quickly becomes apparent, most people aren't seeking Nirvana, just trying to find the next meal ," but they are all falling leaves". The two friends join the Samanas a group of ascetic destitutes, yet happy men looking for salvation, always elusive , around the other side of the hill . Gentle Govinda after both at last hear the Illustrious One Gotama speak to the thousands , chooses to follow him. Crushing the spirit of Siddhartha , still the wanderer continues he can't go back. Adventures over the years make him wealthy, he meets a beautiful courtesan Kamala that has money and a merchant Kamaswami who teaches all the tricks to the trade. Naturally he will again reject prosperity it is not what he wants . But slowly too he views nature's wonders, a pretty river's forever waters not caring if the human race exists. Hermann Hesse's famous novel which influenced countless generations ...can happiness and humans be compatible, will people always try but never reach Nirvana. This book has many questions that can be asked for eternity, but never answered to the satisfaction of everyone, well worth reading.

[Lea · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Your soul is the whole world”

A lot of people for the longest time recommended me this book. I have to say I’m slightly disappointed with the experience of reading it, maybe because my expectations were so high, as all of the wise and profound people I know seem to admire it. When I was younger (high school) I’ve read Steppenwolf and I was in complete awe of Hesse’s writing, and I regarded him as one of most sagacious writers I’ve ever come across. Later on (in college) I attempted to read The Glass Bead Game, equally adored it but haven’t had enough time to finish it.
Theme-wise this book is right up my alley - combining psychological development with spiritual path of Buddhism - sign me up.
However, I wasn’t as enchanted with Hesse’s writing in this one, I found it to be less profound than in his other books, even though it is thematic in a similar niche of self-discovery. Maybe that’s due to my evolution as a reader as I have already read a number of books exploring the same matter or Hesse's writing really is a bit uneven. I would like to attempt some of his other books again to test those theories.

This book has high quality ideas but for some reason they didn’t sit with me as well. I think the main reson is I couldn’t connect to the main character and found him self-conceived, arrogant, almost without ability to love, and hugely disliked the underlying storyline of his predetermined extra ordinance and specialty, as his superiority to the other ‘’ordinary’’ men is established early on. In my opinion, the division between preordained chosen ones and regular people is malignant (any separation that makes us think there are inherently two kinds of people), and can cause inferiority complex in common people that don’t view themselves in that way, and grandiosity in others that think to be special means not being a true self but establishing difference (basically meaning superiority) to others.

''But still he had felt different from and superior to the others; always he had watched them with some mockery, some mocking disdain, with the same disdain which a Samana constantly feels for the people of the world.''

It’s of great importance to establish that there are no two kinds of people, and every person in the core self is special, chosen to be alive, and called to the path of maturation and individuation. In some way, Siddartha comes to shift of perspective as he learns to appreciate ‘’common’’ people, but for me, it was too little too late, as he already displayed too much annoying narcissism, maybe characteristic to everybody who perceives themselves as woken.
Especially Siddartha's relationship with Govinda displayed inequality, as Govinda always was a subordinate, bland, and unspecial character. I, in contrast to Govinda, didn't project numinous characteristics onto Siddharta, my feelings were more similar to this statement: But he, Siddhartha, was not a source of joy for himself, he found no delight in himself.
Glad we agree on this Siddharta. I really haven’t found any delight in him as a character, no matter how hard I tried to, but maybe that was Hesse’s intention to invoke in a reader similar feelings and perception as Siddhartha had of himself? I know that in the storyline he reached his true inner self, but for me, that wasn’t the most convincing process even though there were real moments of transcendence. Maybe that is also the point, that the meaning of life is reachable not in the continuity but only in small fragments of time, as these moments are worth being alive for. I would say I like the whole narrative if all of the other characters are regarded as symbolic, representing inner archetypes in Siddhartha. I highly appreciate and agree with the main idea - that one can’t regain true wisdom and authenticity just through following spiritual teaching and religious practices.

''To reach this place, the self, myself, the Atman, there was another way, which was worthwhile looking for? Alas, and nobody showed this way, nobody knew it, not the father, and not the teachers and wise men, not the holy sacrificial songs!''

Siddartha comes to this realization early on, as he observes that a lot of people follow Buddha, comprehend and adhere to his teaching, but the end result of their path differs greatly, as they don’t have the equal charisma, influence or awakeness.

''Thousands of followers are listening to his teachings every day, follow his instructions every hour, but they are all falling leaves, not in themselves they have teachings and a law.''

Ideas of Buddhism are intelligently incorporated but also blended with Jungian individuation and excerpts of Nietzschean philosophy. Different concepts are not pushed into the character (or readers), as Siddartha discovers them from his own experience rather than an understanding of others. So the path that we follow should always be just ours, personal, individual, as there is no teaching in this world that can give us true wisdom without authentic intrapersonal transformational process. Subjective truth acquainted by experience is valued more than memorized knowledge containing the insight of others.

''Look, my dear Govinda, this is one of my thoughts, which I have found: wisdom cannot be passed on. Wisdom which a wise man tries to pass on to someone always sounds like foolishness.''

''Knowledge can be conveyed, but not wisdom. It can be found, it can be lived, it is possible to be carried by it, miracles can be performed with it, but it cannot be expressed in words and taught.''

In the beginning, Siddharta through his dissatisfaction both with himself and his environment comes to the realization that the world is a mere stage, theatre of masks, full of personas living a false, inauthentic life, even the wisest and spiritual people are no strangers to this kind of deceit. He experiences an existential crisis facing the reality of life that returns to him in circles. His crises are a good example of painful events that are an inherent part of psychological maturation, as deeply questioning one’s life leads to freedom. Buddist path to eliminate suffering, that has some elements which I don’t agree on, leads the main character to the exploration of oneself and having a more balanced perspective that transcends the limits of thinking in black and white colors. Traditionally Buddhist attempt to eliminate ego and desire is transformed in acceptance and integration of wholeness of oneself, as all parts have an important role in attaining self-knowledge and wisdom, more of a Jungian and Nietzschean viewpoint. Siddartha’s process of engagement goes through different phases - hedonistic, nihilistic, mystic, rational, relational and meaningful ones. In every stage, he explores an archetype/complex that is part of himself - Brahman, Shaman, rich man, gambler, ferryman. I like that Siddartha’s spiritual revelations were not ground-breaking, as he often struggled after them as before. I am also fond of the fact he explored vastly different aspects of himself - dark, vein, lustful sides, in order to reach his ultimate, true Self. The good and bad experiences, progression and regression both play an immense part in enlightenment and the big cycle of life. No stage in life is futile or isolated, and no person is merely evil or virtuous. This book can be a good example for both individuation and spiritual journey but I would recommend it to people who are beginners in the exploration of psychology or/and spiritually as I see it as a more of an introduction, maybe not for someone deeply engaged in the topics. I can see myself reading this book 10 years ago and being completely fascinated with it, and I would say then the book would have a much greater impact on me. But in this day and age, I already read a lot of material of this kind so the ideas are not new to me. But I will humble myself and admit this book is still a great accomplishment and a lot of people would benefit from it greatly! Always look inward as nor Hesse, nor Budda/Jung/Nietzsche can give you enlightenment, only point in the direction of it.

“You know how to talk wisely, my friend. Be aware of too much wisdom!”

[فؤاد · Rating 2 out of 5]

من هرمان هسه رو دوست ندارم. به دلایل متعدد. از جمله به خاطر کلی گویی کردنش، به جای داستان تعریف کردن. و به خاطر زیاد شاعرانه نوشتنش. و به خاطر ساده نگریش به عرفان و فلسفه. معادل خیلی مناسبش در ادبیات خودمون، نادر ابراهیمیه. نویسنده ای که نهایتاً تا سن بیست سالگی می تونست من رو جذب کنه، اما نه بعد از اون. بعد از اون دیگه دورۀ داستایوسکی بود.

البته کتاب بخش های خوب هم فراوان داره، اما نهایتاً چیزی که توی ذهن آدم می مونه، کلیت کتابه نه بخش های زیبای اون. از جمله بخش های زیبای کتاب، بخش سقوط سیذارتهاست که هر چند خودش رو فساد ناپذیر می دونه، کم کم در مادیات غرق میشه و تبدیل به موجودی میشه که خودش هم ازش بیزاره و با غرق شدن بیشتر میخواد از این موجود فرار کنه.

[Jonathan Ashleigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hermann Hesse writes as though his words are god's perspective, but I don't believe in god... And, for the most part, I think god is boring. I believe most people like this book because they think they will look dumb if they don't.

[Franco Santos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Desde hacía rato que quería leer Siddhartha, de Hermann Hesse. No soy muy aficionado de la literatura espiritual, e incluso muchas veces la rehuyo, pero de todas formas algo en este libro me llamaba la atención. Había oído suficientes cosas buenas de este autor para entender que darle una oportunidad a Siddhartha valía la pena. Así que lo empecé, llevado más por un impulso que por algo minuciosamente deliberado y planificado.

Leí los primeros dos capítulos en dos semanas. Esto puede no hablar muy bien del contenido literario o espiritual de Siddhartha, pero en realidad siento que fallé en avanzar a una velocidad adecuada porque en ese entonces no me había «abierto» a lo que me podía contar Hesse. Lo repito: no suelo leer este tipo de libros. Sin embargo, hoy le volví a dar una chance y traté de embarcarme en la lectura de una manera diferente, quizá más privada o personal; y, como verán, ya lo tengo terminado. Y debo aceptar que fue un viaje extraordinario, por el que recorrí con el samana Siddhartha su búsqueda de la sabiduría suprema y la paz del alma de forma voyeurista pero no por eso menos auténtica.

Como nos cuenta este relato, la sabiduría no puede ser enseñada. Descomponer información en lenguaje puede llegar a ser factible, pero no resulta así con una experiencia. La sabiduría se alcanza a través del ser interno, desde el exterior hasta el interior, y es sumamente personal. De igual manera, Siddhartha, un poco contradictoriamente, puede llegar a dejar claras muchas ideas, algunas un tanto polémicas y otras reveladoras. Es una lectura que recomiendo mucho, siempre y cuando se la lea con la mente abierta. No puedo decir más puesto que este camino debe ser recorrido por uno mismo y descubierto en privado. Así que aquí tienen, avancen y déjense llevar.

[مجیدی‌ام · Rating 2 out of 5]

سومین کتابی بود که از هسه می‌خوندم.
کتاب اول دمیان بود، سخت‌خوان و کمی سرد، دوستش نداشتم در زمان خواندنش.
کتاب دوم، داستان دوست من بود، ادبیات به نسبت روانی داشت، ولی مثل دمیان سرد بود! نمیشد خوب ارتباط برقرار کرد با دنیاش.
و حالا کتاب سوم، سیدارتها...

قبل از اینکه برم سراغش، تعاریف زیادی شنیده بودم ازش، حتی از منابع غیرفارسی هم بارها بهم توصیه شده بود.
با انتظارات یک شاهکار رفتم سمتش، ولی خب، نشد... برای من، اونطور که باید نبود. چرا که تمام عقاید و چارچوب‌های فلسفی ذهن من، در باب زندگی، در باب عشق و لذت بردن از عمر، بطور کامل با این کتاب در تضاد بود!
صفحه به صفحه و سطر به سطر کتاب رو عذاب کشیدم از حسی که به متنش داشتم!
من نه عقاید برهمنی برام قابل درک بود، نه افکار شمنی!
نه از مرتاض‌ها دلِ خوشی دارم، نه به بودیسم علاقمندم!
و معتقدم در زندگی، همونقدر که به دنبال کشف منِ واقعی خودمون هستیم، باید از امیال و لذات دنیوی هم استفاده کرده و بهره ببریم!
درویش صفتی و برهمنی و شمنی و بودیسم و سلوک و آزار به جسم و چشم‌پوشی از لذات دنیوی و قهر با شهوت جنسی و بی‌میلی به ثروت و بی‌توجهی به بدن و غیره، که در این کتاب در موردشون بسیار صحبت شده، باب میل من و موازی با خط فکری من نیست!

نکته بعدی، هسه خیلی سخت می‌نویسه! ��ر صد صفحه از کتاباش به اندازه دویست صفحه از کتابای دیگه پتانسیل و انرژی میبره!
حالا این سخت‌نویسی رو ترکیب کنید با ترجمه سروش حبیبی! چه شود!
خیلی شاعرانه ترجمه شده کتاب، به حدی که دلو می‌زنه!
نمیگم زیبا نیست، زیباست، انصافا جملات و صفحاتی در کتاب بود که شاید مثلش رو توی آثار دیگه‌ای نخونده بودم، اما دیگه خیلی شاعرانه بود، خیلی جملات غیرعامیانه داشت، خیلی اذیت شدم!
یا شاید هم سواد کافی برای درک عظمت کتاب و زیبایی نثرش رو نداشتم! :)

احساس می‌کنم هرکسی این نوشته رو بخونه، کلا منو بلاک کنه! چون تقریبا تمام نقدهای این کتاب، ازش تعریف کردن! :))
اما باور کنید تا جایی که تونستم ارفاق کردم! می‌تونستم با بیانی تندتر بنویسم و بیشتر بتوپم! :))

سرتونو درد نیارم، نه هسه نویسنده‌ی منه، نه سیدارتها کتاب منه، و نه سروش حیبی مترجم منه!
من مال این دنیا نیستم! :))
متاسفانه دو کتاب دیگه از هسه دارم که چون پول دادم طبیعتا مجبورم بخونمشون! :))

توصیه می‌کنم به حرف‌های منِ بی‌سواد اکتفا نکنید، نظرات سایر دوستان رو هم بخونید، و خودتون کتاب رو ارزیابی کنید.
من ولی خوشم نیومد! دو ستاره بهش میدم...

[Sheila · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I edited my high school newspaper, we produced a popular feature called “Phot-O-pinion” where we asked a question about a (sometimes) pressing topic, quoted the student or teacher and snapped their pic. For one issue, at the suggestion of my journalism teacher, I asked teachers to name a book that changed their lives. I can’t remember all the responses, but without hesitation, one teacher told me, “Siddhartha, because it showed me a completely different perspective on life.”

A few months later, one of my favorite teachers passed out a few books for everyone on the last day of English class. “You should read these books at least once in your life,” she said. She passed out Confessions of An English Opium-Eater by Thomas DeQuincey, The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass, Civil War Poetry and Prose by Walt Whitman, Beyond Good and Evil by Friedrich Nietzsche and Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse.

I’m embarrassed to say I haven’t read all of them just yet, but I finally got around to picking up Siddhartha and, well, it ended up changing my life. I think if I read this after my high school graduation I would have stopped after a certain page. I think if I read this on some breaks from college I would have tired of some of its overwrought philosophical pretenses. But for various reasons, now was the right time for me to read it. I don’t want to go into detail why it changed my life because the beauty of the book is that you can take what you want from it. I wouldn’t have learned anything from the book if I tell you exactly why it changed my life. I won’t be giving up every single material possession I own after reading this book, but I will be thinking differently about what really matters in life and how to deal with (and ultimately transcend/learn from) disappointment, rejection, and anything else that makes life suck sometimes.

A quote from one of my favorite passages:

“At times he heard within him a soft, gentle voice, which reminded him quietly, complained quietly, so that he could hardly hear it. Then he suddenly saw clearly that he was leading a strange life, that he was doing many things that were only a game, that he was quite cheerful and sometimes experienced pleasure, but that real life was flowing past him and did not touch him.”

[Dan Schwent · Rating 5 out of 5]

Siddhartha rejects his life as a Brahman's son and goes out into the world in a quest for enlightenment, to live as an ascetic. After meeting Buddha, Siddhartha rejects the ascetic life for a more material one, the life of a merchant, learning the ways of love from a courtesan, and in time leaves that life behind as well. Will Siddhartha ever find what he is looking for?

Normally, a Nobel prize winning book wouldn't get a second look from me. I'm more into people getting pistol whipped and big monsters. I kept seeing this book on my girlfriend's bookshelf and finally decided to give it a shot. I'm glad I did.

Siddhartha is the story of one man's quest for meaning and it's a good one. Since it's a classic AND translated from German, I wasn't expecting an easy read. It was a breeze compared to what I was picturing. The first couple of paragraphs were a little rocky but I started digging it right away.

The story mirrors the life of Buddha but isn't a retelling. This Siddhartha has his own road to travel. He goes from having nothing to having everything, including a woman was eager to teach him to be the best lover she'd ever seen, back to having nothing and living as a ferryman, learning life lessons every step of the way.

While it's a novel, it's also pretty inspirational. There are nuggets of wisdom to be mined from it. My favorite is that wisdom can't be taught but it can be learned.

I highly recommend this book to those interested in Eastern Philosophy and Buddhism and those needing a little more than gun play and werewolf attacks.

[Duane · Rating 4 out of 5]

What is the meaning of life? I don't know, and you're not going to find the answer in this book, although I've read some reviews of readers who claim it changed their lives, so there you go.

[Megha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Old pre-read review

Choose Life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a fucking big television, choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players and electrical tin openers. Choose good health, low cholesterol, and dental insurance. Choose fixed interest mortgage repayments. Choose a starter home. Choose your friends. Choose leisurewear and matching luggage. Choose a three-piece suit on hire purchase in a range of fucking fabrics. Choose DIY and wondering who the fuck you are on Sunday morning. Choose sitting on that couch watching mind-numbing, spirit-crushing game shows, stuffing fucking junk food into your mouth. Choose rotting away at the end of it all, pissing your last in a miserable home, nothing more than an embarrassment to the selfish, fucked up brats you spawned to replace yourselves. Choose your future..... But why would one need to do that anymore when one has found enlightenment.

[ Adapted from here.]

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book opened the door to Buddhism to me...for that I will always be grateful. I can remember feeling that there was a way to search for truth; not a guarantee that it would be found - just a map that could be followed. Still looking - but this book pointed me in the right direction.