Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse - Book Review

Siddhartha is a book by Hermann Hesse that takes us through a boy’s quench for spiritual enlightenment.

From a young age, Siddhartha feels that something is missing and that there’s more to life than just being a Brahman, praying and offering sacrifices to the gods.

Without hesitation, he and his friend Godiva leave their comfortable life to go on a journey in search of enlightenment.

At first, Siddhartha becomes a Samana, which is a traveling ascetic, and in this phase, he learns three great skills: to think, wait, and fast. During this journey, he encounters the Buddha himself.

While he listens to his teachings, he realizes that being taught the Buddha’s lessons second-hand is not enough for him, but instead, he wants what the Buddha has—the feeling of enlightenment.

While Siddhartha’s character seems arrogant and defying, it is very easy for anyone who has undergone a spiritual crisis to relate to him and get where he’s coming from.

Another aspect in the book that makes it feel awfully real is how Siddhartha loses sight of his mission once he encounters a beautiful woman he falls in love with.

The flaws in Siddhartha’s character as he falls captive to Kamala’s teachings on the art of love shed light on how easy it is to stray from a path, and fall victim to love, greed, manipulation, and all the worldly attributes people encounter on a daily basis.

This happens to Siddhartha even when he had dedicated his life to a spiritual journey and was supposedly unattached to these virtues that the world has to offer.

This book is a must-read for anyone who feels the need to embark on a spiritual journey and understand the philosophy of life from a different perspective.

It also shows how every experience has the power to teach a lesson, even if a person strays far from their initial goal, on finding peace and happiness in the simplest of ways.