SIDDARTHA BY HESSE HERMANN : SUMMARY, NOTES & HIGHLIGHTS
⛰️ What it’s about ?
It’s story of a little kid who were raised as a Brahman, spending the whole day worshiping and making prayers and offerings, Siddhartha is a stubborn guy as we all were one day, who doesn’t swallow easily anything we tell him but he listens and respect others, he couldn’t consider the idea of repeating the same practices everyday till death as what he was born for, since his young age he starts questioning his existence; the universe therefore he decided to seek the meaning of life; the purpose of his existence so he left his comfort zone to the uncertain, he decided to leave his family and travel in order to meet new people, share their traditions and beliefs and gain more knowledge and enlightenment.
“One must find the source within one’s own Self, one must possess it. Everything else was seeking — a detour, an error.”
Siddhartha and his friend Govinda started their journey by joining the Samanas, living a very sober and ascetic life, later they will attend a Buddha teaching, at this point destiny will choose to separate the two friends and each one of them will take a different path, Govinda will follow Buddha’s teaching as student but Siddhartha the stubborn is still eager to acquire more knowledge and wisdom, so he will inform Buddha that what he taught them was based on his own experience and didn’t fulfill Siddhartha’s thirst , as we dive into Siddhartha’s adventures we learn many lessons and become avid for more.
“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.”
The book had an inspiring effect on the 70’s and 80’s generation in US and around the world in a context of the American dream and dollar power and either you are a winner or a looser, a good or bad, this story teaches us that you are neither good or bad, you ARE. But until today the book remains enlightening and very fulfilling reading because it makes you realize the important things in life and the things we should focus on.
“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.”
💬 What are the ideas that resonate the most with me ?
- Never take the world as it is, the world is full of nonsense, listen to your inner voice
- Live your own journey and enjoy the ups and downs of it but learn the lessons
- look into your own self, sometimes we should dive inside instead of looking arround
- Peace and happiness can only be found inside because each achieved goal has a temporary pleasure
😍 Who Would Like It?
To be honest, I’m not a Buddha student or even a fan boy but I really enjoyed reading the book because I found it very gripping and a required read for anyone.
📓 Quotes I liked the most
“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.”
“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.”
