Siddhartha
By Hermann
Hesse
It is a story of a young Brahmin boy in pursuit of
enlightenment.
Siddhartha, a Brahmin boy is brought up in a learned family.
But he himself is not contented with his routine of chanting, sacrifice and
meditation. With a heavy heart, his father gives him the permission to go. So
he leaves home and spends time with samanas who believes in attainment of self
by following a very hard life. Again discontented, he goes and seeks salvation
with Gautama Buddha. He realizes that Gautama’s teachings will also be of no
use to him, he decides to lead an ordinary life, a life of worldly pleasures.
Kamala, a beautiful mistress helps him gain the same and
soon Siddhartha stands on his own, attains all the luxuries and is fully
immersed in them. So much so that he forgets his real pursuit. Eventually, a
bad dream awakens him and he returns to the river of his youth. There, he
becomes an assistant to a wise, old ferryman who inspires Siddhartha to learn
the art of listening to the river and learn life’s secrets. Here, finally
Siddhartha achieves peace. During the same time, he comes across Kamala and his
own son. Kamala, now a follower of Gautama, is bitten by a snake and dies
leaving behind their son. This encounter also gives him the experience of what
it is to be a father. Siddhartha tries to hold back his son but the young boy
wants to break free. He realizes that the wisdom is not to hold the things back
but in accepting them as they are.
Reena
Kohli
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