There are some books which leave an everlasting imprint on the mind as well as on the soul….some books which people live their lives by…and whose protagonist becomes the role model for them. Siddhartha is one such book which will if nothing make you think about the purpose of life bestowed on you.
Sometime back I met a friend who declared that she had found her Bible in the aforesaid book and for once understands herself better. Since I hadn’t read the book and hadn’t even heard about the author I didn’t know what to say..But the moment I caught the glimpse of the said book in a bookstore, there was no way I could resist picking it up and reading it right away.
Though I am terribly passionate about reading I hardly get influenced by the written word. To me the written word is always a suspect…a biased version….someone else’s way of looking at life which can be at the most appreciated. Nevertheless I was too curious and wanted to see for myself what had moved my dear friend to the extent that she could talk of nothing but the merits of the book.
Reading Siddhartha was easy…perhaps my knowledge of philosophy and religion made it simpler. To put in a nutshell the underlining argument in the book is focused on the need to get rid of ego and any other kind of dualistic ideas. It almost comes across as the antitheses of Ayn Rand’s Fountainhead.
Though completely fictional the Buddhist idea of constant time…time without present, past or future is used deftly by the author. The narration explores the extreme curiosity of a Brahmin boy, Siddhartha who wants to fathom the mysteries of existence and reach Nirvana but at the same time is convinced that it is impossible to reach his goal by following conventions. Disillusioned by conventional religious practices, extreme austerities and worldly pleasures he finally finds true peace only by nurturing love for all things big and small and completely shunning the narrow ‘I’, very similar to ‘I Consciousness’ discussed in Kashmir Saivism.
You might agree with the author or reject him on the pretext of being too melodramatic but you cannot ignore him. He has a definite point of view influenced greatly by all simplistic teachings in various schools of Indian philosophy. Overall it makes a quick, lucid and thoughtful reading and leaves you with a definite positive and optimistic aura.
Sometime back I met a friend who declared that she had found her Bible in the aforesaid book and for once understands herself better. Since I hadn’t read the book and hadn’t even heard about the author I didn’t know what to say..But the moment I caught the glimpse of the said book in a bookstore, there was no way I could resist picking it up and reading it right away.
Though I am terribly passionate about reading I hardly get influenced by the written word. To me the written word is always a suspect…a biased version….someone else’s way of looking at life which can be at the most appreciated. Nevertheless I was too curious and wanted to see for myself what had moved my dear friend to the extent that she could talk of nothing but the merits of the book.
Reading Siddhartha was easy…perhaps my knowledge of philosophy and religion made it simpler. To put in a nutshell the underlining argument in the book is focused on the need to get rid of ego and any other kind of dualistic ideas. It almost comes across as the antitheses of Ayn Rand’s Fountainhead.
Though completely fictional the Buddhist idea of constant time…time without present, past or future is used deftly by the author. The narration explores the extreme curiosity of a Brahmin boy, Siddhartha who wants to fathom the mysteries of existence and reach Nirvana but at the same time is convinced that it is impossible to reach his goal by following conventions. Disillusioned by conventional religious practices, extreme austerities and worldly pleasures he finally finds true peace only by nurturing love for all things big and small and completely shunning the narrow ‘I’, very similar to ‘I Consciousness’ discussed in Kashmir Saivism.
You might agree with the author or reject him on the pretext of being too melodramatic but you cannot ignore him. He has a definite point of view influenced greatly by all simplistic teachings in various schools of Indian philosophy. Overall it makes a quick, lucid and thoughtful reading and leaves you with a definite positive and optimistic aura.
