1.Introduction:-
The most prolific German psychic explorer, poet, critic, painter, gardener, and novelist Hermann Hesse travelled almost all the Continents for a conscious human evolution into higher dimensions of awareness. This noble laureate Hermann Hesse was born in the small town of Calw, Wurttemberg in 1877. His father, a man of the missionary, was working in a publishing house. The deeper enlightenment of Hesse sprouts transcending through his experimental lifestyle. Hesse began to rebel against his strict pietistic parents and conventional German society of the time.
The book Siddhartha gifted a universal search for personal meaning, happiness in the crucial joy of art. It brings the great issue of life and death to within our experimental reach. The western enlightenment means awakening from the mental imprisonment in inherent dogmatic religious. Hesse, a conscious blissful evolutionary writer composed evocation of lush-beauty of nature and enrichment of mystical aestheticism of Indian humanity through a deep engagement with Europe.
The Quest for Self in Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse is the ideal principle of ‘know thyself’ through empirical studies of Vedas, Upanishads, and Buddhism. The archetypal approach is applied for the analytical thesis of ‘Om’ the complete spiritualism by a colourful audacious protagonist Siddhartha to explore the human possibilities from self and comes finally to profound insight and vast compassion of arduous quest for the experiment.
The story resembles the lifespan of historical incarnation Lord Buddha. The hero’s auspicious name Siddhartha echoes the Sakya clan crown prince Siddhartha. Hesse sets his story at the same time and the protagonist meets the Buddha himself. Here he finds a conflict between practical experiences of an individual and a knowledge passed to disciple by his teacher though respectfully announces his innate desire for the supreme fulfilment of enlightenment of self that must be original from the deep within the individual and by the individual.
The emancipation of Siddhartha is divine peace of self that has been depicted already in the various theosophical literatures. He talks Lord Buddha in this voice,
You have found salvation from death. It has come to you in the course of your own search, on your own path, through thoughts, through meditation, through realization, through enlightenment. It has not come to you by means of teaching!(Hesse 46)
For the quest of self, Lord Buddha has exiled alone and experienced divinity from ‘Atman’ himself. So protagonist Siddhartha abandons Buddhism to realize the quest for truth in his own conscience and experiences shining ephemeral life.
2.What is Nirvana?
Siddhartha wishes to discover his innermost essence ‘Atman’ which exists beneath his individual identity as “Siddhartha”. Lord Buddha called it ‘Nirvana’. In Buddhist text of ancient ‘Pali’ language, this term is called ‘Nibbana’, means soteriological release and liberation from rebirth in ‘Samsara’ – Nirvana is synonymous with ‘moksha’. The quest for pleasure is the deepest philosophy of India, Sat Chit Anand the motto of holy books of Hinduism broadly defined as Satyam Shivam Sundaram means truth consciousness bliss is the outcome of true godliness beauty it means the peaceful happiness of our spirit is the Nirvana in Buddhism.
So Nirvana is described as the highest happiness and supreme state of blessing. The quest for learning through experiences – is the nature of ‘self’. The protagonist Siddhartha believes that among all the Samanas in existence, not even a single one will reach ‘Nirvana’, but accepts the qualification of Buddha who possessed the highest knowledge of ‘NIRVANA’ and Buddha can recall his previous lives.
Hesse says, teaching and learning are sceptical knowledge, words come from a teacher, not the wisdom, the experience is the most innate activity of self and without experience, Nirvana is a distortion of the senses, you distort reality and derail from your definition. Various fluctuations in the life of Siddhartha decipher the truthful quest for eternal Nirvana from domestic life. He denies nothing, accepts all to pursue the highest gratification of Atman. The protagonist Siddhartha is the counterpart of Lord Buddha to represent the detection of Hesse in a supernatural quest of glory. At the time of Mahaparinirvana (the great ascent), Lord Buddha talks to his imminent disciple Anand when he repeatedly asks about his obligation after his master. Lord Buddha suggested, be a light unto yourself (Aatmdipo Bhava).
3.The essence of “Self and Spirituality” in Siddhartha
Hesse a prominent public figure in the literary world bears an inherent fanaticism to uplift general mass towards depths of divine evolution. Garland Mary expresses the view of the novel, “In Siddhartha Hesse gives poetic expression to Indian philosophy”(Bhambar 141)Since the childhood Siddhartha strives for the higher values of life itself symbolizes his spiritual quest. Siddhartha, a handsome son of Brahman, he likes roaming on the bank of the river, in the shadow of fig trees. His background is spiritual; the father is highly educated and versatile. His mother has been the first teacher, teaching Indian tradition, pious- life, ethics, and morals. He practices the art of contemplation and meditation with Govinda. He has learned how to recite the ‘Om’ silently in his inner being.
Hesse created his protagonist a most rational personality wrapped in the conscious quest of traditional means of theoretical knowledge of scriptures and verbosity of Vedanta. He learns to recognize ‘Atman’ but as a boy, the egoistic Siddhartha never bows before any dogmatic, fundamental ritual means of religion. Siddhartha from the very beginning of life knew that quest is personal self-pursuit. It is the most innate desire of pure philosophy of ‘Atman’.
Siddhartha feels the seeds of discontent within him, his soul is not at peace and he wants to become empty, to become empty of thirst, desire, dreams, pleasure, and sorrow to let himself die to experience the peace of an emptied heart to experience the pure thought, that shows his striving for higher values of life.
Siddhartha is an aesthetic epitome of the rectifying aspect of life. In the novel, Hesse expressed a positive philosophy which guides and regulates the restricted and technical delusion. It is the deep devotion and attraction of oneself and all in the world that Siddhartha learns and experiences. Hesse’s philosophy of love and life that is beautifully depicted in Siddhartha, it is like a spiritual anchor as Krishna in Bhagavad Gita, the personification of the Indian culture and heritage. Siddhartha is the percolation and replication of Lord Buddha in the institutional static philosophy of divine seekers.
So many people had been joining Buddhist spiritual academy ‘Sanghas’. Sermons keep on reciting Buddham Saranam Gacchami, Dhammam Sharanam Gacchami, Sangham Sharanam Gacchami (go in the shelter of Buddha, go in the shelter of Religion, go in the shelter of Buddhist academies) to crystallize and ascent the highest goal of God, in the easiest way. There is a passage in the book of Zechariah that describes an encounter between a human being and a flock of angels, in which human is referred to as “ a traveller among the stationary ones: other creatures also move from place to place but only man’s migrations are motivated by the desires.
The articulation of someone’s vision about the realization of divinity, the quest for all the knowledge and aspiration to convey for the fulfilment of humanity are examples of individual manifestation of truth. We all keep on roaming in search of truth. Most of the people are involved in deteriorating family values, drugs, alcohol, crime and fatal diseases. Commonly the goals allotted in holy books of self-realization and Moksha have been a low emphasis on people. A man often encounters such nightmares.. Who am I? What is the meaning of my existence on earth? What is my final destination?
The quest for self is self-actualization which defines a new objective, mission so that one has the understanding of spiritual depth simultaneously performing social obligations. It is very common and candid to conceive countless temporary traits of affiliation like ‘you’, ‘Siddhartha’, ‘Buddha’ and ‘Rama’ etc. but who is Siddhartha, Buddha, and Rama, no one can define its indigenous identity. In yourself, you are happiness, pleasure, and faith. The first president of South Africa Nelson Mandela writes in his autobiography Long Walk to freedom (1994), I am the master of my fate and the captain of my destiny. So one has all the rights and reasons to define his own identity.
Life at the time appears as a mixture of predetermination and free will, but most of the time, our free will, help us to shape the reality we can create even if it may be through extensive effort. Siddhartha is an exact replica of Lord Buddha, he is curious like Prince Siddhartha, innovative like young Sakya Prince, who has been exploring various means of wisdom like a corpse, old man, diseased person and happy Sage in his childhood. In spite of luxurious life, both the seekers are exploring new knowledge about the suffering in the world gave rise to several questions within their mind and the protagonist, like the prince, soon renounces all his worldly affairs in order to embark on a journey of self-discovery. Hesse scrutinizes the most explosive journey of an incarnation of Lord Buddha in 6th century B.C. in the slideshow of life of his protagonist Siddhartha.
4.Renunciation of Materialistic Pursuit:-
Tranquillity in renunciation and wilful blindness are considered to be the first stage of conquest in Indian mythology. Lord Buddha has renounced the power of predecessors, the lust of life, luxuries of living and privileges of the monarchy. He had abandoned the beautiful licentious arms of his wife and the salacious environment of the palace without any hesitation. So redemption is the outcome of divine knowledge in India. This universe is a game (Khel) for the sages, saints, and deities. There are four Ashramas (stages) in the ethnic traditional lifespan of Hindus. This world is a fragile composition of time and force. The Brahmacharya (student) Ashrama, Grihasthi (householders) Ashrama, Vanaprastha (retired) Ashrama and Sanyas (renunciation) Ashrama.
The fourth stage (renunciation) defines the penance and sacrifice from worldly affairs. Most of the ascetics exile themselves in this age that is focused on salvation, peace, and pleasure. The core doctrine of the novel Siddhartha is the integration of transcendental ethics like stimulation, beauty, gospels, and comfort through a portrait of pursuit and practice of higher values like benevolence and negation of lower material values.
There are primary elements in our body like earth, water, fire, space, and air. These elements act like the predominating force in our all the activity at any physical movement or mental state. These elements are a proclamation of traits of our previous life. Our licentious life is the genetic enticement of materialist pursuit with percolation of the most hereditary propensity of a previous life. The combination of elements develops living creatures like a human being.
It is the mental conditioning that struggles with each other to dominate and encourage. There is no static force that enforces and comprehends completely to the whole. It is possible that all the forces (Samsaras) are relative activity, a wave in the ocean merges in water and produces another wave, a wave appears to be moving continuously through it demises to produce a new wave. So this is the relative activity, force is transferred and the wave dies but it appears to be continuous. This is the inducted philosophy of death and life in Buddhism. Lord Buddha was a revolutionary incarnation. He struggled against the rituals in Hinduism to sacrifice and butcher (Bali) the animals in Yajnaj. He gave the philosophy of Ahimsa (Not to kill). Lord Buddha did not accept the philosophy of Atman (soul) from Vedas. He said it is the transfer of energy from a previous life to next. It is the impermanence of life. Death is not the end of life. It is merely the end of the body.
We reside in a span of life but our soul is omnipresent, that is attached to so many lives. Life does not end merely but goes on in another form that is the result of gathered deeds of previous life. It is known as the law of cause and effect. Karmic (deeds) law will lead the spirit of the dead to be reborn, in realms which are appropriate to their Karmic accumulation. So the renunciation is the mental shunning of the Karmic force as it produces more ascetics seems to elude the Karma.
Hesse discusses the Indian philosophy of refusal, negation, and penance in Siddhartha. The protagonist is a self-enforced restricted seeker from indulging in bodily activities. Sexual abstinence is most frequently practiced in India. Most of the Sages do not marry; they keep themselves away from women. They have been living in caves and cottages from generations. But this renunciation is a worldly activity, mental fight, and negation of senses. Lord Buddha gave four noble truths:
● Dukkha ( Sufferings )
● Dukkha Samudaya ( Collective Suffering )
● Nirodha ( cessation )
● Marga ( Ashtangik Marga )
Here Lord Buddha says desire is the root cause of all the sufferings. Desire is not bound to righteousness. In Siddhartha, Hesse explores that it is the man who decides if it is good or bad for him. One must either have it or overcome it. One cannot overcome a desire by suppression. It cannot be suppressed. It is through wisdom only one can get rid of desires, as naturally as a ripened fruit that falls on its own. Desires are an accumulation of our traits of previous life.
Hermann Hesse defines various stages of man’s life that reflects the four Ashramas of human life in Hinduism. Siddhartha as protagonist enjoys Grihastha Ashram with Kamala, a beautiful courtesan. He lays great emphasis on Kamala and regards her as his lover, his friend. He usually comes back to the beautiful Kamala from whom he learned the art of love. He produced a child from her. So it was a complete Grihastha Ashrama. His Brahmacharya Ashrama begins in the first chapter of Siddhartha. He is portrayed as a religious student who learns and practices the art of Brahmins. Conversation and debate with Govinda are the necessary skills for a Vedic student. He follows the Brahmacharya Ashrams like spiritual Gurus where asceticism becomes his study and discipline.
In the third stage, Vanaprasthaya Ashrama, Siddhartha retires to the forest to pursue higher spiritual values. He is now aware of his old age and realizes that his domestic life has come to an end. Siddhartha reaches the riverbank as a solitary place and decides to learn the secrets of the river. Vasudeva, a ferryman plays the role of his spiritual Guru. Now he is free from duties of life and social boundaries. He devotes his time to spiritual studies.
After Kamala’s death Siddhartha, an old man tries to raise his spoiled and stubborn son. Although Vasudeva suggests Siddhartha take the boy to the town. The boy does not follow the morals of the father. He has his own philosophy of worldly pursuit and pleasure. Hesse begins the fourth stage as Sanyastha Ashrama. This is the backbone of Siddhartha’s quest. Here renunciation is complete, materialist pursuit comes to an end. He is not ready to accept the traditional path of divine seekers. He experiences that only pragmatic knowledge can bear the truthful wisdom of life. The sensual pleasure through the various desires of Vasanas (vices) is removed here by Siddhartha and he moves for his self-practices and experiences of divine life.
5.Deprivation leads to Enlightenment:-
Renunciation develops a stage of deprivation. Now we keep the things of materialism away from us. A poor man experiences a lot of deprivations. Deprivation creates an environment of thoughtlessness. Now meditation is a static stage. An ascetic remains in a continuous stage of recklessness as Lord Krishna calls it Sthiti Pragya (impulsiveness), we have no concern with the world. We live in our self in our own divine thoughts. Because deprivation is a stage of innate detachment. One has nothing to think. This is the fourth noble truth of Lord Buddha. Now Siddhartha begins the life of an Ashtanga Marga of Buddhism. So the enlightenment proceeds from here. Siddhartha, the protagonist believes in himself only. Indian mythology develops on the theory of deprivation. A King leaves his kingdom in the favor of a son. A life of destitute is morally accepted in Indian society. Poverty is considered as a gift of Karma (deeds) from a previous life to provide you a stage of spiritual awakenings. The highest deity of Hinduism, Lord Shiva lives in the zenith of the destitute.
The protagonist Siddhartha accepts Lord Buddha and his philosophy but does not follow him. So he himself deprives all and every means of divine path. At the encounter of the protagonist with Lord Buddha, he speaks these words-
You have found salvation from death. It has come to you in the course of your own search, on your own path, through thoughts, through meditation, through realization, through enlightenment. It has not come to you by means of teaching. (Hesse 46)
So Hesse accepts the Indian philosophy of detachment. Hesse himself lived like an ascetic. He wandered all over the world like a destitute. Siddhartha begins a new journey just like Hesse in the search of supreme knowledge. Even the teachings of Lord Buddha fail to teach him. Deprivation brings both writer and protagonist on the bank of wisdom through loneliness.
Shakespeare believes that the world is a stage and we all have to play our own role. One must enjoy the worldly affairs in his lifespan. The fundamental theory of the Indians is to keep on shunning the socio-economic luxuries. A Saint, a learned and a teacher must follow the path of destitute, detachment and deprivation in the favor of the coming generation. We have an interesting story from the life of Guru Nanak dev known as ‘Sacha Sauda’. He gave all his trade-capital to a starving man where he was sent by his father with money to do a lucrative business. Kabir Das a most famous enlightened sage of 16th century enjoyed singing Bhajans in the market of Banaras, though he was being sent for bartering his garment products by his father, so deprivation is the path of highest pleasure like Siddhartha catches a job, a social affair and a lucrative business but he spontaneously leaves them without any lust and possession.
6.Spiritual Illumination of an Ascetic
The pursuit of Moksha in Siddhartha arises from the desire to become emancipated from the suffering. He realizes the cause of his suffering; he retires to the hut and confesses everything to Vasudeva. The process of cultivation of right understanding begins at the bank of the river. He neither listens to the laughter nor the sorrow. He hears them all in oneness. The great song of thousand voices appears in the single word ‘Om’. Everything he accepts in the presence of reality. With Vasudeva, he realizes everything in the most natural order. Now he listens to the river as the voice of scripture. He practices reflection which dispels his doubts and enables him to understand the duality of all the things. In Siddhartha, the protagonist explains the collective doctrine of humanity in these words- “All voices, all goals, all yearning, all suffering, all pleasure, and all that was good and evil, all of this together was the world.” (Hesse 46)
Now Siddhartha has become a universal Saint. The principles of wholeness have sprouted in him. He is moving towards the divine thoughts of absolute humanity. The Omnipotent presence of soul now glitters in him. He is above the social and ritual means of life. Govinda separates from here. Siddhartha leaves him on his own interest and views of divinity. Govinda accepts the preaching of Lord Buddha. He is satisfied in traditional Buddhist institutions. His experiences are acceptance of a forerunner but the great ascetic Siddhartha illuminates from his own spiritual ash of his penance and experiences. The empirical wisdom of Siddhartha is like a phoenix.
Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse even today is a famous book. It's a simple and fresh versatile story of a man who longs his whole life for divine truth and spiritual pleasure. Govinda and Siddhartha roam as mendicants looking for alms and spiritual guidance. They meet Lord Buddha and are drawn to his teaching. Govinda dedicated his life to spiritual order set up by Buddha. Siddhartha continues his search to illuminate his own ascetic life. He believes that the soul is the whole world itself. He is not happy with the worldly pleasure. So he decides to leave his house, friends, foe and fundamental path. He has always thirst for knowledge full of questions. The reason for this choice is his realization that the Lord Buddha teaches liberation from suffering and that this supreme goal has been attained, not through teaching but through seeking truth on his own path. He knew that it can only be found on one’s own. Lord Buddha warns him for his too much cleverness, intellectual question, and thirst for knowledge. Lord Buddha says in the voice of Hermann Hesse-“Be wary of too much wisdom.” (Hesse 48)
Siddhartha succeeded in recognizing his soul. He still does not know how to fit into the unity of all things. He learns that knowledge can be communicated but not wisdom. He makes us clear the philosophy of Lord Buddha that ‘Nirvana’ and ‘Samsara’ are illusion and truth together. No one in the world is perfect. He says even God resides in the sinner sometimes. Everything that exists in good, depth as well as holiness, wisdom as well as in folly. Even in the stone, there is a world as it belongs to the world of ‘Maya’. His bits of voice are full of charms and ethics.
Hesse explores the divinity that material comports, proves curse against the spiritual peace. His heart now longs for metaphysical peace only. Siddhartha is now a Saint like a figure. His life is a journey of an illuminated ascetic. He passes from various aspects of life and attains the goal.
7.Siddhartha an Institution of Spiritual Ascent
Lord Buddha was born near Kapilvastu in a traditional Brahmin Sakya tribe in 563.B.C. He spent 6 years in penance but with no result. He met five ascetics. He realized that they could not help him and set out to attain enlightenment through meditation. He carried on for seven weeks then he got enlightened, exalted and became the ‘Buddha’. Now Buddhism is a worldwide religion and institution of truth seekers. It is known as a revival, revolt, and resurrection of Hinduism. Almost the whole of Japan, Cambodia, Taliban, Vietnam, Korea and half of China worship Lord Buddha, though Hinduism is confined to India and Nepal only. Buddha preached his last sermons and told them to work for their deliverance and attain ‘Nirvana’.
Hermann Hesse, an ardent scrupulous, examines humanity in the Omniscient power of God. He explores a new path for the modern sages and saints. East has been well known for its spiritual awakening and west has been growing on the heap of mechanical discoveries. There are pragmatic-minded men in the modern world who believe in rational metaphysical thoughts of religious philosophy.
Hesse probes a new path for rational people in the form of Siddhartha. Siddhartha, the protagonist is the imitation of Buddhism in its newly rejuvenated form. It can be called as an individual revolutionary seeker in his most truthful desire. Now Siddhartha becomes himself an institution of most logical devotees of the practical metaphysical world. Siddhartha denies Buddhism and accepts the empirical theory of the spiritual world. Siddhartha in a new sense is a novel of pilgrimage of the thirsty people for some sustained power of God or for peace in the nature of man, which stretches back to prehistory. The purpose of this pious journey is to attain a new relation to nature as the apex of energy peace and meaningful life. The conscious act of segregated painful divine lovers from the society helps Siddhartha in the novel to get related to the cosmic power of nature and regenerate with debut devotees in their own instrument of the innate religious body.
With the change of time, various religions become a dogmatic institution. So they lose their importance of creativity. Every human being is individually a representative of God, his soul is the direct reflection of almighty God. We make our soul dirty with the vices of impure desires. Lord Buddha begins his philosophy with the grief of desire only. The protagonist talks with a stone in these words-
This here, he said playfully is a stone. It will, after a certain time, perhaps turn into soil, and from the soil, it will turn into a plant, animal, or human being. In the past, I would have said: ‘This stone is just a stone; it is worthless and it belongs to the world of the Maya. And yet, because it might be able to become a human being and a spirit in the cycle of transformation. (Hesse 157)
Hesse informs the world that each and every soul is a transformation from various dimensions of life whether you are Lord Buddha or Siddhartha, both are manifested from their previous births and deaths. So a soul has a different desire and traits gathered in the form of ‘Karma’ (deeds) from another one. One soul is completely different from another in aspects of its sin and virtue. So the aspirations and wishes must be different from one another. Here we get the essence of the journey of Hesse in the eminence of his writing that Siddhartha is in himself an institution and each and every individual must be Siddhartha for his own quest for the final destination. You are in yourself a complete institution. One does not need anyone else to lead with his own experiences of penance or pleasure.
A man has a most indigenous quest; a quest is the outcome of our sensual desires. We have to fulfill our desires or erase them. A quest develops a new quest, a desire multiplies into many desires as Lord Buddha says ‘Dukkha Samuday’ (a Collective form of grief). So we cannot fulfill a desire by providing materialist pleasure. We must follow the path of the soul by meditation, and meditation is an individual act. We have a fragmented mind that is the manifestation of our sensual activity. In fact, the quest must be neglected, avoided and abandoned in the favor of ‘Atman’ (soul), through experience and wisdom. The true quest is the quest of ‘Atman’. The protagonist Siddhartha talks about the quest for Atman and nothing else. He tries to show that to search one does mean to be one with one's soul. There is no other way to find out one without knowing one's soul. This is in true sense the quest for self.
8.The spiritual journey is the quest of duality
The thematic study of Siddhartha demonstrates a cyclic movement to our life. Siddhartha finds himself at a crossroad at every movement. He believes in God but cannot leave worldly affairs. Siddhartha hardly believes in the traditional path of spiritual journey. His own quest and conclusions attract him more than anything else. But how to leave the traditional teachers and scripts. He believes in pleasure but penance pays deeply in experiences.
Deduction and perceptions run together in his life. He left his house so his son followed the same path of roamers. Our life is a delusion to explain the duality of enlightenment of east and materialism of west. Hesse was deeply affected by the spirituality of India just as Christianity of Europe. The journey of Siddhartha in whole is a philosophical quest of the east and subtly handled by western mind. Self-realization of Siddhartha becomes possible only after intense, spiritual conflict and moral awareness. Siddhartha faces many obstacles of socio-economic needs and earns the self-actualization of ‘Atman’. The duality in his spiritual journey offers him priorities of spirit and nature, calm and quarrelsome, Buddhism and self-quests.
9.Conclusion
The illustrious literary explorer Herman Hesse visited India in 1919 with the perceptions of sacrosanct ancient literature and splendid mythology of Vedic period to examine the transcendental mysteries of the East. The renaissance along with industrialization and global civilization developed Europe in a rational mind and callous soul, physical bodies, and physical forces are fighting to conquer nature though they have been deteriorating virtually. The spiritual poverty is the direct result of western materialism. They know very little about the science of the soul. Materialistic culture gives birth to many psychosomatic diseases. Deficiency is synonymous with suicide, relation means domination and the hypocrisy is their lifestyle.
Herman Hesse has been pursuing the most modern sense of humanity in the duality of hut and hermit, spirit and nature, body and soul through his protagonist Siddhartha who quests for self like an empirical detective of the west in the immortal lab of oriental philosophy.
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