Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse

I was so enthralled by this book that I dropped it in the bath as I tried to reach for my wine without looking at what I was doing…

So often I end up lost in my head, my worries, my needs, or I get swept along by the things I need to do (work, see people, exercise, eat), that I forget to enjoy the present moment, the simple things. Siddhartha is a gentle reminder to slow down and look around, that we all struggle, and self-discovery is necessary for ‘enlightenment’.

It is a beautifully-crafted story - one of a common, flawed man whom it is easy to relate to - that seems as relevant now as when it was written. It shows that life is made up of different phases, and that - if unchecked - our ego’s desire for love, for power, for indulgence, for wealth, can lead us into places we might not ultimately want to find ourselves, especially as external stimuli will never make us contented.

One must find the source within one's own Self, one must possess it. Everything else was seeking -- a detour, an error.

It was a powerful story, one of those stories that left a feeling of warmth in my chest for days after I finished it. Part of its beauty lies in the eloquence of the writing, part in the very human Siddhartha, and part in it how it shows the interlinked nature of the world we live in and the fundamental value of each and every person on the planet.

He looked lovingly into the flowing water, into the transparent green, into the crystal lines of its wonderful design. He saw bright pearls rise from the depths, bubbles swimming on the mirror, sky-blue reflected in them. The river looked at him with a thousand eyes - green, white, crystal, sky-blue. [...] It seemed to him that whoever understood this river and its secrets would understand much more, many secrets, all secrets.

Blurb: Siddhartha, a handsome Brahmin’s son, is clever and well loved, yet increasingly dissatisfied with the life that is expected of him. Setting out on a spiritual journey to discover a higher state of being, his quest leads him through the temptations of luxury and wealth, the pleasures of sensual love, and the sinister threat of death-dealing snakes, until, eventually, he comes to a river. There a ferryman guides him towards his destiny, and to the ultimate meaning of existences. Inspired by Hermann Hesse’s profound regard for Indian transcendental philosophy and written in prose if graceful simplicity, Siddhartha is one of the most influential spiritual works of the twentieth century.