Siddhartha
by Herman Hesse
Siddhartha is the story of a man's journey to find spiritual enlightenment and peace. Born into a wealthy family in ancient India, from a young age Siddhartha feels unsatisfied with the teachings and rituals of his religion. He decides to leave his privileged life behind to become a wandering ascetic searching for truth.
Siddhartha and his friend Govinda join a group of self-denying samana monks who deprive themselves and practice extreme meditation and self-mortification. Though dedicating himself completely to this harsh lifestyle for years, he ultimately realizes that he has not attained true wisdom or inner peace.
Abandoning the samanas and his friend Govinda, Siddhartha decides he must forge his own path. He ends up living among ordinary people, experiencing all the physical and sensual pleasures of the secular world - money, relationships, vices. But again, this does not provide the enlightenment he seeks.
It is only later in life, when Siddhartha hears the cosmic truths in the simple sounds of a river, that he begins to achieve the harmonious illumination he had long been searching for. He realizes that enlightenment is not found through any specific path, lifestyle or teaching - but through living life fully and with presence.
Through Siddhartha's meandering journey, Hesse conveys that finding one's spiritual truth requires genuine experience and inner searching, not just adherence to any particular religion or doctrine. True wisdom comes from within, not without.
I liked the last paragraph. very much needed to be clarified.
Timeless book. Increasingly relevant in our times.