Siddhartha (1922) by Hermann Hesse has been around for a while, which is exactly why it didn’t grab my attention. I sometimes have this subtle ignorance, thinking that life was simpler in the past and that people from back then wouldn’t understand our current struggles. While there’s some truth to that, it’s fascinating to realize that certain core issues remain constant for us as humans. Some things don’t change much over the years, or if they do, they do so very slowly.
The book resonated with me deeply, reminding me once again that it’s not our era or technology that defines us, but our humanness.
Here are three things I learned from reading Siddhartha:
1. We never arrive in life.
Siddhartha is searching for the ultimate truth in life, the teaching he can live by, and essentially the purpose of life. And he finds it. Multiple times. Accompanying him on his search for truth, I was incredibly convinced by his insights. And every time, I expected a happy ending, that he would live in peace with his newly achieved insights. There was happiness, but no ending. His insights transform him, but they always lead him to new challenges and eventually new truths. Finding truth isn’t the end, it’s the start, the piece of a puzzle. And this is something that I find to be very true in my own life. I sometimes cling to things that I want to be the truth and the end of my search, but they are merely the start of something new.
2. True wisdom cannot be taught.
This is one of Siddhartha’s key findings. He had dedicated big parts of his life to learning about life’s wisdom and eventually came to the conclusion that teachings are just teachings and words are just words. Words can lead you to places, but true wisdom can only be found by experiencing it. And that’s equally true with the small things in life. Studying a book on dancing will never teach you how it feels to move your body.
3. It’s okay to let go.
Multiple times, Siddhartha is leaving everything behind, seemingly without any struggles. Only when he is left by his son, he learns what it means to let go. Eventually, he finds his peace and grows from it. But he had to go through losing his son first. Letting go is hard, especially in a time when it’s easy to stay in touch with people. But not all people in your life are supposed to stay there. Some just pass by, teach you one thing or another, and then move on. It’s not sad, it’s just how life goes, how the summer turns into the winter, and how every day is a new opportunity. It’s a new opportunity that emerges from the death of the previous day.
These are the things I’ve learned, and they might say more about myself than about the book. But sometimes we need to be reminded of the things that we already know deep within us.