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Sidhartha by Herman Hesse

The spiritual journey of a young Brahman boy, his reluctance to accept a singular path, life , or school of thought, his awakening, enlightening, fall, despair and final lesson.

Ever since the time when Human Beings became conscious of our own existence in this cold cruel world, we have been in this everlasting odyssey of a spiritual journey. One could say it is an unavoidable part of the The Human Experience. We Humans believe in things we have no material proof of. Now that statement is not only the case for God or the divine, but also for love, loyalty, honor and trust. Simply put, if we only believe in things which we have material proof of then when we throw out God we also have throw all our values too; Or that is my understanding. 

Now our young Brahmin boy Siddhartha's journey is as complicated and eventful as any other human. But every inch of the journey is presented masterfully for edification. The prose is beautiful and dream like. So is the story. It could well be dismissed off for a fever dream. Even though Siddhartha is presented to be this resourceful, determined and infallible person, we come to realize soon enough that his trials and tribulations are parallel to that of a your average person. He is on this unquenchable quest towards seeking the best moral philosophy. On his way we get to meet the other Siddhartha i.e. Gautama Buddha, which is a beautiful piece of foreshadowing, only evident after you complete the story and acquires the benefit of hindsight.  

Author being a German have tried his best to grapple with the some of the most sophisticated philosophies of the east: Brahmanism and Buddhism; And several other philosophical thoughts which finds it's place in the eastern spirituality, roughly speaking. 

The ending of the book was pretty and in sync with the path the story had taken from the beginning. It is quite thought provoking. People following any religion or no religion at all, can read this book despite their beliefs. Consider it as a thought experiment or a different outlook towards spirituality. I for one is not in total conformity with the end philosophy or place where the book reaches spiritually. But still it showed me many nuances to ideas which were familiar but overlooked or ideas which were initially strange to me.

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