Siddhartha; a novel was written by “Herman Hesse”. The novel is to hand out with the spiritual journey of self-discovery of a man named “Siddhartha” during the time of the Gautama Buddha. It is the ninth novel of Herman Hesse which is written in German with simple and lyrical styles. It was published in the U.S in 1951 and became very influential during the 1960s. It is translated by Hilda Rosner in 1951. 

            Siddhartha starts out a bit arrogant and annoying making him highly unrelatable, but on his journey, he discovers his imperfections, and I really grew to like his character. 

            His is journey starts as a Brahmin but he quickly decides to leave his family to become a Samana which is a traveling ascetic. Here he learns three great skills. To think, wait, and fast. Next, he meets the Buddha where he learns that nothing can be taught without learning it for oneself.

            Moreover, he decided to sit and learn something from Gotama, but Siddhartha just thought that enlightenment is just achieved by speech; then he decided to go. 

            While he continued his journey he met a beautiful woman in a town. The woman, whose name is Kamala, is rich enough and beautiful too and Siddhartha falls in her love. When she asks him about his wealth, he replies, I can wait, I can think, and I can fast and nothing else.

            But because Kamala wants gifts and money, for which Siddhartha gets a job in the town. After all he gets Kamala love, money, and everything that he needs, and he starts gambling and other dirty things. Among these all, one day he realizes that these things all are nonsense, and he leaves his goal behind. From there he leaves the town and continues his journey further.

            He meets with a ferryman near a river. He starts learning the language of water, in the river. After years, Kamala returns to him with his son, years gone by and he begins to understand the world around him, without any teacher, without any book. He does not do anything to interfere with his goal because he knows his goal will be achieved by him one day. 

            This book is mostly about his journey to find peace, He has to pick himself up from his lowest moment and start over, except he isn’t really starting over because he has learned something from every experience in his life that has brought him to this dark place. It’s a beautiful reminder that no time is wasted and that there’s no such thing as moving backward in life. 

            I recommend this book to anyone who has been on a journey for themselves. To read about each stage of his life, what he learned, and how he found inner peace was really profound. It showed me that there are no wrong paths in life, and each road brings you where you are supposed to be. I really loved reading this book and it is full of wisdom about enlightenment.


By: Rahmdil Anwar Baluch 

Turbat Kech