Siddhartha

"It's the same with me as it is with you, my friend. I am not going anywhere. I am only on the way. I am making a pilgrimage." - Hermann Hesse, 1971

Welcome to the seeker’s journey.

The word Siddhartha means "he who has found meaning" in Sanskrit. 'Siddha' (िसद्ध) means achieved or accomplished, and 'artha' (अथर्) means goal (Campbell, 2007).

Siddhartha was also the name of the Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama) when he was still the Prince of Kapilvastu before his renunciation.

Although the book Siddhartha has many similarities with the Buddha and Siddhartha, the story of the protagonist is not the life story of the Buddha. The story of Siddhartha is about a young prince (Brahmin) who has a vision of attaining a higher understanding of the meaning of life and follows his path toward self-discovery. The setting of the mythical story by Hermann Hesse takes place during the time when the Buddha lived.

He abandons his life of comfort as a Brahmin’s son and becomes a wanderer. His faithful friend Govinda accompanies him. His goal is to find fulfillment, serenity, and understanding. On this journey, he lives as an Ascetic, meets Gotama (the Gautama Buddha), meets the sensuous Kamala, who teaches him about love, and works with the merchant Kamaswami. But the constraints of the Ascetic doctrine, worldly pleasures, property, and possessions leave him empty and he decides to continue on his journey to find the true meaning of life.