Book : Siddartha

"When someone is seeking,” said Siddartha, “It happens quite easily that he only sees the thing that he is seeking; that he is unable to find anything, unable to absorb anything, because he is only thinking of the thing he is seeking, because he has a goal, because he is obsessed with his goal. Seeking means: to have a goal; but finding means: to be free, to be receptive, to have no goal. You, o worthy one, are perhaps indeed a seeker, for in striving towards your goal, you do not see many things that are under your nose.”

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A couple of months before, I borrowed a book from my boss called Siddharta. It is a 1922 fiction on spiritual journey of a man called Siddharta. At first I thought the book was a semi-autobioghraphy of Buddha - because Buddha's real name was Siddharta Gautama Buddha (*if I'm not mistaken), but it wasn't. I remember my boss said to me, "Don't worry, it's not a religious book, it won't turn you into a Buddhist" :D

In Sanskrit, Siddharta means "Siddha" - achieve + "Artha" - what was searched for, so by far, the main character's name meant the 'man that achieve what he was searched for'. There are many opinions regarding why the writer chose the name Siddharta for the main character's name - none really explain the exact reason why, they just gave vague ideas. It is confusing, really - because there was a part in the story when the character met Buddha in his self-discovery journey. How can Siddharta met the real Siddharta?

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Among around 20 books I read since January, this book deserve to be mentioned. Not because of its splotchy brownish paper that looks so old it that reminds me of my dad's book or because of some German dude wrote a fiction that went around the topic of 'soul searching' in Buddha's timeline - with the name of 'Siddharta'. When I read a book, I picture the writer - so in case I imagine the German trying to think like a wandering beggar to earn spiritual enlightenment - which for me is interestingly odd. 

The book was written in a simple way, direct and easy to understand. I love the book, too bad it was only borrowed from my boss and I had to return it back. Definitely going to find the book for my keeping.

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"It taught him how to listen -- how to listen with a quiet heart and a waiting soul, open soul, without passion, without desire, without judgment, without opinion.” 

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Short summary : It's about a religious young man trying to find the meaning of life, existence and God. He was surrounded by all the religious men since he was small and even good at all the lessons taught by all the teachers, but he felt something is not fully explained, so he set on a soul-searching journey. On his way, he met Buddha - but he refused to be taught by another teacher. He met Kamala, the woman that taught about life and love, he lost his faith and drowned in desires (lust, money, food). When he noticed how lost he was at that point in his life, he set on another journey to enlightenment. 

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“Wisdom cannot be imparted. Wisdom that a wise man attempts to impart always sounds like foolishness to someone else. Knowledge can be communicated, but not wisdom. One can find it, live it, do wonders through it, but one cannot communicate and teach it.”

Daww, I just love the book.
It talks to my soul about how to look through different perception.
Fin.