Step inside Siddhartha

The film without the cuts. And the book itself.

Wisdom cannot be passed on.

9:41

The Cast

Siddhartha

Main · Brahman family

A beloved Brahman’s son whose calm face hides a thirst no teacher can fill.

Locations

Brahman home and town

town

A loved and orderly home whose rituals cannot quiet the son who has everything.

Passage

Adored by all, Siddhartha faces the sharper torment of feeling empty within.

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The Author’s Pen

Loved by All, Joyless Within

Siddhartha was thus loved by everyone. He was a source of joy for everybody, he was a delight for them all.

But he, Siddhartha, was not a source of joy for himself, he found no delight in himself. Walking the rosy paths of the fig tree garden, sitting in the bluish shade of the grove of contemplation, washing his limbs daily in the bath of repentance, sacrificing in the dim shade of the mango forest, his gestures of perfect decency, everyone’s love and joy, he still lacked all joy in his heart.

Reading

The gap between how Siddhartha looks to others and how he feels inside is the whole problem in miniature. Everyone around him, his family, his community, finds pleasure just in his presence, and he does all the right things: the ritual washing, the sacrifices, the graceful conduct expected of a Brahmin's son. Yet none of it reaches him. He can produce a life that delights other people while feeling nothing himself, and that emptiness, not any hardship, is what will drive him to leave everything behind.

World Index

The Plot

Siddhartha leaves his father's houseThree years with the Samanas, then GotamaSiddhartha admires Gotama - and refuses his teachingKamala and Kamaswami teach Siddhartha the world's pleasuresSiddhartha wakes over the river and abandons the city lifeSiddhartha becomes a ferryman and learns from the riverSiddhartha's son flees back to the cityVasudeva completes his learning and walks into the forestGovinda kisses Siddhartha's forehead and sees everything

The Cast

SiddharthaGovindaGotamaKamalaVasudevaSiddhartha's sonKamaswamiSiddhartha's fatherThe elder SamanaSiddhartha's motherAnathapindika

Locations

Brahman home and townForest of the SamanasJetavana groveKamala’s gardenSavathiThe cityThe river and ferryVasudeva’s hut

Objects of Note

FerryboatGotama’s yellow robe and alms bowlSiddhartha’s rich garments and shoesSongbird in the golden cage

Core Concepts

Every path teaches and failsFathers and sons repeat the wound of departureOm gathers opposites into onenessReverence can require refusalWisdom must be lived, not taughtWorldliness is not the opposite of awakening

The Author's Pen

The Pristine Source WithinStanding And WaitingGovinda Joins SiddharthaEmptying the SelfEscape From the SelfThe Rumour of BuddhaThe Buddha's PeaceThe Path From SufferingDeparting From All TeachingsBe My Own StudentSeeing the World AnewThe Lady in the Sedan ChairThe Price of KamalaWhat Might You DoKamaswami Takes Him InThe Merchant's GameLearning From KamalaThe Disease of Rich PeopleThe Dead BirdOm Awakens SiddharthaLearning to Listen From the RiverKamala Reveals His SonYou Have Found ItA Fool On Account Of LoveFriendly PatienceYouth Wants To Join YouthThe River's Single WordBathing the Wound in the RiverWisdom Cannot Be Passed On

Plot point 01

Siddhartha leaves his father's house

A beloved son in a Brahmin household finds that love and learning cannot answer the one question burning inside him, and he leaves.

Objects of Note

Songbird in the golden cage

A caged bird set loose the day Siddhartha walks away from everything he owned.

The Cast

Govinda

Main · Brahman seekers

Siddhartha’s faithful shadow, always seeking a teacher to follow.

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Siddhartha

Hermann Hesse

The cast, locations, objects of note, core concepts, and selected passages in the Author’s Pen - at your own pace.

One of 127 classics in the Literah library

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