Hermann Hesse 
Siddhartha 

Siddhartha – Hermann Hesse – Siddhartha By Hermann Hesse is one of the most influential spiritual works of the twentieth century. And, most famous examples of the West”s fascination with Indian culture & particularly Buddhistic philosophy. Hermann Hesse tells the story of Siddhartha, a Brahmin on a quest for self-discovery’. As boy follows his heart and goes through various lives to finally understand what it means to be enlightened. He experiences life as a pious brahmin, a Samana, a rich merchant, a lover and an ordinary ferryman, to a father. Neither a practitioner nor a devotee, neither meditating nor reciting, Siddhartha comes to blend in with the world, resonating with the rhythms of nature, bending the reader’s ear down to hear answers from the river.This classic text gives the reader insight into various stages of growth in life that many people can connect with on different levels.

About the author

Hermann Hesse was a German-Swiss poet, novelist, and painter. In 1946, he received the Nobel Prize for Literature. His best known works include Steppenwolf, Siddhartha, and The Glass Bead Game (also known as Magister Ludi) which explore an individual’s search for spirituality outside society.

In his time, Hesse was a popular and influential author in the German-speaking world; worldwide fame only came later. Hesse’s first great novel, Peter Camenzind, was received enthusiastically by young Germans desiring a different and more ‘natural’ way of life at the time of great economic and technological progress in the country.

Throughout Germany, many schools are named after him. In 1964, the Calwer Hermann-Hesse-Preis was founded, which is awarded every two years, alternately to a German-language literary journal or to the translator of Hesse’s work to a foreign language. There is also a Hermann Hesse prize associated with the city of Karlsruhe, Germany.