Volume 10 Issue 7 July, 2019
In the times of gloom of World War II and its out comes, in a world torn a part and looking for meaning, Herman Hesse published his novel–‘Siddhartha’. The author teases pertinent questions about meaning of life ,inspired by his own depression and personal loss. How can human discontent be overcome? Does wisdom lie within, or around us?
Siddhartha, despite being are sounding ‘success’ (and knowing it), feels incomplete–like the nagging feeling of having forgotten something, without knowing what. He has an enlightening encounter with the Buddha himself, where he realises that wisdom and enlightenment cannot be taught, it must be experienced by oneself–that is his ironic epiphany. The book itself takes the stance that it does not hold all the answers. It asks some questions that we all come up with, and may help answer some, based on the reader’s perception. The same as life–what we interpret about it is based on perception. And we run into trouble when our perceptions become skewed to pathological degrees for various reasons. Thus, is the price for our consciousness–cognitive biases and distortions. It becomes really easy to get stuck in one’s own mind, misinterpreting things to disastrous consequences, from affecting our lives from little ways, to deciding to end life altogether.
As a life of comfort, hedonism and unthinking takes over, he forgets all about his hunger, until his general dissatisfaction at life grows and grows to culminate in an epic existential crisis. At this point, the novel takes a hard turn into dark territory. As a man who can no longer see the light at the end of the tunnel, he gives up hope and at tempts to take his own life. He stops himself when he has an epiphany from observing the very river in which he almost drowned himself. He goes on to enlighten himself with the help of a serene fisherman, living a life of non-judgment, patience and simplicity. He learns to trust that the answers will come when they do, and no amount of worrying or wanting will make them come any faster. Siddharth are minds us that such conditions as dissatisfaction, demoralization and existential crises can be fall anyone, regardless of success or social standing. This is a crucial message because often, strong but erroneous connections are made between being well off (or not) and being satisfied and content. Its relatability is also a stark reminder that such conditions can be fall anyone, regardless of character and context. The commonality also serves to remind that while such conditions are to be taken extremely seriously, they are simultaneously common enough to invoke a sense of solidarity and community. No one is alone in their struggles, and help is always within reach, whether or not it seems to be.
In a time when science is attempting to understand such multi-faceted issues as depression and suicide, this novel is are minder that the answer is indeed complex, and that until we unravel the mystery (and surely even after), it is important to be compassionate to those who are vulnerable. Scientist or not, trying to solve human problems require not only a deep understanding of the issue, but also of those suffering from it. Human problems require human solutions, and a good understanding of the human condition requires not only the sciences, but lessons from art and the humanities, which usually do a much better job of describing you.
SHRUTHI SATHEESH KUMAR 9thTerm MBBS Student, Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute
