Hermann Hesse

Siddhartha an Indian Tale Hermann Hesse

Publisher Marketing: In the shade of the house, in the sunshine of the riverbank near the boats, in the shade of the Sal-wood forest, in the shade of the fig tree is where Siddhartha grew up, the handsome son of the Brahman, the young falcon, together with his friend Govinda, son of a Brahman. The sun tanned his light shoulders by the banks of the river when bathing, performing the sacred ablutions, the sacred offerings. In the mango grove, shade poured into his black eyes, when playing as a boy, when his mother sang, when the sacred offerings were made, when his father, the scholar, taught him, when the wise men talked. For a long time, Siddhartha had been partaking in the discussions of the wise men, practising debate with Govinda, practising with Govinda the art of reflection, the service of meditation. He already knew how to speak the Om silently, the word of words, to speak it silently into himself while inhaling, to speak it silently out of himself while exhaling, with all the concentration of his soul, the forehead surrounded by the glow of the clear-thinking spirit. He already knew to feel Atman in the depths of his being, indestructible, one with the universe. Joy leapt in his father's heart for his son who was quick to learn, thirsty for knowledge; he saw him growing up to become great wise man and priest, a prince among the Brahmans. Contributor Bio:  Hesse, Hermann Nobel Prize-winner Hermann Hesse was a German-Swiss poet, novelist and painter who is best-known for his seminal novels Siddhartha, Steppenwolf, and The Glass Bead Game. A child of missionaries, Hesse's writings are heavily influenced by Eastern mysticism, spirituality and the search for self-knowledge, themes that resonated with the hippie culture of the 1960s and which contributed to a resurgence in interest for Hesse's work following his death in 1962.