“Your soul is the whole world”

Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha

This week’s theme is “books”. The original idea was to write a book review, but in preparation for this article, I caught myself reflecting on two books that I have read in the past year. One of them is a classic masterpiece. It flows like music, written in a simple, lyrical style. It takes us back to the time of Gautam Buddha. The other one is the work of an organisational psychologist. It is a social science work, as non-fiction as it gets. It is packed with research and findings concerning our home and modern workplace. So what is the common theme?

Originality and Finding Your Own Way

Herman Hesse wrote Siddhartha in 1922. Siddhartha is the main character in the novel. In a very short and raw summary, Siddhartha’s journey is long and if there is an experience spectrum: he swings between two extremes. At first, he refutes all material possessions, joining the Samanas, a group of travelling ascetics. Growing dissatisfied by their teachings, he leaves the group and reaches a buzzing city where he embraces lust and material possessions, aiming to learn the language of love. In the end, he finds out that this is not his way. He reaches a river, where he finds enlightenment. 

The book flows like an ancient verse and is a strange mix of lyrical work and prose. Throughout the text, we read through Sidharta’s thoughts, experiences and emotions, and we see the dynamic, the changing person. Siddhartha is not judgemental, but he holds his opinions firmly, and self-illumination is the force that guides him. His purpose is clear.

Below I share a handful of separate moments: an album of emotions, thoughts and experiences.

Purpose is not behind things but in them

“Blue was blue, river was river, and if also in the blue and the river, in Siddhartha, the singular and divine lived hidden, so it was still that very divinity’s way and purpose, to be here yellow, here blue, there sky, there forest, and here Siddhartha. The purpose and the essential properties were not somewhere behind the things, they were in them, in everything.“

Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha

Being liked by others, but not finding joy in yourself

“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.“

Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha

Feeling disconnected to other people’s ideas

“He had started to suspect that his venerable father and his other teachers, that the wise Brahmans had already revealed to him the most and best of their wisdom, that they had already filled his expecting vessel with their richness, and the vessel was not full, the spirit was not content, the soul was not calm, the heart was not satisfied.“

Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha

The discomfort of an infavourable opinion of yourself

“I do not want to kill and dissect myself any longer, to find a secret behind the ruins.“

Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha

There is wisdom in lust

“Siddhartha felt how she taught him, how wise she was, how she controlled him, rejected him, lured him, and how after this first one there was to be a long, a well ordered, well tested sequence of kisses, everyone different from the others, he was still to receive.“

Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha

You cannot teach someone, and you cannot learn, what you are not ready to learn

“Would you actually believe that you had committed your foolish acts in order to spare your son from committing them too?“

Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha

That moment when you feel you have changed

“Slowly walking along, Siddhartha pondered. He realized that he was no youth any more, but had turned into a man. He realized that one thing had left him, as a snake is left by its old skin, that one thing no longer existed in him, which had accompanied him throughout his youth and used to be a part of him: the wish to have teachers and to listen to teachings. He had also left the last teacher who had appeared on his path, even him, the highest and wisest teacher, the most holy one, Buddha, he had left him, had to part with him, was not able to accept his teachings.“

Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha

The world is hardly black and white

“But the world itself, what exists around us and inside of us, is never one-sided. A person or an act is never entirely Sansara or entirely Nirvana, a person is never entirely holy or entirely sinful. It does really seem like this, because we are subject to deception, as if time was something real. Time is not real, Govinda, I have experienced this often and often again. And if time is not real, then the gap which seems to be between the world and the eternity, between suffering and blissfulness, between evil and good, is also a deception.”

Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha

There is knowledge that cannot be explained with language

“And — thus is my thought, oh exalted one, — nobody will obtain salvation by means of teachings! You will not be able to convey and say to anybody, oh venerable one, in words and through teachings what has happened to you in the hour of enlightenment!“

Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha

Do any of the above experiences resonate with you? How can you find your own wisdom? Is originality important in this journey and if so, how can we nurture it?

Adam Grant: Originals

Originality is the ability to think creatively and independently. In Siddhartha’s journey, his starting point was other’s people ideas, in particular, that of the Samanas who refute all material possessions. He morphed his life philosophy several times since then. In the end, his ability to think independently and creatively, to be original, was crucial. He achieved enlightenment and found his own way.

And here comes the second book. Siddhartha’s journey is philosophical, inquisitive, inward-looking. If the book does not resonate with you, there may be others that will. Adam Grant offers practical, modern tips on developing originality, a tool that can be crucial on your self-discovery journey. 

So if we are on a spiritual journey or in a situation where we need to boost our originality, how can we generate original ideas? 

You are not set in stone

It brings relief when you embrace that fact. Siddhartha changed his approach to life several times and in a diametrically opposed manner. If stuck with his initial belief, he would never have learned. Without learning, he could not have arrived at his own enlightenment. 

Go for quantity before quality

Call your imagination and let it guide you. Coming up with ideas and criticizing them to judge their worth are two separate processes and they should not be mixed. Adam Grant provides the following analogy: every three times a baseball player swings his bat, he only hits the ball once. The best way to hit more balls is to swing more!

Procrastination

Don’t blame yourself, we all procrastinate. There are advantages to embracing procrastination (when done strategically). When we take a break from a task before making complete progress, we are more likely to engage in divergent thinking and discover any elephants we might have been blind to.

Don’t calm down

 

There were so many infuriating situations where I tried to calm down. I find it very ineffective and it breeds resentment. Anger, frustration and anxiety are powerful and can be channelled to become positive experiences: ones that feed your enthusiasm and interest.

You’re not alone 

It can take one ally, to make you feel like you can take over the world.

Everyone’s self-discovery journey is unique and struggle is an integral part. If dissatisfied with the status quo, seek to be original. We would love to hear about your journey. Feel free to reach out!