Du Magazine. Hundert Jahre Hermann Hesse

In Search of the Inner Eye

by Eva Zimmerman

In 1922 the first edition of Siddhartha – an Indian Poem was published. It became one of the most read works of Hermann Hesse, and to this day it plays a major role in his continued fame while it also has a certain cult status where self-awareness and worldly wisdom is concerned. The subject and focus of the book support this view, for Hesse’s aim was nothing less than to “get to the bottom of what all confessions and all human forms of piety have in common, what stands above all national differences, for what can be believed and venerated by every race and each individual”. The depiction of Siddhartha’s journey through life is clearly to be understood as an alternative life of a saint: driven by the desire for the greatest wisdom, his journey goes through a number of phases until he reaches his goal at the end and becomes an Enlightened One. Hesse himself repeatedly described it as an “Indian legend”. Yet, the book is not simply about religious and philosophical revelations. It is also about inner and external experiences and knowledge. Only together can they lead to what Hesse believed to be wisdom, even if it is a rather difficult idea to describe in words.