Siddhartha - Herman Hesse

“But the world itself, that which exists around us and inside us, is never unilateral. Never is a man or a deed wholly samsara or wholly nirvana, never is a person entirely saintly or entire sinful… And if time is not real, then the span that seems to lie between world and eternity, between suffering and bliss, between evil and good, also is an illusion.” (pg. 112)

This quote is a very essential part of the book because it focuses on the main idea of the book: Enlightenment. The books message is basically that if you let go of all the suffering in the world, you are able to achieve Nirvana. Siddhartha, the protagonist in the book, goes out on a journey to achieve Nirvana. When Siddhartha’s childhood friend, Govinda came to visit him, he asked Siddhartha several questions. He no longer understood how a person could possible obtain Enlightenment. He questions whether a person would ever be able to let go of all of the suffering in the world. Govinda had failed to reach Nirvana after several years of hard meditation and sacrifice. Siddhartha explained to Govinda that life cannot be completely perfect, it is impossible to become free of the illusion.

I chose this particular passage from the book because I felt I related to this message. From my interpretation of the quote, Siddhartha tries to tell Govinda that people aren’t always innocent and they’re not always bad as well. From my point of view, its saying that you can’t lose your faith in people due to the way other acts. Siddhartha also mentions that certain things take time just as there is “between world and eternity.” Everything has its time and place and if it didn’t then everything existing would all be an illusion. The quote also informs the reader to keep a sense of alert of the people around you because a person that you think you know and trust well may not be that kind of person at all. I also think this passage also refers to the Ying-Yang symbol which represents that good and evil go hand-in-hand. Like the Ying-Yang symbol, no person on Earth is “entirely saintly or entire sinful.”