Siddhartha

by

Herman Hesse

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"Siddhartha" by Herman Hesse was originally published in 1951. It deals with the spiritual journey of self-discovery by a man named Siddhartha during the time of the Gautama Buddha. The word Siddhartha is made up of two words in Sanskrit language, siddha (achieved) + artha (what was searched for), which together means "he who has found meaning (of existence)" or "he who has attained his goals." In fact, the Buddha's own name, before his renunciation, was Siddhartha Gautama, Prince of Kapilavastu. In this book, the Buddha is referred to as "Gotama."