Growth Of Hindu Spirituality In The West

Nobel laureate Hermann Hesse’s lyrical novel Siddhartha tells the tale of a young man (Siddhartha), his companion (Govinda) and the emptiness that Siddhartha feels within himself. Siddhartha goes in search of the meaning of life, discovers physical pleasures through a courtesan (Kamala) and takes a new path shown by a ferryman (Vasudeva). Below, we present an imaginary conversation between a modern-day Siddhartha and a chic Govinda:

- Vaisakh E. Hari

“Can you believe this traffic?”

“I know. We have been stuck, for like an hour. Just look at that cyclist gliding lazily through the red signal. So happy, so blissful. What wouldn’t I do to give all this up! No car, no home, no family, nothing. Wouldn’t you like that, Govinda?”

“What is wrong with you, Siddhartha? You have been depressed for a while now.”

“It is just Kamala, man. We have been fighting a lot lately. And Hermann, that tyrant who calls himself my father, is refusing to pay for my film school. So what if I dropped out after three years of college. I did find my true calling. I feel like a rare songbird being starved to death in a cage.”

“Mr Hesse is a scary man. And it is totally unfair that he asked you to take a student loan if you wanted to study cinematography. The parents nowadays.”

“I just want to leave it all and go off to the Himalayas. Find myself a guru and just leave it all be.”