Siddhartha

During his visit to Chicago, my brother gave me two books to imbibe and ponder over- The Stranger by Albert Camus and Siddhartha by Herrman Hesse. Both were absolutely profound and the best part (or worst depending on how you take it) is the scope of these works. The Stranger talks about absurdity of life, and facing death. I was more enamored by Siddhartha. I hear Siddhartha is text book material for high school kids in the US. Which is very surprising because in my mind, the content is difficult to grasp for teenagers. Maybe 25-30 is a good age for a first time reading. Im sure I will need to keep revisiting the book as I age. Here are a couple favorite passages from the book. I wish I could fully understand the essence. But understanding is not enough if one is unable to realize from within or act on it....
1. Indeed his soul was not with trade. The business was good enough to provide him with the money for Kamala, and it earned him much more than he needed. Besides from this, Siddhartha's interest and curiosity was only concernd with the people, whose businesses, crafts, worries, pleasures, and acts of foolishness used to be as alien and distant to him as the moon. However easily he succeeded in talking to all of them, in learning from all of them, he was still aware that there was something which separated him from them and this separating factor was him being a Samana. He saw mankind going through life in a childlike manner, which he loved and also despised at the same time. He saw them toiling, saw them suffering, and becoming gray for the sake of things which seemed to him to be entirely unworthy of this price, for money, for little pleasures, for being slightly honoured, he saw them scolding and insulting each other, he saw them complaining about pain at which a Samana would only smile, and suffering because of deprivations which a Samana would not feel.

2. Siddhartha bent down, picked up a stone from the ground, and weighed it in his hand. "This here," he said playing with it, "is a stone, and will, after a certain time, perhaps turn into soil, and will turn from soil into a plant or animal or human being. In the past, I would have said: This stone is just a stone, it is worthless, it belongs to the world of the Maja; but because it might be able to become also a human being and a spirit in the cycle of transformations, therefore I also grant it importance. Thus, I would perhaps have thought in the past. But today I think: this stone is a stone, it is also animal, it is also god, it is also Buddha, I do not venerate and love it because it could turn into this or that, but rather because it is already and always everything— and it is this very fact, that it is a stone, that it appears to me now and today as a stone, this is why I love it and see worth and purpose in each of its veins and cavities, in the yellow, in the gray, in the hardness, in the sound it makes when I knock at it, in the dryness or wetness of its surface. There are stones which feel like oil or soap, and others like leaves, others like sand, and every one is special and prays the Om in its own way, each one is Brahman, but simultaneously and just as much it is a stone, is oily or juicy, and this is this very fact which I like and regard as wonderful and worthy of worship.—But let me speak no more of this. The words are not good for the secret meaning, everything always becomes a bit different, as soon as it is put into words, gets distorted a bit, a bit silly—yes, and this is also very good, and I like it a lot, I also very much agree with this, that this what is one man's treasure and wisdom always sounds like foolishness to another person."

Here is a link to a free online copy http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2500/2500-h/2500-h.htm#2H_4_0014

Interior with Girl at the Clavier

Of late, art and music have begun to assume a greater importance in my life.

Creation and appreciation of art are critical to the progression of the human intellect. With this lofty ideal, I enrolled for oil painting lessons in the Evanston Art Center last summer. During the final few lessons, one is expected to copy a master from a big Art book of acclaimed paintings. As I was browsing through pages of Van Gohs, Pollocks and other big names I had never heard of, one painting by Vilhelm Hammershoi caught my eyes- Interior with girl at the Clavier (do google for this image). Now, I love the piano and believe that some of the most beautifully complicated pieces are written for the piano. The painting is a serene composition centering a woman playing the piano in a room. Very realistic and its almost like you are behind her in the room listening to music. A table (ceramic plates and clean white table cloth) is placed between the observer and the subject and this gives a sense of perspective. Interestingly enough, I found the backdrop of the painting most captivating. The light (source on top left is not revealed) suffuses the wall with dabs of purple and blue (making the painting almost impressionist) and gradually fades away as we reach the right side. Notice the play of light on the picture frames, the woman's neck and lamp...Without second thoughts, I asked my instructor if I could paint this in 4 classes (3 hrs each). He said it would take him about 15-20 hrs. I insisted on moving ahead and started putting brush on canvas sometime in May/June. During mid October, I was in a frenzy to finish it before and almost got tired of making revisions and adding layers and layers of paint. Till date I haven't had a chance to complete it (table cloth fold running right through the plate!). Presenting my girl at the clavier and hoping I will be able to revisit her at some point...