Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse is about a man's journey in search of inner peace and happiness. He decides first of all to try to find peace by following the Samanas, holy men. So seek happiness through material things and bodily pleasures. After this path fails to provide him with the peace he seeks, he follows Buddha but soon realizes that Buddha's teaching will not lead him to his goal. Siddhartha finally finds peace when Vasudeva, the ferryman, teaches him to listen to the river. Hermann Hesse was a German author and poet born in 1877. Both his parents and grandparents were missionaries. His grandparents were missionaries in China and India, so his passion for oriental and Indian culture began. “Since I was a child I have breathed and absorbed the spiritual side of India as deeply as Christianity” (Ziolkowski 147). His parents' piety had a great impact on him as did his exposure to Eastern culture (Baumer 23). This fascination led him to study oriental philosophies and literatures. From 1911 to 1912 he traveled to India "in search of peace and timelessness beyond the world of Western man" (Archie 5). However, he felt disappointment because the India that had fascinated him for so long was now "too desecrated by commercial efficiency" (Baumer 44). He soon realized that “the peace he sought and the India he sought could not be reached by ship or train” (Baumer 44). There were some benefits that came from his trip to India, though: on this trip he had the inspiration for Siddhartha. Hesse uses triadic rhythm to tell the story of Siddhartha (Ziolsowski 54). Siddhartha goes through three phases. The first is... the center of the card... is the path of the Buddha, but even this path fails to lead him to the secret of inner peace. In a last attempt to reach the third level and achieve peace, Siddhartha goes to the river to learn its secrets. Learning the secrets that the river holds in its depths, Siddhartha finally reaches the level of totality (Ziolkowski 58).Works CitedArchie, John G. "Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha: An Open Source Reader" January, 2006. Web April 27, 2025.http: //philosophy.lander.edu/oriental/siddhartha-1.pdfBaumer, Franz. Hermann Hesse. New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., 1970.Field, G. W. Hermann Hesse. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1970. Hesse, Herman. Siddhartha. Dover Publications, 1998. Ziolkowski, Theodore. The novels of Hermann Hesse: a study in themes and structure. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1965.