Video on Hermann Hesse

[Paul Rezendes]

Hi All,

Paulette and I watched this video and found it very interesting. It’s a little over half an hour. Some of you might enjoy it. 

Paul and Paulette

[Dan Kilpatrick]

Paul, thanks. I read a lot his works as a teenager, really affected my view on life. And he might have had a connection with Ouspensky.

I'll take a look when there's time.

-Dan

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Diehard Group" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to diehard-grou...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/diehard-group/B904603D-C92E-443D-A64F-90CE8CC026D4%40paulrezendes.com.

[Paul Rezendes]

Dan,

Yes, Hesse had an effect on my life as well as Paulette’s. So when we saw the video, we started watching it thinking we were never going to make it through, but it held our attention. The part about nature really landed for me. (Btw...We ignored the guy’s advertisement at the end.)

Paul

On Feb 14, 2026, at 7:20 PM, Dan Kilpatrick <kilp...@gmail.com> wrote:

Paul, thanks. I read a lot his works as a teenager, really affected my view on life. And he might have had a connection with Ouspensky.

I'll take a look when there's time.

-Dan

On Sat, Feb 14, 2026, 7:15 PM Paul Rezendes <pho...@paulrezendes.com> wrote:

Hi All,

Paulette and I watched this video and found it very interesting. It’s a little over half an hour. Some of you might enjoy it. 

Paul and Paulette

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Diehard Group" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to diehard-grou...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/diehard-group/B904603D-C92E-443D-A64F-90CE8CC026D4%40paulrezendes.com.

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Diehard Group" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to diehard-grou...@googlegroups.com.

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/diehard-group/CAGgGDoC8rfUQ-v_WzhReMwj-jGzntxa7PfjS9_Ctt4%3DGUEtMCg%40mail.gmail.com.
<maxresdefault.jpg><maxresdefault.jpg>

[Rani Madhavapeddi]

Paul,

He wrote the book Sidhartha which was made into a movie. A friend of Schopenhauer through him he got introduced to Upanishad and Vedanta, which says that all creation is Consciousness itself, the tree the stone, the birds the bees the trees. That’s why before eating there is a gratitude prayer to thanks the food, the producer of the food. In fact everything is consecrated to Consciousness as a way of life.

This is what AI said I thought you may be interested. 

In the final chapters of 

, the influence of Vedanta—specifically Advaita Vedanta (non-dualism)—supersedes the Buddhist framework that initially shapes the story.

The ending reflects several core Vedantic tenets:

• Atman and Brahman (Oneness): Siddhartha’s ultimate realization is the "timeless unity of all things." In Vedanta, the individual soul (Atman) is identical to the universal reality (Brahman). When Siddhartha looks into the river and hears all its voices as the single syllable "Om," he is experiencing this universal oneness.
• The Illusion of Time (Maya): A central Vedantic theme at the end is that time is an illusion. Siddhartha tells Govinda that the "world is not slowly moving along a long path to perfection... it is perfect at every moment." This contrasts with the Buddhist concept of a linear path toward a distant Nirvana; instead, it aligns with the Vedantic view that the divine is already present in the here and now.
• The Reconciliation of Opposites: In the final scene, Siddhartha explains that for every "true" statement, its opposite is also true. This reflects the Vedantic push to transcend dualities (like good/evil or spirit/matter) to see the single reality underlying them.
• Direct Experience over Doctrine: Siddhartha tells Govinda that "wisdom cannot be communicated." His enlightenment comes not through a teacher’s words, but through the river and a kissshared with Govinda, illustrating the Vedantic focus on Anubhava(direct, personal experience of the Self). 

Hesse himself noted that while the book's setting is Buddhist, its spirit is deeply Vedantic and Christian-individualist.

Love peace and joy 

Rani Madhavapeddi Patel

On Feb 14, 2026, at 5:28 PM, Paul Rezendes <pho...@paulrezendes.com> wrote:

Dan,

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/diehard-group/C8B480A8-1347-4123-9F7E-636D8E5CA01E%40paulrezendes.com.

[Paul Rezendes]

Rani,

Thanks, not how I see it, but that's OK.

Paul

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/diehard-group/10950775-8397-41FB-8CBA-79C665458A28%40gmail.com.

[Dan Kilpatrick]

Thanks Paul. One of his books that stood out to me was Demian. It had that quality of exploring oneself as a true human being, with all of its experiencing. But all of it was an introduction to something that somehow was drawing me in without my knowing it. 

-Dan

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/diehard-group/18B480B5-DA10-45E3-B3B2-8E3C311F712A%40paulrezendes.com.

[Paul Rezendes]

Dan,

What really resonated for me in the little bio on Hesse was how he learned from nature. That sure was my path... no reading about interconnectedness in a book. I was observing it in an intimate way as I became intimate with the natural environment around me.

🕊

Paul

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/diehard-group/CAGgGDoDjGPuH4CZDpkgc4UUwo%3DqQ4rLacSan_wDuUobTFV-FSw%40mail.gmail.com.

[Dan Kilpatrick]

Thanks Paul, looking forward to it. The book Demian had some real impact on me in more than one way. But another time....  -Dan

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/diehard-group/0C83A917-6FF8-4423-ABF7-4E9A14467B27%40paulrezendes.com.