Are You Seeking Or Are You Finding?

"As a result of your perpetual state of seeking, you cannot find," Siddhartha said to his monk friend, Govinda.

"How is that?" asked Govinda.

"When someone is seeking," said Siddhartha, "it happens quite easily that he only sees the thing that he is seeking; that he is unable to find anything, unable to absorb anything, because he has a goal, because he is obsessed with his goal. Seeking means: to have a goal; but finding means: to be free, to be receptive, to have no goal. You, O worthy one, are perhaps indeed a seeker, for in striving towards your goal, you do not see many things that are under your nose."

This passage is from the novel Siddhartha, by Hermann Hess; a beautiful little book about a soul's long quest in search of the ultimate answer to the enigma of man's role on earth.

The Nation magazine recommends that this book "should be read slowly and with savor, preferably during the lonely hours of the night."

I read it a long time ago, and a student of mine gave me a new copy as a gift a few months ago. If you would like my copy, let me know and I'll gift it to you.