Siddartha

Yes am talking about the book by Herman Hesse. The book is a marvel. I found the book in one of the libraries in NJ. They were selling it for 50 cents. Such a throwaway deal. The book is a marvel. It just got me absorbed so much. Inspite of my hectic 60 hour weeks I found time to complete this book. The book reflected whatever I had strongly believed all thro' my life. Some of my ideologies were more or less similar to that of the character Siddartha. I never believed in any Guru, I never believed in any scriptures or any 'form' of God. I truly didnt know what 'love' was. I could picture myself so much as the character Siddartha though I was in no way a match for him :).
I would say this book is a must read for everyone, especially those who think that going behind a 'Guru' will lead them into ultimate realization, salvation, moksha etc etc. The essense of the book as I putforth is 'Its easy to be a follower, its tough to be a leader'. A leader who chooses a path of his own and becomes successful. One line that struck me a lot was 'knowledge can be preached, but not wisdom'. Its so true. Wisdom cannot be preached in words nor can it be learnt by reading books. I always used to think that knowledge is supreme and never bothered to think about 'wisdom' at all. The book was a true eye-opener. Its very consice, simple and easy to read. I learnt to give up some of my 'pessimistic' attitudes in life after reading this book. Still theres a long way to go to become totally optimistic.
Otherwise, I found some time to explore downtown Boston. The place is a heaven for partygoers. Such an enthusiastic crowd, small time comic fights between some groups, police cars flashing across often, people in the craziest outfits, tattoes on the 'unexpected' regions of the human body and what not. Now that the democratic convention is on, there are lots of restrictions around this area. Otherwise its one of the most enjoyable places I've ever been.