(The Library: Book Review) The ultimate paradise. Spiritual and all fulfilling enlightenment. Where all desires, needs and wants are eliminated, subjugated to the perfect harmony and balance of self with nature. Cardi B.'s famous song with Megan Thee Stallion is a song I will always remember: "WAP". But first, a quick look at the book Siddhartha.

Pros

• Interesting journey that mirrors the life of Buddha

• Provides a better understanding of the concept of Nirvana

Cons

• Somewhat short but it can also be a positive

Hermann Hesse went to great lengths to finish and finally publish his novella in 1922. Because transcending is not something you practice often. So the author wanted at least to attempt to attain the "completeness" to which Siddhartha aspires.

Achieving some form of material detachment from our everyday lives is fundamental, I think, to greater harmony with nature. After all, it is by far the excesses of greed of mankind that is destroying the planet. Too often do we reward the excessive greed in consumption-led economies. Business executives that would lay off thousands of employees and move operations to better jurisdictions to pay less tax are also rewarded and adored even. Improving your profit margins by not meeting the environmental laws and just paying a fine (if you get caught) is also rewarded by a nice bonus and possibly a promotion.

Warren Buffet would always rank above Siddhartha with a moral code of ethics based on capital accumulation. Yet Siddhartha has been there. He did live the life of a rich man yet found it ultimately to be shallow and unfulfilling.

We live in a world where Cardi B.'s WAP requires only a short attention span and delivers an easy message to an audience that is decreasingly critical of what it consumes:

Ask for a car while you ride that d*ck
You really ain't never gotta f*ck him for a thang
He already made his mind up 'fore he came
Now get your boots and your coat

That's how you get 1 billion+ viewers to listen to you in 3 days. To be honest however, I don't dislike her. I don't listen much. There is still much work that goes behind the production of her song. She's an artist and I wish her all the success she deserves but I also wish people to expand their horizons beyond their YouTube feed and beyond the truths of Wikipedia.

The meaning of the word Siddhartha itself, derived from Sanskrit mean to "seek and achieve your goals". Seeking and the path of discovery that is found outside of echo chambers is what Siddhartha does in his journey. He does not follow Buddha but instead carves his own path, making mistakes, possibly, but also learning from the journey itself.

Extra large and extra hard

The title of this section is taken from the lyrics of the song, of course. Cardi was probably referring to the quest that Siddhartha undertook when he set out to find real truth and fulfilment in this world. He found a WAR, meaning a "Wet Ass River".

However now, there's a place in my memory where the acronym "WAP" has been stored. When I think of it, Cardi B. resurfaces in my thoughts along with her song, some of the clothes she may wear, the beat and the acronym. With its meaning. For the uneducated reader, it means "Wet Ass Pussy". While storing those concepts in my memory, some older teachings of spiritualism may have been overwritten. Or maybe not, because those teachings that I have learned by reading Hermann Hesse's book have made me who I am. As such, the influence of that book is much more profound than anything Cardi B. or Warren Buffet ever could tweet or pontificate on.

Twitter conditions short messages, short thoughts and little to no explanations. Also, it conditions people to adopt binary stances: I like or dislike. Now you don't really need to express your emotions, as complex as they may be, you just roughly approximate which picture is more like it, using emoticons. You can retweet to ride on the popularity of others and also to espouse their views without having to provide your own. And I find memes overrated.

Memes condition us to express ourselves with cultural media. I never found that a scene of a movie (any movie or series) is the best way to express how I feel or how a situation felt. It is useful to give examples or to refer to concepts explored therein but overall, the memefication of society is not good. I mean that maintaining a discussion with memes and emoticons to make your point is far too reductive to discuss anything that matters. The best way to have constructive dialogue is to read, listen, write, discuss and use words to express precisely how you feel. But that takes time and today's increasingly complex society rewards quick takeaways. The drive to cut corners and simplify your thoughts and more importantly, group your thoughts, is a problem. This is the highway to groupthink. This is how we end up categorised, tagged and divided; like in a prison. You're either a Trump lover or hater. That is a wrong perspective. For everything in life, there are as many viewpoints as there are perspectives. To get more perspectives you need to expand your horizons. But there is comfort at home and ignorance is bliss so expanding your horizons is "Extra large and extra hard" as Cardi puts it.

People are increasingly stopping to use full sentences and words. The meaning of words is forgotten or worse, cast into oblivion by the sayings of Cardi B. Our languages are rich. Our thought processes are rich also. Our emotions are rich and often we misinterpret our own emotions or rationalise them. Memefying and Tweeting are reductive activities where the entire richness is lost, traded for quick consumption and easy admiration because it drew a smile on your reader's face. But that smile won't last. It is as ephemeral as the simple thought that led to it. If it does last, it is unfortunate, because that mind of yours is what you fill it with. Fill it with tweets, memes, emoticons and easy to consume cultural imagery and your thoughts will mirror that. Trust me on this. Just like in building construction, in software engineering or in education; Build strong foundations.

If you long for deeper meaning, real truth-seeking and an escape from the daily necessities of the online world, then Siddhartha might offer a breathe of fresh air. It did for me. The spiritual bond of all things is often explored in fiction. Star Wars advocates for the Force that binds all things to be with you. As for myself, I also wish the force to be with thee but on top of that, I will also recommend that you read Siddhartha and find your own path.

Thanks for reading!

Buddha Meme source: https://knowyourmeme.com/photos/1513928-buddha-teaching-followers