If time is not real, then the dividing line between this world and eternity, between suffering and bliss, between good and evil, is also an illusion.
Interpretation
Time may be an illusion, suggesting that concepts like suffering and bliss are also subjective and interconnected.
Hermann Hesse's quote prompts a reflection on the nature of reality and time, suggesting that if time is not a definitive aspect of existence, then the distinctions we make between different states of being—such as suffering and bliss or good and evil—are also artificial constructs of our perception. This perspective encourages deeper contemplation of how we categorize our experiences and the potential interconnectedness of seemingly opposing concepts.
In practice
In a philosophical discussion about the nature of existence and time.
I shall no longer be instructed by the Yoga Veda or the Aharva Veda, or the ascetics, or any other doctrine whatsoever. I shall learn from myself, be a pupil of myself; I shall get to know myself, the mystery of Siddhartha." He looked around as if he were seeing the world for the first time.
That is where my dearest and brightest dreams have ranged — to hear for the duration of a heartbeat the universe and the totality of life in its mysterious, innate harmony.
I, also, would like to look and smile, sit and walk like that, so free, so worthy, so restrained, so candid, so childlike and mysterious. A man only looks and walks like that when he has conquered his Self. I also will conquer my Self.
You're quite right there," he said. "I have practiced abstinence myself for years, and had my time of fasting, too, but now I find myself once more beneath the sign of Aquarius, a dark and humid constellation.
I call that man awake who, with conscious knowledge and understanding, can perceive the deep unreasoning powers in his soul, his whole innermost strength, desire and weakness, and knows how to reckon with himself.
Despair is the result of each earnest attempt to go through life with virtue, justice and understanding, and to fulfill their requirements. Children live on one side of despair, the awakened on the other side.
Necessity has the face of a dog.
If the weather is too cold or rainy, I take shelter in the Regence Cafe, where I entertain myself by watching chess being played. Paris is the world center, and this cafe is the Paris centre for the finest skill at this game.
I do not believe that all books will or should migrate onto screens: as Douglas Adams once pointed out to me, more than 20 years before the Kindle turned up, a physical book is like a shark. Sharks are old: there were sharks in the ocean before the dinosaurs. And the reason there are still sharks around is that sharks are better at being sharks than anything else is.
Life—the way it really is—is a battle not between good and bad, but between bad and worse
I've often stood silent at a party for hours listening to my movie idols turn into dull and little people.
What gave you this idea of an imperfect god?' 'I don't know. It seems quite feasible to me. That is the only god I could imagine believing in, a god whose passion is not a redemption, who saves nothing, fulfills no purpose--a god who simply is.
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