--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The reason why I do not know anything…" description: "\"The reason why I do not know anything about myself, the reason why Siddhartha has remained alien and unknown to myself is due to one thing, to one sing..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c38/hermann-hesse-130_aliens_the-reason-why-i-do-not-know-anything-ab_1930652.png" --- # The reason why I do not know anything about myself, the… ![“The reason why I do not know anything about myself, the reason why Siddhartha has remained alien and unknown to myself is due to one thing, to one single thing--I was afraid of myself, I was fleeing from myself. I was seeking Atman, I was seeking Brahman, I was determined to dismember myself and…” quote by Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c38/hermann-hesse-130_aliens_the-reason-why-i-do-not-know-anything-ab_1930652.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c38/hermann-hesse-130_aliens_the-reason-why-i-do-not-know-anything-ab_1930652.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c38/hermann-hesse-130_aliens_the-reason-why-i-do-not-know-anything-ab_1930652.png) > “The reason why I do not know anything about myself, the reason why Siddhartha has remained alien and unknown to myself is due to one thing, to one single thing--I was afraid of myself, I was fleeing from myself. I was seeking Atman, I was seeking Brahman, I was determined to dismember myself and tear away its layers of husk in order to find in its unknown innermost recess the kernel at the heart of those layers, the Atman, life, the divine principle, the ultimate. But in so doing, I was losing myself.” [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quest for self‑knowledge can become self‑destructive when fear drives us to reject our own identity. **In simple terms:** Fear of self leads to losing self while searching for truth. Key Takeaway Embrace yourself rather than flee. Themes self‑discovery fear identity spirituality Mood contemplative introspective Type philosophical spiritual When to use this quote - personal growth - spiritual practice - therapy - meditation Key Concepts ego self‑acceptance inner conflict Questions to Reflect On - What fears keep you from accepting yourself? - How can you explore inner truth without self‑rejection? A Different Perspective The pursuit of truth may cause alienation if not balanced with self‑compassion. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aliens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aliens/) [Atman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atman/) [Brahman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brahman/) [Determined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/determined/) [Divine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divine/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Losing myself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/losing-myself/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Principles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principles/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Recess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/recess/) [Siddhartha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/siddhartha/) [Tears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tears/) ## Related quotes > [“Having been pondering while slowly walking along, he now stopped as these thoughts caught hold of him, and right away another thought sprang forth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/having-been-pondering-while-slowly-walking-along-he-now-stopped-as/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [There is, so I believe, in the essence of everything, something that we cannot call learning. There is, my friend, only a knowledge-that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/there-is-so-i-believe-in-the-essence-of-everything-something-that-we/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [If man has nothing to eat, fasting is the most intelligent thing he can do. If, for instance, Siddhartha had not learned to fast,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/if-man-has-nothing-to-eat-fasting-is-the-most-intelligent-thing-he/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Wisdom cannot be imparted. Wisdom that a wise man attempts to impart always sounds like foolishness to someone else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/wisdom-cannot-be-imparted-wisdom-that-a-wise-man-attempts-to-impart/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Siddhartha stopped fighting his fate this very hour, and he stopped suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/siddhartha-stopped-fighting-his-fate-this-very-hour-and-he-stopped/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [You do not really love me — you love nobody. Is that not true?" "Maybe," said Siddhartha wearily. "I am like you. You cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/you-do-not-really-love-me-you-love-nobody-is-that-not-true-maybe-said/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“Seeking nothing, emulating nothing, breathing gently, he moved in an atmosphere of imperishable calm, impresihable light, inviolable peace.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/seeking-nothing-emulating-nothing-breathing-gently-he-moved-in-an/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [I have always thirsted for knowledge, I have always been full of questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/i-have-always-thirsted-for-knowledge-i-have-always-been-full-of/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [He looked around, as if he was seeing the world for the first time. Beautiful was the world, colorful was the world, strange and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/he-looked-around-as-if-he-was-seeing-the-world-for-the-first-time/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Siddhartha has one single goal-to become empty, to become empty of thirst, desire, dreams, pleasure and sorrow-to let the Self die. No longer to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/siddhartha-has-one-single-goal-to-become-empty-to-become-empty-of/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“Ephemeral, highly ephemeral is the world of formations; ephemeral, highly ephemeral are our clothes and hairstyles, and our hair and our bodies themselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/ephemeral-highly-ephemeral-is-the-world-of-formations-ephemeral/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“He sat thus, lost in meditation, thinking Om, his soul as the arrow directed at Brahman.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/he-sat-thus-lost-in-meditation-thinking-om-his-soul-as-the-arrow/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Whether it is good or evil, whether life in itself is pain or pleasure, whether it is uncertain-that it may perhaps be this is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/whether-it-is-good-or-evil-whether-life-in-itself-is-pain-or-pleasure/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [I want to learn from myself, want to be my student, want to get to know myself, the secret of Siddhartha.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/i-want-to-learn-from-myself-want-to-be-my-student-want-to-get-to-know/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“When someone is searching then it might easily happen that the only thing his eyes still see is that what he searches for, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/when-someone-is-searching-then-it-might-easily-happen-that-the-only/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) ## More by Hermann Hesse > [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Therefore, I see whatever exists as good, death is to me like life, sin like holiness, wisdom like foolishness, everything has to be as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/therefore-i-see-whatever-exists-as-good-death-is-to-me-like-life-sin/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [A home isn't just a roof over our heads. A home is a place where we feel loved and where we love others. 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The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/the-bird-fights-its-way-out-of-the-egg-the-egg-is-the-world-who-would/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Everything becomes a little different as soon as it is spoken out loud.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/everything-becomes-a-little-different-as-soon-as-it-is-spoken-out-loud/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [It may be important to great thinkers to examine the world, to explain and despise it. But I think it is only important to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/it-may-be-important-to-great-thinkers-to-examine-the-world-to-explain/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“..it is useless for you to build walls and dormitories and chapels and churches. Death looks through the window and laughs..”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/it-is-useless-for-you-to-build-walls-and-dormitories-and-chapels-and/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“When the world is at peace, when all things are tranquil and all men obey their superiors in all their courses, then music can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/when-the-world-is-at-peace-when-all-things-are-tranquil-and-all-men/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [A mere nothing suffices — and the lightning strikes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/a-mere-nothing-suffices-and-the-lightning-strikes/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“And if time is not real, then the dividing line that seems to lie between this world and eternity, between suffering and bliss, between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/and-if-time-is-not-real-then-the-dividing-line-that-seems-to-lie/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Beautiful was this world, looking at it thus, without searching, thus simply, thus childlike.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/beautiful-was-this-world-looking-at-it-thus-without-searching-thus/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Were not the gods forms created like me and you, mortal, transient?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/were-not-the-gods-forms-created-like-me-and-you-mortal-transient/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) [Explore all 951 Hermann Hesse quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) ## More Aliens quotes > [My days – the blossom of my youth and the flower of my manhood – have been darkened by the dreariness of servitude. 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