Hermann Hesse Quotes

Some of us think holding on makes us strong; but sometimes it is letting go.

Love can be begged, bought, or received as a gift, one can find it in the street, but one cannot steal it.

The truth is lived, not taught.

Within you there is a stillness and sanctuary to which you can retreat at any time and be yourself.

Love is like death. It is fulfillment and an evening after which nothing more may follow.

Wisdom is not communicable. The wisdom which a wise man tries to communicate always sounds foolish.

Faith is stronger than so-called reality.

I have no right to call myself one who knows. I was one who seeks, and I still am, but I no longer seek in the stars or in books; I’m beginning to hear the teachings of my blood pulsing within me. My story isn’t pleasant, it’s not sweet and harmonious like the invented stories; it tastes of folly and bewilderment, of madness and dream, like the life of all people who no longer want to lie to themselves.

We must become so alone, so utterly alone, that we withdraw into our innermost self. It is a way of bitter suffering. But then our solitude is overcome, we are no longer alone, for we find that our innermost self is the spirit, that it is God, the indivisible. And suddenly we find ourselves in the midst of the world, yet undisturbed by its multiplicity, for our innermost soul we know ourselves to be one with all being.

If I know what love is, it is because of you.

The river is everywhere.

Gaze into the fire, into the clouds, and as soon as the inner voices begin to speak… surrender to them. Don’t ask first whether it’s permitted, or would please your teachers or father or some god. You will ruin yourself if you do that.