Finding Enlightenment In Siddhartha

Siddhartha and Govinda’s routes to discover enlightenment vary greatly. Siddhartha believes that one must find their own enlightenment. Siddhartha begins to believe that enlightenment cannot be taught early in his life. While he is still a boy living with his father, Siddhartha, “Had begun to suspect that his worthy father and his other teachers, the wise Brahmins, had already passed on to him the bulk and best of their wisdom…his intellect was not satisfied, his soul was not at peace” (5). Siddhartha doesn’t think that the teachers can teach him anything more and he is still a young boy. Later, Siddhartha leaves his friend to progress his life. After they meet the Gotama, Siddhartha says, “Always, oh

Their journey as samanas and students in the stages of life leads them to questioning the path that they were following. Although, Siddhartha did learn and become much more knowledgeable after knowing the teachings from the samanas, he didn’t quite agree with their beliefs in retaining enlightenment. "[Siddhartha] is drawn by his goal, for he does not allow anything to enter his mind which opposes his goal. That is what Siddhartha learned from the Samanas. It is what fools call magic and what they think is caused by demons...there are no demons...everyone can reach his goal if he can think, wait, and fast." With this new found attitude Siddhartha sets out once again, with many new experiences and lessons waiting ahead for him.

Hermann Hesse was a German poet and novelist, who in his words described the merge of the soul and nature, and physical realm versus mental realm. In the novel Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha started his journey at a young age to find spiritual enlightenment. In the book Siddhartha, it is coherent that wisdom is incommunicable however, it is attainable, this can only be learned by following your own journey.

Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse discusses the many paths of teaching that relate to Hinduism that Siddhartha followed on his journey through life and how each path helped him realize what he wanted with his life. Siddhartha follows many teachings or paths in which to reach his spiritual destination, which at the beginning was to reach Nirvana.

As with the Brahmins, Siddhartha’s experience with the Samanas is not a fulfilling one. Hesse writes, “he slipped out of his Self in a thousand different forms. He was animal, carcass, stone, wood, water, and each time he reawakened” (Pg-15). Siddhartha learned a great deal from the Samanas, yet he was still unable to reach enlightenment. During his time with the Samanas, Siddhartha never saw or heard of a single person achieving enlightenment. Feeling disillusioned with the teachings of others, Siddhartha decided to leave the Samanas, and seek out the venerable Buddha. Siddhartha seeks out the Buddha and hears his sermon, but he ultimately decides to seek his own path to enlightenment. In leaving the Buddha, Siddhartha begins to follow a Buddhist path. Siddhartha says, “But there is one thing that this clear, worthy instruction does not contain; it does not contain the secret of what the Illustrious One himself experienced he alone among hundreds of thousands" (Pg-34). In this part of his journey, Siddhartha realizes that no one can teach him how to achieve enlightenment. As Gautama did before him, Siddhartha heads out to find his own path to enlightenment.

The novel Siddhartha, written by Hermann Hesse, is about a guy named Siddhartha located in ancient India. His best friend, Govinda, are greatly involved in the elite Braham cast: Braham is an elite group of the highest god of Hinduism, which means they are viewed royalty and loaded with heaps of wealth. Siddhartha is the golden boy of his community: women dream of acquainting with him and men long to have his immense power and abundance. The main direct sight of Hindus focus on devotion to God or several gods. Even though Siddhartha endures meditation practices, takes the form of rituals and practices associated with images and sculptures of gods in home shrines, and participates in holy satisfaction, he still feels the emptiness in him not satisfying his needs. In order to obtain the inner peace that he wishes to seek, he tests new solutions to satisfy him, such as, Enlightenment. Enlightenment is defined as a man’s emergence from one’s self-incurred immaturity. The young Indian is very adapted to the Hindu ascetic, for the pressure the Brahim scholar instructs upon him. The only solution in times like these, Siddhartha and Govinda would mediate under the banyan tree.

Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse is a novel about the spiritual journey of a man named Siddhartha whose living in the time of Gotama Buddha. In this novel, Hesse explains in detail what Siddhartha learns as he searches for Nirvana. For Siddhartha to learn, he needs teachers, just like everyone else if they wish to pursue and education. There are four major teachers that Siddhartha truly takes something from, these teachers are Govinda, Kamala, Vasudeva, and the river itself. Another important thing is the aspect of self realization and teaching, which is ultimately what helps Siddhartha put those teachings together and reach Nirvana. This also allows Siddhartha himself to accept his new role as a teacher to his friend Govinda, which is the

“What could I say to you that would be of value except that perhaps you seek too much, that as a result of your seeking you cannot find.” (113) Siddhartha, a book written by Hermann Hesse, is about this young boy who throughout the book grows to an old man who, throughout his journey, seeks to attain enlightenment. He comes from a Brahmin family and later decides to become a samana and lives in the woods with his “shadow”,Govinda. Siddhartha is distracted with obstacles throughout his life and ultimately finds a way to conquer them.

Enlightenment is defined as the understanding and knowledge with the lack of hope and pain. The idea of enlightenment can be found I different situations that can be connected through the spiritual awakening of one’s self. Siddhartha and the little boy from The Ocean at the End of the Lane are worlds apart in age, creed, culture and historical era, they are similar in that they are both on a journey of spiritual awakening.

1. On page 7, Siddhartha‘s father said to him, “If you find salvation in the forest come and teach me salvation.” Siddhartha’s father has clearly not found true bliss as a Brahman. If he had already found true bliss and salvation as a Brahman, he would not have told Siddhartha to come back and teach him the salvation that Siddhartha had found.

Govinda is Siddhartha’s childhood friend , and his loyal companion. Siddhartha and Govinda devote their life on a quest for enlightenment and understanding. Govinda benefits from religious community and doctrine and seeks instruction from individuals who have achieved enlightenment. He relies on others to help him determine when he is on the right path. Ultimately Govinda attain enlightenment, showing us that enlightenment has different paths. The similarities between the two characters demonstrate that determination, persistence, and patience are necessary traits for achieving a spiritual awakening.

The setting of Siddhartha mainly consists of forests and small towns in India around 625 B.C.. These show importance to Siddhartha's journey because he learns from his surroundings. A hero's journey generally goes along the lines of beginning a quest that’s filled with ups and downs, but eventually prevails. His journey is important because Siddhartha reaches enlightenment or Nirvana, which is what all who

He wanted to follow Siddhartha, the beloved, the magnificent. And if he ever became a god, if he ever entered the All-Radiant, the Govinda wanted to follow him as a friend, his companion, his servant, his lance bearer, his shadow." (2)

   In Siddhartha's quest for enlightenment, Herman Hesse makes the river the final focal point of the novel. Siddhartha is set on his journey to the river by listening to his inner voice and questioning authority. The river comes to represent the ideas through which Siddhartha reaches enlightenment. The essential concepts of time and how it relates to life are discovered by Siddhartha through listening to the river. He comes to realize that his previous conclusion is correct, wisdom cannot be taught. When he reaches nirvana, he also sees how spiritualism and materialism both have a place in the cycle of life. Acting as Siddhartha's inspiration to his ultimate goal, the river

The story of a young man that searches high and low for the path of enlightenment. In Hermann Hesse’s, Siddhartha, it shows how a young man tries to find a balance in self and spirit. Many of Hesse’s books reflect the experiences he had as a adolescent, Hesse also had trouble balancing religious aspects of his life, in the same way Siddhartha did. Hesse had attempted suicide and was expelled from school. Unlike Siddhartha, he was not very loved among people in his early life. I believe that Hesse wrote about Siddhartha because he could relate and sympathise with his feelings.