How Did Kamala Teach Siddhartha

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.

Siddhartha is a good-looking, well-loved young man who has grown into the religious group of India,. He is full of knowledge, able to master the art of meditation.

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.

Siddhartha resolved that he would first go to the Samanas, ascetics that hard lives of self-denial of all comforts and pleasures in order to rid themselves of desire and those emotions that would hinder them on the journey to discovering Atman. Although joining these extremist monks was a high ambition, Siddhartha knew that he would succeed as a Samana, for he believed that the path of the ascetic would aid him on his journey of self-discovery. As his time with the Samanas lengthened, Siddhartha began to take pride in the knowledge that he was not blinded by the material world like everybody else was; he saw the world for what it truly was -- bitter lies and misery. Despite the fact that Siddhartha was becoming a great Samana, revered by even the older monks, he felt that what he had learned from them he could have learned on his own and in less time. Once again, he was not satisfied with the path that he was on and aspired to achieve even greater heights by parting from the Samanas. This ambition is plainly displayed when Siddhartha’s friend Govinda, who had become a Samana as well, proclaimed that Siddhartha would have learned to walk on water had he stayed with the ascetics. Siddhartha simply says that he would “let old

Siddhartha is first taught by Kamala, who is a famous courtesan in the town he came across, and he immediately thinks she is a beautiful woman. She is not easy though, and makes Siddhartha become wealthier, and makes him wear better clothes. Siddhartha goes on to approach Kamala because she is beautiful and believes she can show him the art of physical love, “I have come to tell you this and to thank you because you are so beautiful. And if it does not displease you, Kamala, I would like to ask you to be my friend and teacher. . .” (Hesse 44).

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.

Siddhartha, written by Herman Heese, is a book about a man’s journey to find his inner self beginning when he is young and ending when he is of old age. Siddhartha, while on this quest, searched for different mentors to teach him what they know, hoping to find truth and balance in and of the universe. At the end of the novel, Siddhartha reaches the enlightenment through many teachings.

Siddhartha is a young man on a long quest in search of the ultimate answer to the enigma of a man's role on this earth. Through his travels, he finds love, friendship, pain, and identity. He finds the true meaning behind them the hard way, but that is the best way to learn them.

“‘I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin, but begin anyway and you see it through no matter what’” (Lee 112). Courage can be defined many ways.

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.

We see Kamala as a temptress who seduces Siddhartha and draws him away from his journey to enlightenment. She does however indirectly lead Siddhartha to his enlightenment first by teaching him the values and limitations of the material world, and also by bearing his son who gives Siddhartha the most difficult test on his path.

This change in character, though it is more dominant towards the end of the novel, is also seen in the second part of Siddhartha’s journey when he meets Kamala for the first time. It is very surprising when Siddhartha asks Kamala to be his teacher, especially after he relays to Govinda that he was not satisfied with the teachings of the Samanas. But even so, Siddhartha follows through and is a good student, “He visited the beautiful Kamala regularly, learned the art of love in which, more than anything else, giving and taking become one. He talked to her, learned from her, gave her advice, received advice. She understood him better than Govinda had once done. She was more like him” (Hesse 58). This shows that Siddhartha has made a much deeper connection with Kamala than he has anyone before. These connections then show us that Siddhartha has learned about attachment, something that he did not have as a Samana.

Students will reflect upon their experience and journey creating their social justice statement. Students will self-assess themselves based on the criteria of this assignment.

Is it possible that you can twenty year nap? If so how would you feel when you wake up? Irving Washington takes us through a journey about a man who took a twenty year nap. Waking up noticing the world he knew has changed. Washington Irving’s national mythology, “Rip Van Winkle” greatly impacts its reader through his use of unique settings, mysterious characters, and magical events.

Siddhartha first meets Kamala after he has just decided that he no longer wants to be an ascetic, and that he needs to try a new way of life. He meets