Wisdom In Herman Hesse's Siddhartha

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.

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.

In order to find an answer he would look elsewhere. This is what led him to discover the samanas a group he felt he needed to follow. When denied by his father Siddhartha for the first time defied him and stood with his arms crossed in a battle of wills. Siddhartha joined the samanas with his demands met by his father but his journey proved fruitless “But though the paths led away from the ego, in the end they always led back to the ego. (Hesse 15).” Siddhartha wanted the knowledge of the samanas so he could find his own peace. This proved to be inadvertently ironic as the acquirement of knowledge through the samana teachings led to the flourishing of his ego which he was trying to rid himself of. This perpetuation was not helped by the vastness of knowledge he had as a Brahmin. This circular path led him nowhere and Siddhartha soon left the samanas to see a Buddha. The leader of the samanas did not want him to leave for he did not believe the rumors of the wise Buddha. Then “The old man went mute, his eyes glazed over, his will was paralyzed , his arms dangled: he was helpless, overpowered by Siddhartha’s enchantment (Hesse 22)”. The samanas wish to lose the self (ego) but their leader was selfish. Ironically he did not live up to his own doctrine of life. The leader's behavior reveals that Siddhartha would of never have found peace through them if the leader couldn’t. Siddhartha did not learn nirvana from

There have been many teachers in one’s lifetime, some more important than others. These teachers and instructors affect different people in different ways, and lessons are learned that are important to prepare for real life situations. In the book Siddhartha by Herman Hesse, a young Brahmin named Siddhartha is not content with his current spiritual self. Siddhartha is directed to spiritual enlightenment and Nirvana because of his guidance and teaching from Kamala, Kamaswami, and Vasudeva.

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

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.

After three years, Siddhartha realizes that he is not progressing toward his goal. He had learned all the Samanas could teach, and "he lost himself a thousand times and for days on end he dwelt in non-being. But although the paths took him away from Self, in the end they always led back to it" (15-16). Siddhartha discovers this was not the path he sought; escaping from one's Self did not bring one to salvation. His wisdom grew when he accepted there was another path and this short escape from Self is experienced by others in a quite different way such as people who drink numbing their senses like he did with the Samanas. He sees that in truth, there is no learning and that his questioning and thirst for knowledge could not be satisfied by teaching. Seeking another path, Siddhartha hears of a Buddha named Gotama, and with Govinda, who also chooses to leave, ventures to see him.

Siddhartha felt as if he can’t learn by just hearing the Buddha’s experiences. He believes he needs to experience these things himself to truly reach his own self. As Siddhartha leaves the Buddha, he realizes something different inside of him. He no longer needs a teacher. From his teachers, he was able to discover the Self. Siddhartha says “Truly, nothing in the world has occupied my thoughts as much as the Self … that I am Siddhartha" (38) However, he only succeeded in fleeing from it. He was consumed in finding the self, that he lost sight of it. Instead, he realizes that "I [Siddhartha] will learn from myself, be my own pupil; I will learn from myself the secret of Siddhartha" (39).

This is truly an illuminating moments as readers are finally convinced of Siddhartha’s readiness as Buddha and are strangely perplexed at Siddhartha’s relentless dedication to the holy

“In Siddhartha’s face he saw [...] his eyes were looking into the distance. Then his father realized that by now Siddhartha [...] had already left him.” (Siddhartha, page 6) Throughout the time he has been with the Samanas, Siddhartha and his companion Govinda dedicated themselves to learning everything from general exercise to distinct methods of mortification. Although our favorite character enjoyed being with the so-called samanas, he soon had enough. At this point, his current American dream begins to extend as he converses with Govinda. “We have learned, and we are continuing to learn. [...] it just does not seem to me, my friend.” (Siddhartha, page 9) Quite interestingly, Siddhartha and Govinda both end up leaving the samanas. The only reason Siddhartha gives for leaving is that he can’t truly learn from teacher, in general, nor the doctrines they endorse. It is noticeable that Siddhartha begins to have societal expectations. In order to balance them, this protagonist simply decides to expand his learning capacity. He does this by traveling to Savathi with Govinda. Maybe he may learn something that will satisfy his desire. From the moment Siddhartha left home, he appeared unsure as to

Siddhartha is going his own way; his destiny was beginning to unfold itself, and with his destiny, his own” (9). He wants to become enlightened and Siddhartha thinks that the Brahmins have already given all of their knowledge to Siddhartha, but he wants more so he decides to follow the Samanas in order to gain the amount of knowledge he desires. Siddhartha is talking to the Buddha about why he disagrees with his idealism. Siddhartha thinks that no one else will be able to teach him, since the

Before coming to Vasudeva, Siddhartha kept changing what he wanted to learn from, each not being

In the novel Siddhartha by Herman Hesse, Siddhartha, the handsome and respected son of a Brahmin, lives with his father in ancient India. Everyone in the village expects Siddhartha to be a successful Brahmin like his father. Siddhartha and Govinda end of joining the Samanas who believe the path to enlightenment can be reached through asceticism, a rejection of the body and physical desire. Siddhartha, however, is still dissatisfied. The path of self-denial does not provide a permanent solution for him. Siddhartha hears about Gotama, the Buddha who has attained the total spiritual enlightenment called Nirvana. After a while Siddhartha doesn't believe Buddhism is the way to attain enlightenment so he decides to leave Govinda and Gotama and continues his search for the meaning of life. He finds a beautiful woman named Kamala who teaches him the the pleasures of life and love. Siddhartha gets a job with a merchant named kamaswami. He understands that the material world is slowly killing him without providing him with the enlightenment for which he has been searching. One night, he decides to leave it all behind and departs without notifying either Kamala or Kamaswami. He then meets up with the ferry man Vasudeva and wants to attain the same in peace as the man. Siddhartha works on the river and soon takes in spiritual enlightenment from the river. After many years on the river Siddhartha finally attains true enlightenment ano runs into Govinda who sees Siddhartha's enlightenment through kissing him on the forehead.

By drawing parallels between the adolescence of Siddhartha and his son, the author stresses the role of the idea that wisdom is a matter of self-discovery, not following. Oblivious to the irony of the situation, Siddhartha maintains that his son “cannot go through the forest alone” (124). As Siddhartha himself also has to go through the forest alone to become wise, it is evident that by repeating the situation once more, Hesse intends to emphasize the importance of self-discovered wisdom. In addition, even more support may be found in Vasudeva’s wise words. In his advice to a devastated Siddhartha, Vasudeva is sure to ask if Siddhartha genuinely believes he made all of his mistakes in life only to spare his son from their learning experiences (120-121).

Siddhartha leaves his father’s teachings to follow his own path and apply the lessons he learned in a new setting; however, he comes to terms with the fact that enlightenment cannot be reached from the knowledge supplied by teachers or books. Siddhartha does not understand why he cannot reach enlightenment from his previous lifestyles until he comprehends that what is inhibiting him from reaching Nirvana is “Too much knowledge hindered him; too many holy verses, too many sacrificial rites, too much mortification of the flesh, too much doing and striving” (Hesse 80). Siddhartha gains knowledge from books and teachers in the beginning of his journey and finally obtains wisdom once he begins to learn from his experiences. In the pivotal moment when Siddhartha contemplates suicide, he grasps the concept that the river can serve as his teacher since all things are unified. Siddhartha has to experience different lifestyles and gain wisdom from them to find unity and peace in himself and his surroundings during his most desperate