Siddhartha Journey

The journey to self discovery is not an ordinary feat. I like to think that there is something more tangible and yet intangible about reaching the apex of one’s conscious existence. Disillusionment with the preconceived ideals of life, usually pressed by the surrounding society is what usually drives people to leave, quit, and embark on a journey to hopefully discover the spiritual cogs to their lives. I chose to explore this thread of bildungsromane in order to find more clarity in the midst of the droning “white noise” surrounding our lives. Mundane societal roles and muses may seem to dull the initial sparkle of dreams or even insulate the fears of the larger question of the universal “Why am I here?” that echoes throughout humanity. Indeed

A meaningful example of this would be in Herman Hesse’s novel, Siddhartha, where Siddhartha continually questions his ultimate destiny and role in life as he succeeds outwardly but does not gain any contentment inwardly. Siddhartha’s questioning of the purpose of life is rejected by the members of the vastly different societies he joins in pursuit of enlightenment, and through these rejections and lack of answers for enlightenment, he realizes the futility of each as his inner self, or Om, calls him to leave. It was within in himself that he must rely on to be motivated- “One must find the source within one's own Self, one must possess it. Everything else was seeking -- a detour, an error,” (43). Siddhartha’s lack of answers and inner contentment is what causes him to embark on his journey and understand the bigger picture: the lack of enlightenment that associates with remaining stagnant instead of being fluid. This fluidity signifies the action needed when events may sour an individual’s life, as Siddhartha later states, “‘I have always believed, and I still believe, that whatever good or bad fortune may come our way we can always give it meaning and transform it into something of value,’” (58). This is also discussed in Paulo Coelho’s Veronika Decides To Die, in which it is stated that, “‘The two hardest tests on the spiritual road are the

An important part of individuals going on their own path for self discovery is relying on wisdom becoming tangible. In the poem Stone by Charles Simic, the speaker explains a desire to be an a simple, resilient, and seemingly unremarkable stone that “ From the outside... is a riddle: /No one knows how to answer it.” but ultimately reveals that “I have seen sparks fly out / When two stones are rubbed. / So perhaps it is not dark inside after all;”, signifying the hidden complexity and potential within seemingly ordinary objects. As people, we can learn knowledge but not wisdom. It must be something felt innately as the “sparks” that flew out when two ordinary stones were rubbed together in Stone. Both Hesse who states, “Knowledge can be communicated, but not wisdom. One can find it, live it, do wonders through it, but one cannot communicate and teach it.”, and Coelho who states, “People never learn anything by being told, they have to find out for themselves.”, express the importance of experiencing wisdom rather than learning