I believe that Siddhārtha 's quest to find enlightenment falls under the category of noble action, sacred call, and desire. The craving of achieving a regular life had been something he thought of often as a young adolescent. As legend states he was sheltered his entire life from the truth 's and harsh realities of life by his father. Maybe Siddhārtha Gautama wanted to find his own way because of what his father is trying to keep from him. Each of us has innate desire to understand the purpose of our existence.
Although Siddhartha grew wiser and wiser, he still felt wounded by his son. Siddhartha recognized Vasudeva as God himself. Vasudeva brought Siddhartha out to the river and told him there was something he had still not heard. With Vasudeva’s guidance, Siddhartha listened intently. For the first time he heard all the voices of the river as one single continuum of all life.
I chose this book because I can relate to how Siddhartha felt throughout this book. He had a feeling of discontent and dissatisfaction. He felt that something was missing but could not figure out what it was. He followed his religion fully, fulfilled the requirements and rituals and was following what should have brought him peace and happiness within himself and those around him. Siddhartha had been a follower of his father who was incredibly wise, though at times he thought his father was too wise and had preached all of his wisdom to the others in the community they resided.
Truly, I wish I could gaze and smile, sit and stride like that, so free, so venerable, so concealed, so open, so childlike and mysterious” (Siddhartha – Gotama). In the eyes of Siddhartha, this quote from the text shows his upmost desires of happiness and enlightenment, which he had not yet reached. For this reason, Siddhartha leaves home and searches for the enlightenment that he longs for. Leaving his family and searching for self-fulfillment uncovers Siddhartha and Hesse rebellious manners. Likewise, Siddhartha seems to not remember encountering a Samana smiling, which indicates that they were also not at peace with themselves.
We live in a society where many believe that money can buy happiness. However, that’s not true in this case for Sidhartha and Chris McCandless. The novel “Siddhartha” by Hermann Hesse a brahmin’s son who along with his best friend Govinda grew up in a town where they follow the teachings of a brahmin. Siddhartha brings joy to his community however, he is not fully happy with his life. He and his friend Govinda decided to leave the village and learned different teachings.
The story of Siddhartha tells the tale of a boy who grows up in a wealthy Brahman family. He grows to be intelligent and handsome and is loved by all his family and friends. Siddhartha seems to have everything he could want but eventually becomes frustrated with his life. He seeks enlightenment and believes that the elders in his community have nothing more to teach him spiritually. Much to his parent’s frustration, Siddhartha decides he needs to leave home and find the inner peace he seeks.
The book Siddhartha is about a young man who goes on a journey to find his true meaning in life and to find enlightenment. It takes him a while to realize his purpose in life but eventually finds it through a ferryman. In the book, Siddhartha experiences two forms of suffering:physical and mental. He goes through the physical pain of the Samaras but also passes through the mental pain of finding his way and dealing with his son. He also finds joy in his son and being enlightened.
Each of these influences show elements of the 4 noble truths in Buddhism, the core concept of the novel. These three influences are connected with each other and show Siddhartha that desire causes suffering but that it is necessary to feel in order to make your way towards enlightenment by getting rid of it. The influences for Siddhartha are what allow him to more clearly understand how to come at peace in oneself and finally acquire enlightenment. Without them, Siddhartha would not have become enlightened and continue to live a life of suffering and misunderstanding until his
Each individual embarks on his or her own hero’s journey in life, some finding peace and enlightenment while others suffer greatly. In Hermann Hesse’s novel Siddhartha, the author slowly shows Siddhartha’s path towards finding the self and enlightenment through conflict and resolution. Finding himself is difficult, but once he does, Siddhartha is released from sorrow and depression, which finally enables him to reach enlightenment and peace. Hesse portrays Siddhartha’s spiritual hero’s journey by using unique conflicts to reveal his true self through independence, mindfulness, and responsibility.
While on tour Siddhartha learns of sickness, old age, and death. Siddhartha is saddened to learn that everyone must go through these stages in life. At this point, Siddhartha adopts the concept that life is suffering. Siddhartha also learns of a sannyasin who is a person wandering life searching for spiritual liberation
Constructive Criticism: When Siddhartha first worked with me, I noticed that he tried to everything on his own, instead of seeking help from other experienced professionals. I remember one example, when Siddhartha was working on the design analysis of one of Caterpillar’s construction equipments. He had no significant prior design experience. He could have easily asked other experienced design engineers on the team for help with the analysis, but he decided to do it all by himself.
That is what Gotama teaches, nothing else."(27). Gotama’s teachings to Siddhartha was to reach enlightenment through suffering. That only through overcoming many years of physical and mental suffering one will be able to feel the pain no more and be one with the earth. Siddhartha must sacrifice his own well being of comfort, and relaxation for what is believed to take him to the goal that he wants. He is later faced with the fact that Gotama’s teachings are not working.
Siddhartha is not only “reborn” but, reunited with his old friend. This is where Siddhartha has just started on the path of true enlightenment. Siddhartha is now again on the path of finding enlightenment and tells Govinda “It is the same with me as it is with you ,my old friend. I am not going anywhere. I am only on the way.
Siddhartha is mournful of this. This makes him start to question things on his journey to enlightenment. He does not want to forget the main reason he is on this journey. He is still searching for himself and who he thinks he is, which is a follower of
As Siddhartha’s perspective shifts while losing his Self to experiencing worldly pleasures to living from the secrets of the river, he eventually comes to the conclusion that he needs a balance in his life to find enlightenment. It takes time for him to grow and change his mindset, and only into his late adulthood does he truly live by his philosophy of balance. First, he has to go to two extremes to reach Nirvana, having nothing and having everything, just like the real world where people try to lose themselves or gain possessions to find true happiness. Siddhartha teaches society that happiness can only be found through growth and balance and an understanding that life can only be lived in the present. Life is Siddhartha’s river, everywhere at once, every person, every story, and once society learns to develop their mindset to see life as a balance, it will be able to truly reach
