After Siddhartha hypnotized the Samanas' leader, Govinda was amazed and said to Siddhartha," " ... Truthly, had you remained there, you would soon have learned how to walk on water." " ( 23) and Siddhartha responded, " " I do not desire to walk on water," " (23). I thought to myself that this was an allusion to Jesus Christ. Siddhartha left home and started fasting for forty four days and same goes with Jesus and Buddha, they left their home and practiced fasting however Siddhartha fasting period appeared similar toward Jesus's story of forty days in the desert. Beside fasting and leaving their family, their common characteristic was of fighting off their own temptation, Jesus resisted the temptation of the devil and Siddhartha and Buddha tried to abandon their physical body and desire. The conversation was an analogy, Hess compared western and eastern ideas of ways to get closer to God. Hess was persuading or convincing the audience that to reach a higher level as a spiritual being one must fast and abandon their earthly possession. Mentioned in Buddhism and Christianity, abandon all your worldly possession to get closer to God; Buddhists practiced asceticism and Jesus told Matthew, if Matthew wanted to followed him he must give up all of his possession and donate it to the poor. Hess was developing his character, Siddhartha. We can assume how Siddhartha psychologically processed his thoughts, how his choice of not choosing to stay told us that he would not chose a choice that would be a retrogression toward his path of approaching enlightenment. This points out the difference between Siddhartha and Govinda; Siddhartha was more of a dynamic character, how he wanted to leave the Samanas, and Govinda was a static character, how he stay in the same place without change. This was a foreshadow toward later in the book, how Govinda will remain with Gautama and Siddhartha leaving. What do you guys think of my opinions? - Nam Nguyen (I'm posting this for Nam)
You make a very good point about Hesse was convincing the audience that one must fast and abandon their earthly possession to reach a higher spiritual being. However, I’d like to argue that Hesse criticizing the asceticism of Siddhartha and Jesus as shown by how Siddhartha complains to Govinda that despite living and practicing asceticism for so long, the oldest Samanas have yet to reach nirvana. Later in the book he also criticizes being wealthy, the opposite of asceticism, as it corrupts Siddhartha. Siddhartha only finds enlightenment in what I believe to be a mixture of the two as rather than having nothing, he lives with the bare necessities as a ferryman. This could be an allegory about only needing the necessities to be content instead of not having anything or having too much.
“Siddhartha learned a great deal from the Samanas; he learned many ways of losing the Self. He traveled along the path of self-denial through pain, through voluntary suffering and conquering of pain, through hunger, thirst and fatigue. He traveled the way of self-denial through meditation, through the emptying of the mind through all images. Along these and other paths did he learn to travel. He lost his Self 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. “
This passage in the chapter “With the Samanas” shows Siddhartha's first attempt at following his path to nirvana or enlightenment. The passage also shows his frustration with the teachings of the Samanas and the issues he has with eliminating one’s Self or personal identity. The Self is the personal feelings and needs one has. The Samanas believed only by eliminating one’s identity could you find enlightenment. While Siddhartha was able to learn to lose the Self for some time, he always came back to his Self. The teachings helped, but only temporarily. The passage illustrates Siddhartha's attitude towards a path for his enlightenment that takes too much time and how when a spiritual path loses efficiency or exposes its limits he will move on. The fact that the older Samanas have not reached nirvana either, told later in the chapter, also leads Siddartha away from this technique. This passage is the first of his stops on the path to nirvana, and it displays his relationship with his quest as strong and unbounding.
My idea is similar to your idea. For example when he left his father and fellow Brahman to follow the Samanas, it was because of his discontent with their teachings. He felt that their teachings were only quenching their thirst but not completely satisfying them and felt that he had to pursue his own path to enlightenment. If the beliefs don’t stand up to his expectations then he will leave it and move on in search of the next set of beliefs until he is able to find one that satisfies him. I believe that this shows him to be an independent individual who won’t be content with ideas that others give him and prefers to decide if it is nirvana himself.
Govinda turned pale, when he heard these words and read the decision in the motionless face of his friend, unstoppable like the arrow shot from the bow. Soon and with the first glance, Govinda realized: Now it is beginning, now Siddhartha is taking his own way, now his fate is beginning to sprout, and with his, my own. And he turned pale like a dry banana-skin. “O Siddhartha,” he exclaimed, “ will your father permit you to do that?” “O Govinda,” he spoke quietly, “ let’s not waste words. Tomorrow, at daybreak I will begin the life of the Samanas. Speak no more of it.” (pg. 9) This passage shows the beginning of the motif that repeats throughout the book of Siddhartha being unsatisfied with his current life and leaving. Siddhartha is not satisfied with the beliefs of his surroundings, whether it be the Brahman or the Samanas, and he would leave to find new experiences and find his own path in life and his own beliefs. The time that this passage takes place is before Siddhartha learns of other values of different cultures and so his character is just starting to develop very much yet as he has not had many experiences outside of Brahman culture. Yet just from this, I can surmise that Siddhartha is a rather independent character who would rather find his own answers than be content with what is told to him and he has a determination to match. The author described Siddhartha’s resolve with the metaphor “unstoppable like the arrow shot from the bow” and Govinda’s reaction as his face turning “pale like a dry banana-skin” which would make Siddhartha seem like the resolute leader and Govinda as the rather weaker-willed follower in comparison.
“Siddhartha said, ‘With your permission, Father, I’ve come to tell you that tomorrow I must leave your house and go off with the ascetics. I long to become a shramana. May my father not oppose this.’ The brahmin was silent and remained so for so long that the stars moved and changed their configuration in the little window in the room before the silence came to an end. The son stood mute and motionless, his arms crossed; the father sat mute and motionless on the mat, and the stars moved in the sky. Finally the father said: ‘It is not fitting for a brahmin to speak hard and angry words, yet in my heart I cannot accept this. Do not let this request cross your lips a second time.’...The first daylight shone into the room. The brahmin saw that Siddhartha’s knees were shaking slightly. But he saw no wavering in Siddhartha’s face. The eyes were fixed on the distance. Then the father realized that Siddhartha was already no longer home with him, that he had left him already”(Hesse 8-10).
This passage caught my eye while reading the first chapter of Siddhartha, titled “The Brahmin’s Son”. Hermann Hesse goes into detail when showing what kind of relationship Siddhartha has with his father. Siddhartha says, “With your permission, Father, I’ve come to tell you that tomorrow I must leave your house and go off with the ascetics… May my father not oppose this.” By saying this, Siddhartha clearly respects his father and his approval because he went to him and informed him of what he is going to do the next day. However, he does not necessarily look at him as his father. When Siddhartha states, “I’ve come to tell you”, it shows that he doesn’t look at his father as a parent, but more as a friend. He is not asking his father if he can go off with the ascetics the next day, but telling him. Hesse writes, “Then the father realized that Siddhartha was already no longer home with him, that he had left him already”, this shows that Siddhartha was prepared and already planning to leave before he had asked his father. This is another example of how he views his father as less of a parent and treats him like a friend. When the father realizes that his son is no longer with him, he faces and accepts the fact that he is no longer in charge and he should just give in and let Siddhartha begin his journey.
Herman Hesse foreshadows coming events through the characterization of Siddhartha's friend Govinda. “Govinda knew Siddhartha would never become an ordinary brahmin, a lazy purveyor of rituals, a greedy dealer of charms, a vainmouther of empty phrases, a base and devious priest, nor would he become a mindless good sheep in the common herd. Certainly he would not: and Govinda, too, would not become any of those things; he would also not become a brahmin like ten thousand others. His desire was to follow Siddhartha, the beloved, the magnificent” (Hesse 4).
This particular passage did not attract attention to myself immediately.Only after reading how Siddhartha’s “...willingness brings joy to” (Hesse 19) Govinda’s heart, did I realize the leverage Siddhartha acquire on his dear friend. Siddhartha decided to embrace a new way of living with the shramanas. Consequently, Govinda, without complaint followed his friend for three whole years alongside a decision that was not his own. In addition, when Govinda introduced the idea of Gotaman, he patiently waited for Siddhartha’s approval. Not only was Govinda aware that the Brahmin’s son would not fulfill the path his father encouraged, but he also remained devoted to him. He was willing to starve himself and adapt to different lifestyles because he looked up to his companion at such depth. This relationship, I believe, manifests the relationship of Buddha and his followers. How they were willing to capitulate anything because they desired to follow their role model.
I agree with what you're saying and think you bring up a great point in how you compare Govinda following Siddhartha to followers following Buddah. There are many similarities with the two relationships, and Govinda just like the followers of Buddah has to have guidance and instruction to achieve anything or become happy. Where as Siddhartha and the Buddah are more of individual people and prefer to do things on their own terms. They are leaders and don't need a teacher or a role model to tell them what to do.
Siddhartha had begun to breed discontentment within himself. He had begun to feel that his father’s love and his mother’s love, and even the love of his friend Govinda, would not bring him enduring happiness, would not bring him contentment and satisfaction, would not be sufficient to his needs. He had begun to sense that his venerable father and his other teachers, the wise Brahmins, had already shared with him the better part of their wisdom; they had already poured their all into his waiting vessel, and the vessel was not full, his mind was not satisfied, his soul was not at peace, his heart was not." Chapter 1, pg. 5
I initially notice, the long sentences filled with commas. The second sentence contains four commas and it’s not like the author is just writing a big list. Herman Hesse where he’s listing Siddhartha’s love could’ve simply written “his father, mother, and Govinda,” but chooses to add variety and difference in his writings. Since elementary school I was taught to write a list like that. Not where you have two “and’s” on both sides of the commas. Hesse’s goal in writing lengthy sentences was to avoid being choppy and boring. Great authors recognize when to use short, medium, or big sentences. It’s the change in length that creates the flow in reading.
Siddhartha is in search for nirvana and does not believe he will find it remaining at home as the passage quotes, “…would not bring him enduring happiness, would not bring him contentment and satisfaction, would not be sufficient to his needs.” Even when the Brahmins had filled their hearts with wisdom or has spent their entire life committed to their teachings, Siddhartha finds it pointless staying. He has been taught everything with great potential in his midst. But he has seen their flaws and knows of something waiting to be discovered.
“The slowly walking thinker came to a halt altogether, captured by his last thought, and immediately from this thought another sprang, a new thought, which was this: That I know nothing of myself, that Siddhartha remains so alien and unknown to me - there is one cause for this, just one: I was afraid of myself, I was running away from myself! I was looking for atman, I was looking for Brahman; I was determined to tear my ego apart, to peel it layer by layer in order to find in its unknown innards the pith behind all the husks, atman, life, the divine, the ultimate. But in the process I myself got lost.” (Hesse 31)
The logic behind Siddhartha’s choice not to follow the path of Gotama in the previous chapter was due to the fact that he desired to experience the wisdom his teachers obtained, instead of allowing his belief be driven by the claims of other individuals. In this passage, Hesse demonstrates a key turning point of Siddhartha’s faith where he recognizes that he wasn’t satisfied on finding content looking beyond himself. Throughout his existence he had been informed by his father, shramanas, and other influences that true holiness derives from selflessness and service to a greater being. Yet at this point of the novel, Siddhartha rejects the view he had been growing up with and concludes that in order to reach abounding fullness, he must explore within the depths of his own being. Possibly the only path to answer even the most strenuous questions of existence.
I also believe that this passage shows Siddhartha's change in his beliefs and his new idea of looking inwards not outwards to find his spiritual fulfillment. However, I also see this passage as a realization for Siddhartha that following an already "trekked" path cannot help one achieve full enlightenment as everyone's path is unique.
"[Siddhartha] stood alone like a star in the heavens...That was the last shudder of his awakening, the last pains of birth. Immediately he moved on again and began to walk quickly and impatiently, no longer homewards, no longer to his father, no longer looking backwards."
This passage in the chapter “Awakening” shows the end to Siddhartha's second attempt at achieving fulfillment and the start of him moving on to the next stop on his path. The passage demonstrates the unrelenting determination of Siddhartha on his path to enlightenment and the feeling of aloneness on his trail. Him being impatient and walking quickly also illustrates his attitude towards his path and how when a spiritual path loses efficiency or exposes its limits he will move on. Siddartha no longer walking towards his home or his father represents his faithfulness to the path of enlightenment and him no longer looking backwards relates to him being fully on the path, not wondering about his old life. The second stop on his path ends like his first, but it also allows him to gain the necessary techniques to help him on his journey.
“the Perfect One Spoke: “You have heard the teaching, Brahmin’s son. Good for you having pondered it so deeply. You have found a gap in it, a flaw. May you continue to ponder that. But beware, you who are greedy for knowledge, of the jungle of opinions and the battle of words. Opinions are worth little. They can be beautiful or ugly, anyone an espouse or reject them. But the teaching that you heard from me is not my opinion, and it’s aim is not to explain the world to those who are greedy for knowledge. It has a different aim-liberation from suffering. This is what Gautama teaches, nothing else” (pg. 27) At this point, Siddhartha has learned the ways of Gotama and has even convinced Gautama that Siddhartha would be a great Buda. Gotama tells Siddhartha that he is, “greedy for knowledge” but what Siddhartha doesn’t realize that his spiritual journey cannot be taught. He has to go through the experiences and learn from his mistakes. On page 28, Gautama preaches to Siddhartha, “This came to you as a result of your own seeking on your own path, through thought, through mediation, through realization, through enlightenment. It did not come to you through teaching! One cannot gain spiritual illumination through a lecture. You physically and emotionally have to take a journey for what you’re seeking. Just like Siddhartha when he first seeks the Shramanas and then Gotama. Siddhartha however reject Gotama’s offerings and believes he himself has achieved enlightenment but is incapable of teaching it to others. The Samanas is one of the many experiences that have shown him that enlightenment can’t be taught. -Ethan Nguyen
After reading, Gautama, and , Awakening, I have pick this specific quote to discuss. " " With half a smile, with an unperturbable brightness and friendliness, Gautama gazed into the stranger's eyes and bade him good-bye with a barely visible gesture. "You are clever, O samana," said the Venerable One. "You know how to speak cleverly, my friend. Beware of too much cleverness!" " (34). This passage was Buddha saying goodbye and hinting Siddhartha toward enlightenment. When Buddha looked into Siddhartha's eyes, he realized that Siddhartha already know most of his teaching, but also realized that Siddhartha still has not learn from himself. Buddha said to him that be aware of himself of being too clever, meaning it was a hint to Siddhartha that he should not be or have too much of something, that he should just have the necessity to live. Buddha realizes that Siddhartha has abandoned himself to the point that Siddhartha was not able to see that he is being too much of something and Buddha is warning him if he keeps going down this road he will not be able to reach enlightenment. This also foreshadow later that Siddhartha will become wealthy because he needed to learn from himself and also we can predict he will abandon his wealth and live a simple live as a ferryman; after he realized that he has learned all from himself and that he does not need too much of something or too less and be in the center of the range. - Nam Nguyen
“I saw a man, Siddhartha thought, a single man, before whom I would have to lower my glance. I do not want to lower my glance before any other, not before any other. No teachings will entice me any more, since this man’s teachings have not enticed me.” (Page 27)
After meeting Gotama in the chapter “Gotama,” Siddhartha’s resolve to find his own path and not be satisfied with the teachings of others is strengthened. His meeting with Gotama did bring him one step closer to enlightenment, a goal that has been obtained by the Buddha which Siddhartha recognizes as he would lower his glance for just the Buddha. He realizes that if the teachings of such a great man will not satisfy him then he must find his own path instead of trying to find enlightenment by following the paths of others, as Siddhartha doesn’t believe that it is possible to find true enlightenment unless you find it yourself and following others won’t give nirvana. Hesse emphasizes how high in esteem Siddhartha holds the Buddha by writing that he wouldn’t lower his glance for anyone else twice. This meeting also helps Siddhartha to find himself and allows him to mature more as a character as he goes on a journey to experience more in life.
I agree with your concept of Siddhartha's maturity throughout exploring a variety of habits of characters such as Gotama. Yet, I disagree that it helps find enlightenment within himself throughout the rest of the novel. By rejecting other views completely, it limits Siddhartha's ability to grow in his beliefs and faiths. Upon meeting Kamala, it is evident that he must be submissive in order to find contempt within the relationship, despite the fact that it was temporary. This is also prevalent in the ways of Kamaswami. Siddhartha had to become a slave to riches, fame, and gambling in order to realize that it was not the path he wanted to fulfill. Through the process of trial & error, I believe that Siddhartha is able to grow in maturity, further than he could have by continuing to reject other views of lifestyle.
“Gotama had listened to him quietly, unmoved. Now in his kindly, polite, and clear voice, the Perfect One spoke: ‘You have heard the teaching, brahmin’s son. Good for you for having pondered it so deeply. You have found a gap in it, a flaw. May you continue to ponder that. But beware, you who are greedy for knowledge, of the jungle of opinions and the battle of words. Opinions are worth little. They can be beautiful or ugly, anyone can espouse or reject them. But the teaching that you heard from me is not my opinion, and its aim is not to explain the world to those from suffering. This is what Gotama teaches, nothing else...’ The Buddha robbed me, thought Siddhartha, he robbed me, yet he gave me even more” (Hesse 27 and 29).
In this passage, Hermann Hesse shows the significance to the chapter, titled “Gatama”. Hesse shows throughout the whole chapter and especially in this passage that Gatama is very enlightened and shows great compassion for others. When Gatama begins to speak to Siddhartha, it shows the significance to this chapter because what he says changes Siddhartha and his perspective on things. Although he did not chose to follow Gatama on the path of liberation with Govinda, he now has a better idea of what he has yet to learn. Siddhartha has been really unsure about many things and has never been fully content with his life, but now he is figuring out what he needs to do to better himself. When Hesse writes, “he robbed me, yet he gave me even more”, it shows how Siddhartha learned a great amount from him. Siddhartha loses Govinda, his follower that he’s had for a long time, but that feeling of being “robbed” is filed with “even more” which is his excitement to continue on his path. When Gotama says, “Opinions are worth little. They can be beautiful or ugly, anyone can espouse or reject them.” It changes Siddhartha’s mindset because he is used to being right and not having anyone go against what he says. When Gotama states, “but the teaching you heard from me is not my opinion”, it proves that Siddhartha could not “espouse or reject” what he has been teaching. This was a major turning point and is why this passage is so significant to not only the chapter but the book.
I am posting this for Nam "..." a very beautiful river. I love it more than anything else. I often listen to it, I often look into its eyes, I have always learned from it. One can learn a lot from a river. "Thank you, my benefactor," said Siddhartha when setting foot on the opposite bank. "I have no gift as your guest, different, and no fair, I am homeless, and no gift as your guest, dear friend, and no fare, I am homeless, a Brahmin's son and a samana." "I could tell.” said the ferryman, “and I expected no fare from you and no gift. You will give me the gift another time.”” (46). This passage was when Siddhartha was crossing the river, and met the ferryman. I interpreted this passage as a foreshadow to later when Siddhartha would learn from the ferryman and reach enlightenment. Hess also use personification in this passage to inform the reader that Atman was speaking to the ferryman, telling him that Siddhartha will come to him in order to reach enlightenment, the personification was the river spoke to the ferryman. I also viewed this as Hess building the ferryman character; the ferryman is kind and generous to provide Siddhartha a free ride also established that the ferryman has reached enlightenment. I also felt that the lesson in this mini encounter was that by being thankful and appreciative of people, they would be nice back and might give the person something nice. Nam Nguyen
Advice? Why not? Who would not want to give a poor, ignorant shramana who comes from the jackals in the forest a piece of advice? So then, dear Kamala, advise me: Where should I go to find those three things the fastest? Friend, that is a thing many people would like to know. You must do what you have learned to do, and get money and clothes and shoes for it. There is no other way for a poor man to get money. What can you do? I can think, I can wait, and I can fast Is that all? That is all. No, I can also compose poetry. Will you give me a kiss for a poem? (pg. 45)
Kamala comes from a capitalistic world and looks down on upon people of lower class. She is snobby as she exclaims, “No, estimable friend, he is not good enough yet. He must have clothes, beautiful clothes, handsome shoes, plenty of money in his purse-and gifts for Kamala. Do you understand now, shaman from the forest? Are you taking this in?”(44) The snobby like is emphasized when Herman Hesse puts the adjectives such as beautiful, handsome, and plenty before the things “he must have.” Kamala believes you have to earn as much money so you can buy your way in life. But after spending more than three years with the shramanas, Siddhartha isn’t accustomed to earning money. He is only used to applying his body to the absolute minimum to live the next day. The skills such as thinking, waiting, and fasting. Kamala underestimates Siddhartha’s skills and doesn’t see how it can apply to working but Siddhartha later proves himself, and later gains Kamala’s respect. The last line of the passage is where Siddhartha and Kamala’s relationship sparks. She also falls in love with his poetry as she quotes, “If I were rich, I would give you pieces of gold for them.”(46). Siddhartha’s skills for poetry lead Kamala finding out he knows how to read and write. Just another reason for Kamala to respect and love Siddhartha.
"[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." Chapter 5, pg. 50
This passage demonstrates the relentlessness of Siddhartha on his path towards spiritual nirvana. The goal is the only thought on his mind, he wants to achieve his path. The Samanas teachings helped him with clearing his mind from all distractions. This ability is seen as unnatural by others, but everyone can clear their thoughts with the right teachings. The ability to do this allows Siddhartha to continue on his path and reach his goal. The passage illustrates this and the determination of Siddhartha on his way to his goal.
It seemed indeed, as if he did not care about the business. At one time, he travelled to a village to buy a large harvest of rice there. But when he got there, the rice had already been sold to another merchant. Nevertheless Siddhartha stayed for several days in that village, treated the farmers for a drink, gave copper-coins to their children, joined in the celebration of a wedding, and returned extremely satisfied from his trip. (Page 48)
In this passage, Siddhartha doesn’t care about being a successful merchant, but instead is focused more on living a fulfilled life filled with kindness and happiness. This shows how much Siddhartha at this time in the story contrasts with the Child-like people such as Kamaswami, who would have been angry and returned right away as all people like him care about are money. Unlike in with his past attempts to find enlightenment, he seems content in his current situation as he mingles with the very people that seemed so strange to him with emotions that he had a hard time understanding. Experiences such as this will allow Siddhartha to relate more to the Child-like people and why they allow their emotions to control them and may be a foreshadowing to a change in his character.
“ After thinking for a moment, Siddhartha recited the following verse: Into her shady grove passed the beautiful Kamala. At the entrance to the grove stood the sun-browned shramana. Seeing the lotus blossom, he bowed low. Kamala replied to him with a smile, And the youth thought: Sweeter than offering to the gods Is offering to the beautiful Kamala.
… She drew him to her with her eyes, he lowered his face to hers, and he laid his mouth on that mouth that was like a fig freshly broken open. Kamala kissed him for a long time, and with profound astonishments Siddhartha felt her teaching him, felt her wisdom, felt her control...and at this moment he was like a child bewildered by the abundance of knowledge and things worthy of learning that have been revealed to him.” (Hesse 46)
This passage introduces Kamala, the beautiful woman who begins to reaps abundant influence over Siddhartha. From merely conversing one time, Hesse unfolds how submissive Siddhartha is becoming through the kiss. Unlike Gotama, Kamala seems to acquire more power into luring followers. In the Hindu religion, Kamala abides as a cherished goddess that aids individuals. Her main themes include love, relationship, passion, pleasure, the color yellow, and also the lotus flower. All things that have been introduced throughout the novel: the kiss, robes of the Buddhists, and lotus flower in the poem. In addition, the blessings of Kamala include those around her becoming wealthy and beautiful. This is proven when Hesse writes, “Sweeter than offering to the gods is offering to the beautiful Kamala.” Yet, if one does not remain faithful towards the goddess, it is said that she will fickle and her promises may be ripped away. This characterization and background knowledge of Kamala is vital to this novel because it foreshadows potential events further down the story. It can be assumed that in the future, negative events will occur to Siddhartha following temporary contentment, perhaps because of the persuasion of living a life of fortune that is encouraged by the goddess.
“‘I saw that clearly enough,’ said the ferryman, ‘and I wasn’t expecting any fee from you, nor a gift for my hospitality either. You can give me the gift another time.’ ‘You think so?’ said Siddhartha, amused. ‘For sure. I have learned that from the river too- everything comes back again. You too, Shramana, will come back. Now, farewell! Let your friendship be my fee. Keep me in mind when you make sacrifices to the gods.’ Smiling, they said their good-byes. Siddhartha smiled with happiness over the ferryman’s friendship and kindness. He is like Govinda, he thought as he smiled” (Hesse 40).
In this passage in the chapter, titled “Kamala”, Hermann Hesse is using foreshadowing in a sense because the ferryman is explaining to Siddhartha that they will cross paths again one day. When he says, “I have learned that from the river too-everything comes back again”, The author is hinting that Siddhartha will eventually come across Govinda again in the future. Siddhartha says, “you think so?”, after the ferryman tells him he can give him a gift another time. This shows how he has never thought of giving someone something the next time they see one another. He has learned to always give something in return for acts of kindness. Hesse uses language that sets a mood of relief and peace in this passage. When he says, “you can give it to me another time”, it creates happiness in the reader's mind because the ferryman is so kind just like Govinda. It gives the reader a sense of relief because Govinda is gone, however there are still hints such as the ferryman, that he is still with Siddhartha. When Siddhartha thinks to himself that the ferryman is like Govinda and smiles, it shows that Siddhartha misses Govinda and his companionship, but he is also content because he has learned that he will see him again one day.
I admire your connection on how the author's tone of this passage affects the mood of the reader, and I completely agree. The dismissal of Govinda introduces a depressing mindset to readers. Yet, conversing with the ferryman foreshadows somewhat of a "happy ending" which can be quite relieving. A concept from this passage you could take a little further is the flow of the river. Through the natural cycle of condensation, evaporation, and precipitation that comes alongside the nature of water creates the foreshadowing of meeting again in the future seem inevitable. An example of how the cycle of the river directly connects with the novel is shown on page 104 where Hesse writes, " The river strove toward its goal; Siddhatha saw it hurrying on, this river composed of himself and those near him and all the people he had ever seen. All the waves and currents hurries onward, suffering, toward objects, many goals. The waterfall, the lake, the rapids, the sea, and all the goals were reached; and each was followed by a new one, and the water became vapor and climbed into the sky, became rain and crashed down from the sky, became springs, brooks, became a river, strove onward again, flowed anew."
“When she received the first news of Siddhartha’s disappearance, she went to the window, where she held a rare singing bird captive in a golden cage. She opened the door of the cage, took the bird out and let it fly. For a long time, she gazed after it, the flying bird. From this day on, she received no more visitors and kept her house locked. But after some time, she became aware that she was pregnant from the last time she was together with Siddhartha.” (Page 58)
This passage is a reference to a metaphor used earlier in the chapter that likens Siddhartha with the rare singing bird that is being held captive in the cage. It is representative of Siddhartha who was trapped within the vices of city life and the greed and contempt for the child-like people that consumed him until he had become obsessed with material possessions like Kamaswami. His experience as a rich merchant living in the city also contrasts his time with the Samanas where he lived the life of an ascetic with no material possessions and shows a comparison of two extremes. In the passage, the cage that is confining the bird is symbolic of the greed and obsessions that tied Siddhartha to the city and only by leaving behind all of his possessions to go on a journey could he finally be free of that cage. This is also a foreshadowing for when Siddhartha meets his child.
I think you make a good point about the symbolism that the cage and the bird both represent. I had the same idea as you and thought that the cage represented the materialistic world and Siddhartha was trapped in it. The cage is described as golden which also shows the materialistic side of it because gold is fancy and many people desire to have it. I also agree with how the bird represents Siddhartha moving on from being stuck in the materialistic world to moving on or flying away to be free.
“With a smile on his face, Siddhartha watched the monks disappear. His sleep had strengthened him a great deal, but he was acutely tormented by hunger, for he had no eaten for two days, and the time was long in the past when he had been injured to hunger. With grief but also humor, he thought about those times. Then, as he recalled, he had boasted to Kamala of three things, that he had mastered three noble and invincible arts: fasting, waiting, and thinking. This had been his wealth, his power and strength, his trusty staff; in the diligent, hardworking years of his youth he had learned these three skills-nothing else. And now they had abandoned him, none of them belonged to him anymore-neither fasting, nor waiting, nor thinking. He had given them away in exchange for the most miserable pittance, the most impermanent of things: sensual pleasure, comfort, and wealth! Strange but true, this is how it had been. And now, it seemed to him, he had actually become one of the child people.” (Page 74) The passage takes place after Siddhartha realizes he needs to abandon kamaswami. Siddhartha is unhappy what he is doing with his life. Gambling though his earnings and finding the thrill in betting big. During his adventure as a wanderer, Siddhartha eventually loses his fasting skills when he went so long without practicing the Shramana ways. There was no point in fasting in the lifestyle Siddhartha was living in. Therefore, “he was acutely tormented by hunger.” The passage includes that he hasn’t eaten for two days. While Siddhartha was living with the Shramanas, he would survive without eating for weeks. Siddhartha has been weakened living in the luxuries setting. The two lifestyles of the merchants and Shramanas have swopped and now he has developed merchant characteristics such as “sensual pleasure, comfort, and wealth.”
I am posting for Nam The quote I have chosen, after reading "Samsara" and "By the River", was when Siddhartha realized and thought to himself about finding "om" again. He thought, ""... I had to go through so much stupidity, so much vice, so much error, so much disgust and disillusion and distress, merely in order to become a child again and begin fresh. But it was right, my heart says yes, my eyes are laughing. I had to experience despair, I had to sink down to the most foolish of all thoughts, to the thought of suicide, in order to experience grace, to hear om again, to sleep properly again and to awaken again. I had to become a fool in order to find Atman in me again. I had to sin in order to live again..."" (85). This made me thought about teaching of Yin and Yang, to keep everything in balance, and how it related to Buddhism, one must have enough, nothing more or less to reach enlightenment. Because Siddhartha was born a Brahmin, he had learned to do good and being in the light, and never knew what it was like to be bad; his life was out of balance and therefore he could not have reached enlightenment. After he crossed the river, a symbol of the border between Yin and Yang, he began to experience the other side of him that he needed, I thought this was what Hess meant by Siddhartha being reborn. He gotten deeper into the darkness, and had gotten swallowed up by his ego and the seven deadly sins, and began to lose himself. Once he realized that he had gone too far in, he immediately left and returned to the river. The act of Siddhartha returning to the river was a metaphor/symbol of him getting closer to Atman, returning to balance and the river was an epithet for Atman. This was another foreshadow of Siddhartha later going back to the ferryman to learn what it takes to reach enlightenment. - Nam Nguyen
"He had finished with that. That also died in him. He rose, said farewell to the mango tree and the pleasure garden. As he had not had any food that day he felt extremely hungry, and thought of his house in town, of his room and bed, of the table with food. He smiled wearily, shook his head and said good-bye to these things." Chapter 7, pg. 68
This passage shows how Siddhartha is ever changing and always is looking to advance on his path towards his goal of nirvana. Siddhartha, as shown in this passage, is always ready to move onto the next stop on his path. When one stop on his path closes up, a new one opens for him. The dissipation of a lavish lifestyle for Siddhartha illustrated in the passage is the ending of his 3rd stop on the path. He knows that it helped him along, but Siddhartha also knows that he needs to continue on, no matter how much he’ll miss his old lifestyle.
“When she first received news of Siddhartha’s disappearance, she went to the window where she kept a rare songbird in a golden cage. She opened the door of the cage, took the bird out, and let it fly away. She looked after the flying bird for a long time. From that day she stopped receiving visitors and kept her house closed” (Hesse 67).
In this passage in the chapter, named “Samsara”, Hesse describes Kamala’s reaction to Siddhartha leaving. When Hesse writes, “She opened the door of the cage, took the bird out, and let it fly away”, He exemplifies how, just like the bird is being set free, so is Siddhartha. Even though Kamala and Siddhartha were not necessarily “in love”, they still cared deeply for one another. Kamala did not act like she cared when she was able to see Siddhartha whenever she pleased. However, now that he is gone, she misses him. The common saying 'you never really know what you have until it is gone' applies in this situation when Hesse says, “from that day she stopped receiving visitors and kept her house closed.” Before Siddhartha left, she always let visitors into her house and talked to lots of other men, but when he left she realized Siddhartha had a greater impact on her life than she expected. Hesse states that, “she looked after the flying bird for a long time” in order to represent her “watching” Siddhartha as he leaves, regretting taking him for granted. Kamala keeps the songbird in a golden cage just how she kept Siddhartha in a hypothetical cage. He was stuck caring more about Kamala than she did about him and finally he flew away and was free from the false and mislead image of love that was displayed between the two of them.
“Like a veil, like a thin mist, fatigue settled over Siddhartha, slowly, each day a bit thicker, each month a bit drearier, each year a bit heavier. As a new garment gets old with time, loses its vivid color, gets spotted, wrinkled, worn at the seams, and here and there begins to show weak, threadbare spots, in the same way Siddhartha’s new life, which he had begun after his separation from Govinda, had grown old with the passing years and lost its color and luster...He noticed only that the bright and confident voice of his inner being, which had been awake within him and which in his times of brilliance had been his constant guide, had gone still.” (Hesse 61)
The essence of Kamaswami and Kamala stand lavished with greed, a life in which Siddhartha became seduced into. This passage marks as, yet another, turning point in his journey on reaching eternal enlightenment. As Siddhartha progresses through love, gambling, wealth, and superiority towards others, he realizes that the contempt gained from a materialistic society inhabits only temporary pleasure. The only moment where he sincerely sensed like he served a purpose was when he was guided by his inner self. The metaphor of Siddhartha’s life to a ragged dress stains significant in this novel because it portrays the author’s motif of how societies full of materialist goods only provide limited joy, and with age will begin to wither away. In addition, Siddhartha learns that he has become a slave to all things. Whether it's was following the Shramanas in the forest or deceived in the world of riches, he learns that he finds content neither spirituality, or materialistically. In the end, he returns to relying on his innermost being. A fallback which stands as the only truth he can be certain of and can trust in.
I'm posting this for Nam After reading “Govinda”, I have picked a quote for the last discussion. The quote stated on page 126, “ “But I will say no more about it. Words are not good for a secret meaning, everything instantly becomes a bit different when we utter it, a bit adulterated, a bit foolish - yes, and that too is a very good and appeals to me, I also very much agree that one man’s treasure and wisdom always sound like foolishness to another.”” . This was said during the speech of Siddhartha trying to explain Govinda how to reach enlightenment. Siddhartha was trying to say to Govinda that it is impossible to give directions to others on reaching enlightenment, and this ties to the teaching of Buddhism is that there are multiple ways to reach enlightenment. If enlightenment was so easy to reach then when Gautama started teaching, most of his disciples , including Siddhartha and Govinda, would have reached enlightenment already. Another meaning would be that there are different understanding of reaching enlightenment, and once a person reached it it is hard to describe their view to others because they have reached such a high status of a spiritual person that their view changes. An example would be if someone viewed homeless people as people who are bad, but another person got to experience what the homeless go through and view them as people who have suffered; the two views give different perspectives and meaning just like how Siddhartha view the world and Govinda. -Nam Nguyen
“But more than Vasudeva could teach him, he was taught by the river. Incessantly, he learned from it. Most of all, he learned from it to listen, to pay close attention with a quiet heart, with a waiting, opened soul, without passion, without a wish, without judgement, without an opinion. In a friendly manner, he lived side by side with Vasudeva, and occasionally they exchanged some words, few and at length thought about words.” (Page 71-72)
In this passage, Siddhartha has reached the pinnacle of his enlightenment and has finally found a way of life that he can be content with. It personifies the river by having Siddhartha learn from it and by finding enlightenment; he can simply listen without wanting anything more and being able to just think. The author, Hesse, could consider this, a peaceful existence without want, emotion, or narrow-mindedness, to be the final step of enlightenment which is similar to the ascetic nature of Buddhism which is without greed or lust. Unlike with the Samanas, Siddhartha doesn’t feel any contempt for others nor does he feel the need to be annihilated like he did when he was living as a rich merchant. This passage is representative of the nirvana Siddhartha has found with his companion Vasudeva and his contentedness with his life of contemplation and emotional distractions.
For a long time, long months, Siddhartha waited for his son to understand him, to accept his love and perhaps return it. For long months Vasudeva waited, observing. He waited and said nothing. One day when the young Siddhartha had again been rudely tormenting his father with his obstinacy and moodiness and had broken two rice bowls, Vasudeva took his friend aside in the evening and spoke with him (page 92). Hesse used anaphora at the beginning of the first two sentences to emphasize the long going period of time. He repeated the word, “for” and later added, “long months” while also repeating the word, “waited.” Siddhartha’s son is rebelling against the difference of settings. He’s gone from, “fine food, a soft bed, in the habit of giving orders to servants” to sleeping in a hut. Siddhartha’s son act of stubbornness is a call for leaving and searching for a new life. Just how Siddhartha at the beginning of the book had to stand on his two feet, looking at the distance to encourage his father’s approval so he could go on his spiritual journey. Siddhartha’s father initially said no to his abandonment but he later learned that Siddhartha would forever be unhappy and not himself so he later let him go. Hesse was foreshadowing to the moment Siddhartha decided to let his son go. The choices Siddhartha made were a trail of hints to what he would later learn from. A relationship cannot be forced upon and that wasn’t what Siddhartha wanted to do. He related himself to his son and knew he would find happiness somewhere else.
“The waterfall, the lake, the rapids, the sea, and all the goals were reached; and each was followed by a new one, and the water became vapor and climbed into the sky, became rain and crashed down from the sky, became springs, brooks, became a river, strove onward again, flowed anew. But the passionate voice has changed… Siddhartha listened. He was not all listener, completely one with listening, completely empty, completely repetitive. He felt now that he has completed his learning of how to listen”(Hesse 104-105).
In his passage in the chapter, called “OM”, Hermann Hesse shows symbolism within the water. Throughout the book, the water has been a recurring theme which is, ‘everything eventually returns’, as well as, ‘new beginnings.’ It had been shown more promptly in the river because the river speaks to Siddhartha and the ferryman throughout the book. When Hesse writes, “became a river, strove onward again, flowed anew”, it shows that even though the river changed many times into different forms such as, the lake, the sea and the rain, it managed to make it’s way back into the river again. And though the water had been many different places, it still flowed. The water changes, but the river remains the same. When Hesse describes Siddhartha as a listener, it shows how everything comes back and represents new beginnings because the Siddhartha made his way back to the river and reunited with the ferryman after many years. Siddhartha came back a changed man. In the beginning of the book, he was not a very good listener and was cocky and thought he knew best and now he feels that he “completed his learning of how to listen.”
“They are my equals. This is why I can love them. And here now is a teaching will find laughable: Love, for me, Govinda, is clearly the main thing. Let seeing through the world, explaining it, looking down on it, be the business of great thinkers. The only thing of importance to me is being able to love the world, without looking down on it, without hating it and myself - being able to regard it and myself and all beings with love, admiration, and reverence.” (Hesse 112)
During the whole duration of Siddhartha, a dynamic character’s journey, he struggles through the internal conflict of reaching satisfying enlightenment. From venturing to the forests with the shramanas persisting the life of asceticism, rejecting the teaching of Gotama, and struggling to obtain fulfillment through the abundant riches provided by the life of Kamaswami and Kamala, the main character finally reaches someone who is truly wise, Vasudeva. An essential reason why the ferryman’s behavior was distinctive from the others was the fact that he listened. As a ferryman himself, Siddhartha learned to serve others, carrying travelers from one side of the river to another. In his previous ways of living, Hesse explains on numerous accounts on how “judging” the world, imagining what it could be, and not admiring how it truly resides as, leads to discontempt. This is due to the constant comparison humans put between themselves and things that surround them. In addition, the essence of love, indicated in the passage above, is inhabited through the imagery of the river throughout the novel. Subtly, the river constantly accepts the members that board on to it, continuing to flow without resistance. Simply put, love manifests as virtually the only solution for any human to reach nirvana. Nevertheless, obtaining affection for all things brings an individual at equality with the object or person, allowing them to feel true contempt, in which Siddhartha is finally able to attain at the end of the novel.
After Siddhartha hypnotized the Samanas' leader, Govinda was amazed and said to Siddhartha," " ... Truthly, had you remained there, you would soon have learned how to walk on water." " ( 23) and Siddhartha responded, " " I do not desire to walk on water," " (23). I thought to myself that this was an allusion to Jesus Christ. Siddhartha left home and started fasting for forty four days and same goes with Jesus and Buddha, they left their home and practiced fasting however Siddhartha fasting period appeared similar toward Jesus's story of forty days in the desert. Beside fasting and leaving their family, their common characteristic was of fighting off their own temptation, Jesus resisted the temptation of the devil and Siddhartha and Buddha tried to abandon their physical body and desire.
ReplyDeleteThe conversation was an analogy, Hess compared western and eastern ideas of ways to get closer to God. Hess was persuading or convincing the audience that to reach a higher level as a spiritual being one must fast and abandon their earthly possession. Mentioned in Buddhism and Christianity, abandon all your worldly possession to get closer to God; Buddhists practiced asceticism and Jesus told Matthew, if Matthew wanted to followed him he must give up all of his possession and donate it to the poor.
Hess was developing his character, Siddhartha. We can assume how Siddhartha psychologically processed his thoughts, how his choice of not choosing to stay told us that he would not chose a choice that would be a retrogression toward his path of approaching enlightenment. This points out the difference between Siddhartha and Govinda; Siddhartha was more of a dynamic character, how he wanted to leave the Samanas, and Govinda was a static character, how he stay in the same place without change. This was a foreshadow toward later in the book, how Govinda will remain with Gautama and Siddhartha leaving.
What do you guys think of my opinions?
- Nam Nguyen (I'm posting this for Nam)
You make a very good point about Hesse was convincing the audience that one must fast and abandon their earthly possession to reach a higher spiritual being. However, I’d like to argue that Hesse criticizing the asceticism of Siddhartha and Jesus as shown by how Siddhartha complains to Govinda that despite living and practicing asceticism for so long, the oldest Samanas have yet to reach nirvana. Later in the book he also criticizes being wealthy, the opposite of asceticism, as it corrupts Siddhartha. Siddhartha only finds enlightenment in what I believe to be a mixture of the two as rather than having nothing, he lives with the bare necessities as a ferryman. This could be an allegory about only needing the necessities to be content instead of not having anything or having too much.
Delete“Siddhartha learned a great deal from the Samanas; he learned many ways of losing the Self. He traveled along the path of self-denial through pain, through voluntary suffering and conquering of pain, through hunger, thirst and fatigue. He traveled the way of self-denial through meditation, through the emptying of the mind through all images. Along these and other paths did he learn to travel. He lost his Self 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. “
ReplyDeleteThis passage in the chapter “With the Samanas” shows Siddhartha's first attempt at following his path to nirvana or enlightenment. The passage also shows his frustration with the teachings of the Samanas and the issues he has with eliminating one’s Self or personal identity. The Self is the personal feelings and needs one has. The Samanas believed only by eliminating one’s identity could you find enlightenment. While Siddhartha was able to learn to lose the Self for some time, he always came back to his Self. The teachings helped, but only temporarily. The passage illustrates Siddhartha's attitude towards a path for his enlightenment that takes too much time and how when a spiritual path loses efficiency or exposes its limits he will move on. The fact that the older Samanas have not reached nirvana either, told later in the chapter, also leads Siddartha away from this technique. This passage is the first of his stops on the path to nirvana, and it displays his relationship with his quest as strong and unbounding.
- Samuel Maxon
My idea is similar to your idea. For example when he left his father and fellow Brahman to follow the Samanas, it was because of his discontent with their teachings. He felt that their teachings were only quenching their thirst but not completely satisfying them and felt that he had to pursue his own path to enlightenment. If the beliefs don’t stand up to his expectations then he will leave it and move on in search of the next set of beliefs until he is able to find one that satisfies him. I believe that this shows him to be an independent individual who won’t be content with ideas that others give him and prefers to decide if it is nirvana himself.
DeleteGovinda turned pale, when he heard these words and read the decision in the motionless face of his friend, unstoppable like the arrow shot from the bow. Soon and with the first glance, Govinda realized: Now it is beginning, now Siddhartha is taking his own way, now his fate is beginning to sprout, and with his, my own. And he turned pale like a dry banana-skin. “O Siddhartha,” he exclaimed, “ will your father permit you to do that?” “O Govinda,” he spoke quietly, “ let’s not waste words. Tomorrow, at daybreak I will begin the life of the Samanas. Speak no more of it.” (pg. 9)
ReplyDeleteThis passage shows the beginning of the motif that repeats throughout the book of Siddhartha being unsatisfied with his current life and leaving. Siddhartha is not satisfied with the beliefs of his surroundings, whether it be the Brahman or the Samanas, and he would leave to find new experiences and find his own path in life and his own beliefs. The time that this passage takes place is before Siddhartha learns of other values of different cultures and so his character is just starting to develop very much yet as he has not had many experiences outside of Brahman culture. Yet just from this, I can surmise that Siddhartha is a rather independent character who would rather find his own answers than be content with what is told to him and he has a determination to match. The author described Siddhartha’s resolve with the metaphor “unstoppable like the arrow shot from the bow” and Govinda’s reaction as his face turning “pale like a dry banana-skin” which would make Siddhartha seem like the resolute leader and Govinda as the rather weaker-willed follower in comparison.
-Christopher Miyasako
“Siddhartha said, ‘With your permission, Father, I’ve come to tell you that tomorrow I must leave your house and go off with the ascetics. I long to become a shramana. May my father not oppose this.’ The brahmin was silent and remained so for so long that the stars moved and changed their configuration in the little window in the room before the silence came to an end. The son stood mute and motionless, his arms crossed; the father sat mute and motionless on the mat, and the stars moved in the sky. Finally the father said: ‘It is not fitting for a brahmin to speak hard and angry words, yet in my heart I cannot accept this. Do not let this request cross your lips a second time.’...The first daylight shone into the room. The brahmin saw that Siddhartha’s knees were shaking slightly. But he saw no wavering in Siddhartha’s face. The eyes were fixed on the distance. Then the father realized that Siddhartha was already no longer home with him, that he had left him already”(Hesse 8-10).
ReplyDeleteThis passage caught my eye while reading the first chapter of Siddhartha, titled “The Brahmin’s Son”. Hermann Hesse goes into detail when showing what kind of relationship Siddhartha has with his father. Siddhartha says, “With your permission, Father, I’ve come to tell you that tomorrow I must leave your house and go off with the ascetics… May my father not oppose this.” By saying this, Siddhartha clearly respects his father and his approval because he went to him and informed him of what he is going to do the next day. However, he does not necessarily look at him as his father. When Siddhartha states, “I’ve come to tell you”, it shows that he doesn’t look at his father as a parent, but more as a friend. He is not asking his father if he can go off with the ascetics the next day, but telling him.
Hesse writes, “Then the father realized that Siddhartha was already no longer home with him, that he had left him already”, this shows that Siddhartha was prepared and already planning to leave before he had asked his father. This is another example of how he views his father as less of a parent and treats him like a friend. When the father realizes that his son is no longer with him, he faces and accepts the fact that he is no longer in charge and he should just give in and let Siddhartha begin his journey.
-Kaleelah Muhammad
Herman Hesse foreshadows coming events through the characterization of Siddhartha's friend Govinda. “Govinda knew Siddhartha would never become an ordinary brahmin, a lazy purveyor of rituals, a greedy dealer of charms, a vainmouther of empty phrases, a base and devious priest, nor would he become a mindless good sheep in the common herd. Certainly he would not: and Govinda, too, would not become any of those things; he would also not become a brahmin like ten thousand others. His desire was to follow Siddhartha, the beloved, the magnificent” (Hesse 4).
ReplyDeleteThis particular passage did not attract attention to myself immediately.Only after reading how Siddhartha’s “...willingness brings joy to” (Hesse 19) Govinda’s heart, did I realize the leverage Siddhartha acquire on his dear friend. Siddhartha decided to embrace a new way of living with the shramanas. Consequently, Govinda, without complaint followed his friend for three whole years alongside a decision that was not his own. In addition, when Govinda introduced the idea of Gotaman, he patiently waited for Siddhartha’s approval. Not only was Govinda aware that the Brahmin’s son would not fulfill the path his father encouraged, but he also remained devoted to him. He was willing to starve himself and adapt to different lifestyles because he looked up to his companion at such depth. This relationship, I believe, manifests the relationship of Buddha and his followers. How they were willing to capitulate anything because they desired to follow their role model.
-Issabell Melz
I agree with what you're saying and think you bring up a great point in how you compare Govinda following Siddhartha to followers following Buddah. There are many similarities with the two relationships, and Govinda just like the followers of Buddah has to have guidance and instruction to achieve anything or become happy. Where as Siddhartha and the Buddah are more of individual people and prefer to do things on their own terms. They are leaders and don't need a teacher or a role model to tell them what to do.
DeleteSiddhartha had begun to breed discontentment within himself. He had begun to feel that his father’s love and his mother’s love, and even the love of his friend Govinda, would not bring him enduring happiness, would not bring him contentment and satisfaction, would not be sufficient to his needs. He had begun to sense that his venerable father and his other teachers, the wise Brahmins, had already shared with him the better part of their wisdom; they had already poured their all into his waiting vessel, and the vessel was not full, his mind was not satisfied, his soul was not at peace, his heart was not." Chapter 1, pg. 5
ReplyDeleteI initially notice, the long sentences filled with commas. The second sentence contains four commas and it’s not like the author is just writing a big list. Herman Hesse where he’s listing Siddhartha’s love could’ve simply written “his father, mother, and Govinda,” but chooses to add variety and difference in his writings. Since elementary school I was taught to write a list like that. Not where you have two “and’s” on both sides of the commas. Hesse’s goal in writing lengthy sentences was to avoid being choppy and boring. Great authors recognize when to use short, medium, or big sentences. It’s the change in length that creates the flow in reading.
Siddhartha is in search for nirvana and does not believe he will find it remaining at home as the passage quotes, “…would not bring him enduring happiness, would not bring him contentment and satisfaction, would not be sufficient to his needs.” Even when the Brahmins had filled their hearts with wisdom or has spent their entire life committed to their teachings, Siddhartha finds it pointless staying. He has been taught everything with great potential in his midst. But he has seen their flaws and knows of something waiting to be discovered.
-Posted for Ethan Nguyen
ReplyDelete“The slowly walking thinker came to a halt altogether, captured by his last thought, and immediately from this thought another sprang, a new thought, which was this: That I know nothing of myself, that Siddhartha remains so alien and unknown to me - there is one cause for this, just one: I was afraid of myself, I was running away from myself! I was looking for atman, I was looking for Brahman; I was determined to tear my ego apart, to peel it layer by layer in order to find in its unknown innards the pith behind all the husks, atman, life, the divine, the ultimate. But in the process I myself got lost.” (Hesse 31)
The logic behind Siddhartha’s choice not to follow the path of Gotama in the previous chapter was due to the fact that he desired to experience the wisdom his teachers obtained, instead of allowing his belief be driven by the claims of other individuals. In this passage, Hesse demonstrates a key turning point of Siddhartha’s faith where he recognizes that he wasn’t satisfied on finding content looking beyond himself. Throughout his existence he had been informed by his father, shramanas, and other influences that true holiness derives from selflessness and service to a greater being. Yet at this point of the novel, Siddhartha rejects the view he had been growing up with and concludes that in order to reach abounding fullness, he must explore within the depths of his own being. Possibly the only path to answer even the most strenuous questions of existence.
- Issabell Melz
I also believe that this passage shows Siddhartha's change in his beliefs and his new idea of looking inwards not outwards to find his spiritual fulfillment. However, I also see this passage as a realization for Siddhartha that following an already "trekked" path cannot help one achieve full enlightenment as everyone's path is unique.
Delete-Samuel Maxon
"[Siddhartha] stood alone like a star in the heavens...That was the last shudder of his awakening, the last pains of birth. Immediately he moved on again and began to walk quickly and impatiently, no longer homewards, no longer to his father, no longer looking backwards."
ReplyDeleteThis passage in the chapter “Awakening” shows the end to Siddhartha's second attempt at achieving fulfillment and the start of him moving on to the next stop on his path. The passage demonstrates the unrelenting determination of Siddhartha on his path to enlightenment and the feeling of aloneness on his trail. Him being impatient and walking quickly also illustrates his attitude towards his path and how when a spiritual path loses efficiency or exposes its limits he will move on. Siddartha no longer walking towards his home or his father represents his faithfulness to the path of enlightenment and him no longer looking backwards relates to him being fully on the path, not wondering about his old life. The second stop on his path ends like his first, but it also allows him to gain the necessary techniques to help him on his journey.
-Samuel Maxon
*Chapter 4, pg 34*
Delete*This is for Ethan Nguyen
ReplyDelete“the Perfect One Spoke: “You have heard the teaching, Brahmin’s son. Good for you having pondered it so deeply. You have found a gap in it, a flaw. May you continue to ponder that. But beware, you who are greedy for knowledge, of the jungle of opinions and the battle of words. Opinions are worth little. They can be beautiful or ugly, anyone an espouse or reject them. But the teaching that you heard from me is not my opinion, and it’s aim is not to explain the world to those who are greedy for knowledge. It has a different aim-liberation from suffering. This is what Gautama teaches, nothing else” (pg. 27)
At this point, Siddhartha has learned the ways of Gotama and has even convinced Gautama that Siddhartha would be a great Buda. Gotama tells Siddhartha that he is, “greedy for knowledge” but what Siddhartha doesn’t realize that his spiritual journey cannot be taught. He has to go through the experiences and learn from his mistakes. On page 28, Gautama preaches to Siddhartha, “This came to you as a result of your own seeking on your own path, through thought, through mediation, through realization, through enlightenment. It did not come to you through teaching! One cannot gain spiritual illumination through a lecture. You physically and emotionally have to take a journey for what you’re seeking. Just like Siddhartha when he first seeks the Shramanas and then Gotama. Siddhartha however reject Gotama’s offerings and believes he himself has achieved enlightenment but is incapable of teaching it to others. The Samanas is one of the many experiences that have shown him that enlightenment can’t be taught.
-Ethan Nguyen
ReplyDeleteAfter reading, Gautama, and , Awakening, I have pick this specific quote to discuss. " " With half a smile, with an unperturbable brightness and friendliness, Gautama gazed into the stranger's eyes and bade him good-bye with a barely visible gesture. "You are clever, O samana," said the Venerable One. "You know how to speak cleverly, my friend. Beware of too much cleverness!" " (34). This passage was Buddha saying goodbye and hinting Siddhartha toward enlightenment. When Buddha looked into Siddhartha's eyes, he realized that Siddhartha already know most of his teaching, but also realized that Siddhartha still has not learn from himself. Buddha said to him that be aware of himself of being too clever, meaning it was a hint to Siddhartha that he should not be or have too much of something, that he should just have the necessity to live. Buddha realizes that Siddhartha has abandoned himself to the point that Siddhartha was not able to see that he is being too much of something and Buddha is warning him if he keeps going down this road he will not be able to reach enlightenment. This also foreshadow later that Siddhartha will become wealthy because he needed to learn from himself and also we can predict he will abandon his wealth and live a simple live as a ferryman; after he realized that he has learned all from himself and that he does not need too much of something or too less and be in the center of the range.
- Nam Nguyen
“I saw a man, Siddhartha thought, a single man, before whom I would have to lower my glance. I do not want to lower my glance before any other, not before any other. No teachings will entice me any more, since this man’s teachings have not enticed me.” (Page 27)
ReplyDeleteAfter meeting Gotama in the chapter “Gotama,” Siddhartha’s resolve to find his own path and not be satisfied with the teachings of others is strengthened. His meeting with Gotama did bring him one step closer to enlightenment, a goal that has been obtained by the Buddha which Siddhartha recognizes as he would lower his glance for just the Buddha. He realizes that if the teachings of such a great man will not satisfy him then he must find his own path instead of trying to find enlightenment by following the paths of others, as Siddhartha doesn’t believe that it is possible to find true enlightenment unless you find it yourself and following others won’t give nirvana. Hesse emphasizes how high in esteem Siddhartha holds the Buddha by writing that he wouldn’t lower his glance for anyone else twice. This meeting also helps Siddhartha to find himself and allows him to mature more as a character as he goes on a journey to experience more in life.
-Christopher Miyasako
I agree with your concept of Siddhartha's maturity throughout exploring a variety of habits of characters such as Gotama. Yet, I disagree that it helps find enlightenment within himself throughout the rest of the novel. By rejecting other views completely, it limits Siddhartha's ability to grow in his beliefs and faiths. Upon meeting Kamala, it is evident that he must be submissive in order to find contempt within the relationship, despite the fact that it was temporary. This is also prevalent in the ways of Kamaswami. Siddhartha had to become a slave to riches, fame, and gambling in order to realize that it was not the path he wanted to fulfill. Through the process of trial & error, I believe that Siddhartha is able to grow in maturity, further than he could have by continuing to reject other views of lifestyle.
Delete“Gotama had listened to him quietly, unmoved. Now in his kindly, polite, and clear voice, the Perfect One spoke: ‘You have heard the teaching, brahmin’s son. Good for you for having pondered it so deeply. You have found a gap in it, a flaw. May you continue to ponder that. But beware, you who are greedy for knowledge, of the jungle of opinions and the battle of words. Opinions are worth little. They can be beautiful or ugly, anyone can espouse or reject them. But the teaching that you heard from me is not my opinion, and its aim is not to explain the world to those from suffering. This is what Gotama teaches, nothing else...’ The Buddha robbed me, thought Siddhartha, he robbed me, yet he gave me even more” (Hesse 27 and 29).
ReplyDeleteIn this passage, Hermann Hesse shows the significance to the chapter, titled “Gatama”. Hesse shows throughout the whole chapter and especially in this passage that Gatama is very enlightened and shows great compassion for others. When Gatama begins to speak to Siddhartha, it shows the significance to this chapter because what he says changes Siddhartha and his perspective on things. Although he did not chose to follow Gatama on the path of liberation with Govinda, he now has a better idea of what he has yet to learn. Siddhartha has been really unsure about many things and has never been fully content with his life, but now he is figuring out what he needs to do to better himself. When Hesse writes, “he robbed me, yet he gave me even more”, it shows how Siddhartha learned a great amount from him. Siddhartha loses Govinda, his follower that he’s had for a long time, but that feeling of being “robbed” is filed with “even more” which is his excitement to continue on his path.
When Gotama says, “Opinions are worth little. They can be beautiful or ugly, anyone can espouse or reject them.” It changes Siddhartha’s mindset because he is used to being right and not having anyone go against what he says. When Gotama states, “but the teaching you heard from me is not my opinion”, it proves that Siddhartha could not “espouse or reject” what he has been teaching. This was a major turning point and is why this passage is so significant to not only the chapter but the book.
-Kaleelah Muhammad
I am posting this for Nam
ReplyDelete"..." a very beautiful river. I love it more than anything else. I often listen to it, I often
look into its eyes, I have always learned from it. One can learn a lot from a river. "Thank you, my benefactor," said Siddhartha when setting foot on the opposite bank. "I have no gift as your guest, different, and no fair, I am homeless, and no gift as your guest, dear friend, and no fare, I am homeless, a Brahmin's son and a samana." "I could tell.” said the ferryman, “and I expected no fare from you and no gift. You will give me the gift another time.”” (46). This passage was when Siddhartha was crossing the river, and met the ferryman. I interpreted this passage as a foreshadow to later when Siddhartha would learn from the ferryman and reach enlightenment. Hess also use personification in this passage to inform the reader that Atman was speaking to the ferryman, telling him that Siddhartha will come to him in order to reach enlightenment, the personification was the river spoke to the ferryman. I also viewed this as Hess building the ferryman character; the ferryman is kind and generous to provide Siddhartha a free ride also established that the ferryman has reached enlightenment. I also felt that the lesson in this mini encounter was that by being thankful and appreciative of people, they would be nice back and might give the person something nice.
Nam Nguyen
Advice? Why not? Who would not want to give a poor, ignorant shramana who comes from the jackals in the forest a piece of advice?
ReplyDeleteSo then, dear Kamala, advise me: Where should I go to find those three things the fastest?
Friend, that is a thing many people would like to know. You must do what you have learned to do, and get money and clothes and shoes for it. There is no other way for a poor man to get money. What can you do?
I can think, I can wait, and I can fast
Is that all?
That is all. No, I can also compose poetry. Will you give me a kiss for a poem? (pg. 45)
Kamala comes from a capitalistic world and looks down on upon people of lower class. She is snobby as she exclaims, “No, estimable friend, he is not good enough yet. He must have clothes, beautiful clothes, handsome shoes, plenty of money in his purse-and gifts for Kamala. Do you understand now, shaman from the forest? Are you taking this in?”(44) The snobby like is emphasized when Herman Hesse puts the adjectives such as beautiful, handsome, and plenty before the things “he must have.” Kamala believes you have to earn as much money so you can buy your way in life. But after spending more than three years with the shramanas, Siddhartha isn’t accustomed to earning money. He is only used to applying his body to the absolute minimum to live the next day. The skills such as thinking, waiting, and fasting. Kamala underestimates Siddhartha’s skills and doesn’t see how it can apply to working but Siddhartha later proves himself, and later gains Kamala’s respect. The last line of the passage is where Siddhartha and Kamala’s relationship sparks. She also falls in love with his poetry as she quotes, “If I were rich, I would give you pieces of gold for them.”(46). Siddhartha’s skills for poetry lead Kamala finding out he knows how to read and write. Just another reason for Kamala to respect and love Siddhartha.
-Ethan Nguyen
"[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." Chapter 5, pg. 50
ReplyDeleteThis passage demonstrates the relentlessness of Siddhartha on his path towards spiritual nirvana. The goal is the only thought on his mind, he wants to achieve his path. The Samanas teachings helped him with clearing his mind from all distractions. This ability is seen as unnatural by others, but everyone can clear their thoughts with the right teachings. The ability to do this allows Siddhartha to continue on his path and reach his goal. The passage illustrates this and the determination of Siddhartha on his way to his goal.
-Samuel Maxon
It seemed indeed, as if he did not care about the business. At one time, he travelled to a village to buy a large harvest of rice there. But when he got there, the rice had already been sold to another merchant. Nevertheless Siddhartha stayed for several days in that village, treated the farmers for a drink, gave copper-coins to their children, joined in the celebration of a wedding, and returned extremely satisfied from his trip. (Page 48)
ReplyDeleteIn this passage, Siddhartha doesn’t care about being a successful merchant, but instead is focused more on living a fulfilled life filled with kindness and happiness. This shows how much Siddhartha at this time in the story contrasts with the Child-like people such as Kamaswami, who would have been angry and returned right away as all people like him care about are money. Unlike in with his past attempts to find enlightenment, he seems content in his current situation as he mingles with the very people that seemed so strange to him with emotions that he had a hard time understanding. Experiences such as this will allow Siddhartha to relate more to the Child-like people and why they allow their emotions to control them and may be a foreshadowing to a change in his character.
“ After thinking for a moment, Siddhartha recited the following verse:
ReplyDeleteInto her shady grove passed the beautiful Kamala.
At the entrance to the grove stood the sun-browned
shramana.
Seeing the lotus blossom, he bowed low.
Kamala replied to him with a smile,
And the youth thought: Sweeter than offering to
the gods
Is offering to the beautiful Kamala.
… She drew him to her with her eyes, he lowered his face to hers, and he laid his mouth on that mouth that was like a fig freshly broken open. Kamala kissed him for a long time, and with profound astonishments Siddhartha felt her teaching him, felt her wisdom, felt her control...and at this moment he was like a child bewildered by the abundance of knowledge and things worthy of learning that have been revealed to him.” (Hesse 46)
This passage introduces Kamala, the beautiful woman who begins to reaps abundant influence over Siddhartha. From merely conversing one time, Hesse unfolds how submissive Siddhartha is becoming through the kiss. Unlike Gotama, Kamala seems to acquire more power into luring followers. In the Hindu religion, Kamala abides as a cherished goddess that aids individuals. Her main themes include love, relationship, passion, pleasure, the color yellow, and also the lotus flower. All things that have been introduced throughout the novel: the kiss, robes of the Buddhists, and lotus flower in the poem. In addition, the blessings of Kamala include those around her becoming wealthy and beautiful. This is proven when Hesse writes, “Sweeter than offering to the gods is offering to the beautiful Kamala.” Yet, if one does not remain faithful towards the goddess, it is said that she will fickle and her promises may be ripped away. This characterization and background knowledge of Kamala is vital to this novel because it foreshadows potential events further down the story. It can be assumed that in the future, negative events will occur to Siddhartha following temporary contentment, perhaps because of the persuasion of living a life of fortune that is encouraged by the goddess.
-Issabell Melz
“‘I saw that clearly enough,’ said the ferryman, ‘and I wasn’t expecting any fee from you, nor a gift for my hospitality either. You can give me the gift another time.’
ReplyDelete‘You think so?’ said Siddhartha, amused.
‘For sure. I have learned that from the river too- everything comes back again. You too, Shramana, will come back. Now, farewell! Let your friendship be my fee. Keep me in mind when you make sacrifices to the gods.’
Smiling, they said their good-byes. Siddhartha smiled with happiness over the ferryman’s friendship and kindness. He is like Govinda, he thought as he smiled” (Hesse 40).
In this passage in the chapter, titled “Kamala”, Hermann Hesse is using foreshadowing in a sense because the ferryman is explaining to Siddhartha that they will cross paths again one day. When he says, “I have learned that from the river too-everything comes back again”, The author is hinting that Siddhartha will eventually come across Govinda again in the future.
Siddhartha says, “you think so?”, after the ferryman tells him he can give him a gift another time. This shows how he has never thought of giving someone something the next time they see one another. He has learned to always give something in return for acts of kindness.
Hesse uses language that sets a mood of relief and peace in this passage. When he says, “you can give it to me another time”, it creates happiness in the reader's mind because the ferryman is so kind just like Govinda. It gives the reader a sense of relief because Govinda is gone, however there are still hints such as the ferryman, that he is still with Siddhartha.
When Siddhartha thinks to himself that the ferryman is like Govinda and smiles, it shows that Siddhartha misses Govinda and his companionship, but he is also content because he has learned that he will see him again one day.
I admire your connection on how the author's tone of this passage affects the mood of the reader, and I completely agree. The dismissal of Govinda introduces a depressing mindset to readers. Yet, conversing with the ferryman foreshadows somewhat of a "happy ending" which can be quite relieving. A concept from this passage you could take a little further is the flow of the river. Through the natural cycle of condensation, evaporation, and precipitation that comes alongside the nature of water creates the foreshadowing of meeting again in the future seem inevitable. An example of how the cycle of the river directly connects with the novel is shown on page 104 where Hesse writes, " The river strove toward its goal; Siddhatha saw it hurrying on, this river composed of himself and those near him and all the people he had ever seen. All the waves and currents hurries onward, suffering, toward objects, many goals. The waterfall, the lake, the rapids, the sea, and all the goals were reached; and each was followed by a new one, and the water became vapor and climbed into the sky, became rain and crashed down from the sky, became springs, brooks, became a river, strove onward again, flowed anew."
Delete“When she received the first news of Siddhartha’s disappearance, she went to the window, where she held a rare singing bird captive in a golden cage. She opened the door of the cage, took the bird out and let it fly. For a long time, she gazed after it, the flying bird. From this day on, she received no more visitors and kept her house locked. But after some time, she became aware that she was pregnant from the last time she was together with Siddhartha.” (Page 58)
ReplyDeleteThis passage is a reference to a metaphor used earlier in the chapter that likens Siddhartha with the rare singing bird that is being held captive in the cage. It is representative of Siddhartha who was trapped within the vices of city life and the greed and contempt for the child-like people that consumed him until he had become obsessed with material possessions like Kamaswami. His experience as a rich merchant living in the city also contrasts his time with the Samanas where he lived the life of an ascetic with no material possessions and shows a comparison of two extremes. In the passage, the cage that is confining the bird is symbolic of the greed and obsessions that tied Siddhartha to the city and only by leaving behind all of his possessions to go on a journey could he finally be free of that cage. This is also a foreshadowing for when Siddhartha meets his child.
I think you make a good point about the symbolism that the cage and the bird both represent. I had the same idea as you and thought that the cage represented the materialistic world and Siddhartha was trapped in it. The cage is described as golden which also shows the materialistic side of it because gold is fancy and many people desire to have it. I also agree with how the bird represents Siddhartha moving on from being stuck in the materialistic world to moving on or flying away to be free.
Delete“With a smile on his face, Siddhartha watched the monks disappear. His sleep had strengthened him a great deal, but he was acutely tormented by hunger, for he had no eaten for two days, and the time was long in the past when he had been injured to hunger. With grief but also humor, he thought about those times. Then, as he recalled, he had boasted to Kamala of three things, that he had mastered three noble and invincible arts: fasting, waiting, and thinking. This had been his wealth, his power and strength, his trusty staff; in the diligent, hardworking years of his youth he had learned these three skills-nothing else. And now they had abandoned him, none of them belonged to him anymore-neither fasting, nor waiting, nor thinking. He had given them away in exchange for the most miserable pittance, the most impermanent of things: sensual pleasure, comfort, and wealth! Strange but true, this is how it had been. And now, it seemed to him, he had actually become one of the child people.” (Page 74)
ReplyDeleteThe passage takes place after Siddhartha realizes he needs to abandon kamaswami. Siddhartha is unhappy what he is doing with his life. Gambling though his earnings and finding the thrill in betting big. During his adventure as a wanderer, Siddhartha eventually loses his fasting skills when he went so long without practicing the Shramana ways. There was no point in fasting in the lifestyle Siddhartha was living in. Therefore, “he was acutely tormented by hunger.” The passage includes that he hasn’t eaten for two days. While Siddhartha was living with the Shramanas, he would survive without eating for weeks. Siddhartha has been weakened living in the luxuries setting. The two lifestyles of the merchants and Shramanas have swopped and now he has developed merchant characteristics such as “sensual pleasure, comfort, and wealth.”
I am posting for Nam
ReplyDeleteThe quote I have chosen, after reading "Samsara" and "By the River", was when Siddhartha realized and thought to himself about finding "om" again. He thought, ""... I had to go through so much stupidity, so much vice, so much error, so much disgust and disillusion and distress, merely in order to become a child again and begin fresh. But it was right, my heart says yes, my eyes are laughing. I had to experience despair, I had to sink down to the most foolish of all thoughts, to the thought of suicide, in order to experience grace, to hear om again, to sleep properly again and to awaken again. I had to become a fool in order to find Atman in me again. I had to sin in order to live again..."" (85). This made me thought about teaching of Yin and Yang, to keep everything in balance, and how it related to Buddhism, one must have enough, nothing more or less to reach enlightenment. Because Siddhartha was born a Brahmin, he had learned to do good and being in the light, and never knew what it was like to be bad; his life was out of balance and therefore he could not have reached enlightenment. After he crossed the river, a symbol of the border between Yin and Yang, he began to experience the other side of him that he needed, I thought this was what Hess meant by Siddhartha being reborn. He gotten deeper into the darkness, and had gotten swallowed up by his ego and the seven deadly sins, and began to lose himself. Once he realized that he had gone too far in, he immediately left and returned to the river. The act of Siddhartha returning to the river was a metaphor/symbol of him getting closer to Atman, returning to balance and the river was an epithet for Atman. This was another foreshadow of Siddhartha later going back to the ferryman to learn what it takes to reach enlightenment.
- Nam Nguyen
"He had finished with that. That also died in him. He rose, said farewell to the mango tree and the pleasure garden. As he had not had any food that day he felt extremely hungry, and thought of his house in town, of his room and bed, of the table with food. He smiled wearily, shook his head and said good-bye to these things." Chapter 7, pg. 68
ReplyDeleteThis passage shows how Siddhartha is ever changing and always is looking to advance on his path towards his goal of nirvana. Siddhartha, as shown in this passage, is always ready to move onto the next stop on his path. When one stop on his path closes up, a new one opens for him. The dissipation of a lavish lifestyle for Siddhartha illustrated in the passage is the ending of his 3rd stop on the path. He knows that it helped him along, but Siddhartha also knows that he needs to continue on, no matter how much he’ll miss his old lifestyle.
-Samuel Maxon
“When she first received news of Siddhartha’s disappearance, she went to the window where she kept a rare songbird in a golden cage. She opened the door of the cage, took the bird out, and let it fly away. She looked after the flying bird for a long time. From that day she stopped receiving visitors and kept her house closed” (Hesse 67).
ReplyDeleteIn this passage in the chapter, named “Samsara”, Hesse describes Kamala’s reaction to Siddhartha leaving. When Hesse writes, “She opened the door of the cage, took the bird out, and let it fly away”, He exemplifies how, just like the bird is being set free, so is Siddhartha. Even though Kamala and Siddhartha were not necessarily “in love”, they still cared deeply for one another. Kamala did not act like she cared when she was able to see Siddhartha whenever she pleased. However, now that he is gone, she misses him.
The common saying 'you never really know what you have until it is gone' applies in this situation when Hesse says, “from that day she stopped receiving visitors and kept her house closed.” Before Siddhartha left, she always let visitors into her house and talked to lots of other men, but when he left she realized Siddhartha had a greater impact on her life than she expected.
Hesse states that, “she looked after the flying bird for a long time” in order to represent her “watching” Siddhartha as he leaves, regretting taking him for granted.
Kamala keeps the songbird in a golden cage just how she kept Siddhartha in a hypothetical cage. He was stuck caring more about Kamala than she did about him and finally he flew away and was free from the false and mislead image of love that was displayed between the two of them.
“Like a veil, like a thin mist, fatigue settled over Siddhartha, slowly, each day a bit thicker, each month a bit drearier, each year a bit heavier. As a new garment gets old with time, loses its vivid color, gets spotted, wrinkled, worn at the seams, and here and there begins to show weak, threadbare spots, in the same way Siddhartha’s new life, which he had begun after his separation from Govinda, had grown old with the passing years and lost its color and luster...He noticed only that the bright and confident voice of his inner being, which had been awake within him and which in his times of brilliance had been his constant guide, had gone still.” (Hesse 61)
ReplyDeleteThe essence of Kamaswami and Kamala stand lavished with greed, a life in which Siddhartha became seduced into. This passage marks as, yet another, turning point in his journey on reaching eternal enlightenment. As Siddhartha progresses through love, gambling, wealth, and superiority towards others, he realizes that the contempt gained from a materialistic society inhabits only temporary pleasure. The only moment where he sincerely sensed like he served a purpose was when he was guided by his inner self. The metaphor of Siddhartha’s life to a ragged dress stains significant in this novel because it portrays the author’s motif of how societies full of materialist goods only provide limited joy, and with age will begin to wither away. In addition, Siddhartha learns that he has become a slave to all things. Whether it's was following the Shramanas in the forest or deceived in the world of riches, he learns that he finds content neither spirituality, or materialistically. In the end, he returns to relying on his innermost being. A fallback which stands as the only truth he can be certain of and can trust in.
-Issabell Melz
I'm posting this for Nam
ReplyDeleteAfter reading “Govinda”, I have picked a quote for the last discussion. The quote stated on page 126, “ “But I will say no more about it. Words are not good for a secret meaning, everything instantly becomes a bit different when we utter it, a bit adulterated, a bit foolish - yes, and that too is a very good and appeals to me, I also very much agree that one man’s treasure and wisdom always sound like foolishness to another.”” . This was said during the speech of Siddhartha trying to explain Govinda how to reach enlightenment. Siddhartha was trying to say to Govinda that it is impossible to give directions to others on reaching enlightenment, and this ties to the teaching of Buddhism is that there are multiple ways to reach enlightenment. If enlightenment was so easy to reach then when Gautama started teaching, most of his disciples , including Siddhartha and Govinda, would have reached enlightenment already. Another meaning would be that there are different understanding of reaching enlightenment, and once a person reached it it is hard to describe their view to others because they have reached such a high status of a spiritual person that their view changes. An example would be if someone viewed homeless people as people who are bad, but another person got to experience what the homeless go through and view them as people who have suffered; the two views give different perspectives and meaning just like how Siddhartha view the world and Govinda.
-Nam Nguyen
“But more than Vasudeva could teach him, he was taught by the river. Incessantly, he learned from it. Most of all, he learned from it to listen, to pay close attention with a quiet heart, with a waiting, opened soul, without passion, without a wish, without judgement, without an opinion. In a friendly manner, he lived side by side with Vasudeva, and occasionally they exchanged some words, few and at length thought about words.” (Page 71-72)
ReplyDeleteIn this passage, Siddhartha has reached the pinnacle of his enlightenment and has finally found a way of life that he can be content with. It personifies the river by having Siddhartha learn from it and by finding enlightenment; he can simply listen without wanting anything more and being able to just think. The author, Hesse, could consider this, a peaceful existence without want, emotion, or narrow-mindedness, to be the final step of enlightenment which is similar to the ascetic nature of Buddhism which is without greed or lust. Unlike with the Samanas, Siddhartha doesn’t feel any contempt for others nor does he feel the need to be annihilated like he did when he was living as a rich merchant. This passage is representative of the nirvana Siddhartha has found with his companion Vasudeva and his contentedness with his life of contemplation and emotional distractions.
For a long time, long months, Siddhartha waited for his son to understand him, to accept his love and perhaps return it. For long months Vasudeva waited, observing. He waited and said nothing. One day when the young Siddhartha had again been rudely tormenting his father with his obstinacy and moodiness and had broken two rice bowls, Vasudeva took his friend aside in the evening and spoke with him (page 92).
ReplyDeleteHesse used anaphora at the beginning of the first two sentences to emphasize the long going period of time. He repeated the word, “for” and later added, “long months” while also repeating the word, “waited.” Siddhartha’s son is rebelling against the difference of settings. He’s gone from, “fine food, a soft bed, in the habit of giving orders to servants” to sleeping in a hut. Siddhartha’s son act of stubbornness is a call for leaving and searching for a new life. Just how Siddhartha at the beginning of the book had to stand on his two feet, looking at the distance to encourage his father’s approval so he could go on his spiritual journey. Siddhartha’s father initially said no to his abandonment but he later learned that Siddhartha would forever be unhappy and not himself so he later let him go. Hesse was foreshadowing to the moment Siddhartha decided to let his son go. The choices Siddhartha made were a trail of hints to what he would later learn from. A relationship cannot be forced upon and that wasn’t what Siddhartha wanted to do. He related himself to his son and knew he would find happiness somewhere else.
-Ethan Nguyen
“The waterfall, the lake, the rapids, the sea, and all the goals were reached; and each was followed by a new one, and the water became vapor and climbed into the sky, became rain and crashed down from the sky, became springs, brooks, became a river, strove onward again, flowed anew. But the passionate voice has changed… Siddhartha listened. He was not all listener, completely one with listening, completely empty, completely repetitive. He felt now that he has completed his learning of how to listen”(Hesse 104-105).
ReplyDeleteIn his passage in the chapter, called “OM”, Hermann Hesse shows symbolism within the water. Throughout the book, the water has been a recurring theme which is, ‘everything eventually returns’, as well as, ‘new beginnings.’ It had been shown more promptly in the river because the river speaks to Siddhartha and the ferryman throughout the book. When Hesse writes, “became a river, strove onward again, flowed anew”, it shows that even though the river changed many times into different forms such as, the lake, the sea and the rain, it managed to make it’s way back into the river again. And though the water had been many different places, it still flowed. The water changes, but the river remains the same.
When Hesse describes Siddhartha as a listener, it shows how everything comes back and represents new beginnings because the Siddhartha made his way back to the river and reunited with the ferryman after many years. Siddhartha came back a changed man. In the beginning of the book, he was not a very good listener and was cocky and thought he knew best and now he feels that he “completed his learning of how to listen.”
“They are my equals. This is why I can love them. And here now is a teaching will find laughable: Love, for me, Govinda, is clearly the main thing. Let seeing through the world, explaining it, looking down on it, be the business of great thinkers. The only thing of importance to me is being able to love the world, without looking down on it, without hating it and myself - being able to regard it and myself and all beings with love, admiration, and reverence.” (Hesse 112)
ReplyDeleteDuring the whole duration of Siddhartha, a dynamic character’s journey, he struggles through the internal conflict of reaching satisfying enlightenment. From venturing to the forests with the shramanas persisting the life of asceticism, rejecting the teaching of Gotama, and struggling to obtain fulfillment through the abundant riches provided by the life of Kamaswami and Kamala, the main character finally reaches someone who is truly wise, Vasudeva. An essential reason why the ferryman’s behavior was distinctive from the others was the fact that he listened. As a ferryman himself, Siddhartha learned to serve others, carrying travelers from one side of the river to another. In his previous ways of living, Hesse explains on numerous accounts on how “judging” the world, imagining what it could be, and not admiring how it truly resides as, leads to discontempt. This is due to the constant comparison humans put between themselves and things that surround them. In addition, the essence of love, indicated in the passage above, is inhabited through the imagery of the river throughout the novel. Subtly, the river constantly accepts the members that board on to it, continuing to flow without resistance. Simply put, love manifests as virtually the only solution for any human to reach nirvana. Nevertheless, obtaining affection for all things brings an individual at equality with the object or person, allowing them to feel true contempt, in which Siddhartha is finally able to attain at the end of the novel.
-Issabell Melz