Siddhartha Passage #1 From the moment I picked up this book, I knew 90% of the quotes would be incredibly thought provoking, so I was pretty open minded as to which passage I would choose for my first blog post. “When all the Self was conquered and dead, when all passions and desires were silent, then the last must awaken, the innermost of Being that is no longer Self - the great secret!”(Hesse 11) This quote greatly stood out to me as it was almost a summary of the Buddhist religion, and Siddhartha. It provoked many questions; how does one conquer Self? And conquering Death? And What is this innermost part of being that is known as “the great secret”? The passage doesn’t seem to have a specific setting which adds to the mystery of it all. The only characters mentioned are Self and then “The Great Secret” which seems to be a separate being from Self, a complete transformation. As for any action/instructions, it says that all passions and desires must be silent which leads to more questions; do you need to fulfil them to silence them? Or simply cast the aside? The style of writing seems to give the idea that everything is open to interpretation, and the way people will interpret will change on a case to case situation, but conquering one’s self and death to reveal “the great secret” is achievable by everyone. -Stephan Kaidan 9/20/15
“Siddhartha had started nursing discontent within himself. He had started feeling that his father’s love, and his mother’s love, and also his friend Govinda’s love would not make him happy forever and always, not please him, gratify him, satisfy him. He had begun to sense that venerable father and his other teachers, that the wise Brahmins had already imparted to him the bulk and the best of their knowledge, that they had already poured their fullness into his waiting vessel, and the vessel was not full, his mind was not contented, his soul was not tranquil, his heart not sated.” (Hesse 5). This excerpt shows that Siddhartha is displeased with his current life. He has obtained all of the knowledge that the Brahmins can offer yet Siddhartha still feels vacant. Hesse conveys Siddhartha’s vacancy through his syntax. The run on sentence at the end of this passage emphasizes the emptiness in his life and the desire to find peace of mind and tranquility. His realization is a foreshadow for his journey to find bliss. Although loved and admired by his town, Siddhartha feels at odds with society. His beliefs differ from those around him and he questions everything he has grown to know. This makes him feel out of place leading him to jump at the first opportunity to leave the Brahmins in search of nirvana. Siddhartha’s decision to leave leads to conflict between him and his father. “Mute and motionless, the son stood with crossed arms; mute and motionless, the father sat on the mat, and the stars drifted across the sky,”(9). While Siddhartha still had respect for his father, he did not wish to become him. He believed that his father lived an empty life that could never lead to true bliss. Siddhartha’s decision to search for fullness is difficult for his father because his father respects and loves greatly. Unfortunately for Siddhartha’s father, his affirmation is not enough for Siddhartha’s happiness. This passage is a preview of the theme that happiness can’t come from others, only from experience and truly knowing yourself.
Another example from the test that would also support your analysis is “But Siddhartha was no joy to himself; he brought no pleasure to himself” (Hesse 4). This short excerpt from the first chapter also shows how dissatisfied Siddhartha is, and the discontent carried with him. Although this quote does not touch on how he has learned all the knowledge the brahmins have, nor does it show how Siddhartha doesn’t feel like his parent’s love is enough, it does foreshadow that he is going to make changes in his life soon. You mentioned your quote foreshadowed his journey, and I also think this quote does the same by stating Siddhartha felt no pleasure.
‘“Siddhartha,” he said, “what are you waiting for?” “You know.” “Are you going to keep standing there, till daylight, till noon, till night?” “I’m going to stand here and wait.” “You’ll get tired, Siddhartha.” “I’ll get tired.” “You’ll fall asleep, Siddhartha.” “I will not fall asleep.” “You’ll die, Siddhartha.” “I will die.”’ (Hesse 10)
I find this passage to be significant because it shows Siddhartha’s persistence, and determination to get what he wants. This is the conversation between Siddhartha and his father after Siddhartha requests permission from his father to join the shramanas. HIs father rejects this idea, and determined to get his way, Siddhartha stands motionless for hours, waiting for his father to give in. This persistence shows just how badly Siddhartha feels the need for enlightenment, as well as for knowledge. Although Siddhartha means no harm by making this request, his father finds it offensive that he is leaving their religion, where Siddhartha is loved deeply by everyone. This deep love for Siddhartha that everyone has, is not enough to satisfy Siddhartha. Siddhartha expresses his discontent and dissatisfaction multiple times throughout the first two chapters. His constant dissatisfaction is significant because it is the motive for his search for enlightenment. What Siddhartha wants is happiness and joy, and for him, this comes from knowledge, which his father, teachers, and brahmins have no more to give him. Siddhartha thinks that becoming a shramana will bring him happiness, and Siddhartha will do whatever it takes to reach this spiritual joy. In this case, doing whatever it takes to reach this feeling of content involves Siddhartha standing motionless, agreeing to die rather than obey his father. This shows that Siddhartha would rather die than go back to his normal life, where he was kept busy making sacrifices to the gods or engaging in ritual ablutions. Siddhartha found no happiness in this life, and thought death would be better than continuing his dissatisfying life. He wants more than just love from his mother, father, and friends. He wants to be satisfied spiritually.
…” The drinker does indeed find escape, he does indeed find a short respite and rest, but he returns from the illusion and finds everything as it was before” (Hesse 17).
The book Siddhartha by Herman Hesse is controversial. It brings up many ideas that I had never thought of and questions about way of life and religion. In the beginning, I had begun to believe in the way of relieving all the ill desires from yourself to be happy. Then Hesse went as far to say that to be happy you need to remove all desires goals, and ultimately yourself as a whole. You need to be completely empty to experience happiness, and that’s where he lost me. I chose the quote above because Govinda makes a good point. People drink to escape the reality of their lives and that’s also a reason that people pray or look for a religion to follow. They want to find a way to escape the suffering they feel because they don’t know how to on their own. They feel like the guidance from a higher power or substance will make it go away. As Govinda said though, when you drink you can escape it for a little bit, but eventually you come back to reality. It’s almost like he’s comparing alcohol to religion. Your problems will always come back. Like Siddhartha said, he made himself empty and followed all the wise words from him father and the Semanas but no matter what, he always came back to himself. He doesn’t want to deceive himself by saying he’s happy with where he’s at, so he must continue his search.
I agree with your with your idea that drinking is a comparison to religion. Both religion and alcohol can help ease people into the harsh sense of reality. Often when people drink to forget or to fill a hole in their life, when the alcohol wears off they are left with emptiness inside. That emptiness makes them want to drink more and more and soon they become addicted. The same can be said for religion. No matter how often people pray or meditate, it always fades away and they crave more. This is shown when Siddhartha and Govinda are discussing the drinker. “ ‘But in my exercises and meditations, I have found only brief numbing and I am still as far from wisdom, from redemption as when I was a baby in my mother’s womb-’ ”(Hesse 17). The ultimate goal of Siddhartha is to finally become totally dependant on religion, just as some people are dependant on alcohol. To be completely engulfed in religion would be to find happiness.
“The sacrifices and the supplication of the gods were excellent---but were they everything? Did the sacrifices give happiness? And what about the gods? Was it really Prajapati who created the world? Was it not Atman, He alone, who had created it? Were not the gods forms created like me and you, mortal, transient?” (H 6) In this section of the chapter Siddhartha comes to a realization that there is more to life than being a Brahmin. He realizes that his Brahmin teachers and his father have taught him all of their knowledge. He knows he has to move on. This quote also shows Siddhartha’s thirst for knowledge. He is questioning his religion, and that brings only more questions. Such as, who are the gods, were they mortal men, and are they the right answer. These questions are huge, because without them he would have never gone on his spiritual journey. He wonders if the sacrifices are necessary, because they might not really give happiness.
I agree with your ideas here. Siddhartha has reached a point where had "mastered" the religion he was following. he knew everything about it that he could, and now he thirsted for more. all the unanswerable questions were the ones he was asking. he wanted more which opened the doors to other religions, and also different interpretations of his current religion. once he started question his own religion, he could read or hear anything, question someone's true role in the history, and interpret it differently.
…”Yes, he thought breathing deeply, I will no longer try to escape from Siddhartha. I will no longer devote my thoughts to Atman and the sorrows of the world.I will no longer mutilate and destroy myself in order to find a secret behind the ruins. I will no longer study Yoga-Veda, Atharva-Veda, or asceticism, or any other teachings. I will learn from myself the secret of Siddhartha” (Hesse 39). I feel this quote has a lot of significance in the path that Siddhartha is going in. At this point in the book, Siddhartha has been through the teachings of the Brahmins, Semmanas, and teachings of Buddha and still hasn’t found himself. I think this is a big step for him to realize that in order to find himself, he will have to do it from himself instead of with the help of others. It shows a personal change because in the beginning of the book, Siddhartha was all about the following of religion and thought that the teachings of someone else would enable him to find himself and find inner peace. Siddhartha started to realize this when he is talking to Govinda and says, “Govinda, my friend, you have takent the step, you have chosen your path.You have always been my friends, Govinda, you have always been a step behind me. Often I have thought:Will Govinda ever take a step without me from his own conviction” (Hesse 30). Siddhartha pointed out to Govinda that he has chosen his path and now he must pursue it on his own. The way that his father’s and all his teachers had released him. They knew that their teachings wouldn’t have satisfied him or been enough for him. That he needed to leave and go own and pursue his path on his own. He has just be set out on his own, just as Govinda was.
“I have not doubted for a moment that you are a buddha, that you have attained thousands of brahmins and brahmin’s sons strive. You have found liberation from death. This came to you as a result of your own seeking on your own path, through thought, through meditation, through realization, through enlightenment. It did not come to you through a teaching! And that is my idea, O exalted One---nobody attains enlightenment through a teaching. O Venerable One, you will not be able to express to anyone through words and doctrine what happened to you in the moment of your enlightenment! Much is contained in the doctrine of the enlightened Buddha, much is taught in it---to live in an honest and upright way, to avoid evil. But there is one thing that this so clear and so venerable teaching does not contain; it does not contain the mystery of what the Exalted One himself experienced, he alone among hundreds of thousands. This is what I understood and realized when I listened to the teaching. This is the reason I am going to continue my wandering---not to find another or better teaching, for I know that one does not exist, but in order to leave behind all teachings and all teachers and to attain my goal on my own or die.” (Hesse 28)
Siddhartha’s realization that enlightenment cannot be taught is significant because this influences him to continue wandering on his own, in search of enlightenment. Siddhartha is even willing to abandon his childhood friend, someone that loves him more than anyone, just to continue on his own path. This shows the extreme will and perseverance Siddhartha has when it comes to his search for enlightenment. He states that he is not going to continue his journey seeking for a new teaching that is better than Gotama’s, but he will continue in order to seek enlightenment on his own. Gotama was enlightened not through a teaching, but on his own. His own path and his own thoughts are what brought Gotama to finding liberation from death, and led him to enlightenment. Sharing this, Gotama sparked the realization in Siddhartha, that on his own and, through himself solely, he will achieve enlightenment. Throughout Gotama’s teaching, Siddhartha understood enlightenment cannot be attained through direct instruction, no matter how gifted the teacher is. Enlightenment is a solitary journey. Gotama’s teaching did not bring Siddhartha more knowledge, which he was hungry for, but it taught him something more important than facts: the truth about enlightenment, which he would carry with him for the rest of his journey. This realization was very important because without it, Siddhartha would have continued to attend teachings, searching for the answer within these. He would never have achieved enlightenment if he continued in that vein. His whole purpose of leaving his family and religion behind him and joining the shramanas was to bring him closer to enlightenment. Next he left the shramanas in order to join, and follow Gotama. Siddhartha has now found himself one step closer to enlightenment, and now knows what it takes to reach it. He must follow himself.
“From that moment, when the world melted away all around him, when he was alone like a star in the sky, from that moment of coldness and despondence, Siddhartha surfaced, more ego than before, more concentrated. He felt that this had been the final shudder of awakening, the last cramp of birth. And instantly he started walking again, started walking swiftly and impatiently, no longer to his home, no longer to his father, no longer back”(Hesse 39).
This passage is significant because this is the moment where Siddhartha is ‘reborn’. Siddhartha finally realises that he needs to be alone on his journey to find enlightenment. Hesse’s use of a simile comparing Siddhartha to a star is well placed and effective. Finding total bliss is rare and beautiful and it takes many years of solitary praying and discovering your true self. This awareness woke apart of him up that made him more determined to complete his journey. ‘The final shudder of awakening’ could be a foreshadow of Siddhartha’s journey. Siddhartha faces many more realizations along his journey. Hesse’s word choice could be an example of ironic foreshadowing (I just casually made up a literary device). This is ironic because this quote says that Siddhartha had finally awoken and was on his path to true bliss, but in actuality there is much more that Siddhartha needed to learn. Hesse’s diction could also just be foreshadowing that Siddhartha had finally found a key piece to unlocking bliss. Throughout the beginning of this book, Siddhartha had always had the help of others. This is the first time in the book where he had been completely alone. His friend Govinda is on his own path and now Siddhartha is going on his. The use of parallel structure in the last sentence of this passage emphasise his decision to continue his journey alone. It also addresses Siddhartha escaping the lingering presence of his father's disappointment. He has finally chosen to continue without worrying about his father’s disapproval for leaving the Brahmins.
“You show the world as a complete, unbroken chain, an eternal chain, linked together by cause and effect. Never has it been presented so clearly, never has it been so irrefutably demonstrated. Surely every Brahmin’s heart must beat more quickly, when through your teachings he looks at the world, completely coherent, without a loophole, clear as crystal, not dependent on chance, not dependent on the gods… But according to your teachings, this unity and logical consequence of all things is broken in one place. Through a small gap there streams into the world of unity something strange, something new, something that was not there before and that cannot be demonstrated and proved: that is your doctrine of rising above the world, of salvation.” The setting of this quote is in a forest grove with Siddhartha and the Buddha present. The setting is important to the scene, because it is a place for Siddhartha, and most likely the illustrious one too, of thought and enlightenment. All throughout the book Siddhartha finds himself sitting beneath a tree silently meditating or in deep thought. Siddhartha walked out into the grove in the morning to think. I believe that is exactly what the Buddha was in the grove to do, so it is very significant to the scene, because the two men meet at a time of great thought creating the perfect environment for them to debate his teachings. Hermann Hesse uses a lot of literary terms in this quote. Siddhartha says that he now can see the world as an “unbroken chain” and he also says that every Brahmin can see the world “clear as crystal”. These are two examples of Hermann Hesse use similes to paint a beautiful picture in our minds about how clear and beautiful the Buddha's teachings are. This is Siddhartha’s biggest step in his journey. Through listening to the Buddha’s teachings and speaking with him he realized that if he wants to attain true enlightenment, as the Buddha did, he cannot use a teacher. He must go his own way. Without this discovery Siddhartha’s life would be drastically altered. Siddhartha also realizes a flaw in the Buddha’s teachings, his doctrine of salvation. The Buddha says that everyone who can follow all of these teachings can become enlightened and transcend into salvation. Siddhartha states that all of his teachings are true and all can be proven except for salvation, and without that proof the “chain” of the world becomes broken.
Siddhartha Blog #2 "The teaching which you have heard...is not my opinion, and its goal is not to explain the world to those who are thirsty for knowledge. Its goal is quite different; its goal is salvation from the suffering. That is what Gotama teaches, nothing else." (Hesse 27)
This quote stands out to me as unique because there is no attempt to persuade someone of something. Siddhartha explains that there is no need to convince someone, that the only goal is salvation, which is enticing and will bring people to the religion, rather than bring the religion to people. The setting of the quote isn’t specific nor does is stand out, which adds to the boldness of it with it being the only thing that really seemed to stand out there. The author’s voice continues its slightly mysterious tone, which helps the words stick with you. It surfaces many questions that are rarely talked about unless specifically brought up. What is salvation? What is this suffering Siddhartha keeps mentioning? It makes you take a step back and look at the world from a different perspective. I personally try to have a positive outlook on life, but when given this negative “viewpoint”, it’s easy to see that the world isn’t always as nice as it seems. The authors tone is great in making you look at things from a point of view that you usually wouldn’t. After reading each chapter I’m left with a lot to ponder on, which is a good thing in my opinion as there is no single way to interoperate it, so I can look at each passage from multiple interpretations, leading each passage to stick with me more than a simpler book.
"All this had always been and he had never seen it; he was never present. Now he was was present and belonged to it. Through his eyes he saw light and shadows; through his mind he was aware of the sun and stars." (Hesse 46)
After Siddhartha spoke to the Illustrious One he felt like he made a huge step towards his enlightenment. He realized that he did not need a teacher to attain his enlightenment he needed to find his own path. He moves on from his father and shows major character growth. He was now living in the present by not worrying about past things, such as govinda and his father. Siddhartha noticed things he never noticed before and no longer has to see to believe. He sees “light and shadows” which i believe that the lights and shadows are rights and wrongs, goods and evils that guide him further on his path of enlightenment. He no longer needs to see that the sun and the stars are there to believe that they are still burning, because he knows that to be true in his mind. That way he can live in the present. Siddhartha has completely changed mindsets and is looking at the world in a whole new light. He no longer thinks about past mistakes or regrets any decision he makes, because that does not help to end suffering it only adds to it. On his journey Siddhartha saw many things in nature that is constantly occurring through his new outlook on the world and saw them as opportunities to learn from them.
I agree with your interpretation of the light and shadows as good and bad. throughout the book, Siddhartha would always point out positive and negative things he saw around himself. looking at these things as good and bad makes a lot of sense. they give him a sense of direction, pushing him towards the good and away from the bad.
Siddhartha blog #3 "Siddhartha's sympathy and curiosity lay only with the people, whose work, troubles, pleasures, and follies were more unknown and remote from him than the moon. Although he found it so easy to speak to everyone, to live with everyone, to learn from everyone...there was something which separated him from them...[because] he had been a Samana." (Hesse 57)
This passage stood out to me for being one of the first that I really noticed was in third person. There were other third person perspectives earlier in the book, but this stood out, sounding almost as if it were a higher power, pointing out his flaws and his perfections. The author manipulated his tone perfectly here, opening my eyes to the different views once again. When the passage stated “more unknown and remote from him than the moon” that made me think. The moon is still unknown to us for the most part, but that made me realize that at the time this book was originally written, no one had ever set foot on the moon, and it was far more mysterious. The modern day equivalent would be setting foot on mars, something we could only imagine until our technology further evolves. Once again the author was vague in saying what he meant, not saying what exactly it was separating Siddhartha from the others. I think the author purposely wrote the book this way leaving the majority to interpretation. Two people can interprate the book in completely different ways and I find that fascinating.
“He no longer pursued the essence or look toward the beyond. The world was beautiful when one just looked at it without looking for anything, just simply, as a child. The moon and stars were beautiful, brook and bank, forest and rock, goat and beetle, flower and butterfly---all were beautiful.” (Hesse 38).
This passage is a great representation of the difference between living for yourself and living for somebody else. When Siddhartha chose the path of living on his one, and finding enlightenment through himself and no one else, he saw the world in a whole new way. His perspective changed on life completely changed once he made this decision to live by his words rather than living by the teachings on someone else. Despite the loneliness Siddhartha faced during the beginning of his solo journey, his eyes finally saw the world differently. Siddhartha thinks about how beautiful the world is when you aren’t looking for anything. This is significant because it shows that Siddhartha has ended his search for the perfect teaching that will lead him directly to enlightenment, and has decided to let enlightenment find him, through himself and only himself. He is no longer looking for a new teacher or teaching that will guide him to enlightenment, but has rather chosen his own path, and will follow what his mind tells him is right. Siddhartha repeatedly talks about the beauty of the world, which he is able to see and appreciate now that he isn’t preoccupied by the search for knowledge. Comparing to his new life to how a child lives and sees the world, Siddhartha states he is just following life in the direction it is handed to him, and will go with the flow of things without raising any suspicion. His comparison of himself and a child shows how little Siddhartha has planned for his journey. Along with this, at the beginning of this passage, he says he is no longer looking toward the beyond, meaning he is no longer just searching for a future. Siddhartha is living in the present, and working on finding enlightenment in the present, rather than constantly looking to the future.This passage gives me a better understanding of how Siddhartha is feeling at this moment. When he talks about the simplicity of the world around him, and seeing the world like a child, I am able to infer what I think he is feeling and seeing. I think of him feeling like there is nothing to worry about, and feeling happy, with no reason to be upset or feel down.
“He is drawn by his goal, for he does not allow anything to enter his mind which opposes his goal” (Hesse 60). I feel that this quote is significant because it shows yet again another change in personality. Earlier, Siddhartha had thought that the way to achieve peace, would be to kill oneself and not have any goals or desires. Then he went along to say that he needs to experience the world on his own without a teacher. To teach himself and that the enlightenment will come from within. At this point in the book, he has gone back to the mind set that he needs a teacher. I think the only reason his mindset changed is that he fell in love. He wants to be the charming ambitious guy to her that goes after his goals. He wants to show her that he won't give up on her. That if he wants something, he will go and make it happen. Siddhartha knows that this is an attractive trait in a man for a woman, so he’s doing whatever he can do impress her. Siddhartha has completely transformed himself in order just to get the teachings of Kamala. He has slicked his hair back, gone to be a merchant, and abandon the Semana way of being a beggar. Siddhartha has fallen for Kalama and will not give up until he meets his goal of learning from her. -Alicia Holt
“If you toss a stone into water it takes the swiftest way to the bottom. And Siddhartha is like that when he has a goal, makes a resolve. Siddhartha does nothing, he waits, he thinks, he fasts, but he passes through the things of the world like the stone through the water, never acting, never stirring. He is drawn, he lets himself drop. His goal draws him, for he lets nothing into his soul that could go against his goal. This is what Siddhartha learned among the samanas. It is what fools call magic and what they think is worked by demons. Nothing is worked by demons, there are no demons. Anyone can work magic, anyone can reach his goals of he can think, if he can wait, if he can fast,”(Hesse 56).
In this passage, Hesse used many literary devices to illustrate Siddhartha’s determination. One device Hesse used is repetition. The passage begins with Siddhartha saying “he waits, he thinks, he fasts”. The parallel structure helps to emphasise what steps are necessary for the completion of goals. This emphasis of steps needed to succeed are intensified when they are repeated at the end of this passage. The repetition of the steps help show Siddhartha’s determination to become eligible to become Kamala’s student. Another device that clearly demonstrated his dedication was the metaphor at the beginning of the passage. Siddhartha is fully committed to learning from Kamala, no matter what it takes. The use of the metaphor not only demonstrated the degree of Siddhartha’s determination but also was a good use of visual imagery. The image of the falling rock, while great imagery, could be a possible foreshadowing. The rock could symbolize Siddhartha falling into a materialistic society and mindset. Kamala represents the materialistic stage of Siddhartha’s journey, and by comparing his determination to a rock falling through water, he could also be saying that he would completely fall into her way of life. Once a rock falls to the bottom of water, it is hard to get it back up without a great deal of force. This is how Siddhartha is when he falls into this new lifestyle, it takes awhile for him to realise that the lifestyle he is living is not what he was searching for. Eventually the rock will wash up on shore, as will Siddhartha and he will continue on his journey.
Siddhartha #4 "He envied them [for]...the sense of importance with which they lived their lives, the depth of their pleasure and sorrows, the anxious but sweet happiness of their continual power to love. These people were always in love with themselves, with their children." (Hesse 62) This passage gave me an inside look to Siddhartha’s mind. He realizes he’s not like everyone else. While others are content with their lives, able to enjoy the little things in life, Siddhartha can’t do that. He sees all the negatives in life. He sees life as suffering. While others are okay with mediocre and take the negatives of day to day life, Siddhartha wants only the best and won’t stop at anything to get perfection. He will gladly drop common habits, fast for long periods, exclude himself from society, all just to get closer to perfection, also known as enlightenment. The author does a great job telling you the inner workings/thoughts of the main character without spelling it out. Everything the author wanted you to know is in the book, sometimes written between the lines, but easily “deciphered”. The author loses some of his mysterious tone in this passage and things start to clear up. I personally think the book would lose much of its meaning if It was all written in clear sentences that didn’t need any thinking to understand. -Stephan Kaidan 9/27/15
We both think that Siddhartha wasn’t able to have the same feelings as the everyday people. However, I also think that Siddhartha not only envied them but also strived to be like them. For example, he wanted to reach enlightenment, well what is enlightenment? It’s the things that these everyday people felt that he felt was enlightment. The ability to enjoy his life and genuinely be happy.They were able to enjoy their lives, children, and deal with their problems unlike Siddhartha. Whenever Siddhartha had a problem or felt as if he wasn’t happy, he thought that fleeing would be the answer. That if he wasn’t happy 100% of the time doing what he was then it was the wrong thing to do. I don’t think that he realized that life isn’t perfect and sometimes you will have problems. I think a reason he strived to be his best is so he could feel as if he was better than these everyday people.If he couldn’t attain the feelings that they had, he would just be better than him in his eyes. I think that gave him a sense of false happiness and set him back in his journey.
“At times he heard within him a soft, gentle voice which reminded him quietly, complained silently, so that he could hardly hear it. Then he suddenly saw clearly that he was leading a strange life, that he was doing many things that were only a game, that he was quite cheerful and sometimes experienced pleasure, but that real life was flowing past him.” (Hesse 71)
Siddhartha had lost his way. Somewhere along his journey Siddhartha finally succumb to the power of beautiful women and riches. Siddhartha always heard a voice in the back of his head that was telling him that this was wrong, that he had lost his way, but over time he had been fully enveloped by the lure of riches and women. So much so that he could no longer even hear his inner voice. Hesse uses a great metaphor when he talks about how Siddhartha feels his life is a game. It perfectly captures how Siddhartha must feel. He led his entire life with a purpose, and everything he did he did it to serve that purpose. His whole life was his spiritual journey, and now that he had lost that journey, that purpose, he realized how silly it all is. When he finally realized how materialistic his life had become, and how “strange” it would seem to the brahmin's son he once was, it was too late. He does not even listen to the voice in his head even when it becomes clear to him. Maybe he has had too much wine and has gotten too lazy to change his actions. This shows Siddhartha’s arrogance. Even when he realizes his new way of life is wrong he does not change it. Siddhartha has a huge ego, and he doesn't want to change his new life, because it feeds his ego. He has all the women he could want calling him handsome, he has many servants waiting for his beckoning call, and he has many people that look up to him and strive to be like him. This false sense of superiority he has is the reason he cannot return to the path of the righteous.
We both think that Siddhartha had gotten lost in his journey to enlightenment. However, I also think that Siddhartha was not only too lazy to return to his journey, but too addicted to the life that he lived. He said how he had become addicted to the feeling he had when he gambled. That he had become so accustomed and bored of the life that he was living that gambling and playing dice was the only thing he felt anything for. He loved the feeling he got while playing. He said it gave him anxiety to know that he could lose/win. He loved to drink, and eat expensive meals because he hadn’t ever before. He had been a beggar and went several days without eating. He liked the bed he slept in because before he would sleep in forests, huts, or whatever was available to him. He had grown addicted to the idea that he was better than everyone else and could do whatever he pleased.
“Now Siddhartha also knew why, as a brahmin and an ascetic, his fight against his ego had been futile. Too much knowledge had held him back, too many sacred verses, too many ritual rules, too much denial, too much doing and striving. He had been full of arrogance---always the smartest, always the most industrious, always a step ahead of everybody, always wise and spiritual, always the priest or sage. Into this priesthood, into this high-mindedness, into his spirituality, his ego had crept. It had anchored itself there and grown even as he thought he was destroying it through fasting and austerities. Now he saw it, and saw that the secret voice had been right. No teacher could ever have saved him. That is why he had to go into the world and abandon himself to pleasure and power, women and money, why he had had to be a merchant, a dice player, a drinker, and a man consumed with greed---until the priest and shramana within him were dead. That is why he had to continue to endure these ugly years, to endure the revulsion, the emptiness, the meaninglessness of a lost and desolate life until the end, to the point of bitter despair, until Siddhartha the hedonist, Siddhartha the greedy, could die.” (Hesse 78)
This quote shows the realization of Siddhartha when he finds the reasons why he has been unable to let go of his ego. He sees that he had carried too much knowledge when he was younger, a brahmin, and found himself superior to others. His knowledge made him feel smarter than all the rest, wiser, more special, and better. Even as a samana, he continued the belief he was superior to others. Dissatisfied as a starving, suffering samana, Siddhartha always felt different, and like he didn’t belong. His ego told him he was better than the others. Siddhartha found dissatisfaction once again, in his materialistic life in the city, thus causing him to leave the city and find a new way of living life. During the end of Siddhartha’s time in the city, he began to realize that his reasoning for everything he was doing had changed. His intentions had all changed. At first it was just a game, and he had fun with it. As time went on, Siddhartha changed. He no longer saw business as a joke, and no longer let people cheat him. Business now took over his life, along with the need for a materialistic lifestyle. He longed for nice things, and worked to get them. Initially, Siddhartha’s intention of traveling to the city was solely for him to be on his own, and reach nirvana. This changed almost instantly as he found the need for a woman in his life. Siddhartha’s high social status, and loads of money caused his ego to grow even larger than it had been previously. In order for him to truly part from his ego, Siddhartha had to live this materialistic life. It taught him that owning lots of goods, and having great money does not make you happy. Siddhartha had to go down this path and live this lifestyle so that he could be the one to make the decision to abandon his ego, an important step on the way to enlightenment. No teacher could have done this for Siddhartha, because it was his decision alone that allowed him to fully understand the size of his ego, and the need to let it go. This passage is important because it shows Siddhartha’s full realization of what his life has been like previously, and what he needs to do to fix it, in order to reach what he has been searching for the whole time, enlightenment. The significance of this quote is that it is once again another turning point in Siddhartha’s journey. The path has changed again, and Siddhartha has chosen to lose his arrogance and ego, and make his life more meaningful, before it is too late.
“Now he understood it and realized that the inward voice had been right, that no teacher could have brought him to salvation. That was why he had to go into the world, to lose himself…” (Hesse 99). I feel like this quote makes a huge significance in this Siddhartha’s life. I think that he’s come to the realization that he had to live up to his full potential to attain the most out of his life. Siddhartha was always one step ahead of people and was capable of anything. I feel the reason that he wasn't achieving happiness in the past wasn’t just because he needed to listen to himself rather than teachers, but that he knew deep down they were holding him back. He had to go through being a Sammana, being rich, being a Brahmin, and being a pilgrim because he could. If he had only stuck to one of these things, he never would have lived up to his full potential. he never would have realized that he really in truly didn’t like drinking, or being rich, or well-groomed or a gambler. he never would have discovered that the teachings of his father and the Brahmans would have never been enough to satisfy him. If he hadn’t left Govinda to pursue his own path, neither of them would have discovered their full potential. Siddhartha has been through every life that is possible for him and has decided that being a pilgrim and staying with the ferryman is what will make him happy. I also feel like Buddhism is where he wants to be as well. For example, when he was about to take his life, he remembered one word, and that was “om”. It had awakened himself and he had realized indeed what he was doing. He said he felt like a new Siddhartha and was genuinely happy. I think Siddhartha has finally found where he will be happy. -Alicia Holt
My idea is similar to your idea. For example, my blog post from September 28th has a similar quote relating to the fact Siddhartha couldn’t have been taught the things he learned throughout his journey by a teacher. He had to have lived through all those experiences, like being a brahmin, then a samana, and a rich man too. Without these experiences he would have never learned that those weren’t the right place for him, and he would never have been happy sticking to just one of them, like you mentioned. I find your analysis very interesting when you write about how Siddhartha had to try all these things in order to find his full potential.
“And yet this way was very good, and yet the bird in my breast did not die. But what a way it was! 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 afresh. 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 properly again. I had to become a fool in order to find Atman in me again. I had to sin in order to live again. Where will my way lead me now? This way is foolish, it runs in loops, it may run in a circle. Let it run as it will, I will follow it,”(Hesse 85). This quote is important because this is when Siddhartha realizes that death isn’t the right answer. Siddhartha had carried so much frustration with him because he could not find enlightenment with the brahmins, the samanas, the buddha, or with Kamala. With all this frustration contained inside of him, Siddhartha wants to end his search for enlightenment. His decision is shown in the metaphor of his life being the songbird. Earlier in the book he had a dream that the caged songbird had died, representing his longing for death. Now he is pleased that the bird did not die. Another difference is his state of mind of the bird’s life. Before the songbird was stuck in a cage, religion, and now it is in his chest. This represents that he has control over his life and religion does not trap and consume him. ‘The cage’ helped shape him, Siddhartha learned many lessons from being confined by various lifestyles. Without the lessons that he had learned, he would forever be stuck in a unsatisfying life. This leads to one of the themes of the novel that wisdom can only come from experience not knowledge. This excerpt touches a lot on that theme, that Siddhartha had gone out and experienced life and more importantly learned from those experiences. His re-evaluation of his life has allowed Siddhartha to reset on his path on becoming enlightened. He has accepted the idea that being imperfect in his religious life and trying new things is okay. Siddhartha finally realises that he can’t control his steps to enlightenment as much as he was, he needs to follow life wherever it takes him and absorb and apply his encounters to his spiritual life in the pursuit of bliss.
“When someone is seeking,” said Siddhartha, “it happens quite easily that he only sees the thing that he is seeking; that he is unable to find anything, unable to absorb anything, because he is only thinking of the thing he is seeking, because he has a goal, because he is obsessed with his goal. Seeking means; to have a goal; but finding means: to be free, to be receptive, to have no goal. You, O worthy one, are perhaps indeed a seeker, for in striving towards you goal, you do not see many things that are under your nose” (Hesse 140). I feel like Siddhartha and Govinda are antithesis in this certain part of the chapter. Siddhartha is so enlightened and Content with the path he chose, and Govinda isn’t. As Govinda is leaving Siddhartha, he asks him if he can help him at all. Siddhartha tries to give him his knowledge, but Govinda is not receiving of it. Siddhartha tries to explain that perhaps the reason Govinda is so old and hasn’t reached enlightenment is because he is so stuck in his way. So stuck on the path and unwillingly to leave it, just as Siddhartha once was. He tried to explain that he’s so focused on the end that he has lost sight of the journey. Passing many great things on his way that he never noticed. I also believe that this is the last character change that Siddharthya will experience. he was been everything that he was capable of. He realizes that you don’t have to be stuck in one way of life, you have to experience all aspects of life and blend them all together. if you are stuck in one way of seeing things, you will miss so much in the world. When he was a merchant, all he cared about was drinking and gambling. When he was a pilgrim, he was focused on fasting, thinking, and writing, because that’s all he knew. When Siddhartha got ahold of his son, he was obsessed with making his son love him and following/ loving him. After he listened to the river he learned to live life from all these perspectives because that's what life is. Looking at the world from different perspectives and being well-rounded.
Siddhartha #5 "You want me to become like you, so pious, so gentle, so wise, but just to spite you, I would rather become a thief and a murderer and go to hell, than be like you. I hate you; you are not my father even if you have been my mother's lover a dozen times!"(Hesse 100) This passage shows Siddhartha’s son’s last straw. He had always been nice and accepting of his son, and even after all the hatred his son has towards him. His son had always tried being mean to him and trying to get a reaction, but Siddhartha had always kept his cool and been accepting of his son, and this started to anger him. He exploded on his father, saying he wanted to be the opposite of Siddhartha by becoming a murder and a thief. His dad worried about his, was even disappointed, but never showed his son this. He stayed calm and accepting. This would change the way his son acted towards him, his son would realize that doing bad things doesn’t get a reaction out of anyone, which would hopefully make him stop doing such things, mature faster, and join his father in the journey towards enlightenment. -Stephan Kaidan 9/13/15
“It was true that he had never fully lost himself in another person to such an extent as to forget himself… and it had then seemed to him that this was the biggest difference between him and the ordinary people. But now, since his son was there, he,Siddhartha, had become completely like one of the people, through sorrow, through loving… he suffered tremendously through it and yet was uplifted, in some way renewed and richer” (Hesse 122)
This passage shows one of Siddhartha’s final steps towards reaching enlightenment. All throughout the book Siddhartha says, in order to reach enlightenment one needs to find one's self. Through the book he is looking for a way to find his self. This is his entire journey. Somewhere along that journey he realizes that in order to conquer one’s self one needs to lose their self completely. What he means by this is, in order to attain enlightenment you must be able to have looked at the world in many perspectives and have many personalities. That would be losing one’s self. Siddhartha has lost his self two times. The first was the more drastic experience, it was when he became a wealthy merchant and indulged himself in many pleasures. Through his experiences as a merchant he gained an entire plethora of knowledge and experiences he would not have had otherwise. This caused him to have a drastic new viewpoint, but it is not the viewpoint he needs in order to attain enlightenment. It is actually quite the opposite, but sometimes you must go the wrong way so you can fully understand and anticipate the road ahead. In order to attain enlightenment Siddhartha has to be able to see the world including himself with a non bias view. He has to dispose of all ego, in other words he has to lose his self. Siddhartha has lost his self in his love for his child. He now sees the world in a completely different light than he did before. Through his undeniable love for his child Siddhartha no longer has ego. His love is so strong it overwhelms the love that he has for himself.
“Siddhartha stopped, bent over the water to hear better, and in the quietly moving water he saw the reflection of his face. In this reflected face there was something that recalled something forgotten, and as he thought about it he remembered. This face was like another face he had once known and loved and also feared. It resembled the face of his father, the brahmin. And he remembered how, long ago as a youth, he had forced his father to let him go with the ascetics, how he had left him, gone off, and never returned. Had his father not felt the same pain over him that he now felt over his son? Had his father not long since died, alone, without ever having seen his son again? Should he not expect the same fate himself? Was it not comical, a strange and stupid thing, this repetition, this movement in the same fateful circles?” (Hesse 102)
I find this passage to be significant because when Siddhartha finds that his father went through the same thing with him, he finally realizes that he could not have done anything to stop his own son, and that his disappearance was inevitable. At the very beginning of the book, Siddhartha wants to leave his family and live among the samanas. His father does what he can to try convincing Siddhartha to stay, but fails to do so. This happens to SIddhartha in a similar way. Despite all the kindness and caring Siddhartha showed to his son, his son didn’t belong there, living beside the river. He belonged in the city. Siddhartha couldn’t have changed this. I think this quote is important because it shows the full circle of fate, and how things will always come back to you. His statement about the repetition, movement, and fateful circles implies that his son leaving him was an event fate, just like many other events in Siddhartha’s life. The belief in fate is strong throughout this book, and this quote supports this belief saying everything happens for a reason, and fate cannot be changed. Karma is an important theme throughout this book also, and although his son leaving him was not necessarily a punishment for him leaving his own father, it was a way to show Siddhartha what his own father went through when Siddhartha left for the samanas. In addition, I find significance in this quote because Siddhartha recalls how unhappy he was when he left his family, and how he went out, searching for enlightenment, and happiness. He sees that his son must of felt the same way, causing him to abandon his father. Vasudeva constantly told Siddhartha to let it go, and move on. He told Siddhartha his son had his own plan, and he must let him go out on his own, and find himself on his own. This quote really shows when this clicked with Siddhartha, and he realized he needed to let go. He needed to stop worrying about his son because he had a journey of his own, just like his father, Siddhartha.
“For a long time, long months, Siddhartha waited for his son to understand, to accept his love, perhaps to love him back. For long months, Vasudeva waited, watched and waited and held his tongue,”(Hesse 104).
At a young age, Siddhartha had begun to question the beliefs and credibility of his father, the Brahmin. He began to drift away and eventually leave his father. This was very difficult for Siddhartha’s father because he loved Siddhartha so greatly and whole-heartedly. The anaphora used at the beginning of both these sentences can help readers realise that Siddhartha is taking after his father. Anaphora uses repetition to get a point across, while Siddhartha is repeating his father's actions. Siddhartha now faces a similar difficulty with his son. Missing his childhood, Siddhartha is desperately trying to connect and get to know his son, but this task his proven difficult. While young Siddhartha may be his biological son, he will never view Siddhartha as his father. Siddhartha has difficulty with the division between him and his son. The separation between Siddhartha and his son only encourages Siddhartha to enforce his love to his son. His love for his son is affects his spiritual life because it gives him ego. Before Siddhartha’s son began to live with him, Siddhartha was well on his path to being enlightened. After his son shows up, Siddhartha takes a step back in his spiritual life. Both Siddhartha and his son are unhappy living together, chasing and avoiding their troublesome relationship. Vasudeva knows that they are unhappy and they are both on separate steps on their path to enlightenment, but he also knows it’s not his place to tell Siddhartha how to deal with this situation. Siddhartha has to come to the conclusion himself that if he truly loves his son, he will let him go on his path to find bliss, like his own father once did for him.
Siddhartha Passage #1
ReplyDeleteFrom the moment I picked up this book, I knew 90% of the quotes would be incredibly thought provoking, so I was pretty open minded as to which passage I would choose for my first blog post.
“When all the Self was conquered and dead, when all passions and desires were silent, then the last must awaken, the innermost of Being that is no longer Self - the great secret!”(Hesse 11)
This quote greatly stood out to me as it was almost a summary of the Buddhist religion, and Siddhartha. It provoked many questions; how does one conquer Self? And conquering Death? And What is this innermost part of being that is known as “the great secret”?
The passage doesn’t seem to have a specific setting which adds to the mystery of it all. The only characters mentioned are Self and then “The Great Secret” which seems to be a separate being from Self, a complete transformation. As for any action/instructions, it says that all passions and desires must be silent which leads to more questions; do you need to fulfil them to silence them? Or simply cast the aside? The style of writing seems to give the idea that everything is open to interpretation, and the way people will interpret will change on a case to case situation, but conquering one’s self and death to reveal “the great secret” is achievable by everyone.
-Stephan Kaidan 9/20/15
“Siddhartha had started nursing discontent within himself. He had started feeling that his father’s love, and his mother’s love, and also his friend Govinda’s love would not make him happy forever and always, not please him, gratify him, satisfy him. He had begun to sense that venerable father and his other teachers, that the wise Brahmins had already imparted to him the bulk and the best of their knowledge, that they had already poured their fullness into his waiting vessel, and the vessel was not full, his mind was not contented, his soul was not tranquil, his heart not sated.” (Hesse 5).
ReplyDeleteThis excerpt shows that Siddhartha is displeased with his current life. He has obtained all of the knowledge that the Brahmins can offer yet Siddhartha still feels vacant. Hesse conveys Siddhartha’s vacancy through his syntax. The run on sentence at the end of this passage emphasizes the emptiness in his life and the desire to find peace of mind and tranquility. His realization is a foreshadow for his journey to find bliss. Although loved and admired by his town, Siddhartha feels at odds with society. His beliefs differ from those around him and he questions everything he has grown to know. This makes him feel out of place leading him to jump at the first opportunity to leave the Brahmins in search of nirvana. Siddhartha’s decision to leave leads to conflict between him and his father. “Mute and motionless, the son stood with crossed arms; mute and motionless, the father sat on the mat, and the stars drifted across the sky,”(9). While Siddhartha still had respect for his father, he did not wish to become him. He believed that his father lived an empty life that could never lead to true bliss. Siddhartha’s decision to search for fullness is difficult for his father because his father respects and loves greatly. Unfortunately for Siddhartha’s father, his affirmation is not enough for Siddhartha’s happiness. This passage is a preview of the theme that happiness can’t come from others, only from experience and truly knowing yourself.
Another example from the test that would also support your analysis is “But Siddhartha was no joy to himself; he brought no pleasure to himself” (Hesse 4). This short excerpt from the first chapter also shows how dissatisfied Siddhartha is, and the discontent carried with him. Although this quote does not touch on how he has learned all the knowledge the brahmins have, nor does it show how Siddhartha doesn’t feel like his parent’s love is enough, it does foreshadow that he is going to make changes in his life soon. You mentioned your quote foreshadowed his journey, and I also think this quote does the same by stating Siddhartha felt no pleasure.
Delete‘“Siddhartha,” he said, “what are you waiting for?”
ReplyDelete“You know.”
“Are you going to keep standing there, till daylight, till noon, till night?”
“I’m going to stand here and wait.”
“You’ll get tired, Siddhartha.”
“I’ll get tired.”
“You’ll fall asleep, Siddhartha.”
“I will not fall asleep.”
“You’ll die, Siddhartha.”
“I will die.”’ (Hesse 10)
I find this passage to be significant because it shows Siddhartha’s persistence, and determination to get what he wants. This is the conversation between Siddhartha and his father after Siddhartha requests permission from his father to join the shramanas. HIs father rejects this idea, and determined to get his way, Siddhartha stands motionless for hours, waiting for his father to give in. This persistence shows just how badly Siddhartha feels the need for enlightenment, as well as for knowledge. Although Siddhartha means no harm by making this request, his father finds it offensive that he is leaving their religion, where Siddhartha is loved deeply by everyone. This deep love for Siddhartha that everyone has, is not enough to satisfy Siddhartha. Siddhartha expresses his discontent and dissatisfaction multiple times throughout the first two chapters. His constant dissatisfaction is significant because it is the motive for his search for enlightenment. What Siddhartha wants is happiness and joy, and for him, this comes from knowledge, which his father, teachers, and brahmins have no more to give him. Siddhartha thinks that becoming a shramana will bring him happiness, and Siddhartha will do whatever it takes to reach this spiritual joy. In this case, doing whatever it takes to reach this feeling of content involves Siddhartha standing motionless, agreeing to die rather than obey his father. This shows that Siddhartha would rather die than go back to his normal life, where he was kept busy making sacrifices to the gods or engaging in ritual ablutions. Siddhartha found no happiness in this life, and thought death would be better than continuing his dissatisfying life. He wants more than just love from his mother, father, and friends. He wants to be satisfied spiritually.
…” The drinker does indeed find escape, he does indeed find a short respite and rest, but he returns from the illusion and finds everything as it was before” (Hesse 17).
ReplyDeleteThe book Siddhartha by Herman Hesse is controversial. It brings up many ideas that I had never thought of and questions about way of life and religion. In the beginning, I had begun to believe in the way of relieving all the ill desires from yourself to be happy. Then Hesse went as far to say that to be happy you need to remove all desires goals, and ultimately yourself as a whole. You need to be completely empty to experience happiness, and that’s where he lost me. I chose the quote above because Govinda makes a good point. People drink to escape the reality of their lives and that’s also a reason that people pray or look for a religion to follow. They want to find a way to escape the suffering they feel
because they don’t know how to on their own. They feel like the guidance from a higher power or substance will make it go away. As Govinda said though, when you drink you can escape it for a little bit, but eventually you come back to reality. It’s almost like he’s comparing alcohol to religion. Your problems will always come back. Like Siddhartha said, he made himself empty and followed all the wise words from him father and the Semanas but no matter what, he always came back to himself. He doesn’t want to deceive himself by saying he’s happy with where he’s at, so he must continue his search.
***Posted For Alicia***
I agree with your with your idea that drinking is a comparison to religion. Both religion and alcohol can help ease people into the harsh sense of reality. Often when people drink to forget or to fill a hole in their life, when the alcohol wears off they are left with emptiness inside. That emptiness makes them want to drink more and more and soon they become addicted. The same can be said for religion. No matter how often people pray or meditate, it always fades away and they crave more. This is shown when Siddhartha and Govinda are discussing the drinker. “ ‘But in my exercises and meditations, I have found only brief numbing and I am still as far from wisdom, from redemption as when I was a baby in my mother’s womb-’ ”(Hesse 17). The ultimate goal of Siddhartha is to finally become totally dependant on religion, just as some people are dependant on alcohol. To be completely engulfed in religion would be to find happiness.
Delete“The sacrifices and the supplication of the gods were excellent---but were they everything? Did the sacrifices give happiness? And what about the gods? Was it really Prajapati who created the world? Was it not Atman, He alone, who had created it? Were not the gods forms created like me and you, mortal, transient?” (H 6)
ReplyDeleteIn this section of the chapter Siddhartha comes to a realization that there is more to life than being a Brahmin. He realizes that his Brahmin teachers and his father have taught him all of their knowledge. He knows he has to move on. This quote also shows Siddhartha’s thirst for knowledge. He is questioning his religion, and that brings only more questions. Such as, who are the gods, were they mortal men, and are they the right answer. These questions are huge, because without them he would have never gone on his spiritual journey. He wonders if the sacrifices are necessary, because they might not really give happiness.
I agree with your ideas here. Siddhartha has reached a point where had "mastered" the religion he was following. he knew everything about it that he could, and now he thirsted for more. all the unanswerable questions were the ones he was asking. he wanted more which opened the doors to other religions, and also different interpretations of his current religion. once he started question his own religion, he could read or hear anything, question someone's true role in the history, and interpret it differently.
DeletePosted by:Alicia Holt
ReplyDelete…”Yes, he thought breathing deeply, I will no longer try to escape from Siddhartha. I will no longer devote my thoughts to Atman and the sorrows of the world.I will no longer mutilate and destroy myself in order to find a secret behind the ruins. I will no longer study Yoga-Veda, Atharva-Veda, or asceticism, or any other teachings. I will learn from myself the secret of Siddhartha” (Hesse 39).
I feel this quote has a lot of significance in the path that Siddhartha is going in. At this point in the book, Siddhartha has been through the teachings of the Brahmins, Semmanas, and teachings of Buddha and still hasn’t found himself. I think this is a big step for him to realize that in order to find himself, he will have to do it from himself instead of with the help of others. It shows a personal change because in the beginning of the book, Siddhartha was all about the following of religion and thought that the teachings of someone else would enable him to find himself and find inner peace. Siddhartha started to realize this when he is talking to Govinda and says, “Govinda, my friend, you have takent the step, you have chosen your path.You have always been my friends, Govinda, you have always been a step behind me. Often I have thought:Will Govinda ever take a step without me from his own conviction” (Hesse 30). Siddhartha pointed out to Govinda that he has chosen his path and now he must pursue it on his own. The way that his father’s and all his teachers had released him. They knew that their teachings wouldn’t have satisfied him or been enough for him. That he needed to leave and go own and pursue his path on his own. He has just be set out on his own, just as Govinda was.
“I have not doubted for a moment that you are a buddha, that you have attained thousands of brahmins and brahmin’s sons strive. You have found liberation from death. This came to you as a result of your own seeking on your own path, through thought, through meditation, through realization, through enlightenment. It did not come to you through a teaching! And that is my idea, O exalted One---nobody attains enlightenment through a teaching. O Venerable One, you will not be able to express to anyone through words and doctrine what happened to you in the moment of your enlightenment! Much is contained in the doctrine of the enlightened Buddha, much is taught in it---to live in an honest and upright way, to avoid evil. But there is one thing that this so clear and so venerable teaching does not contain; it does not contain the mystery of what the Exalted One himself experienced, he alone among hundreds of thousands. This is what I understood and realized when I listened to the teaching. This is the reason I am going to continue my wandering---not to find another or better teaching, for I know that one does not exist, but in order to leave behind all teachings and all teachers and to attain my goal on my own or die.” (Hesse 28)
ReplyDeleteSiddhartha’s realization that enlightenment cannot be taught is significant because this influences him to continue wandering on his own, in search of enlightenment. Siddhartha is even willing to abandon his childhood friend, someone that loves him more than anyone, just to continue on his own path. This shows the extreme will and perseverance Siddhartha has when it comes to his search for enlightenment. He states that he is not going to continue his journey seeking for a new teaching that is better than Gotama’s, but he will continue in order to seek enlightenment on his own. Gotama was enlightened not through a teaching, but on his own. His own path and his own thoughts are what brought Gotama to finding liberation from death, and led him to enlightenment. Sharing this, Gotama sparked the realization in Siddhartha, that on his own and, through himself solely, he will achieve enlightenment. Throughout Gotama’s teaching, Siddhartha understood enlightenment cannot be attained through direct instruction, no matter how gifted the teacher is. Enlightenment is a solitary journey. Gotama’s teaching did not bring Siddhartha more knowledge, which he was hungry for, but it taught him something more important than facts: the truth about enlightenment, which he would carry with him for the rest of his journey. This realization was very important because without it, Siddhartha would have continued to attend teachings, searching for the answer within these. He would never have achieved enlightenment if he continued in that vein. His whole purpose of leaving his family and religion behind him and joining the shramanas was to bring him closer to enlightenment. Next he left the shramanas in order to join, and follow Gotama. Siddhartha has now found himself one step closer to enlightenment, and now knows what it takes to reach it. He must follow himself.
“From that moment, when the world melted away all around him, when he was alone like a star in the sky, from that moment of coldness and despondence, Siddhartha surfaced, more ego than before, more concentrated. He felt that this had been the final shudder of awakening, the last cramp of birth. And instantly he started walking again, started walking swiftly and impatiently, no longer to his home, no longer to his father, no longer back”(Hesse 39).
ReplyDeleteThis passage is significant because this is the moment where Siddhartha is ‘reborn’. Siddhartha finally realises that he needs to be alone on his journey to find enlightenment. Hesse’s use of a simile comparing Siddhartha to a star is well placed and effective. Finding total bliss is rare and beautiful and it takes many years of solitary praying and discovering your true self. This awareness woke apart of him up that made him more determined to complete his journey. ‘The final shudder of awakening’ could be a foreshadow of Siddhartha’s journey. Siddhartha faces many more realizations along his journey. Hesse’s word choice could be an example of ironic foreshadowing (I just casually made up a literary device). This is ironic because this quote says that Siddhartha had finally awoken and was on his path to true bliss, but in actuality there is much more that Siddhartha needed to learn. Hesse’s diction could also just be foreshadowing that Siddhartha had finally found a key piece to unlocking bliss. Throughout the beginning of this book, Siddhartha had always had the help of others. This is the first time in the book where he had been completely alone. His friend Govinda is on his own path and now Siddhartha is going on his. The use of parallel structure in the last sentence of this passage emphasise his decision to continue his journey alone. It also addresses Siddhartha escaping the lingering presence of his father's disappointment. He has finally chosen to continue without worrying about his father’s disapproval for leaving the Brahmins.
“You show the world as a complete, unbroken chain, an eternal chain, linked together by cause and effect. Never has it been presented so clearly, never has it been so irrefutably demonstrated. Surely every Brahmin’s heart must beat more quickly, when through your teachings he looks at the world, completely coherent, without a loophole, clear as crystal, not dependent on chance, not dependent on the gods… But according to your teachings, this unity and logical consequence of all things is broken in one place. Through a small gap there streams into the world of unity something strange, something new, something that was not there before and that cannot be demonstrated and proved: that is your doctrine of rising above the world, of salvation.”
ReplyDeleteThe setting of this quote is in a forest grove with Siddhartha and the Buddha present. The setting is important to the scene, because it is a place for Siddhartha, and most likely the illustrious one too, of thought and enlightenment. All throughout the book Siddhartha finds himself sitting beneath a tree silently meditating or in deep thought. Siddhartha walked out into the grove in the morning to think. I believe that is exactly what the Buddha was in the grove to do, so it is very significant to the scene, because the two men meet at a time of great thought creating the perfect environment for them to debate his teachings. Hermann Hesse uses a lot of literary terms in this quote. Siddhartha says that he now can see the world as an “unbroken chain” and he also says that every Brahmin can see the world “clear as crystal”. These are two examples of Hermann Hesse use similes to paint a beautiful picture in our minds about how clear and beautiful the Buddha's teachings are. This is Siddhartha’s biggest step in his journey. Through listening to the Buddha’s teachings and speaking with him he realized that if he wants to attain true enlightenment, as the Buddha did, he cannot use a teacher. He must go his own way. Without this discovery Siddhartha’s life would be drastically altered. Siddhartha also realizes a flaw in the Buddha’s teachings, his doctrine of salvation. The Buddha says that everyone who can follow all of these teachings can become enlightened and transcend into salvation. Siddhartha states that all of his teachings are true and all can be proven except for salvation, and without that proof the “chain” of the world becomes broken.
Siddhartha Blog #2
ReplyDelete"The teaching which you have heard...is not my opinion, and its goal is not to explain the world to those who are thirsty for knowledge. Its goal is quite different; its goal is salvation from the suffering. That is what Gotama teaches, nothing else." (Hesse 27)
This quote stands out to me as unique because there is no attempt to persuade someone of something. Siddhartha explains that there is no need to convince someone, that the only goal is salvation, which is enticing and will bring people to the religion, rather than bring the religion to people. The setting of the quote isn’t specific nor does is stand out, which adds to the boldness of it with it being the only thing that really seemed to stand out there. The author’s voice continues its slightly mysterious tone, which helps the words stick with you. It surfaces many questions that are rarely talked about unless specifically brought up. What is salvation? What is this suffering Siddhartha keeps mentioning? It makes you take a step back and look at the world from a different perspective. I personally try to have a positive outlook on life, but when given this negative “viewpoint”, it’s easy to see that the world isn’t always as nice as it seems. The authors tone is great in making you look at things from a point of view that you usually wouldn’t. After reading each chapter I’m left with a lot to ponder on, which is a good thing in my opinion as there is no single way to interoperate it, so I can look at each passage from multiple interpretations, leading each passage to stick with me more than a simpler book.
-Stephan Kaidan 9/22/15
"All this had always been and he had never seen it; he was never present. Now he was was present and belonged to it. Through his eyes he saw light and shadows; through his mind he was aware of the sun and stars." (Hesse 46)
ReplyDeleteAfter Siddhartha spoke to the Illustrious One he felt like he made a huge step towards his enlightenment. He realized that he did not need a teacher to attain his enlightenment he needed to find his own path. He moves on from his father and shows major character growth. He was now living in the present by not worrying about past things, such as govinda and his father. Siddhartha noticed things he never noticed before and no longer has to see to believe. He sees “light and shadows” which i believe that the lights and shadows are rights and wrongs, goods and evils that guide him further on his path of enlightenment. He no longer needs to see that the sun and the stars are there to believe that they are still burning, because he knows that to be true in his mind. That way he can live in the present. Siddhartha has completely changed mindsets and is looking at the world in a whole new light. He no longer thinks about past mistakes or regrets any decision he makes, because that does not help to end suffering it only adds to it. On his journey Siddhartha saw many things in nature that is constantly occurring through his new outlook on the world and saw them as opportunities to learn from them.
I agree with your interpretation of the light and shadows as good and bad. throughout the book, Siddhartha would always point out positive and negative things he saw around himself. looking at these things as good and bad makes a lot of sense. they give him a sense of direction, pushing him towards the good and away from the bad.
DeleteSiddhartha blog #3
ReplyDelete"Siddhartha's sympathy and curiosity lay only with the people, whose work, troubles, pleasures, and follies were more unknown and remote from him than the moon. Although he found it so easy to speak to everyone, to live with everyone, to learn from everyone...there was something which separated him from them...[because] he had been a Samana." (Hesse 57)
This passage stood out to me for being one of the first that I really noticed was in third person. There were other third person perspectives earlier in the book, but this stood out, sounding almost as if it were a higher power, pointing out his flaws and his perfections. The author manipulated his tone perfectly here, opening my eyes to the different views once again. When the passage stated “more unknown and remote from him than the moon” that made me think. The moon is still unknown to us for the most part, but that made me realize that at the time this book was originally written, no one had ever set foot on the moon, and it was far more mysterious. The modern day equivalent would be setting foot on mars, something we could only imagine until our technology further evolves. Once again the author was vague in saying what he meant, not saying what exactly it was separating Siddhartha from the others. I think the author purposely wrote the book this way leaving the majority to interpretation. Two people can interprate the book in completely different ways and I find that fascinating.
-Stephan Kaidan 9/24/15
“He no longer pursued the essence or look toward the beyond. The world was beautiful when one just looked at it without looking for anything, just simply, as a child. The moon and stars were beautiful, brook and bank, forest and rock, goat and beetle, flower and butterfly---all were beautiful.” (Hesse 38).
ReplyDeleteThis passage is a great representation of the difference between living for yourself and living for somebody else. When Siddhartha chose the path of living on his one, and finding enlightenment through himself and no one else, he saw the world in a whole new way. His perspective changed on life completely changed once he made this decision to live by his words rather than living by the teachings on someone else. Despite the loneliness Siddhartha faced during the beginning of his solo journey, his eyes finally saw the world differently. Siddhartha thinks about how beautiful the world is when you aren’t looking for anything. This is significant because it shows that Siddhartha has ended his search for the perfect teaching that will lead him directly to enlightenment, and has decided to let enlightenment find him, through himself and only himself. He is no longer looking for a new teacher or teaching that will guide him to enlightenment, but has rather chosen his own path, and will follow what his mind tells him is right. Siddhartha repeatedly talks about the beauty of the world, which he is able to see and appreciate now that he isn’t preoccupied by the search for knowledge. Comparing to his new life to how a child lives and sees the world, Siddhartha states he is just following life in the direction it is handed to him, and will go with the flow of things without raising any suspicion. His comparison of himself and a child shows how little Siddhartha has planned for his journey. Along with this, at the beginning of this passage, he says he is no longer looking toward the beyond, meaning he is no longer just searching for a future. Siddhartha is living in the present, and working on finding enlightenment in the present, rather than constantly looking to the future.This passage gives me a better understanding of how Siddhartha is feeling at this moment. When he talks about the simplicity of the world around him, and seeing the world like a child, I am able to infer what I think he is feeling and seeing. I think of him feeling like there is nothing to worry about, and feeling happy, with no reason to be upset or feel down.
“He is drawn by his goal, for he does not allow anything to enter his mind which opposes his goal” (Hesse 60).
ReplyDeleteI feel that this quote is significant because it shows yet again another change in personality. Earlier, Siddhartha had thought that the way to achieve peace, would be to kill oneself and not have any goals or desires. Then he went along to say that he needs to experience the world on his own without a teacher. To teach himself and that the enlightenment will come from within. At this point in the book, he has gone back to the mind set that he needs a teacher. I think the only reason his mindset changed is that he fell in love. He wants to be the charming ambitious guy to her that goes after his goals. He wants to show her that he won't give up on her. That if he wants something, he will go and make it happen. Siddhartha knows that this is an attractive trait in a man for a woman, so he’s doing whatever he can do impress her. Siddhartha has completely transformed himself in order just to get the teachings of Kamala. He has slicked his hair back, gone to be a merchant, and abandon the Semana way of being a beggar. Siddhartha has fallen for Kalama and will not give up until he meets his goal of learning from her.
-Alicia Holt
“If you toss a stone into water it takes the swiftest way to the bottom. And Siddhartha is like that when he has a goal, makes a resolve. Siddhartha does nothing, he waits, he thinks, he fasts, but he passes through the things of the world like the stone through the water, never acting, never stirring. He is drawn, he lets himself drop. His goal draws him, for he lets nothing into his soul that could go against his goal. This is what Siddhartha learned among the samanas. It is what fools call magic and what they think is worked by demons. Nothing is worked by demons, there are no demons. Anyone can work magic, anyone can reach his goals of he can think, if he can wait, if he can fast,”(Hesse 56).
ReplyDeleteIn this passage, Hesse used many literary devices to illustrate Siddhartha’s determination. One device Hesse used is repetition. The passage begins with Siddhartha saying “he waits, he thinks, he fasts”. The parallel structure helps to emphasise what steps are necessary for the completion of goals. This emphasis of steps needed to succeed are intensified when they are repeated at the end of this passage. The repetition of the steps help show Siddhartha’s determination to become eligible to become Kamala’s student. Another device that clearly demonstrated his dedication was the metaphor at the beginning of the passage. Siddhartha is fully committed to learning from Kamala, no matter what it takes. The use of the metaphor not only demonstrated the degree of Siddhartha’s determination but also was a good use of visual imagery. The image of the falling rock, while great imagery, could be a possible foreshadowing. The rock could symbolize Siddhartha falling into a materialistic society and mindset. Kamala represents the materialistic stage of Siddhartha’s journey, and by comparing his determination to a rock falling through water, he could also be saying that he would completely fall into her way of life. Once a rock falls to the bottom of water, it is hard to get it back up without a great deal of force. This is how Siddhartha is when he falls into this new lifestyle, it takes awhile for him to realise that the lifestyle he is living is not what he was searching for. Eventually the rock will wash up on shore, as will Siddhartha and he will continue on his journey.
Siddhartha #4
ReplyDelete"He envied them [for]...the sense of importance with which they lived their lives, the depth of their pleasure and sorrows, the anxious but sweet happiness of their continual power to love. These people were always in love with themselves, with their children." (Hesse 62)
This passage gave me an inside look to Siddhartha’s mind. He realizes he’s not like everyone else. While others are content with their lives, able to enjoy the little things in life, Siddhartha can’t do that. He sees all the negatives in life. He sees life as suffering. While others are okay with mediocre and take the negatives of day to day life, Siddhartha wants only the best and won’t stop at anything to get perfection. He will gladly drop common habits, fast for long periods, exclude himself from society, all just to get closer to perfection, also known as enlightenment. The author does a great job telling you the inner workings/thoughts of the main character without spelling it out. Everything the author wanted you to know is in the book, sometimes written between the lines, but easily “deciphered”. The author loses some of his mysterious tone in this passage and things start to clear up. I personally think the book would lose much of its meaning if It was all written in clear sentences that didn’t need any thinking to understand.
-Stephan Kaidan 9/27/15
We both think that Siddhartha wasn’t able to have the same feelings as the everyday people. However, I also think that Siddhartha not only envied them but also strived to be like them. For example, he wanted to reach enlightenment, well what is enlightenment? It’s the things that these everyday people felt that he felt was enlightment. The ability to enjoy his life and genuinely be happy.They were able to enjoy their lives, children, and deal with their problems unlike Siddhartha. Whenever Siddhartha had a problem or felt as if he wasn’t happy, he thought that fleeing would be the answer. That if he wasn’t happy 100% of the time doing what he was then it was the wrong thing to do. I don’t think that he realized that life isn’t perfect and sometimes you will have problems. I think a reason he strived to be his best is so he could feel as if he was better than these everyday people.If he couldn’t attain the feelings that they had, he would just be better than him in his eyes. I think that gave him a sense of false happiness and set him back in his journey.
Delete“At times he heard within him a soft, gentle voice which reminded him quietly, complained silently, so that he could hardly hear it. Then he suddenly saw clearly that he was leading a strange life, that he was doing many things that were only a game, that he was quite cheerful and sometimes experienced pleasure, but that real life was flowing past him.” (Hesse 71)
ReplyDeleteSiddhartha had lost his way. Somewhere along his journey Siddhartha finally succumb to the power of beautiful women and riches. Siddhartha always heard a voice in the back of his head that was telling him that this was wrong, that he had lost his way, but over time he had been fully enveloped by the lure of riches and women. So much so that he could no longer even hear his inner voice. Hesse uses a great metaphor when he talks about how Siddhartha feels his life is a game. It perfectly captures how Siddhartha must feel. He led his entire life with a purpose, and everything he did he did it to serve that purpose. His whole life was his spiritual journey, and now that he had lost that journey, that purpose, he realized how silly it all is. When he finally realized how materialistic his life had become, and how “strange” it would seem to the brahmin's son he once was, it was too late. He does not even listen to the voice in his head even when it becomes clear to him. Maybe he has had too much wine and has gotten too lazy to change his actions. This shows Siddhartha’s arrogance. Even when he realizes his new way of life is wrong he does not change it. Siddhartha has a huge ego, and he doesn't want to change his new life, because it feeds his ego. He has all the women he could want calling him handsome, he has many servants waiting for his beckoning call, and he has many people that look up to him and strive to be like him. This false sense of superiority he has is the reason he cannot return to the path of the righteous.
We both think that Siddhartha had gotten lost in his journey to enlightenment. However, I also think that Siddhartha was not only too lazy to return to his journey, but too addicted to the life that he lived. He said how he had become addicted to the feeling he had when he gambled. That he had become so accustomed and bored of the life that he was living that gambling and playing dice was the only thing he felt anything for. He loved the feeling he got while playing. He said it gave him anxiety to know that he could lose/win. He loved to drink, and eat expensive meals because he hadn’t ever before. He had been a beggar and went several days without eating. He liked the bed he slept in because before he would sleep in forests, huts, or whatever was available to him. He had grown addicted to the idea that he was better than everyone else and could do whatever he pleased.
Delete“Now Siddhartha also knew why, as a brahmin and an ascetic, his fight against his ego had been futile. Too much knowledge had held him back, too many sacred verses, too many ritual rules, too much denial, too much doing and striving. He had been full of arrogance---always the smartest, always the most industrious, always a step ahead of everybody, always wise and spiritual, always the priest or sage. Into this priesthood, into this high-mindedness, into his spirituality, his ego had crept. It had anchored itself there and grown even as he thought he was destroying it through fasting and austerities. Now he saw it, and saw that the secret voice had been right. No teacher could ever have saved him. That is why he had to go into the world and abandon himself to pleasure and power, women and money, why he had had to be a merchant, a dice player, a drinker, and a man consumed with greed---until the priest and shramana within him were dead. That is why he had to continue to endure these ugly years, to endure the revulsion, the emptiness, the meaninglessness of a lost and desolate life until the end, to the point of bitter despair, until Siddhartha the hedonist, Siddhartha the greedy, could die.” (Hesse 78)
ReplyDeleteThis quote shows the realization of Siddhartha when he finds the reasons why he has been unable to let go of his ego. He sees that he had carried too much knowledge when he was younger, a brahmin, and found himself superior to others. His knowledge made him feel smarter than all the rest, wiser, more special, and better. Even as a samana, he continued the belief he was superior to others. Dissatisfied as a starving, suffering samana, Siddhartha always felt different, and like he didn’t belong. His ego told him he was better than the others. Siddhartha found dissatisfaction once again, in his materialistic life in the city, thus causing him to leave the city and find a new way of living life. During the end of Siddhartha’s time in the city, he began to realize that his reasoning for everything he was doing had changed. His intentions had all changed. At first it was just a game, and he had fun with it. As time went on, Siddhartha changed. He no longer saw business as a joke, and no longer let people cheat him. Business now took over his life, along with the need for a materialistic lifestyle. He longed for nice things, and worked to get them. Initially, Siddhartha’s intention of traveling to the city was solely for him to be on his own, and reach nirvana. This changed almost instantly as he found the need for a woman in his life. Siddhartha’s high social status, and loads of money caused his ego to grow even larger than it had been previously. In order for him to truly part from his ego, Siddhartha had to live this materialistic life. It taught him that owning lots of goods, and having great money does not make you happy. Siddhartha had to go down this path and live this lifestyle so that he could be the one to make the decision to abandon his ego, an important step on the way to enlightenment. No teacher could have done this for Siddhartha, because it was his decision alone that allowed him to fully understand the size of his ego, and the need to let it go. This passage is important because it shows Siddhartha’s full realization of what his life has been like previously, and what he needs to do to fix it, in order to reach what he has been searching for the whole time, enlightenment. The significance of this quote is that it is once again another turning point in Siddhartha’s journey. The path has changed again, and Siddhartha has chosen to lose his arrogance and ego, and make his life more meaningful, before it is too late.
ReplyDelete“Now he understood it and realized that the inward voice had been right, that no teacher could have brought him to salvation. That was why he had to go into the world, to lose himself…” (Hesse 99).
I feel like this quote makes a huge significance in this Siddhartha’s life. I think that he’s come to the realization that he had to live up to his full potential to attain the most out of his life. Siddhartha was always one step ahead of people and was capable of anything. I feel the reason that he wasn't achieving happiness in the past wasn’t just because he needed to listen to himself rather than teachers, but that he knew deep down they were holding him back. He had to go through being a Sammana, being rich, being a Brahmin, and being a pilgrim because he could. If he had only stuck to one of these things, he never would have lived up to his full potential. he never would have realized that he really in truly didn’t like drinking, or being rich, or well-groomed or a gambler. he never would have discovered that the teachings of his father and the Brahmans would have never been enough to satisfy him. If he hadn’t left Govinda to pursue his own path, neither of them would have discovered their full potential. Siddhartha has been through every life that is possible for him and has decided that being a pilgrim and staying with the ferryman is what will make him happy. I also feel like Buddhism is where he wants to be as well. For example, when he was about to take his life, he remembered one word, and that was “om”. It had awakened himself and he had realized indeed what he was doing. He said he felt like a new Siddhartha and was genuinely happy. I think Siddhartha has finally found where he will be happy.
-Alicia Holt
My idea is similar to your idea. For example, my blog post from September 28th has a similar quote relating to the fact Siddhartha couldn’t have been taught the things he learned throughout his journey by a teacher. He had to have lived through all those experiences, like being a brahmin, then a samana, and a rich man too. Without these experiences he would have never learned that those weren’t the right place for him, and he would never have been happy sticking to just one of them, like you mentioned. I find your analysis very interesting when you write about how Siddhartha had to try all these things in order to find his full potential.
Delete“And yet this way was very good, and yet the bird in my breast did not die. But what a way it was! 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 afresh. 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 properly again. I had to become a fool in order to find Atman in me again. I had to sin in order to live again. Where will my way lead me now? This way is foolish, it runs in loops, it may run in a circle. Let it run as it will, I will follow it,”(Hesse 85).
ReplyDeleteThis quote is important because this is when Siddhartha realizes that death isn’t the right answer. Siddhartha had carried so much frustration with him because he could not find enlightenment with the brahmins, the samanas, the buddha, or with Kamala. With all this frustration contained inside of him, Siddhartha wants to end his search for enlightenment. His decision is shown in the metaphor of his life being the songbird. Earlier in the book he had a dream that the caged songbird had died, representing his longing for death. Now he is pleased that the bird did not die. Another difference is his state of mind of the bird’s life. Before the songbird was stuck in a cage, religion, and now it is in his chest. This represents that he has control over his life and religion does not trap and consume him. ‘The cage’ helped shape him, Siddhartha learned many lessons from being confined by various lifestyles. Without the lessons that he had learned, he would forever be stuck in a unsatisfying life. This leads to one of the themes of the novel that wisdom can only come from experience not knowledge. This excerpt touches a lot on that theme, that Siddhartha had gone out and experienced life and more importantly learned from those experiences. His re-evaluation of his life has allowed Siddhartha to reset on his path on becoming enlightened. He has accepted the idea that being imperfect in his religious life and trying new things is okay. Siddhartha finally realises that he can’t control his steps to enlightenment as much as he was, he needs to follow life wherever it takes him and absorb and apply his encounters to his spiritual life in the pursuit of bliss.
“When someone is seeking,” said Siddhartha, “it happens quite easily that he only sees the thing that he is seeking; that he is unable to find anything, unable to absorb anything, because he is only thinking of the thing he is seeking, because he has a goal, because he is obsessed with his goal. Seeking means; to have a goal; but finding means: to be free, to be receptive, to have no goal. You, O worthy one, are perhaps indeed a seeker, for in striving towards you goal, you do not see many things that are under your nose” (Hesse 140).
ReplyDeleteI feel like Siddhartha and Govinda are antithesis in this certain part of the chapter. Siddhartha is so enlightened and Content with the path he chose, and Govinda isn’t. As Govinda is leaving Siddhartha, he asks him if he can help him at all. Siddhartha tries to give him his knowledge, but Govinda is not receiving of it. Siddhartha tries to explain that perhaps the reason Govinda is so old and hasn’t reached enlightenment is because he is so stuck in his way. So stuck on the path and unwillingly to leave it, just as Siddhartha once was. He tried to explain that he’s so focused on the end that he has lost sight of the journey. Passing many great things on his way that he never noticed. I also believe that this is the last character change that Siddharthya will experience. he was been everything that he was capable of. He realizes that you don’t have to be stuck in one way of life, you have to experience all aspects of life and blend them all together. if you are stuck in one way of seeing things, you will miss so much in the world. When he was a merchant, all he cared about was drinking and gambling. When he was a pilgrim, he was focused on fasting, thinking, and writing, because that’s all he knew. When Siddhartha got ahold of his son, he was obsessed with making his son love him and following/ loving him. After he listened to the river he learned to live life from all these perspectives because that's what life is. Looking at the world from different perspectives and being well-rounded.
Siddhartha #5
ReplyDelete"You want me to become like you, so pious, so gentle, so wise, but just to spite you, I would rather become a thief and a murderer and go to hell, than be like you. I hate you; you are not my father even if you have been my mother's lover a dozen times!"(Hesse 100)
This passage shows Siddhartha’s son’s last straw. He had always been nice and accepting of his son, and even after all the hatred his son has towards him. His son had always tried being mean to him and trying to get a reaction, but Siddhartha had always kept his cool and been accepting of his son, and this started to anger him. He exploded on his father, saying he wanted to be the opposite of Siddhartha by becoming a murder and a thief. His dad worried about his, was even disappointed, but never showed his son this. He stayed calm and accepting. This would change the way his son acted towards him, his son would realize that doing bad things doesn’t get a reaction out of anyone, which would hopefully make him stop doing such things, mature faster, and join his father in the journey towards enlightenment.
-Stephan Kaidan 9/13/15
“It was true that he had never fully lost himself in another person to such an extent as to forget himself… and it had then seemed to him that this was the biggest difference between him and the ordinary people. But now, since his son was there, he,Siddhartha, had become completely like one of the people, through sorrow, through loving… he suffered tremendously through it and yet was uplifted, in some way renewed and richer” (Hesse 122)
ReplyDeleteThis passage shows one of Siddhartha’s final steps towards reaching enlightenment. All throughout the book Siddhartha says, in order to reach enlightenment one needs to find one's self. Through the book he is looking for a way to find his self. This is his entire journey. Somewhere along that journey he realizes that in order to conquer one’s self one needs to lose their self completely. What he means by this is, in order to attain enlightenment you must be able to have looked at the world in many perspectives and have many personalities. That would be losing one’s self. Siddhartha has lost his self two times. The first was the more drastic experience, it was when he became a wealthy merchant and indulged himself in many pleasures. Through his experiences as a merchant he gained an entire plethora of knowledge and experiences he would not have had otherwise. This caused him to have a drastic new viewpoint, but it is not the viewpoint he needs in order to attain enlightenment. It is actually quite the opposite, but sometimes you must go the wrong way so you can fully understand and anticipate the road ahead. In order to attain enlightenment Siddhartha has to be able to see the world including himself with a non bias view. He has to dispose of all ego, in other words he has to lose his self. Siddhartha has lost his self in his love for his child. He now sees the world in a completely different light than he did before. Through his undeniable love for his child Siddhartha no longer has ego. His love is so strong it overwhelms the love that he has for himself.
“Siddhartha stopped, bent over the water to hear better, and in the quietly moving water he saw the reflection of his face. In this reflected face there was something that recalled something forgotten, and as he thought about it he remembered. This face was like another face he had once known and loved and also feared. It resembled the face of his father, the brahmin. And he remembered how, long ago as a youth, he had forced his father to let him go with the ascetics, how he had left him, gone off, and never returned. Had his father not felt the same pain over him that he now felt over his son? Had his father not long since died, alone, without ever having seen his son again? Should he not expect the same fate himself? Was it not comical, a strange and stupid thing, this repetition, this movement in the same fateful circles?” (Hesse 102)
ReplyDeleteI find this passage to be significant because when Siddhartha finds that his father went through the same thing with him, he finally realizes that he could not have done anything to stop his own son, and that his disappearance was inevitable. At the very beginning of the book, Siddhartha wants to leave his family and live among the samanas. His father does what he can to try convincing Siddhartha to stay, but fails to do so. This happens to SIddhartha in a similar way. Despite all the kindness and caring Siddhartha showed to his son, his son didn’t belong there, living beside the river. He belonged in the city. Siddhartha couldn’t have changed this. I think this quote is important because it shows the full circle of fate, and how things will always come back to you. His statement about the repetition, movement, and fateful circles implies that his son leaving him was an event fate, just like many other events in Siddhartha’s life. The belief in fate is strong throughout this book, and this quote supports this belief saying everything happens for a reason, and fate cannot be changed. Karma is an important theme throughout this book also, and although his son leaving him was not necessarily a punishment for him leaving his own father, it was a way to show Siddhartha what his own father went through when Siddhartha left for the samanas. In addition, I find significance in this quote because Siddhartha recalls how unhappy he was when he left his family, and how he went out, searching for enlightenment, and happiness. He sees that his son must of felt the same way, causing him to abandon his father. Vasudeva constantly told Siddhartha to let it go, and move on. He told Siddhartha his son had his own plan, and he must let him go out on his own, and find himself on his own. This quote really shows when this clicked with Siddhartha, and he realized he needed to let go. He needed to stop worrying about his son because he had a journey of his own, just like his father, Siddhartha.
“For a long time, long months, Siddhartha waited for his son to understand, to accept his love, perhaps to love him back. For long months, Vasudeva waited, watched and waited and held his tongue,”(Hesse 104).
ReplyDeleteAt a young age, Siddhartha had begun to question the beliefs and credibility of his father, the Brahmin. He began to drift away and eventually leave his father. This was very difficult for Siddhartha’s father because he loved Siddhartha so greatly and whole-heartedly. The anaphora used at the beginning of both these sentences can help readers realise that Siddhartha is taking after his father. Anaphora uses repetition to get a point across, while Siddhartha is repeating his father's actions. Siddhartha now faces a similar difficulty with his son. Missing his childhood, Siddhartha is desperately trying to connect and get to know his son, but this task his proven difficult. While young Siddhartha may be his biological son, he will never view Siddhartha as his father. Siddhartha has difficulty with the division between him and his son. The separation between Siddhartha and his son only encourages Siddhartha to enforce his love to his son. His love for his son is affects his spiritual life because it gives him ego. Before Siddhartha’s son began to live with him, Siddhartha was well on his path to being enlightened. After his son shows up, Siddhartha takes a step back in his spiritual life. Both Siddhartha and his son are unhappy living together, chasing and avoiding their troublesome relationship. Vasudeva knows that they are unhappy and they are both on separate steps on their path to enlightenment, but he also knows it’s not his place to tell Siddhartha how to deal with this situation. Siddhartha has to come to the conclusion himself that if he truly loves his son, he will let him go on his path to find bliss, like his own father once did for him.
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