Siddhartha Essay, Research Paper

Siddhartha: The Search for the Inner Self Siddhartha had

one single goal – to become empty, to become empty of

thirst, desire, dreams, pleasure and sorrow – to let the Self

die. No longer to be Self, to experience the peace of an

emptied heart, to experience pure thought – that was his

goal. 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! (14) Siddhartha, according to his actions, was

constantly in search for knowledge, regardless of what kind,

or what he had to do to obtain it. In the book titled

Siddhartha, by Herman Hesse, this is shown to us by

Siddhartha’s leaving home to join the Samanas, and all the

actions leading to his residence alongside the river. Leaving

his loving family and home where all loved him, shows us

that Siddhartha not only knows what he wants but will do

anything to attain it. As described on pages 10 through 12,

Siddhartha did not leave his father’s chambers until he had

gotten his way, until his father had submitted to Siddhartha’s

wishes and agreed to let him leave home to join the

Samanas. This stubbornness, this patience with people and

situations is also a large part of Siddhartha’s character. It

enables him to out wait anyone or anything, which teaches

him how to do without and also helps him through his time

with the Samanas. "Siddhartha learned a great deal from the

Samanas he learned many ways of losing the Self" (15).

Despite the new knowledge he acquired, Siddhartha realized

that it was only " . . . a temporary palliative against the pain

and folly of life" (17). And with this, his next decision was to

leave the Samanas and go in search of the Buddha in order

to learn perhaps something he did not already know.

Through this we learn that Siddhartha, having learned all that

is possible in one place, moves to another in search for more

wisdom in search for the secret of how to obtain inner

peace, how to find the Self. This action also shows his

change by showing us that Siddhartha no longer has the

patience to stick to certain routines as he did when he was at

home in his youth. Finding the Buddha in a garden,

Siddhartha and Govinda spend an evening and afternoon in

the " . . . Jetavana grove" listening to the teachings of the

Buddha. Although what he has to say is all important and

thought to be flawless by all, Siddhartha finds that the

Buddha’s " . . . doctrine of rising above the world, of

salvation, has a small gap. [And] through this small break,

the eternal and single world law [which the Buddha

preaches] breaks down again" (32- 3). This realization that

teachings are not flawless shows that Siddhartha has started

thinking on his own. He no longer practices routines of

cleansing or chants verses in order to obtain a moment of

inner peace. Once again, Siddhartha renews his journey,

leaving Govinda and the Illustrious One behind, believing

that no one finds salvation through teachings. Siddhartha was

a deep thinker. He had found a flaw with the flawless

teachings of the Buddha. He had realized that he would

never attain inner peace through others teachings, but that he

alone had to seek it. And this is what he did, stopping next

for a lesson in love from the beautiful courtesan, Kamala.

Because of this experience, he shed his Samana robes and

became a merchant. He gambled and acquired riches all for

the love of a beautiful woman. As the years passed,

Siddhartha’s soul became corrupted with characteristics of

ordinary people. He relied on luxury now, when before he

could have fasted or begged for his food. His goals were

lost and forgotten until a dream one night awakened him and

" . . . overwhelmed [him with] a feeling of great sadness"

(82). Siddhartha, realizing he had lost his path, now decided

it was time to get back on it. This stubbornness, as

mentioned before, now helps him carry out his newly found

goal., also making his parting from Kama! la a lighter

burden. His soul had been corrupted. His goals had been

lost. Now Siddhartha had to start his search anew, but the

beginnings of the ability to love another person were now

implanted in his heart. As he reached the river, Siddhartha

was overwhelmed with a feeling " . . . of desire to let himself

go and be submerged in the water. [The] chilly emptiness in

the water reflected the terrible emptiness of his soul" (88).

Siddhartha was in a terrible state. After years of riches and

luxury, he had cast it all aside in order to find a place for

spiritual renewal. In this quest for the inner Self, Siddhartha

had now reached this place: the river. "[He] sank down at

the foot of the cocoanut tree, overcome by fatigue.

Murmuring Om, he laid his head on the tree roots and sank

into a deep sleep" (90). After awakening, Siddhartha chose

to stay with the ferryman Vasudeva, who had been a great

listener. From this ferryman he learned how to listen to the

river and how to interpret what it was saying. Siddhartha

had thrown away his previous life of wealth for the life of a

ferryman, a life of poverty. But Siddhartha knew that from

the river his enlightenment would come. His prediction was

correct. When Govinda returned from a pilgrimage, he

stopped by the river and waited for the ferryman to carry

him across. He had recognized the peace on Siddhartha’s

face, the peace of one who had found the secret. And

indeed Siddhartha had. Through his quest for the inner Self

in Hesse’s novel, Siddhartha had given up many things, made

many sacrifices in order to further his knowledge. He was

always moving along, never stopping in one place

permanently. His quest was never ending until the river had

taught him what he needed to know. Hesse, in a way, shows

us that only through sacrifice will someone gain what he is

looking for. He shows us that life is not given to one on a

platter, but needs to be looked for in order to be found.

Siddhartha, through his departure from home and the

Samanas, his realization that not even the Buddha was

perfect in his teachings, his abandonment of Kamala, and

finally through his decision to stay and learn from Vasudeva,

shows us that he had spent his whole life in search of

something that was missing, his peace. In the end,

Siddhartha finds his inner Self, he finds his peace.

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