BOOKshook

Siddhartha walks alone and becomes fascinated by all that is around him, seeing it for what it is and nothing more. He had always sought for a deeper meaning in everything, for Atman. Now he does not seek anything but instead experiences it all for what it is. The sun shines around him, and the river flows. He feels the wind blowing through rice fields, and suddenly all is calm within; Siddharta becomes "so simple, so childlike." Everything is beautiful. Reflecting, the man marvels at what wise words he had uttered to the Buddha before leaving, since they were words which he did not really understand. Yet he had spoken them. He realizes that trying to deny his Self had been wrong. Siddhartha had never even known what his Self was, or what Siddhartha was really all about. Instead, he had only adopted the teachings of others without hearing the thoughts of his Self.

He had inflicted suffering upon his body, yet he knows now that his "body was certainly not the Self, not the play of senses, nor thought, nor understanding, nor acquired wisdom or art with which to draw conclusions and from already existing thoughts to spin new thoughts...Both thought and the senses were fine things...it was worthwhile listening to them both...to listen intently to both voices" Chapter 5, pg. 39. Siddhartha had never denied his Self at all, for he never even really knew his Self before or listened to its desires or needs. The Self had been merely suppressed and kept undeveloped. This awakened identity and sense of Self guide him now as the path continues. Like the Buddha, he hopes to be enlightened by listening to the voice within him instead of ignoring it.

By nightfall he arrives at a river and sleeps in a ferryman's hut before crossing the water that following morning. Siddhartha has a strange dream about his friend Govinda appearing and asking why he would not become a disciple of Buddha with him; then he transforms into a full breasted woman whom Siddhartha is filled with desire for, and he kisses her brown nipple. Sweet milk fills his lips and tastes of many things in nature and in the world. It fills him with pleasure and consumes his senses, for he only now begins to embrace his body's desires. Awakening the next day, the ferryman takes Siddhartha across the river even though he cannot pay him for the service. The ferryman speaks mysteriously, murmuring only that Siddhartha shall return later to repay him, and that he has learned a lot just by listening to the sound of the river. As Siddhartha reaches the other side of the river and prepares to leave, the ferryman sends his blessing of good luck although Siddhartha is arrogant within and judges this man to be simple and subservient, as Govinda had been. Considering himself to be a stronger person, he tells himself that "People are children." Having crossed the river, Siddhartha's journey to explore the desires of his Self continues.

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BY- Kaushiki 

This brief sequence portends a basic turning point in the novel and signals the end of Part I. The mood of this sequence is one of great loneliness, for Siddhartha is beyond the point of being able to return home again, and now he has parted ways with Govinda. He reflects that he has left his former life behind him and has now matured from youth to manhood. He again contemplates the limitations of teachers and reflects that among the things that they cannot teach is the matter of the self. The tone approaches despair as Siddhartha seeks to rid himself of self, or at least to try to flee from self. He sees that there is nothing about which he knows less than his self. He reflects that his lack of knowledge of his self grew out of fear and the desire to flee, and that in his search for Atman he became lost. He feels an awakening and asserts that he will no longer try to escape from Siddhartha. He believes now that he can slough off his search for Atman, his asceticism, and the scriptures. He resolves to learn the secret of Siddhartha from himself.

At this point, all the world around Siddhartha exudes the colorations of sensual beauty, and he is at the brink of the theory that reality is in the world itself, the sensual world. He feels that he has suddenly awakened. Then an icy chill comes over him as he realizes that he is completely alone. Having shed the old skin of meditation, he realizes now that he is not the Brahmin's son any more. Realizing that he belongs to no family or peer group whatever, he falls into a spasm of despair, while at the same time he feels more firmly himself than ever. As Siddhartha experiences the pangs of this awakening, he resolves to never again "walk backwards."

This "Awakening" sequence terminates Part I and prefigures Siddhartha's crossing the river to enter into the sensual world of the city with the beautiful courtesan Kamala. The metaphorically rich imagery of a snake molting its old skin anticipates a later appearance of this popular Indian motif.

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BY kaushiki 

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When Siddhartha and Govinda arrive in Savathi, they learn from a woman who gives these two Samanas food that the Buddha is in the Jetavana grove that was given to him by Anathapindika. That night they arrive and sleep, awakened at dawn by the bustling activity around them from the Buddha's followers who wear yellow monk robes. There are also newcomers like themselves who have arrived to hear his teachings. Everything around them in the grove is lush garden and trees. Finally the Buddha emerges and joins his followers as they go out to beg in the town's streets in order to buy their one meal for the day. Buddha's appearance is different from those around him, however, for he radiates a certain inner glow that Siddhartha admires greatly. Although he is doubtful of what this man's words can teach him, the Gotama himself remains an impressive person to look at.

Finally Govinda and his companion hear the Buddha's words about finding salvation from suffering in life, his four main points, and the interconnectedness of the life cycle. Many people who listen are excited, and when night arrives, they join Buddha's followers. Without waiting to hear Siddhartha's advice, Govinda decides to become a disciple and remain with him in the Jetavana grove. He urges Siddhartha to join so that he might "put an end to the suffering," repeating Buddha's words. Yet Siddhartha is doubtful of new teachings and considers Govinda's choice to be premature. Learning is a "detour" away from knowledge he already possesses within him. Nothing in the outside world knows him better than he already knows himself. He does not seek to end suffering, but instead desires to recognize Atman, the essence of what everything is. He searches for the meaning of life.

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By- Kaushiki

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That evening, Siddhartha and Govinda approach the samanas and are accepted to join them. They give away their clothes and wear loin cloths instead. This begins a life of fasting and abstinence from the world. The sight of worldly people and possessions and property become a sham to Siddhartha. It all tortures him. His one goal is now to become empty of all desire, all worldliness, and, in doing this, extinguish the ‘self’ in order for his true essence to awaken.

Through the dry and rainy seasons, Siddhartha suffers the pain of burning and freezing, and sores from walking, but he withstands everything, until the pains fade. He learns to control his breath, to slow it right down until he is hardly breathing. He learns the art of unselfing meditation, loosing his soul from memories and senses. He feels like he embodies the creatures around him, the heron and even the dead jackal, through the whole life cycle. He transforms, from creature to plant to weather to self again. No matter how totally he seems to leave himself, he always returns, and feels himself in an inescapable cycle.

Siddhartha asks Govinda, who has been living this painful samana life along with him, whether he thinks they have made progress. Govinda thinks Siddhartha is learning quickly and will become a great samana, even a saint, but Siddhartha himself is not so sure. He thinks he could have learned just as much among criminals in the red light district or an ox driver! Govinda thinks this is a joke. How could the same selflessness be learned there? But Siddhartha tells him that the abandonment of the self that he has learned as a samana does not differ that much from the abandonment of an ox driver having an ale after a hard day’s work. The drinker’s escape is momentary though, thinks Govinda, and surely the ascension that they are learning to achieve is more profound. Siddhartha is cynical.

On another occasion, Siddhartha questions if they are really approaching higher knowledge or whether they are going round in circles themselves. He makes the point that the eldest samana teacher has not yet reached Nirvana. They don’t seem to be getting any closer to their goal. Siddhartha, slightly mockingly, tells Govinda that he has decided to leave the samana path, because he doesn’t trust that learning from even the wisest samanas is any better than learning from a monkey or some such creature. He isn’t even sure that there is any value in learning at all.

Govinda doesn’t understand how Siddhartha could say such things. It terrifies him to doubt everything he has valued as holy. What would be left without this holiness? he thinks. He recites a verse about how holy bliss cannot be uttered in words. Siddhartha thinks deeply about the problem but it does not appear clearly to him.

After three years leading the samana life, a rumor reaches Siddhartha and Govinda of a Sublime teacher, called Gautama, the Buddha, who had also wandered through the land as an ascetic, and whose legend has all the Brahmins enthralled. Many believe that the Buddha can heal the sick. Some have even heard that he had encountered the devil and won.

BY- Kaushiki 

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The novel is set six centuries before the birth of Christ, in ancient India at the time of Gotama the Buddha, whose Eightfold Path guides the faithful toward Nirvana. Siddhartha is a young Brahmin, handsome and learned, with the potential to be a prince among his caste members. Everyone knows he is destined for greatness because he has mastered all the rituals and wisdom of his religion at an early age. His village is idyllic, and Siddhartha seems to live an enviable life. His father is a Brahmin, a religious leader, and an esteemed member of the community. Siddhartha seems well on his way to following in his father’s footsteps.

Though Siddhartha spends his time studying the Hindu wisdom of his elders along with his best friend Govinda, he is dissatisfied. He suspects that his father and the other erudite Brahmins have learned perfectly everything from the holy books, but he does not believe they have achieved enlightenment. The rituals and mantras they have taught him to seem more a matter of custom than a real path that could lead to true enlightenment. To become religious men by the standards of their own community, Siddhartha feels he and Govinda would have to become like sheep in a large herd, following predetermined rituals and patterns without ever questioning those methods or exploring methods beyond the ones they know. Siddhartha is deeply unhappy at this prospect. Though he loves his father and respects the people of his village, he cannot imagine himself existing in this way. Siddhartha has followed his father’s example with conviction, but still, he longs for something more.

One evening after meditating, Siddhartha announces to Govinda that he will join a group of Samanas, wandering mendicant priests, who have just passed through their city. The Samanas are starved, half-naked, and must beg for food, but only because they believe enlightenment can be reached through asceticism, a rejection of the body and physical desire. The Samanas seem completely different from the religious elders in Siddhartha’s own community, and since he has not found the wisdom he has been searching for at home, he decides he should follow the Samanas’ path and see what he can learn from them. When Siddhartha informs Govinda that he will join the Samanas, Govinda is frightened. He knows Siddhartha is taking his first step into the world and that Govinda himself must follow. Siddhartha, a dutiful son, asks his father for permission before leaving with the Samanas. His father is disappointed and says he does not want to hear the question a second time, but Siddhartha does not move. The father cannot sleep and gets up every hour to find Siddhartha standing with crossed arms in the darkness. In the morning, his father reluctantly gives permission. He knows Siddhartha will not change his mind. He asks that Siddhartha return home to teach his father the art of bliss if he finds it elsewhere. As he leaves to join the wandering Samanas, Siddhartha is pleased and surprised to learn that Govinda has decided to join him in this new life outside the village.

BY_Kaushiki 

Siddhartha is a novel by Hermann Hesse that deals with the spiritual journey of self-discovery of a man named Siddhartha during the time of the Gautama Buddha. The book, Hesse's ninth novel, was written in German, in a simple, lyrical style. It was published in the U.S. in 1951 and became influential during the 1960s. Hesse dedicated the first part of it to Romain Rolland and the second part to Wilhelm Gundert, his cousin.

The word Siddhartha is made up of two words in Sanskrit language, siddha (achieved) + artha (what was searched for), which together means "he who has found meaning (of existence)" or "he who has attained his goals". In fact, the Buddha's own name, before his renunciation, was Siddhartha Gautama, Prince of Kapilavastu. In this book, the Buddha is referred to as "Gotama". 

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BY_ kaushiki