Reflection On The Book Siddhartha By Hermann Hesse
Siddhartha opens up the mind of the reader to other cultures and helps him discover the meaning of his life, as well as the difficulties he will face on the road to true enlightenment. Siddhartha is a story about a boy who discovers that people around him have not reached enlightenment. He goes on a spiritual quest to discover life’s meaning and attain nirvana. Along the way, he gets lost and starts drinking, sexing and gambling. After realizing how much he lost, he decides to start over and leave behind all of his possessions. Siddhartha’s journeys reveal the cultural impact and his search for spirituality.
He began his journey with the Samanas, but soon realized that he needed to go on his own in order for him to be one with his soul. He initially went along with Samanas on his trip, but soon realised that he needed to travel on his own to reach his soul. This quote says, “I’ve known it for years, but just now have I felt it.” He believes a spiritually enlightened person can only be happy and that the best way to get there is to give up all relationships and possessions. He knew people who are full of negative thought patterns will never be spiritual because they can’t find peace in themselves or the world. Siddhartha experienced this phase when he became greedy. He was only thinking about alcohol and gambling. After realizing that he had gone off course, he corrected himself and left all of his possessions behind. He was taught by many spiritual teachers, but never followed their doctrines. He eventually left his superiors because he could not achieve spirituality without being alone. You have given up your home and your parents, you’ve given up your will, you’ve given up friendship. What the teachings are saying, what is the Will Of The Illustrious? You wished that for yourself. Govinda tomorrow, I am leaving you.
Siddhartha was exposed to many cultures during his quest for self-discovery. He was initially with the Brahmins, learning the teachings and the beliefs of religion, but was still unsatisfied. The Samanas taught him to give up all physical desires, torture his body and lose himself. The Buddha was the next person he encountered. Siddhartha received lessons from the Buddha on peacefulness and eightfold paths. The Buddha’s teachings were taken into consideration, but he still had questions about how to embrace unity in everything. After realizing that religion could never provide him with the answers or enlightenment that he sought, he embarks on a journey that is not religious in nature. Siddhartha, on his quest to discover the material world, meets a ferryman. He teaches him to connect with the river. The river is similar to life in its flow and connection. Siddhartha saw in town that many people were blinded by love and could not see anything else. Then he starts to gamble and gets addicted to winning. He was never able to completely lose himself in someone else to the extent that he forgot himself. He was unable to do so, and he thought that this was what separated him from the rest of the world. He was in a state of mad love.
This story made me think of my uncle who was also addicted to gambling. He had lost so much money and was so lost by his gambling addiction, he lost all sense of himself. He realized that his gambling habit was bad and corrected his behavior. As I play videogames I experience the same feelings as my Uncle when he gambles. He feels like nothing around him matters, that gambling is his sole focus. My goal is to complete it as soon as I start playing the game. I am only focused on my goal, and nothing else. Siddhartha was the same way when he first started on his spiritual journey. He emptied his mind and focused only on his goal of achieving total spiritual illumination. Siddhartha has his mind at ease when he is on the ferryman’s boat. He doesn’t think about anything but the river. When I am at the beach with my father and sister, I feel completely relaxed. The beach is a place where I feel like everything else doesn’t matter and can completely relax my soul and mind.
Siddhartha’s story concludes by focusing on all of the cultures he encountered during his quest for spiritual enlightenment. Siddhartha let all his relationships and possessions go so he could achieve true spirituality. It is a story about the cultures that Siddhartha encountered, and how he was lost but found his way again. This journey brought him many challenges, but in the end he was able to find himself.
