Siddhartha Essay

Siddhartha I always had questions upon the final goal of life. I have felt that when humans were to acquire everything, and lose desire, there won't be any accomplishment but only the voidness will be present. On reflection to Siddhartha, as him being a social class of Brahman, he had got to acquire anything that he had wanted, however, he also had emptiness within him(people near him are not enlightened) even though he’s living the life that everyone else is wishing for. As he desires to reach true enlightenment, he leaves behind all attachments, and follows Shramana. However, he fails to achieve enlightenment, due to fatigue, hunger and thirstiness. After such failure he leaves the group of Samanas to go on a journey alone. “Siddhartha learned a great deal from Samanas; he learned many ways of losing self. He traveled along the path of self denial through pain, through voluntary suffering and conquering of pain through hunger thirst, tiredness” (Hesse 19) After such failure he leaves the group of Samanas to go on a journey alone. Having a job ,being in relation with women. Siddhartha still finds himself in lack of spirituality, believing there must be well balanced equilibrium. I think Hesse here tried to show being a Brahman class was not the primary reason for feeling emptiness, where Siddhartha, living the same as normal people, still finds himself lacking in spirituality.. Hesse also contradicts my idea of accomplishment and voidness. Here, Hesse also sends the message that harmony does not come from materialism, but from living peacefully with oneself, between spirituality and materiality, refuting his first attempt at transcendence where he had suffered from thirst and tiredness. During Siddhartha’s journey on enlightenment, he gets to meet a fisherman. Hesse reflects that the fisherman as Siddarthra’s goal of enlightenment. Fishermen do not have desire for society's rules or expectations, no ambition beyond what he needs to live on. This reflects back to young Siddhartha in Samana, headlonging into disconnection with any comfortness. Hesse left a message here where each individual has their own light within, and should seek for our own source of enlightenment and follow it. Once set mind and heart to follow the purpose there, he’ll meet enlightenment as well. I find this message relatable in the conversation with Kamaswami the merchant. Siddhartha says everyone has their own unique self(purpose), and meeting the social expectation and following ‘others’ bliss does not matter after all. “Everyone gives what he has. The warrior gives strength, the merchant gives merchandise, the teacher teachings, the farmer rice, the fisher fish.”(Hesse 68) As Siddhartha continues his journey through the woods, he realizes all things are connected through nature, and by their purposes. During his journey, Siddhartha observes flow of the river. He reflects himself on the river where he has come from the Brahman family but will eventually return to nature, just like water. While Siddhartha, traveling, learning from different people, mostly having similar experience as him but each having a very unique way of seeing things, which makes them also unique. Hesse here sends a message where all these unique individuals with different purposes combined, creating a harmonious union. Upon reading Siddhartha by Hesse, it was interesting to get an answer for my own question, and felt associated that I was not the only one with such a question. However, from the perspective of Siddhartha, he may have felt emptiness since he had given everything since birth. But that is realistically impossible for ‘normal people’ to both achieve and feel during their lifetime. The eagerness of gaining honor and physical materials are the components that drive the force of living.