Siddhartha
What do you get when you cross a novel with a spiritual guide to life? Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha. The book is the life story of a man who has one lofty goal: to become enlightened. He was born the son of a Brahmin, a member of the highest social class. Yet he was unhappy with the teachings of the Brahmins, so instead of remaining one of them and becoming a priest, he became a wandering ascetic (a Samana), then a merchant, then a ferryman, seeking some sort of enlightenment every step of the way. Eventually, at the end of his life, he reached enlightenment, but only after a lifetime of diligently following divergent paths. Siddhartha had to take so many different paths in his life because he didn't really know what he was searching for. His goal was enlightenment. But what is enlightenment? That was the question that he never asked himself. He was searching for something undefined, something that is indescribable.
it was, and he had a general idea of how to get it, but however hard he tried, whatever path he took, it never seemed to come any closer. Siddhartha had tried all the religious paths, and none of them had worked. Now he found a new direction to go in, that of the materialistic world. He became a merchant, and wore fine clothes, and grew fat and rich. He lost his sense of purpose, and did not actively search for Nirvana. However, he grew more and more decrepit, and became disgusted with himself. He left all his fine things, his house, his servants, and wandered about until he met a ferryman. He decided to take that route, and for the rest of his life he learned from Vasudeva, the old ferryman. Siddhartha still was not enlightened, and he still did not actively seek it. Yet he sensed himself coming closer and closer to his goal. Finally, an old man now, Siddhartha sat with Vasudeva at the edge of the river. He listened to it, and as he did, it s
Some common words found in the essay are:
Hesse's Siddhartha, Om Siddhartha, Finally Siddhartha, Govinda Kamala, , chopping wood carrying, wood carrying water, chopping wood, enlightenment chopping wood, wood carrying, carrying water, enlightenment chopping,
Approximate Word count = 643
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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