The Achievement of Self: Based on "Sdidhartha" by Herman Hesse

The story of "Siddhartha" is one of self-realization and the acceptance of 'self'. The main character Siddharta goes through a quest to find what he is missing, that part of himself that keeps eluding him. His friend Govinda accompanies him on his travels. The yearning he feels within his 'self' is what drives him on this sacred journey. He first had the yearning when he was still at home and set out to find his path with the Samamas. After which they encounter the Buddha. Then his quest continues as he meets the ferryman who makes an impression on him later in his life. Siddhartha goes through mainly three changes in his life; from spiritual to worldly and then spiritual again.

In the beginning, Siddhartha is shown as the son of a Brahmin. It is here within this clan of priests that Siddhartha finds that there is something missing from his life. All that goes on around him is purely routine and it worries him that all this goes on every day and yet, there is no chance of achieving 'Nirvana' (the highest level of bliss or beatitude with the Supreme spirit that can be achieved). This yearning of Siddhartha was shown in the First chapter "The Brahmin's Son" Page 5 when it says;"...the wise Brahmins had already passed on to him the bulk and best of their wisdom, and they had already poured the sum of their total knowledge into his waiting vessel; and the vessel was not full, his intelligence was not satisfied, his soul was not at peace, his heart was not still". The answer the comes to him is that it can be achieved through solitude and thus he wants to become a Samana.

When Siddhartha and his friend Govinda joined the Samanas, they left behind all of their old ways and strive to be new with their thinking. Siddhartha began learning and soon began to experience everything around him, including the cycle of rebirth. But with all the meditation and learning that was poured into him, he still was not able to do what he wanted to do, or what he thought had to be done; loose 'self'. All Samanas live and yearn for denial, pain and peace along with the loosing of 'self' but not all Samana's are able to do this. Many achieve one or two, Siddhartha achieved all with the exception of loosing his 'self' which he can do but not in a complete sense. He still had to return when his meditations were over.

In time Siddhartha began to feel restless again and thought that the Samanas had taught him everything they knew. This was true and he showed how he had mastered their art by hypnotizing the chief Samana. It was then that he left to seek Gotama the 'Enlightened One'.

Siddhartha and Govinda went to see Gotama the one who had achieved what they sought but it was there that the Govinda left his friend. Siddhartha tried to understand what Gotama taught but he was not able to understand simply because he thought he was too knowable to believe. The seeking of 'self' is not something tat could be taught; it is something that has to be achieved. Siddhartha's mistake is that he wanted to achieve this through knowledge, which was not possible.

From there Siddharta went on the path of earthy ways becoming a rich man and experiencing everything life has to offer. Indulging himself in wine and women he became a rich and later a ruthless businessman. But did he find what he was looking for? No! What he did gain was experience in the world and unknowingly he found his 'self'. Being bitter about the way he has become he abandoned everything he has and left that life. He traveled back to the river he had crossed before in his life showing that the journey is still there being traveled.

At that river he made a drastic turn to end his life, but something changed and he heard the word "Om". It was in that time that he achieved what he tried his life to gain. Peace and enlightenment. It did not come through knowledge; it did not come through world pleasures. It came when he was near the end. He had to let everything he was die in a manner of speaking, and everyone he had become had to be put to rest. He had experienced everything life had to offer and was now at ease. The Holy word that induced sleep in him like a drug revitalized him and made him realize that he was close. He accepted thing now and did not try to
interpret everything, happiness and love he had never know before all because there at the river he found silent beauty, wisdom and rebirth.

Siddhartha's goal in life was almost gained. At the river he found the ferryman who had crossed him before and there he stayed. There he found the son he had never known and experienced joys he had never thought he would have as well as sorrows. This was all part of the process of helping him achieve 'Self' because if he had not experienced this thing. This enabled him to experience what other people had to deal with, things that brought him a stronger unity with everything. His son was not someone who can learn to love but, was someone who had brought grief.

Because of this grief the aged ferryman and Siddhartha went to the river and he was implored to just listen deeply. Through listening he heard, sorrows first of all then joy as well as other emotions all in the flowing life giving river. All these emotions and sounds merged into one and he heard the sacred word in the river, "Om". His 'self' had now merged into unity with him. In his enlightenment he tried to explain that "...Seeking means: to have a goal; but finding means, to be free, to be receptive, to have no goal." (Siddhartha by Herman Hesse, page 140.)

In light of everything that has happened to Siddhartha, he first tried to be one with everything
through knowledge, he was seeking. He had a goal. It was because of this that he could not find his enlightenment because he had to experience life. The 'self' is that part of the person that could not be lost as he discovered with the Samanas. It could not be suppressed and overcome as he found out in worldly living. Rather he had to be free and to let thing some as they meay and just accept them. All he had to do was listen to thing around and not try to understand, the answers would come to you. Thus it was in this manner that Siddhartha the Brahimn's son, the Samana, the Businessman, the Hedonist found what self was about. After the achievement of 'Self' the keys to enlightenment were handed to him.

BIBLOGRAPHY

"Siddhartha" by Herman Hesse.
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Classic Notes: Siddhartha Full Summary and Analysis.
Glossary of terms used in Siddhartha
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