Siddhartha

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Atman

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breath, principle of life, the individual soul; in the grammar of Sanskrit it is also used as the reflexive pronoun: oneself

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Brahmin

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The priestly class, highest of the four division in ancient Hindu society; strictly speaking, one who knows and repeats Vedas, e.g. Siddhartha and his family

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Buddha

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from the Sanskrit root ' budh' 'to wake up', hence, The Awakened or Enlightened One. Hence Buddha is not a proper name but a title

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Cycle of rebirth

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reincarnation is an essential belied in the East, not only in India. When we become one with out Creator (the heaven of Christianity ) the chains of rebirth are broken for ever. For many, to achieve such a state (bliss) is the sole goal of human existence

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The Eight Fold Path

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Following on from the Buddha's famous Four noble Truths, a) that life is suffering b) suffering results in desires c) to stop suffering, stop desiring, d) to stop desiring there is the eight fold path. This path consists of 1) right views, 2) right livelihood, 3) right speech, 4) right action, 5) right livelihood, 6) right effort, 7) right awareness, 8) right concentration

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Govinda

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literally ' cowman'; one who looks after cows; Govinda is one of the thousand names of Krishna; another Govinda was the teacher of Shankara, founder of the monastic order in India; his commentaries on the Bhagavad Gita and Upanishads are accepted masterpieces

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Karma

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literally 'action, works'. How is one to become free from the bonds of work and therefore from rebirth? This is a vast topic and linked to the belief in reincarnation; put simply, karma is one's individual fate (as the certain consequences of actions done in previous lives); what happens to us in this life is the direct result of actions performed in other incarnations. Hence the importance of 'action under knowledge', a key theme in the Bhagavad Gita and Upanishads

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Nirvana

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from the root 'nirva', to blow out, extinguish. Hence, when all desires and passions are extinguished the highest bliss or beatitude, reunion with the Supreme Spirit, may be experienced

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Om

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pronounced (Aum); whole texts have been written on this sound. Simply; it appears in the Upanishads as a mystic monosyllable, the object of this profound religious meditation. Later it came to represent the Hindu triad, Vishnu, Siva, Brahma. Om often begins and ends prayers, chants and meditations

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Samana

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a variant of the Sanskrit 'sramana', to exert oneself, become weary, hence the meaning of performing 'acts of austerity', etc. Its opposite is 'ashram', a place to rest, retreat from the toils of this life and world

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Sansara

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a Sanskrit term meaning 'circuit of mundane existence', the existence within worldly illusion. What befalls Siddhartha when he leaves the Samanas and joins the world of Kamaswami and Kamala aptly describes, in this context, what Hesse intends to convey by using the term

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Self

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one's innermost being, the 'embodied or individual self', as opposed to the small self or ego. As such the embodied self is a minute part of God Himself: it is this truth which is realized in self-realization / enlightenment, in the experience of unity. This is what both Govinda and Siddhartha seek

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Siddhartha

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In Sanskrit a compound of 'siddha', acquired, accomplished, fulfilled, gained and of 'artha', aim use, purpose, wealth, opulence; hence literally 'the wealth accrued to one who has fulfilled his aim'. The greatest wealth being self-realization / enlightenment