Whether it be chanting for a sacred ritual or eloquent discourse for business relation and even informal chat between two friends, the power of language is indisputable by all cultures in the world. The novel Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse aimed to change this classic view on the power of words and assert that, although language is invaluable for worldly affairs, when dealing with the forces of divinity and higher spiritual enlightenment, words lead to distortion of concepts. An overwhelming theme of the novel rings out to be that knowledge can be transferred through words, but true wisdom cannot be. To solidify this theme, Hesse builds two seemingly opposing views on nirvana that are in actuality rooted in parallelism, accentuates the idea that
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The children are taught the word Om, and use it to balance themselves while propelling their souls out of their bodies to reach the spirit of the universe. The phrase that the children are taught to repeat as they meditate is “Om is the bow; the arrow is the soul, The Brahmin is the arrow’s goal that one should continuously hit.” (Hesse, 16) Hesse creates a metaphorical link between shooting an arrow and reaching the highest powers of the universe in this verse, although there is no context given for why an example of a bow and arrow is used in particular. One will also notice the fact that after Govinda touches Siddhartha’s forehead and has a vision of enlightenment, and he gets a sensation “as if he had been wounded by a divine arrow…” (Hesse, 112) This provides additional support of to the notion that words distort the idea of enlightenment. The words here are taught to the children at a young age, and have probably been passed down through generations from a long gone enlightened soul. Without the actual experience and wisdom to back it up, the words do not hold as much significance. They are empty, in a sense, and do not provide the deep understanding that that they were meant to. The words become up to interpretation, and every young child may imagine a different scenario when uttering this phrase. When Govinda actually experiences the phenomenon, the concept becomes clear to him and the words make sense. This shows that experience is a powerful force that can even clarify something that one believed to hold a different meaning for their entire life. The metaphor of the arrows also frame the novel. The first time the metaphor is used is in the very beginning of the novel, while the last time it is seen is on the last page of the book. This indicates that Hesse may have wanted to highlight the idea that words are easily
The children are taught the word Om, and use it to balance themselves while propelling their souls out of their bodies to reach the spirit of the universe. The phrase that the children are taught to repeat as they meditate is “Om is the bow; the arrow is the soul, The Brahmin is the arrow’s goal that one should continuously hit.” (Hesse, 16) Hesse creates a metaphorical link between shooting an arrow and reaching the highest powers of the universe in this verse, although there is no context given for why an example of a bow and arrow is used in particular. One will also notice the fact that after Govinda touches Siddhartha’s forehead and has a vision of enlightenment, and he gets a sensation “as if he had been wounded by a divine arrow…” (Hesse, 112) This provides additional support of to the notion that words distort the idea of enlightenment. The words here are taught to the children at a young age, and have probably been passed down through generations from a long gone enlightened soul. Without the actual experience and wisdom to back it up, the words do not hold as much significance. They are empty, in a sense, and do not provide the deep understanding that that they were meant to. The words become up to interpretation, and every young child may imagine a different scenario when uttering this phrase. When Govinda actually experiences the phenomenon, the concept becomes clear to him and the words make sense. This shows that experience is a powerful force that can even clarify something that one believed to hold a different meaning for their entire life. The metaphor of the arrows also frame the novel. The first time the metaphor is used is in the very beginning of the novel, while the last time it is seen is on the last page of the book. This indicates that Hesse may have wanted to highlight the idea that words are easily