Herman Hesse's Siddhartha

Siddhartha is the story of a young Brahmin who lives in India at the same time of the Buddha, and his spiritual quest for enlightenment. The first chapter of the book, Siddhartha leaves behind his parents, community, and formal religion. Except for his devoted friend, Govinda. Siddhartha refrains from following the path of the Buddha. His reason for doing so is his realization that Buddha teaches freedom from suffering, and this powerful goal has to be attained, and not by following a teacher, but through seeking truth by going on his own path. What he searches for is within and Siddhartha needs to recognize it. The outside world is false and the only truth is Atman. By removing himself from society he can destroy all attachment to anything, in hope of, “When the entire I was conquered and dead, when every passion, overdrive in the heart was still, then the ultimate had to awaken, what was …show more content…
The historical Buddha was also named Siddhartha, and the character Siddhartha in the book also represents the journey of the life of the real Buddha, envisioned by the author Herman Hesse. There are a number of similarities in the novel between Siddhartha and the historical Buddha. Both men encounter Samanas (ascetics) when they are young and later make the decision to leave their families and village. Both become traveling ascetics. Later become unsatisfied with the teachers they encountered along their journey. Both then give up their ascetic practices, both become enlightened. Govinda, in the end, discovers Siddhartha and the Buddha are two of the same and we the readers are meant to see the two as the same at this time. It is not by random chance that Siddhartha Goatama, the historical Buddha, dies just as Siddhartha the protagonist in Hesse’s novel, finds the peace for which he has so long tried to find. Side by side these particular events point out Siddhartha's likeness to the historical