Finding the Right Path
Students do not understand what a major impact teachers can have on their lives as a whole. The novel Siddhartha was written by Herman Hesse in 1951. Siddhartha is a novel about a young man, who, through much trial and error, faces troubles in finding his way down the path to enlightenment, or Nirvana. Nirvana is a term that is most commonly tied to the religion, Buddhism. It is best defined as a state of total self contentment and an emptiness in feelings. Throughout the novel, Siddhartha finds his way down the path to Nirvana through the following of many very influential teachers. Along the way-keep?? He is taught by the Samana people, or the monks, his teacher and lover, Kamala, and also Vasudeva, the ferryman. …show more content…
Once there, he reacquaints with the ferryman that once gave him a free ride across when he was a poor Samana. The ferryman’s name is Vasudeva and he takes Siddhartha under his wing and invites him into his home. After Siddhartha offers up his rich clothes in return for a ride across the river, Vasudeva offers him to live with him until he decides what he is going to do. “Stay with me, Siddhartha, my friend...I have lived alone for a long time. Come and live with me; there is room and food for both of us” (Hesse 85). Siddhartha takes him up on the offer and stays with him, as he works on finding a new path to guide him to Nirvana. After Siddhartha agrees to stay with him, Vasudeva starts helping him to understand the necessary traits to reach enlightenment. In a sense, Vasudeva is considered more of a guide to Siddhartha once he understands the importance of the river. Siddhartha confides in the river, listens to it, and speaks to it. “Siddhartha listened attentively to this river, to this song of a thousand voices; when he did not listen to the sorrow or laughter, when he did not bind his soul to any one particular voice and absorb it in his Self, but heard them all, the whole, the unity; then the great song of a thousand voices consisted of one word: Om--perfection” (Hesse 111). Ultimately, the river is what helped him to travel down the correct path to enlightenment, with guiding from Vasudeva. After learning all he could from his third and final teacher, Vasudeva, he finally reached enlightenment after guidance from him, helping Siddhartha to learn all of the necessary traits from the
Students do not understand what a major impact teachers can have on their lives as a whole. The novel Siddhartha was written by Herman Hesse in 1951. Siddhartha is a novel about a young man, who, through much trial and error, faces troubles in finding his way down the path to enlightenment, or Nirvana. Nirvana is a term that is most commonly tied to the religion, Buddhism. It is best defined as a state of total self contentment and an emptiness in feelings. Throughout the novel, Siddhartha finds his way down the path to Nirvana through the following of many very influential teachers. Along the way-keep?? He is taught by the Samana people, or the monks, his teacher and lover, Kamala, and also Vasudeva, the ferryman. …show more content…
Once there, he reacquaints with the ferryman that once gave him a free ride across when he was a poor Samana. The ferryman’s name is Vasudeva and he takes Siddhartha under his wing and invites him into his home. After Siddhartha offers up his rich clothes in return for a ride across the river, Vasudeva offers him to live with him until he decides what he is going to do. “Stay with me, Siddhartha, my friend...I have lived alone for a long time. Come and live with me; there is room and food for both of us” (Hesse 85). Siddhartha takes him up on the offer and stays with him, as he works on finding a new path to guide him to Nirvana. After Siddhartha agrees to stay with him, Vasudeva starts helping him to understand the necessary traits to reach enlightenment. In a sense, Vasudeva is considered more of a guide to Siddhartha once he understands the importance of the river. Siddhartha confides in the river, listens to it, and speaks to it. “Siddhartha listened attentively to this river, to this song of a thousand voices; when he did not listen to the sorrow or laughter, when he did not bind his soul to any one particular voice and absorb it in his Self, but heard them all, the whole, the unity; then the great song of a thousand voices consisted of one word: Om--perfection” (Hesse 111). Ultimately, the river is what helped him to travel down the correct path to enlightenment, with guiding from Vasudeva. After learning all he could from his third and final teacher, Vasudeva, he finally reached enlightenment after guidance from him, helping Siddhartha to learn all of the necessary traits from the