In Herman Hesse’s 1951 novel Siddhartha, the main character, Siddhartha, goes on a journey to discover and achieve the ultimate goal of the Hindu religion, enlightenment. He departs from his luscious life as a Brahmin, the highest stage in Hinduism, and goes off into the world to achieve this desired spiritual state. Along his way he apprehends that he needs to leave his past behind in order to achieve who he wants to be in the future, he stumbles upon the acknowledgment that one does not need possessions in order to be happy as well as he learns that time is a manmade construct and nature dictates the cycles of life. One does not need to be in search of enlightenment to realize these same lessons. In my personal life, I have come across similar
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This time old influencer subtracts people from the real meaning of life, depriving them of life aspects that can truly make them happy. Fortunately, Siddhartha and I both learn to understand that one does not need materialist goods in order to be happy, which has inturned improves our quality of life in the process. After spending twenty years indulging his senses in Samana, Siddhartha grasps his mistakes. His focus shifts from attempting to achieve enlightenment to losing sight of this goal and surrounding himself in materialist goods. After he realizes that he has spent the past twenty years solely focusing on the artificial world of indulgences and “deeply entangled in Samsara; he [draws] nausea and death to himself from all sides, like a sponge that absorbs water until it is full. He was full of ennui, full of misery, full of death; there was nothing left in the world that could attract him, that could give him pleasure and solace” (70). The shame that fills him upon realizing his poor choices leaves him wishing for death. But as he begins to give himself up to the river, “the sound of Om [reaches] Siddhartha’s ears, his slumbering soul suddenly [awakens] and he [recognizes] the folly of his action” (73). Just as Siddhartha tries to give up his life as a result of his unsatisfactory actions, the Om fills him with a sensation that leads him to understand that even though materialistic goods lead him to live a shameful twenty years, plenty of reasons still exist in the world to continue living. As he regains strength and motivation from the om, he learns that materialistic needs cannot control him and the feelings given to one by nature are the truly important
This time old influencer subtracts people from the real meaning of life, depriving them of life aspects that can truly make them happy. Fortunately, Siddhartha and I both learn to understand that one does not need materialist goods in order to be happy, which has inturned improves our quality of life in the process. After spending twenty years indulging his senses in Samana, Siddhartha grasps his mistakes. His focus shifts from attempting to achieve enlightenment to losing sight of this goal and surrounding himself in materialist goods. After he realizes that he has spent the past twenty years solely focusing on the artificial world of indulgences and “deeply entangled in Samsara; he [draws] nausea and death to himself from all sides, like a sponge that absorbs water until it is full. He was full of ennui, full of misery, full of death; there was nothing left in the world that could attract him, that could give him pleasure and solace” (70). The shame that fills him upon realizing his poor choices leaves him wishing for death. But as he begins to give himself up to the river, “the sound of Om [reaches] Siddhartha’s ears, his slumbering soul suddenly [awakens] and he [recognizes] the folly of his action” (73). Just as Siddhartha tries to give up his life as a result of his unsatisfactory actions, the Om fills him with a sensation that leads him to understand that even though materialistic goods lead him to live a shameful twenty years, plenty of reasons still exist in the world to continue living. As he regains strength and motivation from the om, he learns that materialistic needs cannot control him and the feelings given to one by nature are the truly important