What happens in Siddhartha?
Siddhartha and his friend Govinda decide to join a group of ascetic Samanas after Siddhartha grows disillusioned with the teachings of Brahmanism. One day, he and Govinda hear the teachings of Guatama the Buddha. Govinda stays with the Buddha, but Siddhartha realizes that he must find his own path.
- Siddhartha travels to a big city, where he meets and falls in love with a famous courtesan, Kamala. With her help, he becomes rich and lives a life of indulgence. Luxury doesn't satisfy Siddhartha's spiritual needs, however. He leaves the city, unaware that Kamala is pregnant with his child.
- Realizing that ascetic denial and indulgence are equally pointless, Siddhartha attempts suicide. After failing, he goes to live with the ferryman Vaseduva, who teaches him that time is an illusion and that all beings are one.
- Twelve years later, Kamala comes to the riverbank in search of the Buddha. After she dies of a snake bite, Siddhartha takes care of their son. The boy misses the city, however, and soon runs away. Siddhartha understands that loving the boy means letting him go. When Govinda visits, he's amazed by the changes in Siddhartha, who has found absolute peace.
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Summary
(Masterpieces of World Literature, Critical Edition)
Siddhartha combines two universal myths, that of Everyman searching for enlightenment and that of the hero on the way to sainthood. Siddhartha takes the journey common to all of Hesse’s later heroes, passing from the irresponsible paradise of childhood through the purifying conflicts of youth to the liberation of adult wisdom, the “higher irresponsibility” of absolute faith. Throughout Hesse’s works is the reminder that one can learn how to live only from life itself, not from books or teachers. Thus, Siddhartha, the eternal seeker, goes his own way, bowing to no one. He must disregard the wishes of his father, the advice of his friend Govinda, and finally even the counsel of the great Buddha. Only thus can he find his way to his true self.
The story of Siddhartha is also built on the myth of the quest. For Siddhartha, the quest begins when he feels that the teachings of Brahmanism do not lead to salvation and decides to try other paths. He leaves home with his friend Govinda to join the ascetic Samanas, with whom he spends three years. When he realizes that asceticism and yoga are only leading him further away from himself, he goes with Govinda to hear the teachings of Guatama the Buddha. Govinda remains with the great teacher, but Siddhartha decides that he must seek his own path through immersion in the world of the senses.
He travels to a large city, where he falls in love with Kamala, a famous courtesan. With her help Siddhartha becomes wealthy, able to afford anything he wants—including Kamala herself. Eventually he realizes that this life of indulgence is just as pointless as a life of denial, that both luxury and asceticism can be extremes that obstruct the path to spiritual illumination. He decides, therefore, to turn his back on the world of Sansara and...
(The entire section is 3,081 words.)