Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse Linda Lin The Interior and Exterior throughout Siddhartha’s path to Spiritual enlightenment. Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse Linda Lin

As a Brahmin “Did he not go continually to the holy springs with an insatiable thirst, to the sacrifices, to books, to the Brahmins’ discourses? Why must he, the blameless one, wash away his sins and endeavor to cleanse himself anew each day?” (5) Firstly during his early years as a Brahmin, He was wondering whether these things he does are meaningful or not. As for exterior he is doing them, going through ablutions, but on the inside he isn’t that sure about what he got from doing them. And everything he does during his living as a Brahmin’s son was like this, doing things, hoping to reach enlightenment through a certain way, going along a certain path. But this didn’t work for him, since all these things on the outside, these paths, these ways, didn’t reach his heart, didn’t help his spirit move up to the level. As a smart and fast learner, he realized through this way he cannot reach enlightenment and so he left the Brahmins and went for the samanas.

Being a Samana “Siddhartha gave his clothes to a poor Brahmin on the road and only retained his loincloth and earth-colored unstitched cloak. He only ate once a day and never cooked food.”(10) “Siddhartha had one single goal- to become empty, to become empty of thirst, desire, dreams, pleasure and sorrow- to let the Self die.”(11) He gave his clothes away, ate only once a day and never cooked food. He did all this because the old samanas teach them to do so. This is supposed to help them to reach enlightenment. This again is a rule, a belief, a dogma. Simply following them is all Sidd did.

Leaving the Samanas “We find consolations, we learn tricks with which we deceive ourselves, but the essential thing- the way- we do not find. ” (15) This is what Sidd Said to Govinda when he was talking about leaving. The samana’s teachings happened to fail as well. He didn’t realize any changes in his spirits, his interior.

Around Kamala and Kamaswami “Siddhartha had learned how to transact business affairs, to exercise power over people, to amuse himself with women; he had learned to wear fine clothes, to command servants, to bathe in sweet-smelling waters.”(61) “How flat and desolate his path had been! How many long years he had spent without any lofty goal, without any thirst, without any exaltation, content with small pleasures and yet never really satisfied!” He had gone into the material world after he failed to learn the true path to enlightenment from all his attempts from earlier. And yet he failed more. He realized that this living doesn’t bring him others but material benefits. He even doubted the things he got from this living can be called “benefits”. Failed again, he left them.

When he was leaving again “He had finished with that. That also died in him.” “He smiled wearily, shook his head and said good-bye to these things.”(68)

By the River -gradually reaching enlightenment “The new Siddartha felt a deep love for this flowing water and decided that he would not leave it again so quickly”(81) “The river is everywhere at the same time, at the source and at the mouth, at the waterfall, at the ferry, at the current, in the ocean and in the mountains, everywhere, and that the present only exists for it, not the shadow of the past, nor the shadow of the future.”(87) "As time went on his smile began to resemble the ferryman's, was almost equally radiant, almost equally full of happiness, equally lightening up through a thousand little wrinkles, equally childish, equally senile." (88) “You are Siddhartha and yet you are not like him.-Kamala” (93) The first quote was yet still when he hasn’t pursued the meaning of the river, the second quote by ferry man, during the conversation, he moved a step further towards enlightenment. His smile reflected his heart.

Practicing the Om “Siddhartha softly recited the verse” (5) “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.”(111) “His wound was healing, his pain was dispersing; his Self had merged into unity. ”(111) He was simply “reciting”, but not feeling the words flow in his heart, not pursuing the true meaning behind the words, not getting the great philosophy about time, about life. It was like a dogma, same as all the other things he did, such as fast, eating raw, wearing bad clothes when he was a samana. But then he got it. He understood the true meaning of the Om. He reached the true enlightenment of the soul. He has reached the perfection he longed for and is talking about. His pain was healing, his Self merging into unity. He was at peace.

It is not what you experienced but having experienced it that matters