Hermann Hesse’s novel Siddhartha is about a young man named, Siddhartha. He goes through many ups and downs in his search for spiritual entitlement, which is essential to his main goal, Nirvana. In this novel there are three main passages, one at the beginning, middle, and end, that really improve Siddhartha’s journey.
The first passage is from pg.35. This passage is significant because it is at this time that Govinda and Siddhartha go their separate ways in their own search for understanding life, and this is the first time that Govinda is choosing his own direction, being an individual not in Siddhartha’s shadows. They begin with looking for the same search for truth, peace of mind with they believe is essential for having a content or sound relationship with the world. The truth which Siddhartha and Govinda are searching for is a universal understanding of life. Siddhartha and Govinda both have a desire to understand their lives through spirituality, and look to do this by reaching Nirvana. They both start with the belief that finding Nirvana is possible. Even though Nirvana leads to a perfect relationship with the world and is obviously an end goal that almost every person hopes to reach, Siddhartha and Govinda different in what they are willing to do in search for this truth. In Siddhartha’s case, when he becomes suspicious that one path may lead to a dead end, he quickly changes his course. He is willing to abandon the path of the Brahmins for the path of the Samanas, to leave the Samanas for Gotama, and then to make a sudden change from spiritual teachers to the material world with Kamala and Kamaswami. He does not surrender in his search and instead continues to follow whatever path becomes available if he has clearly not yet reached Nirvana. Govinda is less flexible and open in his search for spiritual enlightenment. In his journey, he restricts himself to the spiritual and religious world and persists in his need for teachers. Even though Siddhartha is willing to step away from religion, leave the teachings he has learned Govinda is only will to find truth within the narrow religions Hinduism or Buddhism, and is only willing to accept it if its taught by a respected teacher. As a result, Govinda is unable to see the truth around him, because he is limited by his belief that truth will appear in the way he has been taught by his teachers. This difference between Siddhartha’s merciless search and Govinda’s limited search is the reason why Govinda can attain enlightenment only through an act of on Siddhartha, where as Siddhartha is able to find truth through his own power.
