Journey+or+Quest

Introduction** In the novel Siddhartha by Herrman Hesse, the protagonist embarks on a spiritual journey to reach self-fulfillment and enlightenment. His journey can be split up into three different portions that ultimately underscore the Buddhist concept of the middle way. In his quest for spiritual enlightenment, Siddhartha first experiences both extremes of the world which include self-mortification and sensual indulgence. After having experienced both these extremes, Siddhartha comes to the realization that none of them can bring him the enlightenment that he seeks and this realization is what finally drives Siddhartha to follow the Middle Way which at last helps him to achieve the spiritual enlightenment that he has been seeking all his life.
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Siddhartha first embarks on his journey by joining the Samanas which are a group of wandering ascetics trying to reach enlightenment through self-mortification. The Samanas are the epitome of the idea of self-mortification since they possess nothing in this world and believe that life is pain and in order to reach enlightenment, one has to let the Self die.
 * Self-Mortification**

//“Silently he crouched among the thorns. Blood dripped from his smarting skin, ulcers formed, and Siddhartha remained stiff, motionless, till no more blood flowed, till there was no more pricking, no more smarting.” (11)//

-This line is used to show Siddhartha’s dedication in attempting to conquer the Self within him in order to reach enlightenment. The imagery portrayed from this line is one of pain and misery, however by describing Siddhartha as “stiff, motionless, and silent” Hesse is showing Siddhartha’s acceptance of all this pain as a necessary price to pay for his goal of reaching enlightenment. This is further emphasized by the fact that Siddhartha actually achieves in killing the Self, which is shown by the last few phrases of the line where Siddhartha is described as having withstood all physical torment until none was left.

//“He traveled along the path of self-denial through pain, through voluntary suffering and conquering of pain, through hunger, thirst and fatigue.” (12)//

After realizing that the Samana’s practice of self-mortification could only lead to a temporary escape from the world and suffering, Siddhartha decides to leave the Samanas in search for another method of reaching nirvana.

When Siddhartha and Govinda join up with Buddha, they learn about the Middle Way from the preaching’s of Buddha. Siddhartha recognizes the fact that Gotama has indeed reached Nirvana, however he still decides against becoming a follower of Gotama since he does not believe that the path to enlightenment can be taught. Therefore even though all the right principles are taught by Gotama including the Middle Way, Siddhartha still decides to continue on with his journey and experience these things for himself.
 * Foreshadowing of Middle Way**

//“He had heard that this alleged Buddha had formerly been an ascetic and had lived in the woods, had then turned to high living and the pleasures of the world” (17)//

- By paralleling Siddhartha’s life with that of Gotama’s, Hesse is foreshadowing the fact that Siddhartha will have to experience both extremes on his journey in order to reach the Middle Way and thereby Nirvana just like Gotama has done.

After leaving Govinda, Siddhartha embarks on a quest to obtain love and money from the material world and he succeeds in doing so at the price of acquiring many vices and committing many sins. However in the end he again has a realization that he has got so caught up in the world of material desires that he has completely deviated from his path to spiritual enlightenment. Thereby he makes up his mind to leave everything behind and start completely afresh.
 * Sensual Indulgence**

//“He had drawn 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” (70)//

- In this line, Siddhartha reflects on all the negative aspects that his desire for material things has caused him. Hesse uses the simile “like a sponge that absorbs water until it is full” to emphasize the extent to which these vices have changed him for the worse. However he later realizes that these experiences helped him accept the world for what it is and was therefore a necessary part of his self-fulfillment.

Siddhartha finally finds the Middle Way when he settles down with Vesudeva and becomes a ferryman which allows him to finally reach enlightenment in the end of the novel. He does this by combining his experiences of self-mortification and sensual indulgence to reach a moderate view on life. The river is also a symbol for the Middle Way since it is through listening to the river and understanding the voices of the river as a whole that Siddhartha finally reaches enlightenment.
 * Middle Way**

//“There shone in his face the serenity of knowledge, of one who is no longer confronted with conflict of desires… belonging to the unity of all things.” (111)//

Hesse also places numerous underlying aspects of the novel that all emphasize the importance of the Middle Way in respect to reaching enlightenment. The crossing of the river which is symbolic of the crossing between the two different extremes of the world can be seen literally as the Middle between these two extremes and therefore the path of moderation away from the extremes. Another component of the novel that is used by Hesse to accentuate the importance of the Middle Way is the structure of the novel. By bringing in the river, which is a symbol for the Middle Way right in the MIDDLE between parts 1 and 2, Hesse is again drawing attention to the importance of the Middle Way.

In conclusion, Hesse intentionally divides up Siddhartha’s journey into three different sections that represent self-mortification, sensual indulgence and moderation from the two extremes to emphasize the importance of the Middle Way and show how it is the only way that someone can reach Nirvana.
 * Conclusion**