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Importance of listening
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“‘All I am able to do is to listen and be godly, I have learned nothing else’” (73). This is Vasudeva talking to Siddhartha, after they first met, about what he learned from the river by listening. Vasudeva is also talking about how Siddhartha will be learning from the river by listening to it. Vasudeva is telling Siddhartha and the reader that that one can learn how to content by listening and learning from a river. We see that Vasudeva listens to the river when it says “[a]ll I am able to do is to listen and be godly, I have learned nothing else”. Listening to the river leads Vasudeva to a state of contentment because the river is a calming place. A calming place can help to lead one to a state of happiness and satisfaction, the definition of contentment, as Vasudeva, says he is a godly man that means that he is devoutly religious and a river or calming place can help him communicate with his religion. …show more content…
Vasudeva is important for Siddhartha in learning this lesson from the river because Siddhartha can tell that Vasudeva is not trying to teach him just from books, but that Vasudeva has learned and is still learning from the river. This proves that one can learn how to be content by listening and learning from a river. Likewise, to how Vasudeva taught Siddhartha how to be content by listening and learning from a river, he also taught Siddhartha how to be silent. “Vasudeva was no friends of words; rarely, Siddhartha succeeded in persuading him to speak” (74). This takes place after Siddhartha had been with Vasudeva for a while. After learning from him and being with him (Vasudeva), Siddhartha is commenting on how rarely Vasudeva
When Siddhartha looked into the river, he discovered that he and his father had more in common than he thought. He discovered that his father had experienced the same pain he had experienced. Siddhartha’s son left him, just as Siddhartha left his father. Siddhartha started to listen to the river, and heard many voices while doing so. From this, he mastered the art of listening. Syntax is used in this quote. The order of the passage shows Siddhartha’s thought process. Siddhartha realized the both he and his father experienced the pain of losing a
The river is a factor in Siddhartha achieving enlightenment. The river is his last step after the city. It teaches him things about himself that he didn’t even know were important to him. For example “And one day, when the wound burned violently, Siddhartha ferried across the river, driven by a yearning, got off the boat and was willing to go to the city and to look for his son” - “The river laughed”. This is showing how the river tells Siddhartha things that he thinks are reasonable but the river know better. The river also led him to Vasudeva. Vasudeva is like a priest of sorts. He teaches Siddhartha how to listen to the river and what it has to say, just like a priest. Without Vasudeva Siddhartha would not have learned from the river and therefore never have gotten close to enlightenment. The river and Vasudeva were directly part of Siddhartha's
To some this story might seem like a tragedy, but to Christians this is a beautiful story. Although young Harry dies at the end, he is accepted into the kingdom of God, which is far superior to anything on Earth. A non-religious family raises him and the first taste of Christianity he gets makes him want to pursue God. In Flannery O’Conner’s short story, The River, the allure of Gods grace and the repelling of sinful ways are shown heavily through Harry.
Vasudeva, the ferryboat captain, was the most important person in Siddhartha’s life. If he hadn’t allowed Siddhartha to live with him and share the beauty of the river, Siddhartha may have never reached Nirvana. Sitting with his pupil by the water and forcing him to listen and look into the depths led Siddhartha to his place of peacefulness.
I say this because Vasudeva never told Siddhartha what to do, instead he shows him the direction and leaves it up to him to make his decisions. Another reason why I think Vasudeva was more of a guide to Siddhartha than a teacher is because when Siddhartha was telling him about his life and experiences, Vasudeva never interrupted Siddhartha while he was talking. Vasudeva was not just listening, he was analyzing what Siddhartha is talking about. Also, according to Amy Ogrodnik Sullivan, “ Listening involves hearing and cognition and assumes the ability to selectively perceive, interpret, understand, assign meaning,
Siddhartha was a proactive, self-sufficient young man. He quickly absorbed the Brahmin’s doctrine and decided he wanted to learn even more; he had to become a Samana. Of course, in order to make such a step he needed his father’s permission. When he first requested, his father rejected the idea and said he should not speak it again. However, Siddhartha persisted. Respecting his father’s words, he stood patiently and waited for his request to be granted. His father asked him why he was waiting. Siddhartha responded, “You know why.” He continued on saying he would wait until he died. His father said, “And you would rather die than obey your father...
The ferryman, Vasudeva, asks him “Don't you see what your son is trying to tell you? Don't you see that he doesn't want to be followed?’ But he did not say this in words. He started making a new oar. But Siddhartha bid his farewell, to look for the run-away” (Hesse 167).
Eventually, Siddhartha realizes the error of his ways and leaves Kamala, for a new way of life, but he leaves behind an unborn child. He leaves all his riches and Kamaswami, which was very desperate to find him at the time of his “disappearance.” Siddhartha had reached a stage in his life where he thought there was no meaning, he’s been on the trek for knowledge all his life but he had not attained satisfaction. He wanted to die. “With a distorted countenance he stared into the water…soul suddenly awakened and he recognized the folly of his action.” (89) He became so lost and distressed he did not see a path for him in the world, but then he met the river. This is where he finally reaches his Nirvana; through further scrutiny and under the guidance of Vasudeva, he becomes cognizant of the flow of the world. “The river knows everything…you will learn the other thing too.” (105) Vasudeva is a man that his lived on the river for a long time, and he has learned its ways. The river is a cycle, and everything depends on it. Animals, plants, and even humans need rivers to survive. Most ancient civilizations were based on river banks, so that they can reap plentiful crops. “Siddhartha tried to listen better…thousands of voices.” (134-135) Siddhartha’s study of the river made him realize who was, who he is, and who he will be. The pictures in the water were his life and all other lives that flowed like rivers, and ultimately began anew with
The first teacher that Siddhartha had was the Samanas. Siddhartha followed their path for a few years, and learned much from them. He had accomplished the eightfold path and the four noble truths in a short time. Although he had learned much he came to a decision to leave the Samanas. Siddhartha was grateful for they’re teachings, but in the end he believed he could have learned everything that they had taught him on his own.
...n, and all of the enjoyments and lavishes. He becomes entrapped in Samsara, the physical world, characterized by repeated cycles of birth, but finally breaks out of it after twenty years and returns to the river. At the river he joins the simple life of Vasudeva, according to Carl Yung would be considered the wise old man archetype, and for the next twenty years he listens and learns from the river. The river is no longer the divider between the material and spiritual worlds but now it symbolizes a unity in which past, present, and future, all people and their experiences, all features of life flow together. Siddhartha comes to realize that there is no conflict between the spiritual and the material, that all human occurrences are to be accepted, and that the only difference between the ordinary people and the sages is that the sages understand this unity.
Throughout the entire novel the River continues to teach Siddhartha important life lessons. One lesson that the River teaches him is how to be devout and to listen. This is an important lesson for Siddhartha
...e chased his son. Siddhartha is soon reminded by the river of how he left his own father. He continues to listen to the river and he beings to see people from different walks of life. These images soon flow together, and begin to make a single sound, Om. Siddhartha realizes that the earth is intertwined and now is spiritually complete.
I agree with you, that "Vasudeva is there to guide Siddhartha". He does not attempt to teach Siddhartha, but gently directed him to get the answers from the river. In the chapter "The Ferryman" Vasudeva says, "If I could talk and teach, I would perhaps be a teacher, but as it is I am only a ferryman and it is my task to take people across the river” (Hesse 86). In this passage he admits that his role not a teacher. The fact that he is the ferryman and takes people across the river is symbolic. And your quote from Günter Baumann’s essay, “Hesse and India” illustrates that perfectly. It is true, “he also helps them to reach another side of their soul”. We see it Siddhartha's case: the ferrymen just assist him in the overcoming the obstacle on
Siddhartha starts to get over the leaving of his son by learning the secrets of the river from Vesudeva. He understands the unity that Gautama taught, through the river. He learns 3 secrets from the river: time doesn’t exist, the river is always the same and the river has many voices. The world is like this river, eternal and whole. Now that Siddhartha can really listen to the river too, Vasudeva reaches Nirvana, and he leaves the river with Siddhartha and moves on. Govinda hears about a ferryman and goes to find him. He doesn’t recognize Siddartha and asks for help to achieve enlightenment. Siddhartha says that everything is part of a whole and is always in the present
"You know, my friend, that even as a young man, when we lived with the ascetics in the forest, I came to distrust doctrines and teachers and to turn my back to them. I am still of the same turn of mind, although I have, since that time, had many teachers. A beautiful courtesan was my teacher for a long time, and a rich merchant and a dice player. On one occasion, one of the Buddha’s wandering monks was my teacher. He halted in his pilgrimage to sit beside me when I fell asleep in the forest. I also learned something from him and I am grateful to him, very grateful. But most of all, I have learned from this river and from my predecessor, Vasudeva. He was a simple man; he was not a thinker, but he realized the essential as well as Gotama, he was a holy man, a saint" (141).