Samsara And Enlightenment In Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha

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Siddhartha The story of Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse is a story of love, learning, and the search of happiness for inner self. Siddhartha, is a Hindu man from India who abandons a life of privilege and leaves his home to seek enlightenment. He goes through many obstacles along his journey, but ends up learning a lot from it. Samsara, Nirvana and Om are three terms that have a major significance in the novel which contributes to the journey of Siddhartha by helping him find self. The goal to finding self and enlightenment is reached, at the end of the novel, from the help of these three practices. The definition of Samsara is the cycle of death and rebirth, to which life in the material world is bound. In the novel, it is defined to be a game, but he eventually loses interest in the game, Samsara because he dislikes being numb. (Quote) The day by day events do not seem to matter anymore. The whole world of his crowd is only a game to him, a dance, or a comedy someone would watch. Siddhartha finally notices that he has been playing games, and focuses on looking for self. Siddhartha succeeds in his journey to find enlightenment, by finding Nirvana. Nirvana, is a state of perfect happiness. When Siddhartha smiled, he found the perfect happiness that he has been looking for. He smiles because he reaches finding self and …show more content…

Similar to Nirvana, a state of perfection starts a journey for him. Siddhartha saves himself by using OM. Siddhartha realizes that life is indestructible, so he must learn to not force his life along a certain path; He is trying to merge with Om. The concept of Om, which signifies the oneness and unity of all things, marks key moments of awakening for Siddhartha. (Quote) Siddhartha’s ability to understand Om is the entrance into enlightenment, but he encounters the idea many times, realizing he is

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