Siddhartha Path to Enlightenment

One recurring motif in Siddhartha is the Ganges River. "The new Siddhartha felt a deep love for this flowing water and decided that he would not leave it again so quickly" (p. 81). This quote explains how Siddhartha loved this river and how it flowed. It is how he wanted his energy to flow so he didn't want to leave the river so quickly this time and stay for a little longer. The author used the river in this instance as a way to show how energy should flow and it opens up a whole new thinking for the main character Siddhartha.

“As a lotus flower is born in water, grows in water and rises out of water to stand above it unsoiled, so I, born in the world, raised in the world having overcome the world, live unsoiled by the world” (pg 56). This quote explains how the water is important for development. It was the way to be born, for Siddhartha it was the way for him to be born again and start anew way of life off of the river. The author uses this quote to show how Siddhartha loves the river and is “born” off of it again and is a whole new person looking for a better way of life.

"They have heard its voice and listened to it, and the river has become holy to them, as it has to me. "Have you also learned that secret from the river; that there is no such thing as time?" That 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." (pg 77). This quote shows how people love the river and it serves to them almost as a guide because it leads them to where they want to go. The author uses this quote to show how important the river is to everyone in the story not just Siddhartha but also to the people around him. It plays as one of the major roles and makes people more clear on to where they want to go in life.

-David Limb