Siddhartha

When I first began reading Siddhartha, I was skeptical on whether or not I would be able to relate it to real life situations. I think many people have a hard time reading a book they are unfamiliar with. Before I read Siddhartha, I had no idea what Pilgrimage was, or how it related to religion. I just finished reading the book on Saturday, and I was very pleased with the novel, and found myself thinking about how Siddhartha’s life was shaped due to his experiences in finding his own self. If he never pushed his dad to understand that he needed to go on his own, what would have happened? Siddhartha proved to himself in order to get what you want in life, you have to be willing to work hard and sacrifice things important to you. His experience in finding love, living with the wealthy, and being admired by many people, proved to him that he could be whatever type of person he wanted to be; as long as he fulfilled his goal of finding the ultimate happiness in himself. Govinda, a childhood friend of Siddhartha’s, sought his advice and wanted his perspective on life and happiness towards the end of the book. Siddhartha was able to speak to his friend as if he was Buddha or Gotama himself. As I began to understand what pilgrimage meant, I tried to relate it to real life situations. People can go on any type of pilgrimage, whether it’s on vacation, spring break, etc, as long as it becomes a life changing experience. Siddhartha made the decision to leave his father and take a journey to find nirvana, and along the way, he encountered lover and a friend (Kamala and the Ferryman), which helped him discover who he really was.