Lavan 1
Katie Lavan
Mr. Penza
English 127-Period 7
11 September 2013
Teachers
One can learn thousands of lessons in a short amount of time or learn a few over a long
period of time. In the book, Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse, the main character Siddhartha has
many influential people he meets during his life. One, however, has the greatest affect on him,
the ferryman Vasudeva. Vasudeva is an enlightened ferryman who teaches Siddhartha numerous
lessons to help him reach enlightenment. In Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha is taught
by Vasudeva to listen to the river, to go to the river when he is somber, and to learn the true
meaning of “Om.”
Siddhartha is taught by Vasudeva to listen to the river. Vasudeva encourages and guides
Siddhartha to learn from the river and to listen to it. One of the first lessons Siddhartha learns
that time does not exist from the river. He learns that the present is the only thing that is
important to life. That the past and future do not matter, it is only the present that truly matters.
Siddhartha discovers that the river is in all places at once but never changes. Siddhartha tells
Vasudeva, “...I reviewed my life and it was also a river, and Siddhartha the boy, Siddhartha the
mature man and Siddhartha the old man, were only separated by shadows, not through reality.
Siddhartha’s previous lives were also not in the past, and his death and his return to Brahman are
not in the future. Nothing was, nothing will be, everything has reality and presence” (Hesse 107).
Siddhartha compares his life to the river, that although he has undergone changes throughout his
journey, he is still essentially the same person. The young Brahman boy is still the same as the
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old ferryman. After hearing what Siddhartha discovers, Vasudeva praises him for listening to the
river. Vasudeva tells Siddhartha that he should to go to the river whenever he is somber.
Vasudeva teaches Siddhartha to go to the river when he is somber. Siddhartha struggles
with being happy after his son leaves. Vasudeva tells Siddhartha that he should go to the river
whenever he feels upset so he can gain knowledge from the river. Siddhartha’s heart is broken
and weak with the departure of his son and looks into the river. The narrator says, “The river was
laughing clearly and merrily at the old ferryman...His face resembled that of another person,
whom he had once known and loved and even feared. It resembled the face of his father, the
Brahmin. He remembered how once, as a youth, he had compelled his father to let him go and
join the ascetic, how he had taken leave of him, how he had gone and never returned. Had not his
father also suffered the same pain that he was now suffering for his son” (Hesse 131)?
Siddhartha realizes that he is in the same position his father once faced. He knows that he could
never stop his son from leaving, like his father couldn’t stop him from leaving. He knows that his
son will never have his own journey and learn about life if Siddhartha had made him stay.
Siddhartha then realizes that life flows like a river. Siddhartha’s life is inevitable and continues
to repeat itself like a river, it can never be stopped. Vasudeva teaches Siddhartha to not only go
to the river, but to learn about himself.
Vasudeva instructs Siddhartha to learn the true meaning of “Om." At the end of the book,
Siddhartha goes to the river with Vasudeva. Vasudeva instructs Siddhartha to listen to the river
closely. Siddhartha listens closely to the river and hears a thousands voices. He hears voices of
sadness, joy, and death, but then Siddhartha realizes that only one word is being said. The
narrator describes the realization as, “When Siddhartha listened attentively to this river, to this
song of a thousand voices; when he did not listen to the sorrow or laughter, when he did not bind
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his soul to any one particular voice and absorb it in his Self, but heard them all, the whole, the
unity; then the great song of a thousand voices consisted of one word: Om-perfection” (Hesse
136). Siddhartha learns that the word “Om” is very complex. He learns that it involves the
physical and spiritual part of the world as well as time. Siddhartha finally comprehends the word
entirely and reaches enlightenment. Vasudeva leaves shortly after Siddhartha discovers
enlightenment. Vasudeva did not teach Siddhartha, but he guided Siddhartha to success.
Vasudeva teaches Siddhartha to listen to the river, to go to the river when he is upset, and
to learn about the true meaning of “Om” in Siddhartha by Herman Hesse. Siddhartha’s life
journey leads him to a river outside a town with a ferryman, Vasudeva. Vasudeva guides
Siddhartha to what can lead Siddhartha to enlightenment but does not teach him. One of the first
things Vasudeva told Siddhartha is to listen to the river. Siddhartha listens to the river and learns
that time does not exist and that the present is most important. Vasudeva also tells Siddhartha to
go to the river whenever he is upset. Siddhartha goes there after his son leaves and sees his father
and realizes that history repeats itself. Lastly, Vasudeva waits for Siddhartha to learn the true
meaning of “Om.” Vasudeva guides him to the right meaning and Siddhartha finally reaches
enlightenment. Many people have different influences on certain people. The most obscure
person can be the most influential person for someone.