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Study Guide, Siddhartha
A study guide
for the novel by
Herman Hesse
Mrs. Christina Boyles
Advanced Placement
Literature and Composition
Semester "B"
Background Information
To better understand about Buddha, be
sure to watch the two-hour presentation
on line by PBS:
The Buddha
http://www.pbs.org/thebuddha/
(Originally premiered April 7, 2010)
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Study Guide, Siddhartha
HINDUISM
Vedas: The sacred doctrine of the Hindu religion in India

There are four Vedas: The Rig-Veda, the Sama Veda, the Yajur Veda and the Atharva Veda (Das).

“The Vedas are considered the earliest literary record of Indo-Aryan civilization, and the most
sacred books of India. They are the original scriptures of Hindu teachings, and contain spiritual
knowledge encompassing all aspects of our life” (Das 2010).

Hindus do not believe that any human wrote this sacred texts, which are the substance of the
Hindu religion. Just as Christians believe of the Old Testament, Hindus believe that God inspired
writers with the hymns, theologies, rituals, and philosophies of the Vedas.

The Vedas are written in Sanskrit.

The Rig-Veda contains the earliest form of all mantras and probably dates back to 1500 B.C. 1000 B.C.

Seven people, or “seers,” wrote the Rig-Veda. One of these people was named Gotama. One
character in the novel is named the same, and perhaps this is just coincidence.

“The Rig Veda accounts in detail the social, religious, political and economic background of the
Rig-Vedic civilization” (About.com 2010).

“The Sama Veda is purely a liturgical collection of melodies (‘saman’)” (Ask.com).

Most of the lyrics of the Sama Veda have been copied directly from the Rig-Veda.

The Yajur-Veda gives in detail the assorted rituals connected with Hinduism.

It includes prayers which are spoken simultaneously with ceremonies.
Sanskrit: A dead language

Sanskrit is a dead language like Latin, and like Latin in Roman Catholicism, Sanskrit is the holy
language of Hinduism. It is today one of the two officially recognized "Classical Languages" of
India.

Hindi was originally a local dialect that was influenced by Sanskrit vocabulary and grammar, and
is now one of the two official languages of India.

Names, in particular, and many words are identically spelled in Sanskrit and Hindi.
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Study Guide, Siddhartha
Brahma is the universe
The lotus represents the Reality. Brahma sitting on the lotus indicates that he is ever-rooted in the
infinite Reality. Reality is the foundation on which his personality rests. The four faces of Brahma
represent the four Vedas. They also symbolize the functioning of the inner personality (antahkarana)
which consists of thoughts. They are the mind (manas), the intellect (buddhi), ego (ahamkara) and
conditioned-consciousness (chitta). They represent the four ways in which thoughts function. They are
the manifestations of the unmanifest Consciousness.
The animal hide worn by Brahma stands for austerity. A seeker who desires to realize his godhead must
first go through spiritual disciplines. Observing such austerities the seeker must carefully study and
reflect upon the scriptural truths which are suggested by the manuscript (Vedas) held in one hand.
Having acquired the knowledge of scriptures he must work in the world without ego and egocentric
desires, that is engage in dedicated and sacrificial service for the welfare of the world. This idea is
suggested by the sacrificial implement held in the second hand. When a man works in the world
selflessly he drops his desires. He is no longer extroverted, materialistic, sensual. His mind is withdrawn
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Study Guide, Siddhartha
from its preoccupations with the world of objects and beings. Such a mind is said to be in uparati. A man
who has reached the state of uparati is in a spirit of renunciation.
That is indicated by Brahma holding the kamandalu in his hand. Kamandalu is a water-pot used by a
sanyasi-a man of renunciation. It is a symbol of sanyasa or renunciation. The mind of such a man which
is withdrawn from the heat of passion of the world is available for deeper concentration and meditation.
The rosary (mala) in the fourth hand is meant to be used for chanting and meditation. Meditation is the
final gateway to Realisation. Through deep and consistent meditation the mind gets annihilated and the
seeker attains godhood. A god-man maintains his identity with his supreme Self while he is engaged in
the world of perceptions, emotions and thoughts. He retains the concept of unity in diversity. He
separates the pure unconditioned consciousness
underlying this conditioned world of names and forms.
Hindu Brahma Atman
In Christian religions, the Bible states, “In the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the
Word was God.”
In the Old Testament, when God appeared in the
burning bush, Moses asked him, “What is your name?
Who shall I tell my people these ten commandments
are from?” God replied, “I am that I am. Tell them I Am
sent you.”
If we keep the previous words in mind, it becomes
simpler to understand this Hindu representation of Brahman Atman. The word at the center, not only at
the center of the picture but at the center of all things, is the sacred, “Om.”
This is a picture of a tile from a temple’s
wall in Kashi, the oldest part of
Varanasi.

Om, often Aum, is a mystical and sacred
syllable in the Dharmic religions,
Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, and
Jainism.
It is the symbol of the Absolute.
Om is reputed to be the resonant
vibrational tone of the non-dualistic
universe as a whole.
In Buddhism, Om corresponds to the
crown chakra and white light. (Chakras are points of energy centers of the human body.).
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Study Guide, Siddhartha
Om is known in Sanskrit as “to sound out loudly” or oṃkāra, or “oṃ syllable”.
Aum is placed at the beginning of most Hindu texts as a sacred exclamation to be uttered at the
beginning and end of a reading of the Vedas or previously to any prayer or mantra.
The Mandukya Upanishad is entirely devoted to the explanation of the syllable.
The syllable is taken to consist of three phonemes, a, u and m, variously symbolizing the Three Vedas or
the Hindu Trimurti or three stages in life ( birth, life and death )
The name omkara is taken as a name of God.
Similarly, the concept of om, called onkar in Punjabi, is found in Sikh theology as a symbol of God.
It invariably emphasizes God’s singularity, expressed as Ek Onkar (“One Omkara” or “The Aum is One”),
stating that the multiplicity of existence symbolized in the aum syllable is really founded in a singular
God.
Om/Aum is said to be the primordial sound that was present at the creation of the universe.
It is said to be the original sound that contains all other sounds, all words, all languages and all mantras.
The Upanishads

The Upanishads are a collection of Indian speculations on the nature of reality and the soul and
the relations between these two.

The texts date from around 600 BC (Secret 2010).

There are 108 Upanishads. Following are some of the major beliefs of Hinduism as outlined in
the Upanishads. (You should be familiar with each numbered concept, but you do not have to
memorize the bulleted points, which I have added just for your own edification.)
1. Atman is the Spirit (Soul) of the Universe

Fire is His head; His eyes, the moon and sun; the regions of space, His ears; His voice, the
revealed Vedas; Wind, His breath; His heart, the whole world. Out of His feet, the earth. Truly
He is the Inner Soul of all. [Mundaka Upanishad 2.2.4]
2. Atman and Brahman are the Same

The Soul (Atman) which pervades all things . . this is Brahman. [Svetasvatara Upanishad 1.16]

This Soul (Atman) is Brahman, made of knowledge, of mind, of
breath, of seeing, of hearing, of earth, of water, of wind, of space,
of energy and of non-energy, of desire and of non-desire, of anger
and of non-anger, of virtue and of non-virtue. It is made of
everything. [Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4.4.5]
Depiction of Atman by an Indian artist
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Study Guide, Siddhartha
3. The true Brahman is beyond understanding by words or concepts

It is not coarse, not fine, not short, not long, . . without shadow, without darkness, without air
and without space, intangible, odorless, tasteless, without eye, without ear, without voice,
without mind, without energy, without breath, without mouth . . . unaging, undying, without
fear, immortal, without stain, without measure, without inside and without inside.
[Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 3.8.8]
4. Individual’s Soul is Brahman/Atman

The light which shines higher than this heaven . . verily, that is the same as the light which is
here within a person. [Chandogya Upanishad 3.13.7]

He who breathes in with your breathing is the Soul of yours which is in all things.
[Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 3.4.1]

He who consists of mind, whose body is life-breath, whose form is light, whose conception is
truth, whose soul is space, containing all works, containing all desires, containing all odors,
containing all tastes, encompassing this whole world . . . this Soul of mine within the heart is
smaller than a grain of rice, or a barley-corn, or a mustard-seed, or a grain of millet, or the
kernel of a grain of millet. This Soul of mine is greater than the earth, greater than the
atmosphere, greater than the sky, greater than these worlds. [Chandogya Upanishad 3.14.2-3]
5. This World is an Illusion

This whole world the illusion maker projects out of this [Brahman].
And in it by illusion the other is confined.
Now, one should know that Nature is illusion,
And that the Mighty Lord is the illusion maker.
[Svetasvatara Upanishad 4.9-10]
6. Know Him through Thought – Not Senses

Not by sight is It grasped, not even by speech,
Not by any other sense-organs, austerity, or work . .
That subtile Soul is to be known by thought.
[Mundaka Upanishad 3.1.8-9]
7. Knowledge & Inaction Better than Action

Having scrutinized the worlds that are built up by work, a Brahman should arrive at indifference.
The world that was not made is not won by what is done. [Mundaka Upanishad1.12].
8. Know Yourself to Know the Cosmos

One should reverence the thought `I am the world-all.' [Chandogya Upanishad 7.25.1]
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Study Guide, Siddhartha

Verily, with the seeing of, with the hearing of, with the thinking of, and with the understanding
of the soul, this world-all is known [Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 2.4.5]
9. Knowing Self is Liberation

Whoever thus knows `I am Brahman!' becomes this all; even the gods have no power to prevent
him becoming thus, for he becomes their self. [Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.10]

`He, knowing all, becomes the All. [Prasna Upanishad 4.10]
10. Death is Better than Life

When one has come into the presence of undecaying immortals,
What decaying mortal here below, who understands,
who meditates on the pleasures of beauty and delight,
Would delight in a life over-long? [Katha Upanishad1.28]

When we cut all the knots of the heart here on earth, then a mortal becomes immortal! [Katha
Upanishad 6.15]
The Ten Traits of Hinduism

1. Steadiness of mind

2. forgiveness

3. endurance

4. purity

5. subjugation of senses

6. discerning intellect

7. learning

8. truth

9. eveness, wrathlessness

10. apathy from stealing.
Transmigration of Souls

Hindus believes in the transmigration of souls, also called reincarnation, in which all livings
things are part of the same essence. An integral part of the religion is the existence of karma,
defined in the saying, "What goes around comes around." Karma is the law of cause and effect.
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Study Guide, Siddhartha
The goal of the individual is to escape this cycle of birth and rebirth so that the individual soul
(atman) can become one with Brahman. Therefore, Hinduism is much like Buddhism in that
Hindus strive for an honorable life, much in the way that Buddhists follow the Noble Eightfold
Path.
The Hindu Trinity
Lord Brahma is the first member of the Brahmanical
triad, Vishnu being the second and Shiva, the third.
Brahma is the god of creation and he is traditionally
accepted as the Creator of the entire universe.
Vishnu is thought as the preserver of the universe.
Vishnu is portrayed as blue or black skinned and has four
arms. He has a thousand names and their repetition is an
act of devotion. The concept of Vishnu being the
preserver of the world came relatively late in Hinduism.
Apparently, it sprang from two other beliefs: that men
attain salvation by faithfully following predetermined
paths of duty, and that powers of good and evil (gods
and demons) are in contention for domination over the
world. When these powers are upset Vishnu, it is further
believed, descends to earth, or his avatar, to equalized
the powers. Further it is thought that ten such
incarnations or reincarnations of Vishnu will occur. Nine descents are said to have already occurred, the
tenth is yet to come. Rama and Krishna were the seventh and eighth (Hefner 2009).
Shiva is the destroyer of the universe. Shiva is a very destructive god, capable of wreaking havoc
and burning away impurities. But Shiva is also a god of creation, and considered a god of truth,
goodness, and beauty. Many people consider him to be a very auspicious god, as well as a god
of paradoxical ideas. Many statues of Shiva, for example, depict him with both female and male
attributes, enforcing the concept of Shiva as a very dualistic and sometimes confusing figure in
Hindu mythology. In addition to being a creator and a destroyer, Shiva is also associated with
dance, the arts, and wisdom, and he is a respected figure in the yogic tradition.
In most depictions of Shiva, he has a third eye, matted hair, and a crescent or horn on his head.
The river Ganges also plays a role in Shiva's iconography, since the god is closely associated with
the Ganges, and snakes may appear wrapped around Shiva as well. He carries a trident in some
images, as that is his weapon of choice, and his body is often naked and smeared in ash. When
he requires transportation, Shiva rides a white bull named Nandi (Smith 2010).
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Study Guide, Siddhartha
BUDDHISM
Buddhism arose as a result of the influence of
Siddhartha Guatama, the Buddha.
“Buddha” means “enlightened one.”
Buddhism is now about the fourth largest religion in
the world. There are about 800,000 Buddhists in the
United States.
 "Buddhism is a family of beliefs and practices,
considered by many to be a religion" (leack). These practices are rooted the desire and practice
of leading the Middle Way, which is to neither be too rich or too poor, to neither be too selfish
nor to give everything away. Buddhism is based on a set of principles which establishes the
practice of this middle way, but which also tries to bring about the spirit of God which is in all of
humanity, for, as the teaching goes, a lamp shade covers God's light within us, and we must
remove to realize our true potential and connection to God. The two of Buddhism, however,
define God's role a bit differently.

Buddhists do not worship statues. "Buddhists sometimes pay respect to images of the Buddha,
not in worship, nor to ask for favors. A statue of the Buddha with hands rested gently in its lap
and a compassionate smile reminds us to strive to develop peace and love within ourselves.
Bowing to the statue is an expression of gratitude for the teaching" (White 1993).
The Four Noble Truths of Buddhism

1) All life is suffering, pain, and misery.

2) This suffering has a cause or selfish craving and personal desire.

3) This selfish craving can be overcome.

4) The way to overcome this misery is through the Noble Eightfold Path.
The Four Noble Truths are a contingency plan for dealing with the suffering humanity faces -suffering of a physical kind, or of a mental nature. The First Truth identifies the presence of
suffering. The Second Truth, on the other hand, seeks to determine the cause of suffering. In
Buddhism, desire and ignorance lie at the root of suffering. By desire, Buddhists refer to craving
pleasure, material goods, and immortality, all of which are wants that can never be satisfied. As
a result, desiring them can only bring suffering. Ignorance, in comparison, relates to not seeing
the world as it actually is. Without the capacity for mental concentration and insight, Buddhism
explains, one's mind is left undeveloped, unable to grasp the true nature of things. Vices, such
as greed, envy, hatred and anger, derive from this ignorance. The Third Noble Truth, the truth
of the end of suffering, has dual meaning, suggesting either the end of suffering in this life, on
earth, or in the spiritual life, through achieving Nirvana. When one has achieved Nirvana, which
is a transcendent state free from suffering and our worldly cycle of birth and rebirth, spiritual
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Study Guide, Siddhartha
enlightenment has been reached. The Fourth Noble truth charts the method for attaining the
end of suffering, known to Buddhists as the Noble Eightfold Path. The steps of the Noble
Eightfold Path are Right Understanding, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action, Right
Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration. Moreover, there are three
themes into which the Path is divided: good moral conduct (Understanding, Thought, Speech);
meditation and mental development (Action, Livelihood, Effort), and wisdom or insight
(Mindfulness and Concentration)
(PBS 2010).
The Noble Eight-Fold Path

1) Right Knowledge

2) Right Aspiration

3) Right Speech

4) Right Behavior

5) Right Livelihood

6) Right Effort

7) Right Mindfulness

8) Right Concentration
The purpose of Buddhism is to
understand the Four Noble Truths and to live the
Noble Eightfold path in order to become awake.
When one becomes awake, life can be lived in
purity and in the right spirit as it was
meant to be lived. Although Buddhism does not
offer the prevention of all pain, it offers a way to
cope and to be released from much of the misery
that is caused through human action and thought.
Buddhism's goal is to help one escape the cycle
of reincarnation and to achieve Nirvana, if that is one's wish. One can also be reincarnated
again and again to return to the world in order to further assist others in their path to salvation,
or Nirvana. It promotes a personal relationship with God and puts an emphasis on each
individual's actions in order to better humanity as a whole.
(leak 2010)
Buddha was rather logical, scientific, and rational in his approach. He did not speak of
supernatural phenomena or an afterlife, and he dismissed the possibility of miracles. Buddha
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Study Guide, Siddhartha
taught self-reliance. He had little use for rituals and formalistic laws, and he urged each man to
work out his own salvation-which would, of course, be possible only within the framework of
the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path
Ways in which Buddhism differs (is different) from Hinduism:
1) No need for priests (brahmins) or rituals.
2) Anyone can enter Nirvana, no matter how lowly, whereas in
Hinduism only the brahmins could achieve moksha.
3) In Theravada Buddhism, there are no gods. The Buddha is not
a god.
4) Karma is not earned by following the dharma of your caste.
Instead you can move toward entry into Nirvana by following
the eightfold path.
5) As the "middle way" Buddhism rejects extreme asceticism as
well as great wealth. The ideal in Hinduism is extreme
asceticism.
Ways in which Buddhism and Hinduism are similar:
1) Both believe in reincarnation.
2) Both believe there are many different paths to enlightenment.
3) Both believe that our suffering is caused by excessive attachment to things and people in the physical
world.
4) Both believe in an ultimate spiritual reality beyond the illusions of the physical world.
5) Both practice meditation and other forms of yoga.
6) Both believe that eventually all living spirits will achieve enlightenment and liberation, even if it takes
many incarnations.
7) Both use the lotus flower as a religious symbol. The lotus flower is believed to be able to reproduce
from its own matrix. In this regard, it is the symbol of "self-regeneration" -- svayambhû in Sanskrit.
Svayambhû can also mean "self-existent" and "independent." One often sees the lotus as the throne
upon which the Buddha sits. Here, the Buddha is the symbol of the awakened Mind, which is selfexistent, independent, and self-regenerating.
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Study Guide, Siddhartha
If you are interested in learning more about Hinduism or Buddhism, visit these sites:
Buddhanet.net The Buddhist Education and Information Network
http://www.buddhanet.net/index.html
Hinduism Today Magazine Online http://www.hinduismtoday.com/
PBS Online: Buddhism http://www.pbs.org/edens/thailand/buddhism.htm
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Study Guide, Siddhartha
Key Facts about the novel (Sparknotes)
FULL TITLE • Siddhartha
AUTHOR • Hermann Hesse
GENRE • Spiritual and Religious Novel
LANGUAGE • German
TIME AND PLACE WRITTEN • 1919–1921, Switzerland
DATE OF FIRST PUBLICATION • 1922
PUBLISHER • Bantam
NARRATOR • An unnamed narrator tracks Siddhartha’s spiritual progress.
POINT OF VIEW • Third-person omniscient. The point of view follows Siddhartha most closely.
TONE • Measured without being detached; formal
TENSE • Past
SETTING (TIME) • Concurrent with the life of Buddha, estimated at around 625 B.C.
SETTING (PLACE) • India
PROTAGONIST • Siddhartha
MAJOR CONFLICT • Siddhartha searches for total spiritual enlightenment.
RISING ACTION • Siddhartha experiments with different teachers and approaches to Nirvana,
and when they prove unsatisfactory, he turns his search inward.
CLIMAX • Siddhartha finally achieves total spiritual understanding as he sits beside Vasudeva
and listens to the river.
FALLING ACTION • Siddhartha meets Govinda and shares the Nirvana he has attained.
THEMES • The search for spiritual enlightenment; inner vs. exterior guidance; the wisdom of
indirection
MOTIFS • Love; Om; polarities
SYMBOLS • The river; the ferryman; the smile
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Study Guide, Siddhartha
Other notes to help you with your reading
"Siddhartha" is one of the names of the historical Gotama, and the life of Hesse's character
resembles that of his historical counterpart to some extent. Siddhartha is by no means a
fictional life of Buddha, but it does contain numerous references to Buddha and his teachings.
One critic, Leroy R. Shaw, has pointed out that Siddhartha is divided into two parts of four and
eight chapters, and proceeds from this insight to interpret the work as an illustration of
Buddha's Truths and Path; in the first chapter Siddhartha learns the existence of suffering, in the
fifth (which corresponds to the first step of the Path) he begins his journey along the correct
path, etc. Shaw, then, comes to the conclusion that at the end "the difference between
Siddhartha and Gotama, which had seemed so vast to the seeker at his meeting with the sage,
becomes non-existent." This is certainly true in one respect; both Gotama and Siddhartha have
arrived at a final condition of Harmony (although the nature of the Harmony differs
considerably). But Siddhartha's way was clearly not that of Buddha. The division of four and
eight seems nevertheless to allude to the Truths and the Path, since a more natural division of
the novel, considering its structure, would be into three sections of four chapters each.
One important - perhaps the most important - aspect of Hinduism in the novel is the concept of
the Search or Quest for Truth. Whereas the Buddhist and the Christian each has a specific (if
ultimately unknowable) goal and general guidelines which he can follow to attain it, for the
Hindu the quest itself is all-important
The central problem of Siddhartha is this: how can the hero attain a state of total happiness and
serenity by means of a long and arduous path? The development of each character is divided
into three distinct stages: in Siddhartha there are – as one would expect in Hesse - innocence,
followed by knowledge ("sin"), which, together, lead to a higher state of innocence
accompanied by increased awareness and consciousness.
Themes
Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work.
The Search for Spiritual Enlightenment
Inner vs. Exterior Guidance (Does one need a priest or teacher in order to become enlightened?)
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Leak, Ryan David. "Buddhism." Web. n.p. 2010. 20 Apr 2010.
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Apr. 2010.
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