In Hermann Hesse’s novel, a young man named Siddhartha leaves his comfortable life of Brahmanism to achieve enlightenment with his best friend Govinda. Renouncement is a common theme in this novel and is prominent in almost every major event that occurs. It is the primary force that Siddhartha uses to guide his life, and while his chronic renouncement is harmful to Siddhartha in the short term, it leads him to ultimately achieve enlightenment.
Siddhartha uses renouncement to both achieve and abolish emotions, and for a menagerie of reasons. When he is still with Brahmins his ego is what drives him to leave. He could have been satisfied with his life of Brahmanism, because superior to them. Siddhartha initially uses renouncement as a way to put himself above people, as a trick to persuade himself that he is better than his father. When he leaves with the Sammanas he completely abolishes all material and desire driven things. His only desire is to live, abolish, and eventually achieve enlightenment. However Siddhartha’s ego gets to him again and he finds himself even more dissatisfied with himself with the Sammanas than the Brahmins. He realizes that he simply cannot accomplish enlightenment while focusing so much on repressing everything. There is still a hind of arrogance in Siddhartha though, and I believe that he could have achieved enlightenment with Sammanas, if he renounced it instead. He leaves the Sammanas with Govinda to meet the Buddha. Siddhartha is content at first, but later on he realizes that this is another path that is not for him, and that there is no specific religion or spirituality that can lead him to enlightenment. He leaves Govinda and the Buddha behind to return to the material world and to seek his own way to enlightenment. For the first time in Siddhartha’s life he is without teachers. He feels a new sense of freedom empowers him, and for the first time in his life renouncement acts as a truly positive force.
Siddhartha sees the world through the eyes of the new.
“He looked around as if seeing the world for the first time. Beautiful was the world, colorful was the world, bizarre and enigmatic was the world!”
He relishes the realm of the shadows instead of killing himself to see the light. He meets a ferryman, who too is content with his life. Siddhartha then meets Kamala, an incredibly beautiful woman who he has a desire to become lovers with. Kamala tells Siddhartha that to be with her, he must take on a new path of wealth. Enchanted by her secrets he gives in to his desire and pursues a path in business. With his partner Kamaswami, Siddhartha quickly rises in the business world, renouncing his previous life of renouncement. The initial desire of Kamala seemingly becomes less significant to Siddhartha when he achieves his goal, so he pursues more and more worldly treasures. As the years go by he gets sucked in more and more by the material world, a vicious cycle which leaves him less satisfied everyday, until finally nothing has value to him. With a weak heart he leaves everything without telling Kamala or Kamaswami. He again renounces his lifestyle, which takes him back to the river.
While at the river he meets Vasudeva, the same ferryman who he met years before. Vasudeva tells him to simply listen to the river. Siddhartha obliges and as he contemplates life he hears the universal sound of “Om”. This sound is what makes him finally achieves inner peace. As his fame spreads across the land as a wiseman he is visited by a ghost of his past. Accompanied by a boy, Kamala goes to the river. Bitten by a snake she is extremely weak, but with her dying breathe she revels to Siddhartha that he has a son. Siddhartha’s son is the polar opposite of himself, a spoiled and hateful boy who wants nothing else but to return to the city. As the months pass his dissatisfaction eventually leads the boy to run away. Although Siddhartha attempts to chase him down, he stops realizing that it is impossible. For the last time in his last he renounces something. Siddhartha returns to the river and again listens. In his contemplation he achieves an epiphany, both negative and positive, has led him to this point. His renouncement, key to realizing the eternal truth that is out there, finally he has achieved enlightenment.
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