One of the hardest things in life is loving and believing in yourself while still remaining humble. Humility, or selflessness, is a quality that is very important; yet it is becoming increasingly rare in the world. In Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha, the main character Siddhartha has many interactions with his own and others humility. Siddhartha's deep love for himself and the things he believes in often makes him seem prideful and very stubborn, however he sees himself in a very good light. Hesse gives an excellent look into one man's journey from confusion into total peace, while including the importance and struggles of humility along the way. Siddhartha portrays many contrasting examples of the causes and effects of humility on the individual as well as the society that the individual influences.
Siddhartha's intense desire to further increase his inner peace and individualized religious needs was not an attempt to make himself better than anyone else. However, he was so focused on improving himself, he forgot to care about anyone else. "From this moment when the world around him melted away and left him as solitary as a star in the sky, from this moment of cold and despondency, Siddhartha emerged, more firmly Self than before, solidified," (Hesse 37). This line describes just one of the times when Siddhartha completely disconnects from everything and focuses on only himself. This act is not always bad, but until later in his life, Siddhartha only has major revolutions when he forgets everything but himself and the path he is walking. One would imagine that the absence of a best friend would be a reason for grief, but Siddhartha takes the opportunity to improve on himself instead. The first time that Siddhartha shows any care for someone other than himself is when he finds out that he has a son. "But tell me, how can I release him into the world when his heart is so ungentle to begin with?" (Hesse 101). When Siddhartha's son runs away, he realizes that a part of him is running away. Perhaps this is true fatherly love, or perhaps it could is that Siddhartha is so obsessed with himself that he does not want any piece of him running away "ungentle." It is apparent from the moment they meet that Siddhartha and his son have different ideas of what it means to live; and this works against Siddhartha's compassion the entire time. Once his son is gone, Siddhartha still feels pity for himself and continues to want to help only that. "A number of the travelers... had a son or a daughter with them, and he was never able to look at them without feeling envy... so many, many thousands enjoy this precious sort if happiness, why can't I?" (Hesse 108). The normal reaction to this situation would be to worry about the piece of your flesh and blood that is wandering helplessly throughout the world, yet Siddhartha continues to try and fix the ones around him by fixing himself. Siddhartha's selfishness had an extreme effect on himself and his journey, however the way it may have hurt the ones around him was even worse.
When Siddhartha first tells his father that he wants to run away and become a Samana, his father is in shock. Siddhartha decided that the best way for him to find himself is to leave his whole family and join the group of wanderers. "It is not fitting for a Brahmin to utter sharp, angry words. But my heart is filled with displeasure," (Hesse 9). Siddhartha's father had Siddhartha's life all lined up; he could have become a wealthy religious figure in India yet he threw it away by leaving his family. His father had shown Siddhartha nothing but love and happiness his whole life and is now slapped with the realization that his son is leaving forever. Siddhartha's father is not the only person that his selfishness hurt. When Siddhartha meats Kamala, a local prostitute, they fall deeply in love. Kamala wants to stay with him forever, but Siddhartha persists that he must continue his journey on his own. "Even now you [Siddhartha] do not love me; you love no one. Is it not so?" (Hesse 63). Kamala deeply loves him and even says that she wants to bear his child, which she eventually does. Siddhartha explains that he, nor she, can love truly and that he must move on in search of himself. Govinda is with Siddhartha in the beginning, then is reunited with him in the end. When Siddhartha reaches Nirvana, Govinda is right by his side watching it. Siddhartha may have finally used his unconscious selfish acts and his goal of total inner-peace to do some good; teach Govinda what Siddhartha couldn't seem to get right. "Deeply Govinda bowed, tears of which he knew nothing coursed down his face, and like a fire the feeling of the most ardent love, the most humble reverence was burning in his heart," (Hesse 126). Govinda is the most humble character in the entire story; he never once questions Siddhartha's actions and follows him to the very end while asking nothing in return. Watching Siddhartha go through his entire path made Govinda realize what it means to be a true friend; the only triumph that Siddhartha's journey had to anyone other than him.
Siddhartha's journey could have been very different if he did not focus so much on the Self. For example, Gandhi's life was based around taking punishment for the good of his people. Siddhartha's was avoiding punishment for the good of himself. People swarmed to go see the Buddha when he spoke, rarely did someone travel to listen to Siddhartha teach. However when someone does listen to Siddhartha's advice, it is something that everyone deserves to hear. "...when you throw a stone into the water, it hurries by the swiftest possible path to the bottom. It is like this when Siddhartha has a goal, a resolve," (Hesse 53). This quote was used to help Kamala understand that Siddhartha had to move on in his path. However, after this one moment of great teaching, he soon returns to his old mindset. Siddhartha was so wrapped up in his opinions about the world that he did not even feel strongly about listening to Buddha. "He felt no great curiosity to hear this doctrine. He did not think it would teach him anything new..." (Hesse 25). Siddhartha believed that listing to the person that taught many of his beliefs would not be of any benefit to him. He wanted only to make his own opinions of life and keep them to himself. Siddhartha rationalizes his actions by explaining to Buddha that he is only focused on himself to keep his opinions safe from others. "It is not fitting for me to pass judgement on another's life! Only for myself, for myself alone, must I judge..." (Hesse 31). Siddhartha thinks that keeping to himself will allow others to have
their own paths, but does not recognize that his thoughts are incredibly
brilliant and that they would more likely to good to those who would
listen.
Selfishness and humility are not very far apart, and Siddhartha verges on the edge of the two for the entire novel put together by Hermann Hesse. Although Siddhartha's goals were always meant to be good, they benefited few except for him. He had the ability to be a fantastic teacher and leader of all things strong, yet decided to use his talents to find his own inner-peace. Siddhartha is a great example of how humility has always been an important part of society. Kamala, Govinda, and Siddhartha's father were all affected by Siddhartha's selfish journey. The saddest part is probably that Siddhartha had the ability to touch the heart of everyone he passed, but squandered away. It is quite remarkable that readers of this novel would believe that Siddhartha is really the Buddha, they have some minor similarities but are missing the main piece; the violently passionate desire to change everything for the better.
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