Hayden Margolis English 2 Honors Mr.

Penza 9/9/2013 Siddhartha's Greatest Teacher Throughout Siddhartha's journey he was influenced by many different people. The teacher who had the most impact on Siddhartha was Vasudeva (the ferryman). Siddhartha went through many different teachers throughout his journey including Gotama, the Samanas, the Brahmins, and more, but ultimately he reached his goal because of the teachings from Vasudeva. Siddhartha traveled all around learning from many different teachers until he found the ferryman and achieved his goal. Siddhartha's main goal was to achieve enlightenment and Vasudeva was able to help him succeed. The Ferryman was his best teacher because he taught him that time doesnt exist, how he must listen to his inner voice, and how he should care about the world instead of selfish worrying about himself. One of the key things that Vasudeva taught Siddhartha was that time does not exist. Vasudeva teaches Siddhartha that time does not exist by using the river, which causes Siddartha to compare his life to the river. I took a look at my life and saw that I too was a river, and the boy Siddhartha was separated from the man Siddhartha and from the graybeard Siddhartha only by shadows, not by anything real(Hesse 85). This is a very important lesson because this leads to Siddharthas final goal of enlightenment. This lesson teaches Siddhartha that there was no real separation between himself as an old man and as a small child leading the reader to believe that Siddhartha had the potential to be enlightened his whole life. He just needed to learn how to use the tools he was born with. Another important lesson the Vasudeva taught Siddhartha was that enlightenment must come from within. The second time Siddhartha sees Vasudeva he is a very old and slightly suicidal man, but he is still dedicated to achieving his goal. Siddhartha knows that Vasudeva has achieved enlightenment and Siddhartha obviously wants to know how. Vasudeva being this enlightened humble man teaches Siddhartha the most important lesson he needed to learn (enlightenment comes from within). Vasudeva refuses to teach Siddhartha anything directly, except he tells him to learn from the river. Vasudeva tells Siddharta The river taught me how to listen, from the river you too will learn how(Hesse 84). This wise lesson that Vasudeva taught Siddhartha led him to listen to his inner voice which also helped him achieve Nirvana and be at peace with the world.

The third thing that Vasudeva taught Siddhartha was too worry about the world around him rather than worrying about himself. During Siddharthas travels he became a very rich man. When Vasudeva took him in and guided him to his goal he realized that the world was more important. After reaching enlightenment he had a total different view on the world. He no longer worried about his riches or material things. He saw everything different and even proved it in this quote. I have lost my riches, or they me. They are out of my hands(Hesse 75). This quote shows that Siddhartha no longer cares about any material things or selfish desires. He only cares about the world around him and being at peace with everything. Throughout Siddharthas road to enlightenment he had many teachers, but none of them had as great an impact as Vasudeva. He spent time learning from the Samanas, Brahmins, and Gotama Buddha, but the teacher that lead him to his goal was none other than Vasudeva the ferryman. He taught Siddhartha that time doesnt exist, how he must listen to his inner voice, and how he should care about the world instead of selfish worrying about himself. These three important lessons not only helped build Siddhartha as a character but they are the main reason that he achieved his ultimate goal of enlightenment. Clearly stating the correct path for anyone to achieve enlightenment if they so desire. Vasudeva shows Siddartha mainly that he should not follow someone elses full teachings but look within for guidance which would be the best advice for anyone wanting to become enlightened.