Synopsis on Siddhartha's Thesis

Synopsis

Connectivity between Nature and Self-realization in the Novel “Siddhartha” by Hermanne Hesse

Muhammad Arslan Nawaz

MA 4^th

Section A

Supervisor: Sayeda Juwairiyya

National University Of Modern Languages, main campus, H-9, Islamabad.

Connectivity between Nature and Self-realization in the Novel “Siddhartha” by Hermanne Hesse

Introduction

“Siddhartha” is the most notable of Hermann Hesse’s literary works. The basic reason for handling this topic is my intense interest in the thematic interpretations of this novel. This will benefit me in getting to the core of the issue that I have selected for my research.

            Hermann Hesse (1877-1962) was a German poet, novelist and painter. In 1904, his novel “Peter Camenzind” gained him literary success. The novel reflects Hesse’s disgust with the educational system.  In 1911, he visited India and that visit inspired him to write on the Eastern religions and he wrote “Siddhartha” in 1922 due to this visit. ¹

            A universally acclaimed novel based on internal conflicts and moral values, “Siddhartha,” is a logical, emotional and sociological effort by Hermann Hesse. The novel is about a young man, Siddhartha, who is seeking for self discovery and his internal satisfaction. Nature guides him towards self discovery and makes Siddhartha experience and learn different things through nature. According to Siddhartha, knowledge can be taught, but wisdom cannot be taught. It can only be gained through experience.

            Siddhartha’s best friend, Govinda, plays an important part in the novel. He devotes his life together with Siddhartha to find enlightenment and joins Samanas and then follows Buddha’s teachings. Kamala also plays an important role in changing the life of Siddhartha. She was a courtesan and helps Siddhartha in leaving his ascetic life and to adjust in the city. This novel, “Siddhartha” depicts the relationship between nature and internal conflicts of an individual.

            The novel, “Siddhartha” deals with self-realization. “Self-realization” is the maximum that a person can achieve by using his abilities and skills or it is the fulfillment of one’s own objectives and goals. Thomas Szasz (1973) says about self-realization that:

“People often say that this or that person has not found himself. But the self is not something one finds, it is something one creates”

            Siddhartha creates himself and experiences the brutal realities of nature and after that he attains self-realization. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary defines self-realization as:

“the fact of using your skills and abilities and achieving as much as you can possibly achieve.”

            G. Hendricks (2006) comes up with a more comprehensive definition of self-realization that:

“The highest goal of spirituality is self-realization, but what does that mean? It means to feel your self as a living reality in this moment, and there is always only this moment.”                    

Thus, self-realization deals with exploring one’s own self and accomplishing one’s desired goals about one’s self. Nature and self of a person are closely linked to each other. Through different experiences from nature, a person is able to realize his own self. Life is a set of goals, as one goal is accomplished there would be another goal waiting for you. One gains experience through the accomplishment of these goals which leads a person towards self-discovery or self-realization.

Research Question

How does nature play a significant role in bringing about self realization in the character Siddhartha?

Statement of the Problem

This research is an attempt to explain connectivity between nature and self-realization. This novel is about journey of Siddhartha towards self realization. Nature affects the inner self of a person. Different bitter experiences of life bring back a person from illusions to the world of reality and help in bringing about self-realization. Nature has an impact on the minds of human beings regarding self-realization. A strong connection gets established between the inner thoughts or conflicts of a person and the external environment. Nature acts as a teacher and through its components one can learn about one’s own potential and abilities. In this research, I intend to analyze how nature acts as the best healer and guide for human beings. This research is an attempt to analyze the nature of connectivity between the natural components and self-realization.

Objectives

• To analyze the impact of nature on one’s mind.
• To explore man’s enhancement of self with respect to nature.

Significance of the study

This research will be useful to understand the positive impact of nature on human beings. It focuses on the spiritual aspects. When human beings indulge their selves in the beauty of this world and remain away from the serene and calm environment of the nature they find that there is no satisfaction in the glories of this world.  They, ultimately, return towards nature to find inner satisfaction. This research is significant as it deals with the transformational aspects pertaining to nature.

Delimitation

            This research focuses on the certain components of nature with respect to the character Siddhartha in relation to self-realization. My research will be limited to the novel, “Siddhartha” by Hermann Hesse.

                                          

End note

1 "Hermann Hesse." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. 13 Mar. 2012.

Literature review

            S.B. Bhambar (2010) talks about the spiritual conflicts, moral awareness and difficulties of Siddhartha’s journey towards self-realization in his work, “Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha - A Dualist Spiritual Journey”. He talks about different experiences that lead Siddhartha towards self-realization. He analyses different symbolic images as well from nature including the small bird in the cage, the coconut tree and the river. He talks about the quest of knowledge towards self-realization and also discusses the thirst of an individual towards learning new things. His work focuses on the hardships and difficulties that a person faces to get his goals and internal satisfaction. But discussion about the close link between nature and self-realization is missing. The way nature affects the life of Siddhartha and makes him achieve satisfaction is not the focal point in Bhambar’s research article, “Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha - A Dualist Spiritual Journey”.

            Colin Butler (1971) in his article, “Hermann Hesse’s “Siddhartha”: Some Critical Objections”, discusses about an individual and his experiences to attain a position of competence. He reveals Siddhartha’s preoccupations and development in order to achieve self realization and also emphasizes on the autobiography of Hermann Hesse regarding “Siddhartha”. He talks about the internal conflicts and its impact on self-realization of an individual. He raises different objections in this autobiographical novel regarding the life of Hermann Hesse. But Colins does not talk about the changes that nature brings in the character of Siddhartha to get self-realization. Nature is effective in bringing about a change in Siddhartha, but this aspect is left unexplained by Colin Butler.

So, different people have different viewpoints about self-realization and nature. The novel, “Siddhartha” has manifold thematic interpretations. The analysis of different recent researches lays emphasis on the further need for research pertaining to the connectivity between nature and self-realisation.

Research Methodology

            This research based on “Siddhartha” is a qualitative research. It is qualitative in nature because I have focused on micro-issues. In contrast to the projection of numerical values, I will be concerned with quality, essence or core of the issue. The issue that I have selected pertains to the connectivity between nature and self-realization. Interpretations are possible with the help of soft data and are useful for better understanding of a particular issue.

My research will proceed through the psychoanalytic and moral-philosophical theoretical perspectives.  Through psychoanalytic perspective, I will focus on the psyche of Siddhartha and the process of his self discovery that enlightens him. But, moral-philosophical approach emphasizes on the moral values and lessons and their philosophical impact on the life of an individual. Siddhartha discovers himself and his discovery is different from other individuals as nature teaches him a moral lesson. So, both perspectives will play an important role in conducting this research.

I will apply Discourse Analysis in this research. This will help in interpreting the text. Discourse Analysis will enable me in the construction of different realities that emerge. It is a way of understanding interactions. In this research, I will work on the connectivity between nature and self-realization. Meaningful themes will get obvious through this analysis.

BREAKDOWN OF CHAPTERS

·         Chapter1                  The role of animals and birds in self-discovery

                                             

·         Chapter2                  Positive influence of Forest on Siddhartha’s psyche

·         Chapter3                  Impact of river on self-realization

Works Cited

"Hermann Hesse." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. 13 Mar. 2012.

S.B. Bhambar. “Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha – A Dualist Spiritual Journey.” Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow Volume 10 (July 2010): 141-152. Language in India. Web. 7 Mar. 2012.

Colin Butler. “ “Siddhartha”: Some critical Objections.” Monatshefte volume 63. (1971): pages 117-125. University of Wisconsin press. Web. 8 Mar. 2012.

Gay Hendricks. “Quotes.” Goodreads. Web. 8 Mar. 2012.

Thomas Szasz. ”Quotations about self-discovery.” Quotegarden. Web. 10 Mar. 2012.