Siddhartha- Part 1

"Every morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters the most."

                                                                                                     -Siddhartha Gautama

Part one of Siddhartha by Herman Hesse is crucial for the understanding of the book. It begins by introducing Siddhartha, a young man from the Brahman village, one of the most elite communities of all time. He's handsome, intelligent, and from a great family. His life is practically perfect. But, did he really have all he needed? He's missing something, and this time he is going to search for it even if it is the last thing he does. All his life he's gotten whatever he wanted with just a snap. This time he's going to find it on his own, but first he has to know what exactly he's looking for. He meditates for a long time until he he knows what he's looking for; the feeling of having absolutely nothing.

He knew one place where he is going to find what he's looking for; the Samana cult. He waited for the Samanas to get to town. When they got there, Siddhartha joined them as soon as possible. He told his dad about his new life plan, but just like expected, his father disapproved. Not even that stopped him from leaving. When his father realized that, he finally let him go to fulfill his destiny. Then he joins the Samanas, which made his life completely different. After a while he was standing on the death cliff and about to fall. He learned to die and reborn; making his heartbeat stop and his breath decrease. He kept doing this, determined to find what he wanted.

This part reminds me of many people I've met throughout my life. Siddhartha reminds me of my cousin, Santiago. In a way, they are nothing alike. My cousin is not the perfect role model, well atleast not to strangers. You might be thinking, why do I see my cousin as Siddhartha? I see their determination. When you know that someone is willing to do whatever it takes to fullfill his or her dream, it inspires you. Siddhartha is a man with alot of power in his hands. He has the globe in his shoulders, which is a pretty big responsability. When I read the book, I felt like if Siddhartha was willing to sacrifice anything to get the knowledge he wanted, even with the dissaproval of his family. 

This reminded me of my cousin because during his whole life, he felt like if he had the world in his hands. The pressure of my family didnt stop him from doing what he wanted to do the most; meet his sister. No one was there for him to support or encourage him to do the right thing. Everyone told him that he would never find her, but he had enough courage to keep looking. He sent her "emails" and looked all around the map, but he didnt find her. After a while, an email had popped up on his phone. It was his sister, who was completely willing to meet him. They met and spent christmas together, just how a real family is. Again, he had the determination to keep looking, just like Siddhartha currently is in part one of the story.