As Siddhartha’s father, I feel that Siddhartha and I had a strained relationship. Honor, pride, and respect were the foundation of the relationship between my son and I. Being a highly respected man, I wanted my son to grow and become like me, a veritable Brahman man (Hesse 34). I expected many praiseworthy things from my son because Siddhartha is wise, intelligent and respectful. I love son and want him to have the best life of a Brahman. I bought my son three palaces show that I wanted Siddhartha to be close me. I wanted him to stay and be like me in this town. I felt that when I give him riches, he would stays with me and be the man everyone expected of him (Hesse 35).
Siddhartha wanted to leave the kingdom and embark on a journey to discover himself. He came to me for blessings despite the fact that I would not agree. Siddhartha’s strong desire to embark on the journey disturbed me. His stubbornness disturbed me. He stayed all night in the palace (Hesse 40). I checked on him every hour and saw his determination leave on his journey. Although it hurt me so much, I had to let him go because I respected him and believed that he had a compelling reason for his journey.
My son felt that there was some aspect of life missing in his blessed life. Despite the respect and adoration he received from the entire kingdom, he got determined to leave the kingdom and attain Nirvana. Siddhartha wanted to join Samanas. These are holy men seeking enlightenment through austerity (Hesse 56). I felt that this was a foolish endeavor. I felt that my son had everything he needed in the kingdom, respect, honor and riches. No one in the kingdom had attained the level of Nirvana. Although I believed in my son, I thought the journey he wanted to take was a waste of time. I wandered why my son wanted to attain the level that even the elders had never attained (Hesse 58). The whole kingdom had always believed in Brahmin beliefs, therefore; I felt that my son should not go and waste his time attaining Nirvana.
I respected my son decision and had to let him go despite my strong desire for him to stay. I believe in him and all the decisions that he decides to take.
Works Cited
Hesse, Hermann. Siddhartha. New York: Bantam Classics, 1981. Print.
