Pain & Gain
Pain and Gain
Love is something we all feel. Towards family, lovers, or friends, it is always there, no matter how hard you try to push it away. Siddhartha felt much love on his way towards enlightenment. He loved Govinda, so he set him off to be on his own with the Buddha. He loved Kamala, even though it wasn’t LOVE love, he respected her so I believe he had a sort of friendly love of Kamala. He also loved his son, and the pain he went through in letting his son go and live his life got him much closer to Enlightenment. I believe that love doesn’t keep us from enlightenment. If a relationship fails, the pain and lessons from that suffering can push you closer towards enlightenment, and if it is an everlasting relationship, that true and pure happiness will push you even closer. One of the first things we learn about Siddhartha is that his best friend and shadow, Govinda, will follow him anywhere. On page 4 of Siddhartha (by Hermann Hesse), Govinda states “No, and he, Govinda, did not want to become any of these, not a Brahmin like ten thousand others of their kind. He wanted to follow Siddhartha, the beloved, the magnificent...Govinda wanted to follow him as his friend, his companion, his servant, his lance bearer, his shadow.” If Siddhartha hadn’t loved Govinda, he would not have let him come on his journey to Enlightenment. The whole time you know that Siddhartha loves Govinda, but he doesn’t really prove it until he sacrifices his happiness by letting Govinda stay because he will be happier following the Buddha. Govinda truly believes that the Buddha is the one true god, and Siddhartha doesn’t think teachings are the way to go, so he leaves Govinda to be happy. After Siddhartha reaches Enlightenment, we find Govinda by the river. So close to Nirvana, but not quite there yet. Out of the love Siddhartha has for his longtime friend, he helps him by telling him that you can’t be taught. He says that knowledge can be passed along, but individuals must earn
Love is something we all feel. Towards family, lovers, or friends, it is always there, no matter how hard you try to push it away. Siddhartha felt much love on his way towards enlightenment. He loved Govinda, so he set him off to be on his own with the Buddha. He loved Kamala, even though it wasn’t LOVE love, he respected her so I believe he had a sort of friendly love of Kamala. He also loved his son, and the pain he went through in letting his son go and live his life got him much closer to Enlightenment. I believe that love doesn’t keep us from enlightenment. If a relationship fails, the pain and lessons from that suffering can push you closer towards enlightenment, and if it is an everlasting relationship, that true and pure happiness will push you even closer. One of the first things we learn about Siddhartha is that his best friend and shadow, Govinda, will follow him anywhere. On page 4 of Siddhartha (by Hermann Hesse), Govinda states “No, and he, Govinda, did not want to become any of these, not a Brahmin like ten thousand others of their kind. He wanted to follow Siddhartha, the beloved, the magnificent...Govinda wanted to follow him as his friend, his companion, his servant, his lance bearer, his shadow.” If Siddhartha hadn’t loved Govinda, he would not have let him come on his journey to Enlightenment. The whole time you know that Siddhartha loves Govinda, but he doesn’t really prove it until he sacrifices his happiness by letting Govinda stay because he will be happier following the Buddha. Govinda truly believes that the Buddha is the one true god, and Siddhartha doesn’t think teachings are the way to go, so he leaves Govinda to be happy. After Siddhartha reaches Enlightenment, we find Govinda by the river. So close to Nirvana, but not quite there yet. Out of the love Siddhartha has for his longtime friend, he helps him by telling him that you can’t be taught. He says that knowledge can be passed along, but individuals must earn