Vasudeva In Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha

As the story continues, Siddhartha had met many teachers on his journey of discovering happiness. A teacher is known to shape lives and push people to do what is right. However, a teacher can have a positive or negative effect in people’s lives. A teacher that greatly contributed to Siddhartha’s final part of his quest is Vasudeva. He can be described as a simple ferryman that barely speaks and does not manifests his wisdom. Vasudeva credits the river for all of his knowledge by listening to it. In my opinion, Vasudeva is a translator for the river by educating Siddhartha about what Vasudeva believes the river teaches. As we know, the river cannot actually speak, but it has a voice that impacts both Siddhartha and Vasudeva. The concept of
I only know how to listen and be devout; otherwise I have learned nothing” (105). From my understanding, Vasudeva is stating that if you listen more than talk or think, you will gain more knowledge by seeing things through other people’s perspective. Listening is a “hindrance” (106) for most people, but to the one’s that actually enjoy listening; they gain more of a sense of knowledge. Vasudeva wanted Siddhartha to listen more than speak. Although Vasudeva did not teach Siddhartha a substantial amount of knowledge, the plain concept of listening to the river impacted Siddhartha profoundly. Vasudeva is a helpful teacher by keeping Siddhartha on his path to happiness, but he is more of enabler. He helps Siddhartha learn the river’s wisdom, rather than telling Siddhartha exactly what the river provides. Also, there is a point in the story where Siddhartha fails Vasudeva’s advice. When Siddhartha was struggling with his son, he asked Vasudeva for advice and he stated Siddhartha should punish him, be strict, and be commanding (119). However, Siddhartha does not follow Vasudeva’s idea because he could not give up his son
When you feel love, you gain motivation, guidance, and most importantly happiness. In the story of Siddhartha, love is frequently seen through various characters. We see love between Siddhartha and his father, in the Buddha, Kamala, and the river. Eventually, Siddhartha rejects all of these loves because they are not leading him to enlightenment. Without love, you cannot reach enlightenment. However, the love that brings the most strength in Siddhartha is the passion for his son. This love can be described as a challenge to his process of wanting to be enlightened, but on the other hand; Siddhartha appreciates this love because it is painful and provides him with wisdom. The love between Siddhartha and his son is difficult because Kamala passes away and the spoiled son dislikes his father. However, Siddhartha suffers through the pain and shows patience for his son, even though he is disrespected. Siddhartha wants to start a new life with his son, but he resists and wants to return to his home in the city. Vasudeva approaches Siddhartha and gives him the advice of letting his son go. Siddhartha disagrees with this idea by stating, “I am fighting for him, I am trying to reach his heart. I will win him with love and patience” (119). Then, Vasudeva explains to Siddhartha to treat the son with strictness, but Siddhartha cannot agree because the love for his son is “the strongest and