Siddhartha Response Part II

"Have you too, learned that secret from the river: that there is no such thing as time?"

I find this quote as a very interesting quote. It seems like an interesting philosophy. That time is merely something like shadows or another part of one's soul. He means that time doesn't exist, all it is is a thought or a memory that one would think of. There is no proof of time, but we are convinced it exists, due to the fact that it can be described in words, if not difficult. I find the symbolism to the river true, a river is exactly like the flow of time. However, I find this a bit odd that the book would introduce it as the river speaking to him. Even though time is just a memory or destiny, it doesn't seem like a part of your soul, in that sense, or that it doesn't exist, time is real, I do believe.

I think that we could incorporate this into our lives by not dwelling on the past or future in a negative sense, but that doesn't mean that we can't learn from our mistakes, or pay attention to the past.

"Of course I was taking a pleasure trip. Why else should I travel? I got to know people and places, I enjoyed friendliness and trust, I found friendship."

Siddhartha is telling him that not everything is about money, that joy and friendship is much more essential. I couldn't agree more, that the whole point of greed and selfishness is to be happy, is it not? But isn't it true that is is better to be seen from the other perspective, that joy and friendship will lead to money and wealth? That Joy is the reason for money, and Joy can lead to money, while money might lead to joy, but not directly? I find that a really true way to see things.

I think that this is a great way to see things, from doing something like this, and looking on the bright side, it isn't a waste of time, that the benefits far outweigh the losses.

"Perhaps that you are doing too much seeking? That your seeking prevents you from finding?"

Well, this happens to be absurdly true in Govinda's case. Be it This is true, that when one has a obsession with a goal, they rarely pay attention to what is going around them. Blind obsession with something ultimately leads to it turning back on you because you didn't see what was actually very important. That life is not just about one thing, but many different things, bad and good, interwoven together.

This is a good concept to keep in real life, when surrounded by many valuable or important things, it really is never the best thing to "keep your eyes on the prize".

"Words do no good to the secret meaning; everything always immediately becomes a little different when you express it, a little falsified, a little foolish"

Siddhartha is stating to Govinda that him telling him about enlightenment isn't going to enlighten him, or even make him see sense in the words. That is true, in my opinion, that is why there is more than one language, that no human language is able to convey exactly what one is feeling. If that was true, there would only be one language in the world. The brain converts feelings into words into language, which converts it into sound, which is heard by the other person as language, which is converted into words, into feelings, every conversion is different for every person, it becomes like a strange game of telephone.

I see this as another good philosophy, that you shouldn't take words or actions for granted, or as a way you view it. For the person who made it would have viewed it in a different way.