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The River’s Lesson
Siddhartha listens to the river as Vasudeva guides him along his new life of living with almost nothing and discovering enlightenment. He learns from the river that time doesn’t exist. The river is in all places at the same moment: the source, the delta, the rapids, the meanders, etc.. From this, Siddhartha realizes that only the present matters and is of importance and the shadow of his future means nothing for it is the future and not his “now”. He learns to listen from the water and that he only discovers more of the essence of his self and the world if he remains present. The river represents Siddhartha’s life itself, because it is constantly changing and seeking over difficult obstacles and gentle spurs.
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Kamala’s Songbird
Siddhartha has spent many years with Kamala and learning the business of being a merchant, but he begins to feel disgust and dissatisfaction within himself at everything he does. He dreams of the beautiful caged songbird belonging to Kamala, and in this dream the usual birdsong is nonexistent to his hearing. As he approaches the cage to see what is wrong with the animal, he notices that it has died. He opens the cage and throws the bird’s corpse out into the street, and from after that Siddhartha wakes up from the dream. He is rattled and goes to sit in his garden where he realizes that he is no longer on his original path and has subjected himself to what he hates most. The songbird represents Siddhartha’s self, his conscience. The bird dying represents his silenced inner voice and peace, and throwing away the bird makes him realize how blinded he had been by possessions, ego, etc.. After contemplating all this in his garden, Siddhartha decides that it is time to move on and continue his journey. When Kamala hears that he has left, she releases her songbird from the cage and watches it fly away. This represents Siddhartha continuing his journey with freedom again.
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Siddhartha’s Awakening
When Siddhartha leaves Buddha, he becomes aware of what his self is and needs thanks to the conversation. Siddhartha doesn't feel need to learn under Buddha because he has no need for teachers anymore to teach him about his self. He says “Truly, nothing in the world has occupied my thoughts as much as the Self, this riddle, that I live, that I am one and am separated and different from everybody else, that I am Siddhartha". Now that he is sure of what his journey’s destination is, he understands that he must continue to find his self on his own without friends or family, which is why he renounces them. “I will learn from myself, be my own pupil; I will learn from myself the secret of Siddhartha" is his newfound thesis of sorts. This is the causation of his changed perception of the world. His time as a brahmin’s son and as a samana was spent criticizing the nonsense he and others were following to ensure what he saw as a harmful illusion. Now, this awakening had given him freedom and honesty to create a path for himself that allowed him to take in everything wondrous that the brahmins and samanas ignored. His destiny is solely his own and he sees that now.
