There are a few people throughout “Siddhartha” that can be seen as mentors. As we’ve discussed in class, there are several stages of Siddhartha’s life, or mini-journeys, and in each one, he seems to have different people guiding him. The first person Siddhartha encounters that could make sense as a mentor/supernatural aid is Gotama, who gives him a sense of self and allows him to continue on his quest for inner peace without looking back.
However, I don’t think Gotama is Sid’s main mentor/supernatural aid in the story. In Joseph Campbell’s explanation of the steps of the Hero’s Journey, the hero will encounter a “threshold guardian” at the entrance to a new realm. In other words, threshold guardians are people Siddhartha must be able to move beyond to cross each new threshold and begin the next stage of his journey (like the Grumpy Old Troll that guards the bridge in Dora). I would argue Gotama is a guardian Sid must learn from before he is able to become his new, awakened self, thereby beginning a new chapter of his life. Gotama isn’t mentoring Sid throughout his journey; he simply helps him pass one hurdle and continue on to new places.
Similarly, Siddhartha’s father and the elder Samanas act as threshold guardians during the earlier stages of his journey. He has to convince his father to let him become a Samana, and he hypnotizes the elder Samana so he can leave and listen to Gotama’s teachings. You could also view Kamala and Kamaswami as mentor figures at different points in Siddhartha’s life since Kamala taught him the game of love and Kamaswami taught Siddhartha his way of life. Neither Kamala nor Kamaswami, however, were mentoring Siddhartha in his ultimate goal of finding inner peace, so I think in the context of his hero’s journey, they weren’t the main mentors. That being said, defining Kamala’s role in Siddhartha’s journey is a bit more complicated than Kamaswami’s, though, because she gave Siddhartha his son, who helps him in the later stages of the book. The idea of someone giving the hero something to help with the journey is a theme in both the “meeting with the goddess” stage and the “supernatural aid” stage, and I think Kamala makes sense in both goddess and mentor roles.
Looking at the book as a whole, I think Vasudeva is Siddhartha’s main mentor. He brings him
supernatural aid by giving him a home by the river and guiding him in hearing the voices of the river blend together into “Om”. I also think the ending of the book where Siddhartha follows in Vasudeva’s footsteps and becomes the new ferryman points to Vasudeva being his guide and mentor. This explanation may not make much sense chronologically since Joseph Campbell’s template has the hero meeting their mentor earlier in the story, but Vasudeva was the only other person in the story that stuck with Siddhartha all the way through his “ultimate boon” of attaining Nirvana.
Great post! I really like the Grump Old Troll analogy. Thinking about mentors by whether they help Siddhartha with his ultimate goal, instead of whether they taught him anything, makes a lot of sense. I definitely agree that Vasudeva is the main mentor.
ReplyDeleteI wonder why the Supernatural Aid happens in the middle of the book. Do you think that this would mean that Siddhartha does not follow the Hero's Journey? Though the ferryman shows up when he crosses the river to the town, Vasudeva does not mentor him or help him until very late into the book. Is it just this step that is misplaced in the story?
ReplyDeleteI like how you go through the possible mentor figures/threshold guardians and explain why or why not they are Siddhartha's main mentor figure. I definitely agree that Vasudeva is most likely to be Siddhartha's main mentor figure. Out of the characters you mentioned, I noticed that you didn't include Govinda. Do you think Govinda also has a role as either a mentor figure or threshold guardian, or is he just a side character?
ReplyDeleteNice job comparing and contrasting Siddhartha's mentor figures! I also thought this was an open and not very clear topic, so I think it's interesting that you decided to explore this topic more thoroughly. Vasudeva definitely seems like the person who guides Siddhartha the most through his journey among the people Siddhartha meets along the way. I'd like to offer another suggestion, however: what if the mentor figure isn't exactly a person, but the world itself, or "Om"? I feel like Siddhartha was (at the end of the day) guided through his journey by something more spiritual.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Vasudeva make's sense as Siddhartha's "ultimate" mentor as he leads Sid to his final realization. Someone you didn't bring up in your post however is Govinda, someone who we talked in class could be a potential mentor to Sid as he leads Sid to many realizations throughout the story, if indirectly. We also see a cool role reversal when Siddhartha is finally able to show Govinda his wisdom at the very end.
ReplyDeleteI think that I personally lean more towards Gotama as the mentor and threshold guardian for a couple reasons you mentioned. I think Vasudeva's position is far too late to enact the second goal of being the threshold guardian at the end of the book. That being said he definitely is a guardian as he is the one who guides Siddhartha to his ultimate Boon.
ReplyDeleteIt's so interesting that you think of Kamaswami as a mentor to Siddhartha, it makes me think of the book differently than I had before. I definitely thought of Vasudeva as a mentor because he taught Siddhartha how to find himself and Kamala was definitely mentor because she taught him to see people different than him as equals. Kamaswami, though, taught Siddhartha who he didn't want to be. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI found it intriguing to read about your different interpretations of Siddhartha's mentors throughout the novel. It made me reconsider when I thought some of the steps occurred. Although I had not previously viewed him as one, I agree that Kamaswami acted as a mentor to Siddhartha. I am curious what you think of Govinda's role in Siddhartha's journey. I think the significance Govinda played as a mentor could definitely be debated.
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