Knowledge vs. Experience Essay

The famous Indian philosopher J. Krishnamurti once said, â€Å"There is no end to education. It is not that you read a book, pass an examination, and finish with education. The whole of life, from the moment you are born to the moment you die, is a process of learning.† (whale.to/a/krishnamurti) Krishnamurti is addressing learning as a process in which an individual tries to gain certain knowledge for predestined purposes. He clearly believes that rote memorization is inferior to learning from experiences. Academic knowledge through textbooks can teach individuals theories about life. Life, however, deviates from theory frequently. The only way individuals are going to know about these deviations is when they experience the struggles and fruits of life on their own. [Similarly, in this compelling novel by Herman Hesse, Siddhartha learns that enlightenment cannot be reached through his 7 teachers because it cannot be instilled in an individual’s mind -enlightenment comes from the inner self and through the experiences in which one must obtain wisdom from.] he said it can be a little better In the opening of the novel, Siddhartha is influenced by outside teachings in his search for enlightment. His father and his associated community ideally want him to become a successful Brahmin, instead of joining the Samanas. Everyone else around him still has not reached enlightenment, and Siddhartha feels that residing with them will increase his curiosity regarding his presence in life.(Siddhartha to himself) [â€Å"He had begun to suspect that his worthy father and his other teachers, the wise Brahmins, had already passed on to him the bulk of their wisdom†¦ his soul was not at peace.† (3)] Siddhartha craves to better acknowledge the innermost essence of self and its connection to the world in a society. The knowledge passed on to him however does not explain this, which is why Siddhartha speculates the origins of the world and his place in it. When Siddhartha departs on his journey to achieve nirvana, he joins the Samanas and accustoms quickly to their lifestyle because of the endurance and discipline he learned in the Brahmin rituals. He learns how to free himself from the materialistic world he was living in, losing his desire for ownership and apparel. However Siddhartha is still unsatisfied. The path of self-denial does not provide an established solution for Siddhartha. He comes to the realization which is this: the Samanas have been just as unsuccessful as the previous guidance he has encountered. Siddhartha’s thirst for knowledge has only increased, as he tells his good friend, â€Å"I suffer thirst, Govinda, and on this long Samana path my thirst has not grown less†¦I have always thirsted for knowledge.† (15) Siddhartha is still curious, thus Govinda convinces him that they both should leave the Samanas and seek out the Buddha. During Siddhartha’s quest for enlightment, he and Govinda are looking for Gotama’s whereabouts. As they are taken in, Siddhartha is informed about a teaching called the Eightfold Path and the four main points in order to achieve the permanent solution of abstaining from the pleasures of the world. However, while Govinda is entirely influenced by these teachings, Siddhartha is still not satisfied. (Gotama to Sid dhartha) [â€Å"The teaching which you have heard†¦is not to explain the world to those who are thirsty for knowledge†¦its goal is salvation from the suffering.†(27)] Siddhartha is still unsatisfied, and desires to comprehend the meaning of life’s purpose in the world in an accomplished way. Like the Samanas, Buddha’s followers escape from reality without connecting to it. Most importantly, Siddhartha feels that he cannot achieve enlightment from an external source such as a teacher. He reasons that in order to reach enlightenment, one must learn only through experience and teachings by other mentors. Wisdom is gained through experience, while knowledge is taught. This is the reason he cannot accept Buddha’s teachings. At this point of the novel, Siddhartha knows he will have to depart his good friend behind to begin a search for the meaning of life which will be based on experience, rather than religious teachings. Siddhartha determines to set out on a life abstaining from meditation and to instead enter the material world to explore the physical pleasures of his body. In this new world of his, Siddhartha encounters a friendly ferryman, living his free life to its fullest. After crossing the ferryman’s river, he arrives to a city where a beautiful m istress named Kamala mesmerizes him. He believes she would be the most worthy one to teach him about the physical aspects of love, but Kamala will only instruct him until he proves he can fit into the materialistic world. With her guidance, Siddhartha takes up the path of the merchant and engages in business with a man named Kamaswami who taught him how to trade. While Siddhartha achieves the wisdom of the business world and experiences how to do business in the material world, Kamala becomes his lover and teaches him about every physical aspect of love. [â€Å"She taught him that lovers should not separate from each other after making love†¦so that no feeling of desolation arise nor the horrid feeling of misusing† (54)] Siddhartha renounces the spiritual path and exchanges the search for Atman to experience physical pleasures. However, Siddhartha and Kamala are both incapable to give and receive real love at this stage in the novel. Siddhartha has eliminated himself from the world completely and is not influenced by what the world has to offer him. Since both these external guides are unable to teach him wisdom, he knows he must now achieve wisdom on his own. This consciousness itself comes from his inner self. Siddhartha starts his path to seek enlightenment leaving the Brahmins, the Samanas, Gotama, and the material world becau se he feels unhappy with himself. As Siddhartha leaves the corrupted material world, he approaches a river and considers what direction his life has taken him. Ironically, the same ferryman whom he met years before introduces himself with the identity as Vasudeva. Siddhartha senses inner peace and wisdom within this man, and motivates him to obtain it as well. Eventually Siddhartha resides and works with Vasudeva until he comes to know his son was born. With his son, Siddhartha finally experiences love, but since love is a connection to the world, it threatens to distract Siddhartha from his search for enlightenment. It’s not until now when Siddhartha has gained wisdom on his own without any materialistic influences, therefore the love he expresses for his son becomes a test of this wisdom. (Siddhartha to himself) [â€Å"It is a good thing to experience everything oneself†¦as a child I learned that pleasures of the world and riches were not good†¦ but I have only just experienced it now†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (80) ]Siddhartha implies that the Buddha’s teachings or any source of external guidance do not make one enlightened; they only transfer knowledge to the society around them. Siddhartha is aware enlightenment can only be reached if he will be able to accept love, and as difficult as it might be, to even achieve Nirvana. Successfully, Kamala and his son influenced him heavily and because of them, Siddhartha learned and experienced how to love the world and accept it as a whole. Siddhartha encounters many teachers of wisdom during his journey, but each fails to lead him to his goal: to seek enlightenment. The ferryman however, is successful and shows Siddhartha how to find enlightenment within him by blocking out all exterior guidance. [Vasudeva will not simply tell Siddhartha what he should know like the others, but a guide who will lead him where he wishes to go.] After leaving the material world, Siddhartha seeks for knowledge from the river he crossed and Vasudeva guides Siddhartha to listen to it for a better understanding of what the river communicates. Vasudeva does not tell Siddhartha what the river will say, but when Siddhartha discloses what the river has expressed to him, Vasudeva clearly admits that he too has received the same wisdom on his own. Now, Siddhartha realizes that he himself becomes the ferryman after reaching enlightenment. (Siddhartha speaking to himself) [ â€Å"The river is everywhere at the same time†¦ Siddhartha the boy, Siddhartha the mature man, and Siddhartha the old man [are] only separated by shadows, not through reality.† (87)] The river is compared to Siddhartha as it is considered continuous but yet always altering within, deeper below the body of water. Siddhartha now belongs to everything surrounding him instead of being classified to a particular group. At the end of the novel, Govinda returns to the river, still seeking enlightenment, and asks Siddhartha to teach him what he has learned. Siddhartha explains that neither he nor any other individual can teach the wisdom to Govinda, because spoken explanations are definite and can never communicate enlightenment as a whole. (Siddhartha to Govinda)[â€Å"When someone is seeking †¦he is unable to find anything†¦because he is obsessed with his goal.† (113) ] Govinda is confused just like he was when they met near the river after Siddhartha had considered suicide. This means he still does not understand the meaning of life because he hasn’t experienced the world, remaining a follower to Buddha. Therefore, Siddhartha’s ultimate attainment of Nirvana does not come from external guidance communicating the wisdom to him, but instead by experiencing an internal connection with the river, which encompasses the whole universe.