Siddhartha Gautama’s Biography and Spiritual Journey Essay

The motivating factor behind any person’s spiritual journey is the hunt for truth, self-understanding and the need for one to partake in the final condition of paradise and peace. The knowledge and understanding about life, God and truth are the major questions that linger in the life of any person. It is until one gets these answers that he or she receives the peace of mind that man always searches for. People usually have many questions about their existence, nature as well as the cause of all their happenings within their life.

Generally, the search for such answers triggers ones spiritual journey, which is normally within the confines of a certain religion. It is for the same cause that Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, left his family and riches. Although the teachings he had received from his father and elders, as a Buddha, were good, they could not answer all his questions.

Although they had moved from the Brahmins together, Hesse’s Siddhartha refused to join Govinda in following Siddhartha Gautama. This is because although Govinda has found in Gotama what he has been looking for, Siddhartha is yet to get the peace he has always sought for. He, therefore, decides to move out on his own to reach his goal of salvation alone, through his own experience to find the truth he has been seeking.

Despite the fact that Siddhartha found God in Gautama, he was not contented. According to him, some levels of truth are missing in the teachings that he has received about Buddha. The teachings did not contain the experience of the Buddha and that he was the only one who knew what had happened to him. Siddhartha needed a source of information that would quench his thirst for the truth that he was seeking. This prevented Siddhartha from getting alone with the teachings of the Buddha (Siddhartha 23).

According to the dream that Siddhartha had, it is most likely that the songbird represented himself while the gilded cage represented his godly confines. He dreamed that the songbird had grown mute and it could no longer sing. He realized that the bird was actually dead and had to throw it away.

Siddhartha had stopped doing what the society expected of him. This meant that he was spiritually dead an aspect that made him to be excommunicated. He could no longer perform his work. Siddhartha considered himself worthless without the will power to continue with fighting for the truth.

The dream was like a revelation for him. His senses were awoken and he realized that everything within him had lost meaning and taste. Siddhartha noticed that he had had much of wealth and experience and none of his questions had been answered. He felt some sense of hope for himself and off he went leaving everything behind. Siddhartha spiritual journey has a lot to say about the nature of the spiritual journey. It is important to know that not all people can fit in one religion or denomination.

This may be because of the differences in which worship is done. Siddhartha could not follow his friend. Govinda since they were all different in how they made their choices. It is also crucial to know that there are people who go through so many circles before they have their life questions and thirst quenched.