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Childhood friend
- Govinda is Siddhartha’s childhood friend and becomes his partner as a spiritual pilgrim. He serves a variety of functions in the novel, both to further the plot and to reveal aspects of Siddhartha we might not otherwise see. Govinda often provides a sounding board for Siddhartha’s ideas.
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The mentoring relationships between Vasudeva and Siddhartha and between Siddhartha and Govinda suggest that even though no one can teach the way to enlightenment, seekers still can be guided. At the end of Siddhartha, Siddhartha presumably will carry on as the ferryman now that Vasudeva has left.
Govinda knows that Siddhartha has found his own way and realizes that he did it without the formal system of Buddhist doctrine. As the Buddha tried long ago, Siddhartha now tries to express how he found his way, but verbalization cannot create or invoke the intuitive, transcendent experience for Govinda.
The relationship between Govinda and Siddhartha forms a circular path. As young boys set on reaching enlightenment, they offer one another a sense of companionship and support. When Govinda asks to be accepted as one of the Buddha’s monks and Siddhartha’s sense of disillusionment with doctrine increases, it becomes clear that each man has ...
Nov 21, 2023 · The general relationship between these two important figures in the novel and their interaction causes each to grow and change. Because of Siddhartha, Govinda becomes an ascetic and...
Relationship between Siddhartha and Govinda. Siddhartha and Govinda, two of the main characters in Hermann Hesse’s novel Siddhartha, have a deep friendship since childhood. In their village, they do many things together, especially the daily religious exercises.
Together with other monks, Govinda used to spend the time of rest between pilgrimages in the pleasure-grove, which the courtesan Kamala had given to the followers of Gotama for a gift. He heard talk of an old ferryman, who lived one day's journey away by the river, and who was regarded as a wise man by many.
Govinda always supports and follows Siddhartha: "By his side lived Govinda, his shadow, walked the same paths, undertook the same efforts. They rarely spoke to one another, than the service and the exercises required." (First Part, With the Samanas). But one day, out of curiosity, Govinda takes the initiative and surprisingly proposes himself:
