Teachers and scripture have yielded only second-hand learning, not the first-hand experience from which knowledge emanates. Siddhartha is troubled by the fact that nobody - not the wisest teachers, or his father, or the holy songs - can lead him to the discovery of Self. He knows that Atman, the individual spirit or Self, is within him and is inclined toward Brahman (the supreme universal Soul), and he strives to find his own way to experience Atman. Unable to find inner peace, Siddhartha initiates his search for Atman. In spite of the admiration and adoration which Siddhartha receives from his family and friends, his soul is perpetually restless and fraught with disquieting dreams. Later, as we meet Govinda, Siddhartha's boyhood friend and close comrade, we feel them to be so close intellectually and fraternally that they are almost one. We are promptly aligned with Siddhartha at the threshold of young manhood and simultaneously observe the orthodox Brahmin father of Siddhartha who, with his son, performs the rite of ablution at the river. The novel begins with a brief retrospective glance at Siddhartha's Brahmin (priestly Hindu caste) family background, his upbringing, and the innocence and tranquility of his childhood.
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