The River

[ConnieAnnKirk]

The river appears to symbolize something important in SIDDHARTHA. What is its meaning?

[sandersk]

I think the river becomes an analogy to life. You can always stand there on the bank or in the middle of it, but it is different every single second. It is still THE RIVER but constantly changing. Parts of your life rush by and are gone forever, there are parts still to come that we have no idea about. I think when he sat down and finally started to "let it be" and not look for answers everywhere did he realize that it was futile to go out looking for more. Your life is right here, in front of you, like the river.

[blkeyesuzi]

I see the river as a physical representation his path to enlightenment and life itself. The constant river flow represents life's constant ebb and flow and though teachers may have shown Siddhartha the path, the river was his ultimate teacher; just as life becomes our ultimate teacher. The voice of the river, its sounds, represented all living things -- their voices combined to create the music and sounds of the river, ever changing and always communicating of happy and sad, good and bad. Many voices becoming one voice, never ending throughout time.

Suzi




"I still find each day too short for all the thoughts I want to think, all the walks I want to take, all the books I want to read, and all the friends I want to see. " --John Burroughs

[ConnieAnnKirk]

Thanks for these responses! The river seems to be such a central image, loaded with meaning...

~ConnieK