Inner Voyage:A Journey Towards Self Realization In Herman Hesse’s Siddhartha

Abstract

This paper tends to explore the idea of spiritual journey or journey towards self as espoused in Herman Hesse’s novel Siddhartha(1922).A spiritual journey is a long course of journey undertaken by a being in his quest to achieve enlightenment.Enlightenment means getting to know the inner self and the universe,a kind of self awakeningwherin a person achieving it finds himself free from all kinds of sufferings and desires,thus transcending the intricate web of material world,also known as maya.This kind of journey undertaken by a hero in his quest to achieve enlightenment or to know his inner self is an archetype in itself.Now archetypes are a kind of universal patterns or symbols that find repetition across the cultures.An archetypal hero in his journey towards enlightenment passes through various stages which are common in all the archetypal journeys.Hesse’s protagonist undertakes a similar kind of archetypal journey in his quest for enlightenment.He passes through various stages,gains a wide variety of experiences,meets various people before reaching the acme of his journey.