Siddhartha starts his journey as a spiritual quest. "Siddhartha had one single goal- to become empty, to become empty of thirst, desire, dreams, pleasure and sorrow- to let the self die. (pg. 14)" In order for Siddhartha to obtain his goal, he must experience all the things he wanted to rid himself of. Through his experience he learns the cycle of life, listening and the concept of time. Siddhartha learns all this from the river. .
Throughout his journey, Siddhartha, parallel's the river only to find that the river is the end of his journey. "He saw that the water continually flowed and yet was always there; it was always the same and yet every moment it was new. (pg. 102)" This secret makes Siddhartha think of life and the cycle we all live, with eventual death. In the river's voice Siddhartha hears and sees the goals of all people. When Siddhartha's son runs away, he sees his father suffering the loss of his son also. He begins to understand the reoccurrences in peoples lives, we all suffer through the same things. The circle of life. .
"Have you also learned that secret from the river; that there is no such thing as time? (pg. 106)" Siddhartha learns to live in the reality of what's happening. Not to worry about the past. The river continues to flow only looking to where it is at the time. The river doesn't care what time of day or what time of year it is, it still flows along its journey. For time means nothing. .
From the river Siddhartha leans the art of listening. "They listened. The many voiced song of the river echoed softly. The river's voice was sorrowful. It sang with yearning and sadness, flowing toward its goal. (pg. 134)" Through listening to the river Siddhartha learned of other's who had to take bumpy roads in life to reach their goals. Siddhartha hears the voice's of people of the world, all going through the same struggles. All people unique in their own way, but like the river fighting the currant in their journey to the light at the end of the road.