Siddartha was raised in sheltered luxury, his father was determined to shield .
Siddartha from experiencing pain and suffering. Siddartha came to realize how empty his .
life was. He demanded that he be permitted to leave. He leaves with his childhood .
friend Govinda to lead a life of asceticism with the Samanas. He learns to conquer his .
body and senses, but still feels that he has learned nothing. He and Govinda go in search .
of Gotama Buddha. Govinda remains behind as a follower, while Siddartha chooses to .
continue on his path alone. He crosses a river, bringing him to a new land. He learns .
about love from Kamala and about how to make money from the businessman .
Kamaswami. When Siddartha dreams that a bird in Kamala's golden cage is dead, he .
decides to leave for good.
He takes himself back to the river he once crossed, and falls into a deep sleep that .
reawakens him. Govinda, now a monk, guarded Siddartha from snakes while he slept, .
but does not recognize his old friend. Vasudeva teaches Siddartha about ferrying and .
how to listen to the secrets of the river. Together, the two of them grow very wise. One .
day Kamala crosses the river with the son she had by Siddartha, in search of the dying .
Gotama. She is bitten by a snake and dies in front of the ferrymen who happened to be .
Siddartha. After Kamala dies his son is left in his care, his son being spoiled and .
unhappy runs away. The heart broken Siddartha gives chase but to no avail, and learns .
finally what it is to love. He returns to the river, and it teaches him that there is only the .
present, that the past and the future are but shadows. This lesson readies him to be the .
ferryman alone, and his mentor Vasudeva leaves him to enter the woods alone. .
Between the world of thought and that of action, Siddartha uses both of them up .
until he can gain no more from them, and then gets beyond them to reach the realm of his .
soul. In this realm, he lives in agreement with himself and life, and is able to completely .