Humans all have an infinite desire to know. For many, some type of faith that cannot be readily convinced to others quenches this need. The very sophisticated idea that everything is one is the driving force and sole motivation for Siddhartha in his quest to conquer self. Although he denies it throughout most of the journey, and to some extent still in the end, Siddhartha had many teachers.
Each one of Siddhartha's educators gave him a separate part of what he was searching for. However, what he needed most from these people was instructions on how everything fit together and became one. He was looking for something, he thought, that no one could physically communicate to him. However, he continues looking for true wisdom in the measurable knowledge of others. .
Siddhartha's quest begins when he looses faith in his upbringing with the Brahmins. The doctrine and ritualistic sacrifice that he is taught to practice is dwarfed by his arrogance that comes from being able to converse and debate with the elders. Although he is not mature, he thinks that he has learned all he can from the Brahmins he lives with. His discontent makes him search for an alternative way of life. When the self-denial practicing Samanas come into town, he and his friend Govinda excitedly join them. Siddhartha practices self-denial with the Samanas, clothed in rags, eating scraps. After some time he becomes anxious of finding Nirvana, an equilibrium between pure good and pure evil that satisfies oneness. The role of the Samanas in Siddhartha's life is great, they teach him discipline and humbleness, but like the Brahmins, their teachings do not satisfy him. He cannot see himself reaching Nirvana with these people, and after discovering that the eldest of the Samanas has never reached Nirvana, he knows that he will not remain there long. He hears of the teaching of the Buddha, and decides to abandon the practices and teachings of the Samanas for yet another endeavor.