LakshmiScrapbook4

= Lakshmi's Scrapbook =

The Assignment
//To get the feeling for how the Samanas, Indian ascetics that are found in the novel Siddhartha, try to reach enlightenment, we gave up something we enjoy for a week. I chose to give up Grey's Anatomy for a week.//

__Beginning of the week:__
First day of giving up Grey's Anatomy, I realized that "tomorrow at daybreak I shall begin the life of the Samanas" (5). It was easy-ish. This show is pretty addicting for me, and I was dying to know what was going to happen between MerDer!! All though, I did get quite a bit of homework and extra studying in my free time. It became a little harder as the next day progressed. It became more tempting watch it on netflix or my computer since it's the weekend. Thinking about wanting to watch it eeeepppp!!

__Middle of the week:__
In Economics class I really wanted to watch it!! I watched it....... Next day I had Study Hall, and watched it. Had soccer practice after school so I didn't have time or effort to watch it. I have absolutely no willpower. "Siddhartha gave away his robe...he fasted...he ate once a day sometimes...he saw merchants doing buisness" (7), which reminded me of what I was missing.



__End of the Week:__
Had Economics classs again, so boring so I watched it for about 20 minutes with Lucy. I did alot of homework after school so I didn't watch alot. And the last day, I didn't go to school today so I basicly watched it all day... Then went to practice. I definately did not accomplish this challenge. "Many things Siddhartha learned from the Samanas" (8), just like I learned from abstaining from the show.

__Closing Reflection__:
I knew I wouldn't do too well with this challenge. I left off at a really good part in Grey's Anatomy and needed to FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENS!! Overall, it was beneficial towards my studies and homework completion, I still couldn't give it up for a span of 6 days. Maybe I should've chosen something different, but I honestly thought this was going to be easier than expected! Reflecting back to the book, just like Siddhartha, I tried something new by giving up what I do most and what I'm used to. (Grey's Anatomy) During the middle of the week, I saw people watching the show here and there just like Siddhartha saw "merchants doing buisness." In the end, I learned something about myself and how it helped me just like Siddhartha did. I definately don't think I would be able and want to do this again for a longer term.

= The Awakening: = = = == Siddhartha reached awakening after listening to Gotama's speech and realizing his teachings weren't for him. Instead of thinking the world was a trap, he knew it was more beautiful. To him awakening looked like a colorful forest, blue, yellow, and green, with life and water and trees. I chose to draw this picture because in the book Siddhartha says, "the world was beautiful, the world was full of variety, the world was strange and puzzling!" (22) . When Siddhartha was walking through the forest he explained visually, "here was blue, here was yellow, here was green" (22). He noticed how the "sky flowed, and river; forest jutted upward, and mountains" (22).

= Kamala: =


 * Name ** : Kamala
 * Location ** : The grove of a town
 * Eyes ** : Dark (clever and alert)
 * Hair ** : Black


 * About Kamala:** Kamala owns a house and lives in town. Siddhartha met her at the grove for the first time and described her appearance by saying she had, "high-piled black hair a very fair, very soft, very clever face, bright-red lips like a newly opened fig, eyebrows well tended and painted in the form of high arches, dark eyes clever and alert, a long, fair neck emerging from the green-and-gold outer garment, fair hands at rest, long and narrow, with wide gold bracelets at the wrists" (28). She is very wealthy and rich with servants and sits in a black sedan chair. She is an expert in the teachings of love.


 * What Kamala is looking for:** Kamala wants a rich and wealthy man like her that can give her what she wants and desired. She explains to Siddhartha that, "He must have clothes, handsome clothes, and shoes, good-looking shoes, and a lot of money in his purse, and gifts for Kamala" (30).


 * Hobbies:** She is a master with the teachings of love and will teach Siddhartha what love really is to her. She believes "love can be won by begging, it can be bought, received as a gift, found on the street, but It cannot be stolen" (31). She has a hobby of playing over men with her charms and getting what she wants from them. Siddhartha says to Kamala, "Kamala, I would like to ask you to be my friend and instructress, for I still know nothing of the art in which you are an expert" (30).

In order to "woo" Kamala, a man like Siddhartha would probably have to constantly compliment Kamala and properly dress himself to please and get her to notice him. He would have to be charming to her and get her gifts like she said she would want in a man. Overall though, I think If Siddhartha was true to her and himself maybe he would be able to win her over without all the treasures she's looking for, but just by being himself.

Samsara:
1. Wake up at 6:30 2. Eat breakfast and gather materials for school 3. Attend school and then dismissal 4. Go to soccer practice for about an hour and a half 5. Watch T.V. for awhile 6. Eat dinner 7. Homework for the remainder of the day 8. Sleep until alarm

My comic shows a normal day in my life. I normally wake up at 6:30 in the early morning and get ready for the day. Go to school, soccer practice, watch T.V, eat dinner and do my homework. Very simple. This routine ties me into my life because being athletic, I enjoy playing soccer. Also, I like having some off time where I can watch a show or movie. School is in my routine because It's a mandatory requirement, but I go because I know it's beneficial towards my future education. Same goes with doing my homework, I need to do it because I go to school. This routine has meaning in small ways, but I feel like I get caught up in it and don't pay attention to how slow and meaningless it can be sometimes, just like for Siddhartha, "the years sped by; cushioned by prosperity, Siddhartha barely felt their passing. He had become wealthy; for some time he had a house of his own, his own servants, and a garden in the suburbs by the river. People liked him; they came to him when they needed money or advice; but no one was close to him except Kamala" (40). = = = = = = = The River =

The Brooklyn Bridge- Frank Sinatra
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'Brooklyn Bridge' captured my attention, especially with the lyrics, because I could relate a line or two with Siddhartha's feelings toward the river. "How he loved that water, how it delighted him, how grateful he was to it! In his heart he heard the voice speak, the newly awakened one, and it said to him: "Love this water! Remain by it! Learn from it!" Oh, yes, he wanted to learn from it, he wanted to listen to it. Whoever understood that water..." (54). From this quote, you can tell Sidhhartha's emotion is overwhelmed with enchantment with the river. He loves it and thinks it's beautiful, containing secrets he would want to understand. The song 'Brooklyn Bridge by Frank Sinatra' has lyrics that say " All the folks in Manhattan are sad, 'Cause they look at her and wish they had, The good old Brooklyn bridge." The connection between the book and the song was that both Siddhartha and the 'Manhattan folks' were both enraptured by an inaminate object.

Walking By the River- Ella Fitzgerald
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Similar actions were being expressed with both this song and in the book. In the song 'Walking By the River by Ella Fitzgerald' there are lyrics that say"I'm walkin' by the river 'cause I'm meeting someone here tonight", and with Siddhartha, theres a line that says, "he walked ownard, up the path along the riverbank, upstream, listening to the current.."(55) In both the book and the song, similar actions are being executed. Also, later in the book, Siddhartha happens to come across many people near the river. He befriends Govinda because he meets him after waking up from his sleep, he goes to meet the ferryman, and he stumbles upon Kamala and her son while he is with Vasudeva. Although, in the song, Fitzgerald is more talking in the context of meeting a lover, both Siddhartha and the lyrics happen to meet someone along a river.

Sunrise on Lake Pontchartrain-Alexandre Desplat
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I was drawn to this song very much. The mood, quietness, and flow of this song reminded me of a river, water flowing calmly. The river and 'Sunrise on Lake Pontchartrain' had an anesthetic feeling corresponded with each. For Siddhartha, "His sleep was dreamless; for a long time he had not known such sleep. When he awakened many hours later, he felt as if 10 years has gone by; he heard the quiet flowing of the water; he did not know where he was and how he had gotten there" (48). Both with the song and the quote, there was a feeling of somnolence. This song and the river, to me, is like a drug both making Siddhartha and the listener in a daze and all focus on the sound, At one point Siddhartha exclaims, "Is it not true, O friend, the river has many voices, very many voices? Does it have the voice of a king, and of a warrior, and of a bull, and of a night bird, and of a woman in labor, and of a man singing, and a thousand other voices, as well?" (58) When I listen to this song, all the instruments play a different part and signify a different feeling, just like the river had many voices, the instruments all have many voices to contribute to the song to make it a beautiful piece.

= OM =

One might argue that four characters of the story have achieved enlightenment- have they all achieved the same “enlightenment” and how did they reach it? -Govinda, Gotama, Vasudeva, and Siddhartha arguably are the 4 characters that have become “enlightened.” What is enlightenment to each of them? What paths did they take to get there?

Siddhartha was a very touching and eye-opening book to read. I thoroughly enjoyed some parts throughout the story and other parts I wasn’t particularly enticed with to continue reading. There were many characters in this book that were part of Siddhartha’s life and that played many roles to make Siddhartha who he becomes to be in the book. Govinda, Gotama (The Buddha), Vasudeva (ferryman) and Siddhartha “arguably” all have achieved enlightenment in one form or another throughout the book. All these characters had to take a journey to find the answer at the end of the path, which was “how to achieve enlightenment.”

Govinda was Siddhartha’s companion, sidekick, and friend throughout the book. He was with him when he was a young boy and stayed with him up until one point, when he realized he wanted to take a separate path than Siddhartha. Govinda became enraptured with the teachings of The Sublime One, or Buddha (Gotama). He believed that if he followed Gotama’s teachings, he would reach enlightenment, just like Gotama did himself. He told Siddhartha he would initiate this chosen path for himself by exclaiming, “But speak, I beg of you, my dear friend! Tell me- and it surely cannot be otherwise- that you, too, my learned friend, will take refuge in the Sublime Buddha! (17). Siddhartha did not take this path and the two friends parted for many years, up until the very end of this book when they befriend each other. By this point, Siddhartha had achieved enlightenment and Govinda had been a disciple of Gotama for many years. Siddhartha had told Govinda to kiss his forehead and when he does, that is when I believe, Govinda experiences enlightenment.

Gotama, or also known as the Buddha, was a wise mentor in this book. There isn’t very much background information associated with his earlier years and what experiences he had, but when both Siddhartha and Govinda meet this man, they clearly see he has achieved enlightenment. The Buddha had “possessed the loftiest knowledge, that he remembered the previous lives, that he had attained nirvana and would never return to the cycle of existences, would never again sink into the troubled current of created forms" (14). Siddhartha talked to the Buddha briefly and after their negotiation he says, “Truly I wish I could also gaze and smile, sit and walk, that way, with such freedom, such venerableness, such concealment, such openness, such childlikeness, and such mystery” (20).

Vasudeva was a very important man to Siddhartha, and was the main reason Siddhartha reached enlightenment. He was his mentor and guide in the book. Vasudeva was a ferryman and led a very simple and humble life. He always had a warm, radiant smile, and was a very patient listener. I believe both Siddhartha and Vasudeva reached the same enlightenment. Vasudeva time and time again said the river taught him many things, and just from that river, he achieved enlightenment. With Vasudeva, Siddhartha would listen to the river and discover many entities associated with the river. Once Siddhartha finally gained realization and enlightenment, Vasudeva felt his work was done and by this, “Siddhartha watched him go. With profound joy, with profound gravity, he watched him go into the forest, seeing his steps full of peace, seeing his head full of brightness, seeing his figure full of light” (74).

Siddhartha was the main character in the book and we stepped in his shoes to see what journey he took to achieve enlightenment. In his youth, he lived a life of luxury and first believed if he abandoned this and became a samana, he would retain enlightenment. After 3 years of doing so, he still felt empty and unfulfilled. He then turned to love and passion and success, where he met the love expert, Kamala, and the clever businessman Kamaswami. After a long period of time with this life, he realized it was meaningless and nothing was being achieved or done. He lastly settled his whereabouts with Vasudeva, where I finally believe he achieved enlightenment. Vasudeva and the river was a mentor to help Siddhartha realize the path to the ultimate truth. “Do you hear?” (72-73) Vasudeva would ask Siddhartha, to listen to the river. He listened one time and it all came to him. He saw images and emotions and the world and heard voices and found his individual self within that river. “ Vasudeva’s smile beamed brightly, a glow hovered over every wrinkle in his aged face, just as the ‘om’ hovered over all the river’s voices. His smile beamed brightly as he looked at his friend, and now the same smile began to beam brightly on Siddhartha’s face, too. His wound was blossoming, his sorrow was emitting rays, his self had flowed into oneness”(73).

The end of this book is too hard to describe in words on how vast the conclusion was and how Siddhartha’s enlightenment was described when Govinda kissed his forehead. All achieved a state of happiness and enlightenment, meaning they also achieved their main goal in life. To sum all the information up, I truly believe that each experience each character held really guided them to finally gain enlightenment.

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