For some characters in Siddhartha, time doesn’t exist. After listening to the river, Siddhartha’s biggest insight is that time is an illusion and that life is not a continuum of events, but instead is omnipresent. Eternity springs from the world’s unity. Understanding the past and the future as part of the present is a major component of achieving enlightenment.
Questions About Time
- Stylistically, how is the passage of time communicated in Siddhartha? We’re not given any years or dates. Is it effective?
- Is there a relationship between time and enlightenment? If so, describe it.
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.
Govinda’s sense of spiritual urgency and desperation in the last chapter of the novel results from his limited understanding of time.