Siddhartha's Apotheoses

Over quarantine, I consumed an unbelievable amount of copy-and-paste YA fantasies. I was fascinated to find these familiar tropes concretely characterized by Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey (how many Calls to Adventure, how many Women as Temptress scenes have I flipped through)? Certain elements of the Hero’s Journey are distorted on lost in different stories, but apotheosis has always been an invaluable climax for the hero’s development. Apotheosis is marked by the hero achieving some sort of higher understanding—enlightenment, you could say—preparing them for the final, most difficult stages of the journey. In Siddhartha, the titular protagonist undergoes several psychological transformations that can be interpreted as mini apotheoses. Disillusionment with the Brahmin or Samana lifestyles; realizing that teachings cannot impart true enlightenment; realizing worldliness only leads to emptiness; hearing Om. Constantly Siddhartha is enlightened with a ‘higher understanding,’ preparing him for life’s next trials—until another only another apotheosis can carry him forwards in the journey. For example, only Siddhartha’s realization that Samana teachings—any teachings, for that matter—will never bring him to Nirvana lend him the motivation to pursue enlightenment through experiencing the world. And thus, he is lost in the Kama-people, until his next mini apotheosis where he escapes into the forest and river. Each new persona, each new life he lived were not deviations from some ‘one true path;’ they brought the apotheoses and experience that culminated in true enlightenment. The cycle of continuous growth from death and rebirth is how Siddhartha reaches his final apotheosis, his ultimate boon. Siddhartha’s final apotheosis lies in learning from the river. In the chapter Om, Siddartha is depressed from the loss of his son. He saw his own life and bloodline circling back hopelessly; his face and his father’s in the river and how his mistakes had manifested in his runaway son. When he turns to Vasudeva, he finds the old ferryman’s face to be alight with joy and wisdom, like Gotama’s. Godlike. He realized all along that the old ferryman had achieved that which eh sought: enlightenment. Upon Vasudeva’s advice, Siddhartha turns once more to the river. He listens closer. . Campbell describes apotheosis as “those who know, not only that the Everlasting lies in them, but that what they, and all things, really are is the Everlasting[…] and listen everywhere to the unheard music of eternal concord.” Siddhartha reaches these exact conclusions in his second listen. This time, he hears the sound of all voices and all lives and all things in the universe, the inevitable ebb and flow of the cycle of life. Millions of past, presents, futures rushing by and back. In the river, he hears Om. It’s not the first time Siddhartha’s heard it, but this is the hardest he’s felt it, and the first time he’s truly understood the word that encompassed not just all syllables, but all things. He, like a river rock, was everything, is everything, will be everything. As this is the first and only time he's completely understood the universe and his place in it, this moment is both apotheosis and Siddhartha's ultimate boon. Apotheosis is preparation for the final, most difficult stages of the hero’s journey. Siddhartha’s apotheosis allows him to take Vasudeva’s place in the ferry, and bring his life full-circle by finally showing Govinda Om through his own enlightenment. These last chapters do not appear to be the most difficult stages of Siddhartha’s journey. He lives in peace, tranquility, complete content as his head is already in Nirvana. The soulless struggles of residing in the Kama-town or the physical toil of following the Samanas are things of the far past. Yet, Govinda represents some kind of final boss: Govinda has always been far from enlightenment. He was a slave to Siddhartha, a slave to the Samana way, then a slay to Gotama’s teachings. In a sense, Govinda was following his own hero’s journey. Reaching enlightenment himself is one thing for Siddhartha, but bringing his weaker-minded friend to an equal standing can be viewed as a uniquely difficult task. Only Siddhartha’s new and complete awakening from apotheosis lends him the power to transfer his wisdom to Gotama with but a touch (well a kiss, actually). Campbell’s apotheosis stage allows us to discern and appreciate the significance of Siddhartha’s ‘rebirths’ in his overall journey. Each realization allowed him to navigate new stages of life, and those experiences brought him closer and closer to his ultimate apotheosis. Siddhartha is a story of the mind of man, and apotheosis is arguably the driving force behind his story. The final apotheosis—reaching true enlightenment—is Siddhartha’s life goal, his ultimate boon. Siddhartha never chased physical strength or material wealth; rather, these were byproducts of his time as a Samana or with the Kama-people in search of true wisdom. Siddhartha’s journey is not through soaring mountains or frigid waters to slay some dragon or save a princess. These worlds exist in his mind, in dark shadows of suicidal thoughts or childlike curiosity for the world, all along a unique goal to find Nirvana. When we organize each phase of Siddhartha alongst Campbell’s Hero’s Journey, we can see different elements overlapping (ultimate boon, apotheosis) and some repeating (mini apotheoses) to form a compelling and unique tale. Truly, Siddhartha’s journey is no copy-and-paste monomyth. Hesse’s unique use of apotheosis as landmarks and growth-triggers Siddhartha’s journey instead of one climax allows Siddhartha to become a deeply philosophical, moving story that focuses on a mental Hero’s Journey rather than a physical.