Beginning of Essay
There are two parts to the main theme of this work. One part is that people can teach religious doctrine, but it may not lead one to find one's true inner "self". The other part is that knowledge can be taught, but wisdom comes from experience. The main charact ....

Middle of Essay
.... "Om is the bow, the arrow is the soul, Brahman is the arrow's goal At which one aims unflinchingly."(8) It was after meditating with Govinda that he realized what he had to do. In an attempt to reach the arrow's goal, he would leave his father to join the Samanas who he thought had the secrets to finding the "self". While with the Samanas Siddhartha learned many ways to escape the "self". He would do this through meditation, abandonment of the body, fasting, and the holding of breath. He abandoned his body through these ways many times but would still always come back to being Self and Siddhartha. He ....