The Bhagavad-Gita is known as one of the most influential text forms in the Hindu religion. Hinduism is the world's oldest religion, dating back more than 4,000 years. Siddhartha is a book written by Hermann Hesse. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The Gita suggests that Hinduism is a way of life that parents should teach their children, passing on the lessons from generation to generation. This alone creates an “oral” tradition. Throughout life a person faces things that could potentially move them away from self-awareness or closer to it. The further they move away, the more karma they will eventually have to work off. Hinduism and Buddhism both share common principles of life, but the Bhagavad-Gita suggests that enlightenment is taught while Siddhartha suggests that it is something that is gained from experiences throughout life. The Gita, as a whole, is a conversation between a man named Krishna and a man named Arjuna. Arjuna doesn't want to fight or shed his family's blood for a kingdom he simply doesn't want. For Krishna, killing is very evil and sinful and killing his family would be the greatest sin of all. He ultimately decides that, in the end, it's not worth it. Arjuna tells Krishna that it is his "dharmic duty" to kill them to restore his karma. Krishna disagrees with Arjuna that the mind must be controlled and that it is crucial for the work of duty. Krishna then begins to tell Arjuna that there are three main concepts: mind, body and soul. In the book Siddhartha begins to practice meditation, inspired by the Samanas. During his time with the Samanas, he realized that he wanted to find the inner peace and enlightenment of the mind and soul that he so desired. With no luck, he quickly realized that to find what he was looking for, he would simply have to find it himself. He then decided to find and interpret the teachings of the Buddha himself, only to find the same result: seeking your enlightenment in someone or something else cannot lead you to personal peace. A literary tool used in the novel is symbolism. Siddhartha is fascinated by the river and its meaning, along with its simplicity and peace. The new voice he has found within himself speaks to him and tells him: “Love the river, stay next to it and learn from it” (p. 84). Siddhartha then begins to think about his life and realizes that his life could also be symbolized as a river, teaching him to "go with the flow" and accept things as they are. In Hinduism Vasudeva was the father of Krishna and in the novel, we can see the ferryman Vasudeva acting as a father figure to Siddhartha. His advice to Siddhartha is that a father must ultimately let go and that his son should experience his own suffering, just as Siddhartha's father had once experienced. This illustrates one of the important themes of the novel, which is that knowledge can be taught but wisdom comes from experience. From the river Siddhartha hears various voices, which have been heard forming the single word "OM". In this process he obtains peace and has come to realize the sense of unity. Towards the end of the novel, Siddhartha's friend Govinda, a Buddhist monk, seeks enlightenment and meets him to learn about the teachings that had brought him peace. From this Siddhartha responds that knowledge can be communicated but wisdom cannot. Lifting a stone from the ground, Siddhartha explains to Govinda that within a certain time the stone will perhaps become earth and from the earth he will become plant and man. Therefore she respects him and loves him because he is always everything. In the.