Death of the Ego
Page 77-78
Siddhartha has been fighting his ego since he decided to be an ascetic and lately, it has taken over him. As he is sitting near the river in the forest he starts to reflect. Why hasn’t his ego left him yet? Thinking back, he has always been, well, better than the rest of them, and from there his ego took over him. No matter what he did to destroy his ego by fasting and austerities, it always came back. It came back stronger, to the point where his mind was corrupt with power, pleasure and greed, to the point where the shramana within him died. He looked deep within the river, beyond the flowing water; it was telling him something that he just didn’t know yet.
I like how you relate all the way back to the beginning of the book and the trouble hes had trying to rid himself of his ego. You show how throughout the book hes tryed but never realizes he can't till he has this moment with the river. You also mentioned how the river teaches him that, just like the river taught the ferryman everything.
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