The Death of Ego

This is when Siddhartha is realizing that he has lost his ego, his inner self. This was represented by the death of the song bird. Siddhartha then realizes why he had lost his ego. He had been fighting against his ego as an ascetic, and having too much knowledge had held him back. Also too many sacred verses, rituals rules, denial, and too much doing and striving were all ridding him of his ego. Siddhartha was always the smartest and most industrious and was always a step above everyone. Siddhartha discovers that no teacher could ever have saved his ego and that if he wanted to keep it he would have to go out into the world and leave himself. He would have to get rid of the priest and sharmana inside of him. This is very significant because Siddhartha is trying to reach enlightenment and his ego is in the way, and by doing all of these things he is driving himself farther and farther away from losing his ego. His ego always comes back, which is really making the process of enlightenment hard. Personally, this makes me feel a little bad because having everything I want and desires that are unnecessary. This is one of the exact things that makes it hard for Siddhartha to rid himself of his ego. Now, Siddhartha’s ego is gone. Having to much knowledge can affect anyone, it makes you sound stuck up and like a “know it all.” It would be really hard to rid myself of ego.