"Though Vasudeva spoke not a word himself, the speaker felt him receiving his words into himself, quietly, openly, unhurriedly, missing nothing, not jumping ahead through impatience, attributing neither praise nor blame-just listening."
Vasudeva has reached enlightenment, but he doesn't express it through words, but actions. The key action is listening. Siddhartha tells Vasudeva of his journey and how he got there. Even though Vasudeva does not say a word during Siddhartha's story, Siddhartha knows he listened to every word. Siddhartha admires this virtue because he knows that few people know how to listen. At the end of Siddhartha’s story, Vasudeva says "The river spoke to you." and offers Siddhartha a place to stay with him. He thanks Vasudeva and accepts his offer. He also thanks him for listening so well to his story, and hopes to learn from him how to listen so well. Vasudeva replies "You will learn that, but not from me. The river taught me how to listen; you will learn that from the river too."
-Connor Courter
The Ferryman's greatest virtue is the ability to really listen. When Siddhartha presented himself to Kamala and Kamiswami, he told them that what he could do is think, wait, and fast. Many people take these kinds of traits for granted, but as soon as Siddhartha knew of Vasudeva's listening he also knew that he was enlightened. The ferrymen were both enlightened by the river, because it shows that time does not exist, and the unity of all things. The river taught them to wait and listen to the universe, to listen to Om.
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