Time and Voices According to the River

“Have you also learned from the river the secret that there is no time?”. Vesudeva then replied, "Yes Siddhartha, this is probably what you mean: that the river is everywhere at once." This is one of the most important lessons the river teaches Siddhartha. Time doesn’t exist, everything is separated by shadows and that the present is all that matters.Siddhartha realizes that his life has been compared to the river. When he sees his reflection in the river, he is looking at his past of a shramana, a wealthy man, and a Brahmin. When the river spoke to him, he heard multiple voices instead of one. He heard the sound of "Om". The river has a powerful voice that he can learn from. It's significant because the sound the river makes is like his inner voice that's giving him advice.