Free Essays - The Four Castes of Orthodox Hinduism in Siddhartha :: Hesse Siddhartha Essays

The Four Castes of Orthodox Hinduism in Siddhartha     The intravenous feeding sets of Orthodox Hinduism be Dharma, Artha, Kama, and Moksha. These four castes are the four stages of a mans life and four legalise ends that a man may pursue. Author Hermann Hesse applied each of these four stages to the different phases of Siddharthas path leading to peace.   The novel Siddhartha relates the story of a puppyish man traveling the path leading to peace. This young man is Siddhartha. throughout the novel, Siddhartha changes his religion and thoughts about the ways of the world several times. Other characters, who crook Siddhartha, are his spawn, the ravish Kamala, the comfortable merchant Kamaswami, best friend Govinda, and the river merchant Vasudeva.   The first caste, Dharma, is adherence to the holy law, careful performance of rituals, and avoidance of taboos. Siddhartha see Dharma while living with his father, he performed his holy ablutions, h is holy offerings (Hesse 3). Siddhartha regularly performed the sacred rituals. While he seemed content, he was not. He soon left his father to pursue peace.   The second caste, Artha, is the acquisition and preserving of wealth. Siddhartha experienced Artha by the means of the rich merchant Kamaswami. Kamaswami asked Siddhartha questions and he learned how clever he was. Therefore, Kamaswami hired Siddhartha to domesticate for him the merchant entrusted him with writing important letters and contracts and got into the habit of conferring with him on both important matters (Hesse 60). Siddhartha soon acquired great wealth.   The third caste, Kama, refers to the enjoyment of the world. Siddhartha did this with the help of the prostitute Kamala, the man who learned love from her was an expert in many pleasures (Hesse 65). By Kamala, Siddhartha had learned how to enjoy worldly pleasures. He soon became and expert.   The fourth caste is Moksha, which is the final release from the long series of incarnations.