Om: Sounds of Peace and Meditation

       In the chapter "Om," Siddhartha has awakened, and reached the highest state of enlightenment after understanding the meaning of Om. One day, he looked into the river, and the water laughed at him for letting the wound hut him so deeply. He realised that life has an inevitable flow, like a river. He understood that some sorrows in life cannot be prevented and will pass throughout time. He told Vasudeva of his feelings, and they sat on the bank. Then, he heard voices of joy and sorrow, pleasure, good and evil, and laughter, but did not let himself be caught up by any single voice and heard only the word Om. When he finally understood Om and that all things exist at the same moment, and time is meaningless, he no longer doubted his place in the world and stopped battling his fate, instead his eyes glowed with serenity of knowledge. 

     

       The word "Om" was defined on page 111, which states: "When Siddhartha listened attentively to this river, to this song of a thousand voices; when he did not listen to the sorrow or laughter, when he did not bind his soul to any one particular voice and absorb it in his Self, but heard them all, the whole, the unity; then the great song of a thousand voices consisted of one word: Om-perfection." Siddhartha stated that Om was all the different emotions, pleasure, goals, yearnings, sorrows, and voices interwoven and interlocked. All of them together formed the world. Through suffering, he found unity among his roles as father, traveler, and son, and we know that Siddhartha has finally achieved enlightenment. 

       After I read this chapter, I thought about how the unity of my different experiences has formed my true 'self'. In school, I am a student, who has the responsibility to learn and work hard. In my house, as a daughter and a sister, I have to obey my parents and take care of my brother. In the past, when I was a young child, I had the right to receive support and care form my parents, but when I grow up, I would have the duty to pay bills and take care of my children. My different emotions, goals, and perspectives of life would also unite to form Om, which is my true 'self'.