In this novel the protagonist of the story, Siddhartha, believes that the teachings of others will not allow you to reach Nirvana. Therefore, he embarks on a journey to experience the world for himself, good and evil, to get closer to enlightenment and ultimately become an enlightened one himself, a Buddha. After each experience Siddhartha comes to a new conclusion as his vision of life changes, as he gets closer to enlightenment. At the beginning of the book Siddhartha already lives in an extreme. He has a perfect life and is protected from all harm by his father, the Brahmin. He has plenty of food. He is loved and respected by all Brahmins. All the women in his village want him. It has everything you could want, or so you might think. He has learned everything he feels he can learn from the teachings of the Brahmins, however, his thirst for knowledge is not satisfied. One day a group of ascetics, called Shramanas, pass through his city. They believe in attaining Nirvana through the rejection of worldly pleasures. This teaching is different from that of the Brahmins. Siddhartha and his friend Govinda, who is like Siddhartha's shadow, both go and join the Shramanas. They abandon all their worldly possessions and wander in the forests. Siddhartha, after living the life of a Shrama for many years, no longer resembles the little boy he was when he left his father and the Brahmins. After some time, he became a highly respected member of Shramana. However, he realizes that although his elders have achieved many things both physically and spiritually, none of them have ever fully achieved spiritual enlightenment. He realizes that this path is not the path to Nirvana. He learned... halfway through the paper... right from the start that Nirvana cannot be achieved through the teachings of others, so he embarked on a journey to experience the world for himself and eventually achieves Nirvana on his own. Own. His friend Govinda, however, is not so bright, and falls victim to the teachings of another. This leads him into a circle that would never allow him to achieve his goal. In the end, however, he manages to escape from this circle and finds himself with Siddhartha. Siddhartha achieved Nirvana by experiencing all that life has to offer, the good and the bad. He experienced wealth and poverty. He knew love and lost it. Last but not least, he learned to listen and learn from his environment. He learned to be content with what he had and not to worry about what he didn't have. This allowed him to be content with his life just as Vasudeva had been. This is how he achieved Nirvana.