Throughout Siddhartha’s life, he develops different attitudes towards his teachers. When the novel begins, he looks to his them with blind admiration. As it progresses, however, Siddhartha begins to denounce the advice of others in favor of following his own instincts on the path to enlightenment.
As a child, Siddhartha is extremely accepting. He strives to please others, from his parents to his early teachers. The descriptions of him as the perfect son, student and friend, are indicative of this attitude; he eagerly absorbs everything his teachers have to offer, without questioning its relevance. His relationship with his father, who is a teacher of sorts, is similar: until he leaves home, Siddhartha is the epitome of the obedient son. He does as he is told, and does not question his father’s authority as a religious leader. The adult Siddhartha would most likely argue that his father had no right to tell people what to do, but as a child, he simply takes everything at face value. Even when he begins to question his existence at home, he does not question the value of teachers. He simply believes the teachers in his hometown have nothing left to offer him, and that he must go find new ones. He describes himself as a pot waiting to be filled, an image that suggests he is merely a passive figure, who can only accept the teachings of others.
Siddhartha’s attitude towards teachers does not change after he leaves home. He looks up to his mentors among the Samanas to a degree that borders on worship, following their beliefs unquestioningly. They tell him to fast, so he fasts, they tell him to walk, so he walks. He even follows their advice when it contradicts his personal beliefs. Before he leaves home, Siddhartha is friendly and well liked, but when he is traveling with the Samanas, he renounces all outside contact, and begins to regard those who are not part of his group with distain. The elitist attitude Siddhartha develops during this time plagues him for most of his life, until he finally learns to love humanity again at the end of the novel. During this period, Siddhartha sees his teachers as the ultimate source of wisdom. He feels he is not worthy enough to come up with his own insights on life, and instead must simply absorb the knowledge his teachers choose to impart to him. Eventually, Siddhartha, begins to be unhappy with the mantra of his teachers, and decides to seek another opinion.
Siddhartha’s meeting with the Buddha is one of the major turning points of the novel. Once Siddhartha hears the Buddha’s teachings, and is still dissatisfied, he realizes that no teacher can bring him inner peace. He reasons that the Buddha is the greatest teacher he will ever meet, and if he is still not content, then no teacher will ever be able to satisfy him. And so, Siddhartha sets off on another journey, this time to achieve enlightenment not through the words of a teacher, but through his experiences. Prior to this point, Siddhartha’s spiritual beliefs involve depriving the senses to allow the mind to flourish. Since this does not work for him, however, he decides to give his senses a try.
There is some irony in the fact that as soon as Siddhartha denounces teachers, he goes and essentially enslaves himself to Kamala. He does not place her in the same category as his other teachers, because she is advising him in sexuality instead of spiritually, but she is a teacher all the same. With Kamala, and with the Merchant, Siddhartha blindly accepts their teachings against his better interests. While he tries to resist their mantras of materialism at first, he eventually falls prey to their world of pleasure and luxury. So, once again, Siddhartha has allowed his fundamental beliefs to be changed by his teachers. When he eventually snaps out of his dream life in the town, he realizes once and for all that he cannot allow himself to be influence by mortal, flawed teachers who will inevitably mislead him.
The final chapter in Siddhartha’s life is that of the ferryman. He spends time with Vasudeva, who instead of trying to shove his own beliefs on to Siddhartha, advises him to learn from the river. While the author makes it sound like Siddhartha is hearing voices, the river actually represents his inner self. After years of following others, Siddhartha has finally learned to draw inspiration and wisdom from him self, instead of from outside sources. With this realization comes the return of Siddhartha’s true core values, those he displayed as a child. He once again learns to love those around him, and to simply let life pass him by. He ends his constant search for knowledge, and as a result, is finally able to find happiness.
Siddhartha spends his whole life searching for the perfect teacher. Even when he says he is through with them, he finds new ones in Kamala and the Merchant. It is this pursuit of perfection that makes Siddhartha so dissatisfied. With every new teacher, he finds some fault, some deficiency, which renders them unable to help him. His scrutiny of those around him reflects his own internal struggle. Subconsciously, Siddhartha is doubtful that he can ever reach enlightenment, and so he rejects teacher after teacher. It is only when Siddhartha recognizes that he is his own teacher, and therefore finds confidence in himself, that he is able to achieve happiness.
