“I think each of us, sometime in our life, has wanted to paint a picture.”― Bob Ross, Happy Little Accidents: The Wit and Wisdom of Bob Ross. For me, I’d paint a happy family with big smiles. A dog on my lap, in a modernized home with a tree house and an array of delicious foods across my tables. This could be a nirvana everyone wants to experience. To live with a sterling happiness that we would try anything from lovers to pernicious drugs. But in Siddhartha’s case, a picture of an established nirvana along with his son. But the harsh truth is, the sentence, sometime in our life. That leads me to my actual discussion, a question that was brought to me from reading the novel, Siddhartha, was did he become a fool because of his child? 

Well what does it mean to have a child? Well I don’t really know myself for obvious reasons but I know the process that goes along with it. First, you find someone to spend the rest of your merry life with. Second, you sit down and talk about whether you want kids or not. Third, you do the process. Lastly, you give birth or adopt. In Siddhartha’s case, Kamala has told him that she has a son and to his surprise, the child is his. In the chapter, “The Son.” We see that he is to take care of him but the massive difference in social status makes it rocky for Siddhartha to meet his expectations.  Siddhartha goes into this deep spiral of wanting to be able to provide for him the way Kamala did. He gives his son the good food, lets his son give him the orders, and waits patiently for him to return the love. Siddhartha was at a checkpoint, like in a rocky checkpoint, and everythings fine until BOOM, his son has decided he couldn’t take living poorly anymore and leaves for the city. Siddhartha had such a love for his son that caused him to put himself in harm to protect him. He ignored all of Vasudeva’s advice and decided to chase after him. After losing him, Siddhartha was devastated. He  loved him like there was nobody else in the world and yet wasn’t successful in the end. 

“Just let go – and fall like a little waterfall” Bob Ross, Happy Little Accidents: The Wit and Wisdom of Bob Ross

What makes parents, or Siddhartha, so hard working? There is something called the hypothalamus in the brain which instantly turns on your parental care function and the medial orbitofrontal cortex which makes you both emotionally and physically attached to your kids. Highly likely that these two buddies together are strong enough to make a parent turn “foolish”. I pondered at first how Siddhartha could become foolish. Before he knew he had a child, he was mature and thought deeply about the littlest of things, being extra careful for himself. When he completely changed,  I have thirsted for knowledge in why he did that, so I started having questions such as isn’t that what a parent should do? Isn’t that their duty? As well as thoughts such as, “They knew what they were getting themselves into.” “It’s normal for parents to put their child over themselves.” Well… I was completely wrong and ignorant. I’ve always been taught that love is the most important thing in the world. “Blood is thicker than water.” My parents telling me they would choose me over anything, which wasn’t an understatement. With the immense amount of love poured from my parents, my judgment was clouded for this question. I was selfish enough to disregard what they have sacrificed for loving me so dearly. 

I still don’t understand why parents go out of their way and beyond for us. Sounds like foolishness. Always giving us good pieces of meat, keeping up with our daily attitude, buying us fresh food while they eat the leftovers at home, and giving us nicer clothes. Even if they are hurting inside, Their only choice is to endure. Siddhartha was indeed foolish, he did become a fool because of his child.