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| Prince Siddhartha, 29, on the verge of quest |
...Although Siddhartha's father ensured that the prince was provided with everything he could want or need, Siddhartha was always a little troubled and dissatisfied.
As much as he tried, the opulent life in the palace could not fulfill him. It was disappointing and so had to get bigger and bigger. Siddhartha was growing tired of his lavish lifestyle.
At night, he had dreams he could not explain. He sensed something was off, but he did not know what.
“What is the meaning of these dreams? Is there
something beyond these walls?” he thinks aloud.
“What is it, My Lord? What’s going on?” asks (Bimbadevi who is known as) Yasodhara trying to comfort him.
“Nothing, a bad dream, don’t worry,” Siddhartha replies, while sitting up and covering his face with his hands.
“But you look so troubled, My Lord. Is it something I have done? Please, tell me what is bothering you. Let me help!” Yasodhara insists.
“Everything is all right. You’re the perfect wife, and I love you very much. I just need fresh air. Go back to sleep. I’ll go for a walk in the garden. The sun is almost up,” the prince answers gently, while getting up and walking toward the door.
But Yasodhara is too worried to fall asleep again. She changes and follows him to the garden.
She finds him mesmerized by the sound of a beautiful song. As she approaches, his gaze still resting upon the female musician, he asks, “Yasodhara, what is this song? I've never heard it before. It’s so melancholic and beautiful.”
“It is a song from a far away land, My Lord, evoking the beauty of a country she knew as a child. The mountains and the lake she can never forget.”
“How strangeDo such places exist? Places as beautiful as here?” Siddhartha asks.
“There is only suffering beyond these walls, My Lord.”
“You speak like my father. What do you mean suffering?”
“Your father loves you very much. He’s given us everything we could ever want. There’s no need to go anywhere else when there is such beauty around us.” Yasodhara insists, trying to bring his thoughts back to the beautiful life of the palace.
“It’s true. We have everything, and everything is perfect. So what is this feeling I have, Yasodhara? My dreams? If the world is so beautiful, why have I never seen it? I’ve not even really seen my own country. My father will not stop the chariot and allow us to walk in the villages, see the common life, talk to the people. I must see the world, Yasodhara, with my own eyes!”
With these words, Siddhartha goes off. Yasodhara lingers a while, lost in her thoughts. She is familiar with the prophecies and fears the day Siddhartha sees the real world, which may be closer than the king imagined.
Overcome by curiosity, Prince Siddhartha orders Channa, his faithful charioteer and friend, to show him the world beyond the palace walls. Unnoticed by his father, they set upon a series of rides through the countryside.
On this first journey, Siddhartha notices an old man painfully making his way. He had never ever seen old age of such decrepitude. And not understanding what is wrong with the man, he asks Channa, “What is the matter with this good man? Why is he walking like this? And why is his face all shriveled?”
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| Aging, the first sign/divine messenger |
“That’s an old man, My Lord.”
“Old? What do you mean?” asks the prince as he approaches the man to study his features.
“Old age destroys strength, memory, beauty...”
“Why? What did he do to become old?”
“Do, My Lord? He was born. Everybody becomes old eventually. It is natural and belongs to life.”
“It happens to everybody? Even you?” Siddhartha asks alarmed, still resting his gaze upon the old man.
“Yes, My Lord. Even a prince cannot avoid it. It is a natural aspect of life. No one avoids it at all.”
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