He started his path by leaving Govinda behind and journeying out to seek all life had to offer.
Siddhartha went to town and experienced all of the pleasures of "normal" life that he had been missing his previous life. He wanted to find his inner self. To achieve this he decided to try a different route. Instead of denying himself though fasting, meditation, and waiting he would escape to temporary pleasure. Siddhartha went through an awakening and learned the art of love with Kamala, but he never truly understood what it meant to love. Siddhartha goes from being a Samana to experiencing the ways of Samsara, but he soon learns that he has no desire for it. The gambling and need for money become nauseating and almost kill his soul, but he escapes from this. However, over all of this time he spent in society he never experienced true love. The joy and sorrow that goes along with loving someone isn't made apparent to him until his son is left with him upon Kamala's death. Then Siddhartha learns what love is all about. He learns that love is like a wound that hurts because you cannot live without it. It completes you and even though it hurts, it can be rewarding too. He realizes, "had not his father also suffered the same pain that he was suffering for his son? Had not his father died long ago, alone, without having seen his son again?" This pain and love he felt for his son was the same as his father had once felt for him. Now Siddhartha was lost. He had experienced all of this hurt, pain, suffering, and pleasure over the years and he didn't know if he was getting any closer to his enlightenment and knowledge of the truth allowing him to reach the goal of Nirvana. .
Then led in the direction of the river Siddhartha sat and listened to the river. He watched it and listened and for some reason everything became clear. As he listened,.
"He could no longer distinguish the different voices - the merry voice from the weeping voice, the childish voice from the manly voice.