From Siddhartha to Buddha: A Study of Individuation as a Process of Self-Discovery

Abstract

This paper aims to study the life journey of Siddhartha from a prince to the well- known Buddha, who discovered himself at the end of his journey, both physical and psychological. This paper further explores how Prince Siddhartha overcame his personal shadow and successfully achieved individuation by discovering his own self from within. This path of self-realization stands parallel to Carl Gustav Jung’s idea of dismantling one’s persona and connecting with the self. In Kavitaram Shrestha’sLight of the Himalayas, Siddhartha’s journey towards enlightenment is studied frompsychoanalytical perspective. This aids in studying the protagonist’s psychological journey in terms of archetypes of individuation. By using Jung’s Individuation theory this paper focuses on how Siddhartha encountered his shadow and brought it to light thus by changing the unconscious to conscious. After attaining psychological wholeness, Siddhartha brings his shadow to light by becoming Buddha. His search for meaning runs parallel to the Jungian notion of Individuation.