Right afterwards, when the Buddha had retired for the night, Govinda turned to Siddhartha and spoke eagerly: "Siddhartha, it is not my place to scold you. We have both heard the exalted one, we have both perceived the teachings. Govinda has heard the teachings, he has taken refuge in it. But you, my honoured friend, don't you also want to walk the path of salvation? Would you want to hesitate, do you want to wait any longer?" #




“Men nearly always follow the tracks made by others and proceed in their affairs by imitation.” -- Machiavelli

“When people are free to do as they please, they usually imitate each other. ... A society which gives unlimited freedom to the individual, more often than not attains a disconcerting sameness.” -- Eric Hoffer


Informational conformity
Sensation transference





Siddhartha awakened as if he had been asleep, when he heard Govinda's words. For a long tome, he looked into Govinda's face. Then he spoke quietly, in a voice without mockery: "Govinda, my friend, now you have taken this step, now you have chosen this path. Always, oh Govinda, you've been my friend, you've always walked one step behind me. Often I have thought: Won't Govinda for once also take a step by himself,without me, out of his own soul? Behold, now you've turned into a man and are choosing your path for yourself. I wish that you would go it upto its end, oh my friend, that you shall find salvation!" #

#Siddhartha, Chapter 3