The Tao Of The Jungle Book

The Disney movie hit, The Jungle Book was published at the past decade. It was a movie indented for the infant public, becoming a family one. Although, its songs especially, “The Bare Necessities” hold deep Taoist ideals.

“Look for the bare necessities,
The simple bare necessities.
Forget about your worries and your strife,
I mean the bare necessities.”

Considering the basic Taoist thought, of natures, naturalness, balance and perfectness. The Jungle Book song, recurs to the thought, of non-action results, of “desireless”, but receiving. Through harmony with life, changing the negative and casual into positive things, and conceptualizing everything as simple.

“I mean the bare necessities,
Old Mother Nature's recipes.
To make some honey just for me,
When you look under the rocks and plants.
And take a glance at the fancy ants,
Then maybe try a few.
The bare necessities of life will come to you
They'll come to you!

The passage states that nature will provide an individual with its necessities. The “nameless” is constantly referred as a newborn. For many its unknown, that a fairly recent investigation, concluded that children should not be obliged to eat, by instinct they will properly nurture themselves, they will never die of malnutrition or hunger. Babies will eat of everything they find, they will not cook, nature will supply.

Everything you really need will be given to you by non-action as said, “Through selfless action, he attains fulfillment.” (Lao Tzu. 7) that fulfillment is given by nature; therefore by doing nothing, nothing is left undone.

“Wherever I wander, wherever I roam
I couldn't be fonder of my big home.”

On the past passage we can conceive the sense of nothing and nowhere. Everything is caused by desire, causing nothing is being “ever desireless” and with the effect of no bare necessities. The ultimate Tao of heaven, following the primal virtue.

“And don't spend your time lookin' around
For something you want that can't be found.
When you find out you can live without it,
And go along not thinkin' about it.
I'll tell you something true
The bare necessities of life will come to you.”

“Ever desireless” reappears. The lines refers to, “ever desireless, one can see mystery. Ever desiring, one can see the manifestations.” (Lao Tzu. 1) Desiring ruins one’s life, becoming dependent is totally materialistic, against the Tao of heaven.