Journey over the Earth
13.4
page 4 of 8
Upbringing and education
During their childhood, not the slightest obstacle is put in the way of Balinese children. Nothing is forbidden, nobody opposes them. All resistances are avoided and even purposely removed by the adult who stays around the child all the time. The children behave as little tyrants; they frequently have tantrums without any consideration for their environment.
I just couldn’t believe what happened when I wanted to buy a packet of Lipton tea at a tea shop on the beach and I heard a sudden outburst of vehement screaming in a tree above my head. The small boy up there was the tea merchant’s son. He knew this package of tea was the last of the stock and it just occurred to him that he wanted it for himself. He was thirsty.
His father gave me an apologizing smile from behind the counter and put the package back on the shelf for his son. Later, back in the home of my host family, it was explained to me how I should see this. It was not right to frustrate children. When they are small, they are selfish, but later they would grow out of this quite naturally.
And lo and behold, when they are about nine years old, they suddenly wake up. As if by a touch of magic, they become aware of their surroundings and become a part of the community as a whole. In their early childhood they were free to do as they pleased, and then at some point, apparently it is enough. They join in and seem to carry around hardly any frustrations.
No private Self
The Balinese do not live or think as private persons. They do not develop a personal vision or a personal style of clothing, not even their own fixed place to sleep. They do not plan for the future and make no arrangements whatsoever for themselves. They may see others doing this, but it does not catch on, they do not really understand it.
The Self
In the Western world, we virtually always make a movement towards ourselves. We decorate our homes according to our personal preferences and shut our front door. We map out a route for our life, develop our talents and tastes, and reach very personal decisions and results. By erecting a Self from a center point, we call into being a circumference around us. Here we stand, we are our own person, and everything else around us we are not.
On Bali, there is a totally opposite movement, away from the person. The Balinese hardly develop a separated Self nor do they go through a process of self-development. Nobody is being judged and people have far less difficulty with Self-acceptance than in our society.
Family and community
The Balinese have become like this through their special way of upbringing. We cannot imitate them, let alone share their way of life and lose ourselves in it.
Here, the preconditions for regarding a human being as a separate Self (Saturn) are weak by nature. Family relationships and village communities function as the pillars of society. Within these communities, unwritten laws weave the network in which all individuals have their place. Outside these contexts, there are hardly any opportunities for individuals; any position in society is dependent on one’s existing relationships within the network. Besides, one does not experience oneself as a separated, individualized unit anyway.