SSE85
Rizal as a God?
This is the one thing that I wouldn’t forget about the life of Jose Rizal. When I first heard these four big words as our professor was lecturing about this, I was kind of laughing deep inside of me. I was like: “oh come on, Rizal as a God, no freakin’ way.” As our professor continued to give us facts on why Rizal is a God, I was not pretty much impressed about those facts because I know that since Rizal is the national hero of the Philippines, people tend to give out sayings or what not that they saw Rizal catching a fish after some time when he got killed blah blah blah and that he had super powers wherein he could teleport, that’s non-sense in my opinion. I’m not biased or anything, people like to say different facts about things so that they would be popular, these are human behaviors. There are so many sayings about this thing, they even said that Rizal made a copy of himself using a banana tree or something so that he could get away from his execution, I mean come on, we have to face reality here, even in his creation that there were sayings that his birth mother is Maria Makiling. If he is really a God, why didn’t he save the ones who were suffering during their time? I don’t know but I keep an open-mind about things especially with these four words because it’s a hard thing to say and just throw words anywhere. Our professor briefly explained it to us why Rizal could be a God and I completely understood what he said, it’s just that in my opinion, I don’t believe in this, it’s a matter of “great timing” in the special events that happened in Rizal’s Life like in his Latin name, when translated, it means something about God. Like what I’ve said, great timing is what we have here. People just took advantage of those things that would lead to him as a God.
SSE - 85
Homosexual Rizal
A lot of scholars and students alike are convinced that Rizal is Gay, but this is a common misconception of the word “Gay” or “Bakla”, these words had a different meaning back in Rizal’s life-time. Bakla was not even a noun back then, it was a verb like “nababakla” which simply meant back then that the person was indecisive, and it also meant “scared” or “afraid”
However, the modern definition of the word “Bakla” indicates a person is Heterosexual or Homosexual, a person who wishes to have sex with other men, this is significantly different from the defition is had a century ago. In fact, Heterosexuality or Homosexuality was invented only on 1869, and was being “Normalized”. It is quite doubtful that he was influenced by this. Some related Rizal’s failure in several relationships with women as “Bakla”, but this does not have anything to do with the Modern and Old definition of “Gay” or “Bakla”, firstly, he had relationships with the opposite sex, not the same, secondly, failure is not gender related. As we examine the ways of Rizal here with the Modern culture, we can relate some of his traits to being a bit feminine, but back then these we’re not related as to being “Bakla” as it was simply his personality and his way of moving.
Even with the Modern definition of “Bakla” Rizal cannot be said to be one A Bakla must be impotent or at least incapable of getting a woman pregnant, He has no record of having sexual relationships with men, even when it was normal back then.
Still Scholars and Students try to point out pieces of Rizal’s life and try to relate them with the modern definition of “Gay” or “Bakla”. You cannot identify a person that lived in the past with the modern classification of sexuality of today. Unless you bring him back to life and let him live the modern life, if he decides to have sex with men, then it is answered, he is gay.
SSE-85
Rizal: Living a life by his conscience
I got three minor subjects this semester in College namely: Econtax, Quamet2 and Rizlife. Hhmmm…. RIZLIFE? Is there still a need? OMG! In my surprise, there is a big need. It surprised me because there is actually a law for it stating that no one is allowed to finish his course unless he has taken Rizal lessons and that law is under Republic Act 1425. I thought I got enough in my high school days but I was wrong. There are a lot more of what Rizal course is. I have taken for granted knowing who Jose Rizal really is. Yes, he’s our National Hero, a Pride of the Malay race. He was a doctor, a taxonomist, a scholar, a hero. He wrote two novels and several poems. He’s a poet at the age of eight years old. He was born 19th June, 1861, martyred at 35, being shot in Bagumbayan on the 30th of December, 1896. He was portrayed by numerous artists; one is Cesar Montano in making a film about his life under GMA films. Since he’s the national hero, his life needs to be studied by every Filipino. I thought his life was just about the things I mentioned. I was wrong. I realized I only knew what he did. But I never knew what his motivations are, what are his thoughts, what really urges his love for the country, his beliefs, etc! (Haha!). I realized I have taken him for granted, not looking deeper into his personality. In fact, I now find him a really interesting person. There’s a lot more to Jose Rizal that I need to know about. As I go further along in the discovery of his life, I learned a few things that really confuses but interests me at the same time. It was said that Rizal was a mason. I have little idea what masons are, or the freemasons are, I just knew that they were the ones who was supposed to be a secret society, but not much, really. I Goggled it, and learned that freemasons believe in a Supreme Being, period. And rather than being a secret society, it is a society with secrets. Thinking further what Rizal wrote, I understand why he placed intelligence and heart. A man’s intelligence, at that time, is correlated with the education he received. As we all know, Rizal’s solution to the cancers of society is intelligence. To battle this cancer, one must study, gain knowledge, develop his intelligence. However, intelligence alone cannot completely cure the “social cancer” that plagues the people. A passionate heart, with strong convictions of achieving the goal of freedom is also needed. I don’t understand this fully, there are a lot of things to be learned. Further reading of Rizal’s biography revealed to me that he indeed embraced a God, but because of the situation of the Philippines during his time (abusive friars, among others), he was not Catholic. Being a mason, he believed in a Supreme Being, and this just leaves me wondering more than ever how he sees that Supreme Being. For me personally, Jose Rizal’s greatest legacy was that he lived a full and meaningful life. It did not matter that he lived for only 34 years. He accomplished so much in such a short period of time because he had a vision in his mind and a mission in his heart. The intensity of such mission and vision translated into action that enabled him not to waste time in any trivial matters but rather devote all of his time to the accomplishment of the mission and vision that he believed was given to him. I believe that each and every one of us should ask ourselves honestly, will our lives matter when it is our time to leave this world? Can we look at ourselves honestly and say that we have lived a life of meaning and purpose? If the answer to such a question is “no” then let us ask God to grant us a mission and a vision so that we might not waste our time on trivial things but rather focus on things that truly matters. If we are driven by such a strong mission and vision, we might be able to live a life that is full of purpose and meaning, leaving a legacy for others follow just like how Jose Rizal lived. I am just starting to get to know Rizal. I look forward going further along this road and discover more about Dr. Jose Rizal whom the world adores and respects.. Maybe the question should not have been what if Rizal was alive. Because Rizal is alive! He is YOU and ME. He is every Filipino who loves his country and his fellowmen. He is not just what we want to become but who we are..
SSE 85
Rizal As a God
Many people are considering Rizal as their God, the first time I've heard it is from my professor, I merely believed that some people actually do treat Rizal as a God because it has never come to my mind nor have I ever heard about it before, all I know is that he is our national hero.
After hearing all the Rizalistas'(people who treat Rizal as God) explanation about their God, which is Rizal, I was amazed and became interested to the topic. At first I thought it was some kind of a cult who are possessed by some kind of a spirit making them think that an ordinary man is a God, but They have stated that he is the part of holy trinity and that he could be compared to Jesus Christ. The Rizalista's came up with mystical stories to compare Rizal to Jesus like how he is born, According to them he was not born in this world, they say he is the son of Maria Makiling, and that he possess some kind of unusual power, they also explained Rizal's ideas about religion, they claim Rizal said we do not need religion because it is up to us if we will do right or wrong what important is our conscience, and after hearing that I thought “Rizal is right” and somehow my faith faltered, But in the end I treated the Rizalista's teaching as a guide in my life which could help me someday.
SSE - 85
The Christ of the East
In the past, I thought I knew everything there was to know about Rizal, But as we tackled the different topics in our Rizal course, I've realized that I knew very little about him. One of the things that shocked me was the part that some people were considering Rizal same as Jesus Christ, that he was able to do miracles, that he did not die on the day that he was shot, and that one day he will return to save the people. Different stories and arguments were presented by different people about Rizal’s life and works. Like Christ, Rizal was able to help people who were sick. Also, according to my professor, there was a claim that Rizal was able to perform the miracle that Christ did when he fed a thousand people with five loaves of bread and two fishes. On Rizal’s case, he was able to feed thirty boys with only one cup of rice and a piece of fish.
I can say that Rizal was really like Christ for he was willing to offer his life for his fellow men much like what Christ did to save everyone from their sins.
SS85
I remember having read some chapters of Noli Me Tangere and just the very first chapter of El Filibusterismo in High School. And both were in Tagalog. Unless you are a full-bloodedTagalog, you will have to agree with me that reading Tagalog manuscripts is quite “un-natural” and can be very challenging.
Needless to say — but I’ll say it anyway — I wasn’t thrilled with Noli and Fili then. Notwithstanding that I haven’t finished reading the books then, I’ve always thought I know the stories of Noli and Fili. I think I am like many others in this respect, for though I haven’t completed reading the books, I must have heard and watched bits and pieces of them from different sources including TV adaptations, other people’s version of what they’ve read (or heard), book reviews, etc.
I am not exactly a Rizal fan. Truth be told, I almost flunked my mandatory Rizal subject in college. My professor who, was (most probably still is) blindly in love with Rizal, regarded me with almost the same contempt as the whole of Christendom regards the Anti-Christ.
But I was never shy in admiring Rizal as a writer and I can go as far as conceding that he may well be the best literary product of the Indio’s of all time.
I recently chanced upon a new TV adaptation of Noli and an urge to read and finally finish Noli and Fili suddenly consumed me. To finish the two novels I knew they better be in English!
That was in early March. Before March ended I have bought both books — the English versions of course.
By mid-April I was done with Noli and was already in the 10th chapter of Fili. By April 23, I have accomplished in approximately one month what I failed to do in high school.
I was not disappointed with Noli this time around. It helped that the English translation I got was superbly done. It is only now that I come to see Rizal’s true genius as a novelist. I am very much surprised pleasantly, that is by Rizal’s wit and humor. I now believe that that wit and humor are what were lost in some translations of Noli and Fili, particularly in the Tagalog ones.
Another surprising realization I had after finishing Noli has to do about the fabled death of Maria Clara. I’ve always believed, from stories I’ve heard, that Maria Clara died in Noli. Apparently not. Maria Clara eventually died later in Fili, but her manner of death was not as I have always believed it be suicide by jumping from a convent after being raped by one of the friars who is a key character in both Noli and Fili. Whoever propagated this false account may not have fully read the two novels and just relied on word of mouth from others who supposedly have read them. Either that or he/she confused Maria Clara with another of Rizal’s characters in Fili. There is in fact a lady character in Fili– Juli(finacee of Basilio) — who took her life by jumping from the top of a convent. There was an allusion that it was caused by an “indecent act” by one of the Friar characters of Rizal. But I doubt it very much if rape was actually committed. My scrutiny of the circumstances and timing of the incident led me to believe that it is unlikely for rape to have been consummated.
SSE85
Rizal’s life for me was ordinary until Sir Je revealed some of the unusual stories that ordinary people wouldn’t know. The one thing that really caught my attention was the Rizalista movement.
Before, what I only know is that people treat Jose Rizal as our national hero, but I was wrong because the Rizalistas look up to him as their God. I do respect their beliefs, but I really found most of their teachings to be quite unusual. I also noticed that some of the doctrines about Rizal were somehow similar to the story of Jesus Christ. The first similarity was the extraordinary story of how Rizal was born. According to them, Rizal’s true mother was Maria Makiling. Another was that Rizal was also capable of doing miracles. One miracle of Rizal was similar to Jesus Christ’s miracle of multiplying the loaves of bread and fishes. Another belief was that Rizal was not yet dead. They believed that he is staying at Mount Makiling and he will return when the right time comes. Some people even told that they really saw him as an old guy somewhere near the mountain. I think the Rizalistas came up with stories like these because Rizal’s life is somehow similar to Jesus. Both of them possess a good character and they both suffered great hardships in life.
The most interesting work of Rizal for me is his original cover of his book Noli Me Tangere. I was really amazed to know that the cover has a hidden meaning. It’s very unique and it didn’t even come up to my mind that a thing like that was possible. I really idolized and salute him for his great intelligence and upright behaviour.
These are the things that I wouldn’t forget about Jose Rizal. I am really lucky that I was able to know these great revelations about his life and I would treasure this knowledge and share it to those who don’t know who the real Rizal is.
SSE - 85
Although Dr. Jose Rizal was a great person and the national hero of the Philippines, there are still some things that I don’t quite believe in and don’t want to believe. I’m not against the beliefs of the Rizalistas. Every person has his or her own beliefs and here’s what I do not believe about our national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal. I don’t believe that he is a god, first of all, because I believe he also sinned. He is a hero but not a god. I don’t think he has extraordinary abilities like teleportation, etc. There are some stories that say that he can teleport from a place to another but I don’t believe it. I want a see a proof, not just by hearing the stories that may have only been created by some people who wanted to make him a god. Also, God for me is someone who can save not just a nation but also the whole world and even the universe. Next thing that I don’t believe is that Jose Rizal is still alive. They say that he still lives and he’s in Mt. Makiling and he’s more than 100 years old. If they want to prove it, they why don’t they ask for a rescue team to search for him in Mt. Makiling, otherwise, if they want to prove themselves wrong, why don’t they ask to have the buried remains of him in Luneta and have it examined via DNA testing and if they proved it that it’s only a banana tree then they can prove themselves right. The banana tree story is another thing that I do not believe. Wow! He’s like a ninja if he did that! Kawarimi technique! These things are not normal and that’s why I don’t really want to believe them. Why not make him a superhero instead of a hero since he can make such extraordinary things.
Next up, Jose Rizal’s teachings and philosophies which strike me as a human and a Filipino. He has his own basis of how a sin can be committed. If the God’s 10 commandments is going to be the basis, then killing would be a sin no matter what the reason and purpose is. But for Rizal, conscience is the basis. For him, if a person killed someone, it’s not a sin if he just tried to protect himself or his loved ones from being killed that person. Come to think of it, it really makes sense to me. It’s quite unfair, actually if you have committed sins when you really don’t have any bad intentions. He also believes that education could save a country from domination and yes, I also believe him in that. If only there were enough support to education from the Philippine government, then our economy could have developed faster, but I think there are more bad politicians than good politicians in our country. Those nasty politicians who only think of money, themselves, and their own good and welfare. Lastly, although I don’t believe him to be a god, I’m still grateful of him because he is a very religious man, himself, despite the things he exposed in his books Noli Me Tangere & El Filibusterismo. The books kind of criticized the friars, but not the Christian faith. His life, works & philosophies are going to remain immortal as long as there are people in this world who relive his life and teachings.
SSE85
“Rizal as Chickboy?”
We all know that there are many women in Rizal's Life. Maybe we can call him as “Chickboy” because he meets new women and not only that in every place he comes up with a new girlfriend. He can also be called “Chickboy” because he can be paired to either to a “chick” or a “boy”, we cannot tell. There are pictures in the internet that makes me think what his true gender is. There is a picture that I saw where Rizal's hands is on the top of a man's thigh, If you are a straight guy you will not do that because it is a sign of being gay and that makes me confused. I cannot conclude that he is gay because he is also fond on women. I think Rizal's actions to guys are not being gay, I think that in his time it is alright doing such things maybe our time is very different now, so our interpretations to Rizal's action are misjudged we quickly conclude that he is gay by just seeing his actions, maybe his actions are not interpreted as gay as compared to our time. Or one thing that’s possible maybe Rizal is a Bisexual he is attracted to both gender, we have no proof yet what is his true gender specification, it doesn't matter because gay or straight he is still our national hero who sacrifice his life for the freedom of our country.
SSE85
Kilala ng lahat si Dr. Jose P. Rizal bilang bayani ng bansang Pilipinas. Isang magaling na doctor, arkitekto at manunulat na isa sa mga bayaning Pilipino na naging tulay upang makamit ang kalayaan natin mula sa mga mananakop na Kastila.
Sa pagaaral ng subject na “Life and Works of Rizal”, maraming bagay akong natutunan kay Rizal bagamat hindi ko gustong malaman at halungkatin pa ang buhay niya ay bilang Pilipino ay obligasyon ko din malaman ang nakaraan ng ating bansa. Hindi ko alam kung maniniwala ako sa mga sinasabi ng libro at ng aking mga guro dahil hanggang ngayon aminado ako na hindi ako kumbinsido na nangyari ba talaga ang mga bagay-bagay sa nakaraan. Marahil siguro ay dahil di ko nakita ang mga kaganapan dati. Sa pagaaral namin sa buhay ni Rizal isang topic ang hanggang ngaun ay tumatak pa din sa aking isipan. Napagalaman ko na hindi lamang pala isang bayani ang turing ng ibang Pilipino kay Rizal.
Nagkaroon ng fieldtrip ang aming klase sa Laguna bagamat di man ako nakasama ay nalaman nila na mayroon palang organisasyon na tinatawag na Iglesia Watawat ng Lahi. Ang samahang ito ay ang mga taong itinuturing si Rizal na isang Diyos. Siya ang gabay nila at naniniwala sila na si Rizal ay buhay pa daw hanggang ngaun dahil nang babarilin na siya sa Dapitan ay gumawa ito ng isang taong kamukha niya mula sa puno ng saging . Tulad ng isang katoliko ay mayroon din silang sampung utos. Sinasabi din nila na mayroon daw kapangyarihan si Rizal. Mayroon din silang tatlong bersyon kung paano nabuhay si Rizal at ang pinaniniwalaang nagluwal dito ay si Maria Makiling. Iniwan lamang si Rizal sa magasawang Francisco at Teodora.
Hindi ko alam kung iisipin ko bang mga baliw ang mga taong naniniwala na si Rizal ay isang Diyos o sadyang wala akong alam tungkol dito. Hindi ako taliwas sa ginagawa nila pero sa totoo lang gusto ko talaga silang murahin at pagtawanan. Siguro napakasama kong tao ngunit talagang hindi ako naniniwala sa mga sinasabi nila. Oo bayani na si Rizal tanggap ko na iyon ngunit kagulatgulat talang isipin na mayroong mga taong naniniwala na siya ay Diyos. Paano nila masasabi na si Rizal ang Diyos kung noong panahon ni Rizal ay mayroon na siyang at ang ibang tao na kinikilalang Diyos. Grabe naman siguro kung hahayaan nalamang niyang may umangkin sa kanyang trono. Noong panahon din ng Kastila ay taliwas siya sa simbahan siguro marahil sa pamamalakad ng mga prayle kaya ganoon ang naiisip niya. Kinukutya din siya ng mga pari at marahil ay hindi din siya nagsisimba o nagdadasal. Kung pagkukumparahin natin si Rizal at si Jesus ay talagang magkaibang magkaiba sila. Si Jesus ay taliwas sa pakikipagtalik ng dalawang taong hindi kasal ngunit siya nakipagtalik siya sa hindi niya asawa at may tulo pa. Kung iniisip ni Rizal ang sambayanang Pilipino, bakit hindi niya niligtas ang mga katipunero at bayani na nakipaglaban para sa bayan. Di ba may kapangyarihan siya? Bakit sarili lang niya nag linigtas niya sa kamatayan? At bakit hinayaan niyang umabot sa patayan kung maari naman niyang pigilan ang mga pangyayari? Sana hindi sila naniwala sa sabi sabi dahil malamang sa malamang ay ito ang ugat kaya naitayo ang samahang ito.
Marahil ay Diyos nga si Rizal sa ibang tao pero para sa akin hindi magbabago ang pinaniniwalaan kong makapangyarihan sa lahat. Wala akong intension na makasakit ng ibang tao linalabas ko lamang kung ano ang nasa isipan ko. Diyos man o hindi si Rizal ay natutuwa at nagpapasalamat pa din ako sa kanya dahil isa siyang sa naging dahilan kung bakit natin natatamasan ang kalayan ngaun. Nagpapasalamat din ako sa aking guro at mga kamagaral dahil dito nalaman ko ang mga bagay bagay tungkol kay Rizal.
SSE - 85
Zig-SAGING!!!
Siguro lahat naman tayong mga Pilipino ay naniniwala kay rizal, iilan lang siguro ang hindi bilib sa kanya o yung mga taong hindi siya kilala o pinaniniwalaan. Pero meron namang mga tao ang sumobra ang bilib o paghanga sa kanya na umabot na sa puntong sinasamba na siya. Ang tawag daw sa kanila ay mga rizalista na ang relihiyon ay ang iglesia watawat ng lahi. ang katuruan nila ay ang mga katuruan din ni rizal kaso dito itinataas nila si rizal bilang diyos. At bilang diyos nila, siyempre maraming mga nagawang bagay si rizal na hindi maipaliwanag; yung mga kababalaghan o yung mga bagay na hindi ganun kadaling paniwalaan.
Isa na rito ay ang paniniwala nilang buhay pa daw talaga si rizal, hindi naman sa hindi ako pinatulog ng kaisipang ito o sobrang natatawa ako, kundi dahil bakit merong mga tao na pinipilit at pinaninindigang siya ay buhay pa talaga. At yun nga, dahil sa alam nilang kakaunti lang ang maniniwala sa kanila, nagbigay sila ng mga ilang detalye para suportahan ang paniniwala nilang buhay pa si rizal. Tulad nalang halimbawa nung ikinuwento samen ng prof namen na (hindi ko na matandaan kung ilang minuto) ilang minuto pagkatapos o bago barilin daw si rizal ay nakapag kape pa ata daw sya sa intramuros. Basta parang ganun ung pagkakaintindi ko eh. Tapos eto pa ang nakakatawa, sabi pa nila, hindi daw talaga si rizal yung binaril sa bagumbayan kung hindi isang replika lamang. At yung replikang yun ay gawa daw sa saging =)). Ewan ko kung anu yung pumasok sa isip nung mga taong yun bat naisipang sabihin na isang saging lang yung binaril nung mga espanyol =)). Pero kung iisipin mo, diyos nga naman nila yun eh, kahit anung kwentong himala o kababalaghan ang gawin ni rizal, totoo para sa kanila. Kaya hindi dapat pag tawanan yun kung yun ang paniniwala nila, pero saan kaya nila nakuha yun =))? Para sakin parang malabo talaga kahit san mo tignan eh. Eh diba nga sinundan pa nung isa sa mga kapatid na babae ni rizal yung bangkay nya. Tapos eto pa, meron pa daw mga nakakakita kay rizal magpasa-ngayon, drinowing pa nga yung itsura ni rizal eh =)) at sya daw ay nakatira dun sa bundok ng maria makiling. Hahaha! Ang daming kwento pero yun lang ang ipinagtataka ko sa kanila, ibig sabihin lang nun na kung pinagtatakpan lang nila yung mga kasinungalingan dati eh hindi nila matanggap na patay na talaga si rizal.
Iba nga naman talaga mag isip ang mga tao, lalong lalo na kung mahal na mahal nila ito, kahit anu sasabihin kahit kalokohan =)). Pero wala akong magagawa diyan dahil lahat naman tayo iba-iba, eh di kung ano yung gusto nila paniwalaan sa kanila nalang yun =)). Hehehe. Masasabi ko lang sa kanila, sa pagkakaintindi ko, ramdam ko na mahal talaga nila si rizal. Magaling naman kasi talaga siya eh. Sa dami ng nalalaman niyang tama, pwede talaga siyang gawing Diyos. Siguro nga, mapalad yung mga taong naturuan niya eh, naging tao talaga silang tunay atsaka naging tao talaga mag isip. Pero kahit anung galing ni rizal, hanggang sa paghanga nalang siguro ang kaya kong ibigay sa kanya.
SSE - 85
Who really is Jose Rizal? We knew Jose Rizal as a national hero and the author of the two famous novel entitled Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo. When I was in elementary the only thing that I know about Rizal is that he is our national hero and also a writer. When I reached high school, this is when we discussed about the two books that he wrote. But when I reached college, I found out that there are still a lot of things that I still don’t know about Jose Rizal. It’s so funny to think that there are some things about Jose Rizal that is really unique and is really interesting to study. Just like when they say that Rizal is gay! There are rumors spreading that the reason that Rizal is not married is because he does not like women but instead men. This issue really made me laugh so hard. There are even pictures that will prove it. I find it funny that how these people can spread some funny rumors. But the one thing that made me interested to get to know more about Rizal is when some of the people say that Jose Rizal is their GOD. According to the “Rizalistas” Rizal is God to them. When we went to Watawat Iglesia, I’ve found out that there are people who worshipped, well not really worshipped but they treat Rizal as a GOD. They also said some similarities between Rizal and Jesus. I find that some of them, well for me, is not that well believable. But some of them made me think whether it is true or not. Can you imagine Rizal can turn some things into food just like what Jesus did? At first I find these as a joke, but as we go deeper in our discussions I find out that there are some things that only the Rizalistas can understand. Honestly I still don’t who Jose Rizal really is for me; I guess there are still some things that I still want to know about Rizal. Even though I discovered some new things about him, I still want to re-discover who really Jose Rizal is to me.
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Maria Makiling… Jose Rizal’s Real Mother?
I was born and raised in Laguna and since childhood I heard different version of Maria Makiling’s story. But the only story about her that I remember is that she’s a pregnant woman from Laguna that had been turned into a mountain. If you’re going to take a look on the Mt. Makiling from a far you could really notice a lying body form of a woman with a big tummy. Even the mountain may look like that, I never believed in any story about Maria Makiling, I never believed to Maria Makiling being real. After knowing a different kind of story about Maria Makiling involving the Philippines National Hero, I was wondering “how come there are some people who really believes with Maria Makiling?”, and it was not just that, these people believed that Maria Makiling is Jose Rizal’s real mother. It sounds funny for me, but the fact is, it was Rizalistas who presented this story about Maria Makiling and Jose Rizal. Rizalista is a group of people who worship Jose Rizal as a divine being, they presented different version of Rizal’s birth and one of that is about Maria Makiling being Jose Rizal’s true mother. The story explains that Maria Makiling went to a couple, who gladly welcome her because in any time she could give birth, then that night, she delivered a baby boy which she clothed in a diaper with a name Jove Rex Al. Jove Rex Al was turned by Rizal’s known mother, Teodora Alonso, into Jose Rizal when the baby was left to her when Maria Makiling is nowhere to be found. This story is kinda mythical for me, why? Because first of all, I looked into Maria Makiling as a fictitious character from a legendary story about a mountain, and secondly, I looked into Jose Rizal as a true human being, not as a fictitious character, who came from a well-known family and as someone who have proved many things in the country. It’s good hearing different versions of story; it’s only up to the person what version to believe in or whether not to believe in anything at all.
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There are things that I knew already about our national hero, Jose Rizal. All of them were taught since 2nd grade ‘til 2nd year high school. Those books only talked about the biography of him, even our teachers. Those changed when my professor in Rizlife course discussed the life, works, and philosophy of Rizal.
The thing that really caught my attention about Rizal is that his basis of good and evil is his own conscience, therefore, for him; actions were justified, even if the intention was good and yet the method was bad, as long as his conscience can bear it. He also believed that heaven and hell are just states of a person in which he or she feels soothing or depressing. I believe that It’s partly true because it is true that you feel heaven when you’re not depress but it is not soothing if you’re being punished. For me, heaven and hell are places. These are the places wherein we get the punishment that we had made for ourselves as consequence for what we have done in our lives. So basically, you’re in heaven; if you won’t receive punishment, and you’re in hell; if you’re sentenced for eternal punishment.
Another thing that made me interested to Rizal is the way he thinks. His works were carefully constructed, his words, deeply inspired, he studied, and discovered new species, and may he can compose and conduct his own orchestra.
At first, what I understand about Rizal is that he wants for our country to be independent from the colonizer, Spain, but now, Rizal wanted our nation, the Philippines, to bloom and prosper as a nation that the world would realize that there and this nation called the Philippines, working as a nation.
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There were innumerable things that I could easily spot upon, in regards of broaching up
our past lessons in RIZLIFE. Although, it's quite common for me to say this, "The more
I think about Rizal's past, the more I acclaim him for his bravery, and especially
the secrets raveling himself."
These are my memorable topics that left me cogitating and eventually, laughing my a** off.
- "Rizal was the ultimate playboy." Yes, I said it. As we all know, Rizal had numerous
love affair-- mostly in Europe, but it was not Rizal's fault. It was just that
he was so talented and he dazzled so much, that it was hard for many girls to overlook him.
Rizal once said, "Ang puso ko'y nakalaan na sa Inang Bayan." That just proves that Rizal
wasn't really the one who was initiating the affair, it was quite the opposite.
- "Rizal is God." This is obvious. I'm just going to be terse about this. Rizal is
akin to Leonardo da Vinci or Nikola Tesla, they were ahead of their time, for many reasons.
Rizal is so intelligent, so brave, and was too good to be true-- as a hero, as comrade,
as Filipino, that some people, right now, idolize him like he's God.
- "Emilio Aguinaldo being nominated as the national hero." Just after that 7 syllables of his name,
the traitor himself, Emilio Aguinaldo being proclaimed by many sham American experts that he should
be the national hero made me look like an idiot. It was so funny that I thought I was 'high' for
a moment. Rizal > Emilio, a million times better, enough said!
- "Rizal's trip to Europe and to other countries were just an alibi, he was really on vacation!"
I've no idea where that one writer, I forgot his name, picked this, and he even elaborates it.
If Rizal was on vacation, why was he arrested, or being exiled for his works-- that was so
exquisite and so anti-friars that even today, many Catholic orders are ignoring the book, and not
just taking it so lightly? Due to the fact that the book contains the "truth" that sends
jitters to their spine, just by looking the cover.
- "Rizal as a reformist was a proof that he lacks courage." I still can't believe this. Yes, he wasn't like Andres Bonifacio or Gregorio del Pilar, on the battlefield, and sacrificing their lives for their country. But, let me tell you this, after 100 plus years, who has the biggest impact among all of the heroes we know, who do we most remember in terms of patriotism, and who was the guy who would sacrifice everything for his country? I would not be surprised, if an eight year old would shout, "JOSE RIZAL!"
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One thing that I never forget while studying the life and philosophy of Rizal is about the Rizalista. This religion idolized or treats Rizal as their prophet. I heard from my teacher that Rizal is not the real son of Francisco Mercado Rizal and Teodora Alonzo Realonda. They say that Rizal has super human abilities, This is why until now there is something playing in my mind. The Rizalistas said that Rizal is the man that was mention in prophecy, They believe that until now Rizal is alive and he is residing somewhere in Laguna, near Mount Makiling. They believe that Rizal will come back in the right time for an important reason. I have a question, what if Rizal is alive until now and he came back but not to fulfill the prophecy but instead to take revenge on the Philippines. What if he comes back not for good deeds but he come back for the evil ones? What if the Rizalistas are correct that Rizal is alive until now, and comes back for evil deeds and suddenly it turns out that Rizal is not the person mentioned in the prophecy, The real person that was mentioned in prophecy is the one who will save the Philippines from The Evil Rizal. This will make a big effect in the history of our country, But I think this is just the limitations of my imaginations. We all know that Rizal is already dead and can never come back to life.
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