Rizal's Significance: Wisdom and Compassion, Foundations of a Free and Progressive Nation

Rizal 2018: Wisdom and Compassion,

Foundations of a Free and Progressive Nation

Remarks for the Commemoration of the

122^nd Anniversary of Dr. Rizal’s Martyrdom

by Sir Edwin D. Bael, KGOR,

in Tagum City, December 30, 2018

Thank you so much, Sir, for the kind introduction. Since important persons have been acknowledged before, may I just acknowledge the presence by groups, from left to right, of the Boy and Girl Scouts, the Army Reserves, our brother Masons, our brother Knights of Columbus, the Officials and employees of the City of Tagum led by their City Councilors, the delegation from the Dep-Ed, the Kababaihang Rizalista and the Kabataang Pangarap ni Rizal, the leaders and representatives of our Indigenous Peoples and Muslim communities, my brother Knights of Rizal, and the men and women of our AFP and PNP and allied entities…

GOOD MORNING EVERY ONE!

Today we commemorate the One Hundred and Twenty-Second Anniversary of Dr. Rizal’s supreme sacrifice and martyrdom, with the theme as selected by the National Historical Commission:

"Rizal 2018: Wisdom and Compassion,

Foundations of a Free and Progressive Nation"

"Rizal 2018: Talino at Malasakit sa Isa't Isa,
Pundasyon ng Isang Malaya at Maunlad na Bansa"

“Rizal 2018: Kinaadman ug puangod sa usag usa:

Mga pundasyon sa usa ka nasud nga gawasnon ug malambuon”

I’d like to relate this idea of a free and progressive nation with the seven prophecies of Dr. Rizal. According to our former Supremo, Sir Dr. Pablo Trillana, in the 1889-1890 essay entitled Filipinas Dentro de Cien Años, Dr. Rizal made 7 prophecies, namely:

1. The Philippines will revolt against Spain

2. It will declare Independence

3. That Independence shall be seized by a nation from across the Pacific

4. Our people will fight for that independence with blood

5. Japan will swallow us

6. The Islands shall declare themselves a Federal Republic

7. The Country shall enter the wide road of national progress

Five of these prophecies have come to pass; the last two still have to be realized, although a Federal Republic seems near. And if projections are believed, we are also on the way to national progress.

As regards the Filipino translation of the theme, however, I submit, Sirs: that knowledge, per se, is not power. Only the wise use of knowledge is real power and it’s unwise use leads to ruin and destruction.

So to translate wisdom into simply “talino” in Filipino, meaning “intelligence”, seems to me, not enough. For wisdom in English connotes “understanding of what is true, right, or lasting; common sense; good judgment; and scholarly learning”…

Perhaps we can say in Tagalog, “kapantasan” because a wise person is a “pantas”, that is why universities are called “pamantasan” where wise persons are supposed to come forth and graduate from…

Ah, that’s another issue that can be discussed in another forum, in light of Dr. Rizal’s teaching that the purpose of education is to be worthy of liberties; and if I may add - beyond being a quick money earning OFW.

For now, may I just propose that the Tagalog version be: Kapantasan at Malasakit sa isa’t isa… And we pair that with the Cebuano: Kinaadman ug Puangod sa usag usa…

It is in this sense of wisdom and compassion, kapantasan at malasakit, kinaadman ug puangod, that I submit, we the Knights of Rizal, must encourage all our people to:

A. Work for a nation with self-confidence

In the fourth stanza of Dr. Rizal’s untitled last poem now known as the Ultimo Adios, he said:

My dreams when just a lad barely adolescent,

My dreams when a young man all filled with vigor,

Were to see you one day, jewel of the sea of the orient

The dark eyes dry, smooth forehead held high unbent:

Without frown, without wrinkles, without blushing color.

What did he mean by this?

I submit that this was his vision for Inang Bayan; this was his magnificent obsession for which he calmly stood before the firing squad.

It means he believed it possible for the country to stand among the community of nations with self-respect, self-esteem and self-confidence with no more reasons to cry, to bow down, to doubt, to fear, or to be ashamed.

He was cool about returning to the Creator because as he wrote to his friends, if he dies in the hands of the Spaniards let twenty Filipinos take his place. No, he does not want us to face any firing squad; he wants us to work together and build the nation.

Before I talk about working together, may I read his ultimo adios stanzas explaining this vision of “secos los negros ojos”. In stanzas 1, 2 and 3, he said (in my own English translation):

Farewell, adored Fatherland, region beloved by the sun,

Pearl of the Orient Sea, our Eden lost and drifting!

Gladly go I to give you this sad withered life without fun,

And were it brighter, fresher, with more buds blooming,

Still would I give it to you, give it for your well-being.

In fields of battle, fighting with delirium and frenzy

Others give you their lives without doubt, without misery;

The place matters not, whether cypress, laurel or lily,

Gallows or open field, combat or martyr’s cruel agony,

All are equal, if asked and needed, by home and country.

III

I die when I see that colors lighten the sky

And finally herald the day after the cloak of night;

If you need scarlet grain, your dawn to dye,

Pour my blood, shed it in good hour to abye,

And gild it a reflection of your nascent light.

Then in stanza five, he passionately declared his devotion to Inang Bayan (again my translation):

Dream of my life, my ardent, living passion and cry,

Health, shouts to you the soul that soon shall depart!

Health! O, how lovely it is to fall to give you power to fly,

To die to give you vigor to live, under your heaven to die,

And in your enchanted land, to sleep forever never apart.

Yes, my countrymen, such devotion shall lead to our dream: usa ka nasud nga gawasnon ug malambuon! (a free and progressive nation!)

It is in the sense of wisdom and compassion, kapantasan at malasakit, kinaadman ug puangod, that I submit, we the Knights of Rizal, must convince our fellow Filipinos to:

B. Cooperate and Converge with our Muslim kin

There is an instructive poem by Dr. Rizal written around 1890 entitled El Agua y El Fuego or Water and Fire. It is short and let me read the English and Cebuano translations:

WATER AND FIRE (around 1890)

[Free English Translation by Sir Edwin D. Bael, 2012]

Water we are, you say; yourselves, fire;

Let us be, as you like it! ...

Let’s live quiet without ire,

And let not conflagration ever see us fight;

But that united by wise science

From boilers in the burning breast,

Without anger, without rage,

Let us form the steam, fifth element,

Progress, life, light and movement!

TUBIG UG KALAYO (mga 1890)

[Gihubad sa Sugbo-anon Binisaya ni Sir Edwin D. Bael, 2012]

Tubig kami, ingon ninyo; kamo, kalayo;

Unsa may inyong gusto, pasagdan nato!...

Manimuyo ta sa kakalma ug kalinaw,

Ug nga kita nagbugno, sa sunog dili unta matan-aw;

Apan, pinaghiusa sa siyensang may kinaadman

Sa mga pugon sa masilabong dughan

Way kasuko, way kapungot o impetu,

Buhaton nato ang alisngaw, ikalimang elemento,

Kauswagan, kinabuhi, kahayag ug kalihokan!

If we - Muslims, IPs, Christians and others who form this One Nation under God - do what Rizal says in this poem, then the steam of peace and development shall come to Mindanao and will bring us closer sa atong damgo: usa ka nasud nga gawasnon ug malambuon! (bring us closer to our dream: a free and progressive nation)

It is in the sense of wisdom and compassion, kapantasan at malasakit, kinaadman ug puangod, that I submit, we the Knights of Rizal, must push our people and our government to:

C. Stand as a nation that knows how to fight

Dr. Rizal advocated this idea in the Himno a Talisay, which poem/song incidentally was used by the Military Prosecutor in his trial in Fort Santiago as additional proof that Rizal instigated the revolution. Here are the pertinent stanzas:

Himno a Talisay (Hymn to Talisay, EDB Translation)

III

We are children who, though born late,

have souls with vigorous character,

and strong persons we shall be in the future

who’ll know how to guard their families.

Children who, nothing can intimidate

not waves, nor hurricane, nor thunder;

with speedy arm and serene feature
we’ll know how to fight when in difficulties.

V
Our games scramble the sand;

caves and thickets we reconnoiter;

on big rocks our houses stand,
our weapons reach everywhere.

There is no darkness, no pitchblack night,

nor fierce storm or typhoon that we dread,

and should Satan himself come to sight,

he shall be captured alive or dead.

Let’s stand up and actualize this strategic approach. And I submit atong makab-ot ang atong tingusbawan: usa ka nasud nga gawasnon ug malambuon! (And I submit we shall reach what we aspire for: a free and progressive nation!)

It is in the sense of wisdom and compassion, kapantasan at malasakit, kinaadman ug puangod, that I submit, we the Knights of Rizal, must urge our people to:

D. Keep faith

In his poem Mi Retiro, penned in Dapitan, he wrote in part:

Mi Retiro (My Haven, EDB translation)

And I have faith, and I hope it must shine one day
when the force of Idea conquers the brutal force,
that after the struggle and the protracted agony,

another voice, more sonorous, more happy,
will know how to sing the triumphal song perforce.

Keeping this kind of faith, and believing we and our succeeding generations are the other voice, more sonorous, more happy, shall allow us to sing the triumphal song for usa ka nasud nga gawasnon ug malambuon, nga maoy atong gihandum! (for a free and progressive nation, which is what we hope for!)

It is in the sense of wisdom and compassion, kapantasan at malasakit, kinaadman ug puangod, that I submit, we the Knights of Rizal, must take actions to spearhead:

E. Illuminating the land and fighting the forces of darkness

In the poem Miguel en Argamasilla de Alba, Dr. Rizal had a fairy tell Miguel (the imprisoned Miguel de Cervantes, author of Don Quixote) to play his destined role. Now if we are to replace Miguel with Knights of Rizal, the stanza would read as follows:

Go then, [Knights of Rizal], that with your clear thinking,

Like a light bulb, you shall illuminate your land,

and redeem that demented multitude,

ripping off and tearing down the dark sinister shroud.

And, in your flight so lofty, as a charged cloud,

lance gracefully scorching lightning

that brings down the god of insanity

making sprout celestial prosperity.

[EDB translation]

If the Knights and our Citizens are to live this cleansing and cultivating approach, then under the leadership of President Duterte, we can proceed towards realizing the vision of usa ka nasud nga gawasnon ug malambuon! (a free and progressive nation!)

It is in the sense of wisdom and compassion, kapantasan at malasakit, kinaadman ug puangod, that I submit, we the Knights of Rizal, must campaign among our people to:

F. Persevere and work together

Dr. Rizal wrote in the essay “Town Schools in the Philippines” that: “Whether the sacrifice be big or small; whether men be ungrateful and forgetful; whether malice be opposed; or whether sterile and barren egos mock, we ought not to be dismayed before an insignificant failure nor go backward at the least obstacle that is discerned in the horizon.”

He added, as we mentioned before: “Let us work then together and instead of useless lamentations, of disconsolate complaints, of accusations and excuses, let us apply the remedy, let us build, no matter if we begin with the simplest, for later we shall have time to erect new edifices on that foundation.”

This perseverance, my fellow citizens, is a sure way to attain usa ka nasud nga gawasnon ug malambuon! (a free and progressive nation!)

It is in the sense of wisdom and compassion, kapantasan at malasakit, kinaadman ug puangod, that I submit, we the Knights of Rizal, must ask every Filipino to:

G. Keep vigil

This sense of alertness and watchfulness, was advocated by Dr. Rizal in the chorus of his poem Himno Al Trabajo (or Hymn To Labor) written in 1888. Let me share that chorus with you:

Coro:
¡Por la patria en la Guerra,

por la patria en la paz,

velará el Filipino,

vivirá y morirá.

We can simply translate this as “for the country at war, for the country in peace, the Filipino shall keep vigil, shall live and shall die”.

We could also render it as follows:

Chorus:

For the homeland in war time,

For the homeland in peace time,

The Filipino shall keep vigil and stand fast,

Shall survive and shall breathe his last!

(English translation by EDB)

It has been said that “The price of liberty, and even of common humanity, is eternal vigilance.” (Aldous Huxley, 1956). Though already used in the early 1800s, Dr. Rizal used this idea in 1888 to map out another sure way to having usa ka nasud nga gawasnon ug malambuon! (a free and progressive nation)!

And it is in the sense of wisdom and compassion, kapantasan at malasakit, kinaadman ug puangod, that I submit, we the Knights of Rizal, must urge all our people to keep moving forward:

H. Always advance

The need for this consistent moving forward was emphasized by Dr. Rizal in the Chorus of his Himno a Talisay, which says:

¡Salve, Talisay! Firme y constante,
siempre adelante, tú marcharás.
¡Tú, victorioso, todo elemento,

mar, tierra y viento, dominarás!

Hail, Talisay! Firm and constant,
always advancing, you shall prosper.

Every element, with you triumphant,
sea, land and air, you shall master!

Mabuhay, Talisay! Matatag at matapat,

palaging pasulong, ikaw ay magkamit ng kasaganaan;

Ikaw matagumpay, sa lahat ng elemento:

dagat, lupa’t hangin, magkaroon ka ng kapangyarihan.

Mabuhi ka Talisay! Timgas ug makanunayon,

punayng padayon, ikaw mag-mauswagon.

Ikaw madaugon, tanang elemento –

dagat, yuta’g hangin - imong dominahon!

The sense is like that of waters in a river inexorably going to the sea: obstacles are met with pushing, or finding ways around, under, and above, even by evaporating, so long as the sea is reached.

Pinaagi niining siempre adelante, always advancing, palaging pasulong, ug punayng padayon nga pamaagi o dalan, atong makab-ot ang usa ka nasud nga gawasnon ug malambuon!

By means of this always advancing approach, we shall reach the condition of a free and progressive nation.

Daghan kaayong salamat!