TOO MUCH OF RIZAL IS GOOD!

TOO MUCH OF RIZAL IS GOOD!

"To doubt God is to doubt one's own conscience, and in consequence it would be to doubt everything." - Jose Rizal

Rizal, considered to be a “rare comet” by Blumentritt is one mortal that indeed shines as a guiding star for us students. He is an individual, Malayan, who embodied a noble spirit and a great mind who used it for the liberation of the powerless and poor. In our everyday life, we should take into consideration five principles of our Hero’s “way of doing things” in the hope of inspiring others to imitate his great and passionate drive.

Committed to learning and its application. Rizal committed himself to the pursuit of both knowledge and wisdom. He went to places always with a mind set to learn. This is best shown in his observation written in his diaries. Rizal is a very keen observer; he always jots down what he had observed in the places he had been. Aside from observing people, he also observes systems, mechanism and the cause and effect of vast human affairs such as science, culture, government, art and economy etc. He is not satisfied with observation, Rizal extracts all the learnings and insights form it. He also transcends from a mere learned person, he applies what he had learned. The best example of this was his great novels, his inventions, his discoveries and his community projects in Dapitan. Rizal constantly observes, extract insights and applies it with the underlying current of helping to liberate an oppressed people.

Seeks great mentors. One shining characteristic of Rizal is his desire to learn from other great thinkers. His 1^st trip to Europe served as the great example of this trait. He met with so many great scientific minds with the intention of knowing more from them. Rizal had met an endless list of scientist, physicians and so many other experts of certain fields that crafted his genius mind. One particular is his best friend, Professor Ferdinand Blumentritt who was the director of the Ateneo de Leitmertitz. Others such as his great Jesuit mentors in the person of Fr. Sanchez and Pastells contributed much of Rizal’s growth. Rizal seeks not only personal experience but also heeds the advices and stories of people who know and had experience much.

Sees things in different point of views. Rizal as a great thinker sees things in different perspectives. This was best shown in his literary works such as his novels and essays. He sees social issues with a multi-faceted cause and solutions. He outlined pressing issues in his novels with such creativity that made a large room for interpretation. He easily finds relationship in seemingly different ideas because he sees it with a million perspectives. 

Seeks for truth and reason. Rizal is not satisfied by mere explanation, he pursues a deeper understanding of the subject matter. Rizal was great in uncovering truths and reasons that he crafted his own philosophy. It is relevant to note that Rizal was considered to be “obsessed” with the truth. This is attested by his standard in the La Solidaridad as a newspaper of truth. When faced by an issue, he sees all the facets of the subject matter and then digs deeper until the truth is uncovered.

Challenges the Status quo. The great heroic drive of Rizal means constantly challenging the Status quo. Rizal as our national hero faced a mighty yet fading empire with courage and valor that shook the roots of Spain. Aside from his political stand that altered the Spanish colonial order, Rizal in his daily dealing of life challenged the usual order. This is evident in his essays attacking the colonial authorities. In his essays, he upheld modern liberal democratic ideas that run contrary to the colonial policy. He always thinks and does the better. This is much evident in his Dapitan exile where the town’s development was ushered it by Rizal’s community projects.

In sum, Jose Rizal is a remarkable genius who lived in a constant interplay of experience (observations, seeks more), reflection and action (application). Rizal is a great example of Malay who used his talents for the benefit of an entire people.