Rizal's Poem: Sa aking mga Kababata

Rizal wrote the poem entitled Sa aking mga Kababata when he was eight years old. This poem
had a strong sense of nationalism expressing Rizals love for our own language. He emphasized
the significance and the usage of our mother tongue. Mother tongue was the language we learned
since birth (which was Filipino). It gave us a sense of identity. Language could not only be our
way to communicate but it also served as the reflection of our culture. Rizal also highlighted on
this poem that all languages were equal in terms of its significance and usage. Filipino language
like other languages had its own alphabet and words. The values and attitude that still valid and
usable today is we should be more proud of our nationality and identity, and by enriching our
language we could show our sense of pride as Filipinos.

Did You Know

Did you know that three of the animal species we know today were actually named after Rizal?
When he was an exile in Dapitan, he collected different kinds of species of animals. Among
them were the Draco Rizali(Wandolleck), a specie of flying dragon, Rachophorous
Rizali (Boetger), a hitherto unknown specie of toad and Apogonia Rizali (Heller), a small
beetle, which were later named after him.

Philosophies in Life
PHILOSOPHY may be defined as the study and pursuit of facts which deal with the ultimate
reality or causes of things as they affect life.
The philosophy of a country like the Philippines is made up of the intricate and composite
interrelationship of the life histories of its people; in other word, the philosophy of our nation
would be strange and undefinable if we do not delve into the past tied up with the notable life
experiences of the representative personalities of our nation.
Being one of the prominent representatives of Filipino personalities, Jose Rizal is a fit subject
whose life philosophy deserves to be recognized.
Having been a victim of Spanish brutality early in his life in Calamba, Rizal had thus already
formed the nucleus of an unfavorable opinion of Castillian imperialistic administration of his
country and people.
Pitiful social conditions existed in the Philippines as late as three centuries after his conquest in
Spain, with agriculture, commerce, communications and education languishing under its most
backward state. It was because of this social malady that social evils like inferiority complex,
cowardice, timidity and false pride pervaded nationally and contributed to the decay of social

life. This stimulated and shaped Rizals life phylosophy to be to contain if not eliminate these
social ills.

Educational Philosophy
Rizals concept of the importance of education is clearly enunciated in his work entitled
Instruction wherein he sought improvements in the schools and in the methods of
teaching. He maintained that the backwardness of his country during the Spanish ear
was not due to the Filipinos indifference, apathy or indolence as claimed by the rulers,
but to the neglect of the Spanish authorities in the islands. For Rizal, the mission of
education is to elevate the country to the highest seat of glory and to develop the
peoples mentality. Since education is the foundation of society and a prerequisite for
social progress, Rizal claimed that only through education could the country be saved
from domination.
Rizals philosophy of education, therefore, centers on the provision of proper motivation
in order to bolster the great social forces that make education a success, to create in the
youth an innate desire to cultivate his intelligence and give him life eternal.

Religious Philosophy
Rizal grew up nurtured by a closely-knit Catholic family, was educated in the foremost
Catholic schools of the period in the elementary, secondary and college levels; logically,
therefore, he should have been a propagator of strictly Catholic traditions. However, in
later life, he developed a life philosophy of a different nature, a philosophy of a different
Catholic practice intermingled with the use of Truth and Reason.
Why the change?
It could have been the result of contemporary contact, companionship, observation,
research and the possession of an independent spirit.Being a critical observer, a
profound thinker and a zealous reformer, Rizal did not agree with the prevailing
Christian propagation of the Faith by fire and sword. This is shown in his Annotation of
Morgas Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas.
Rizal did not believe in the Catholic dogma that salvation was only for Catholics and
that outside Christianity, salvation was not possible even if Catholics composed only a
small minority of the worlds religious groups. Nor did he believe in the Catholic
observation of fasting as a sacrifice, nor in the sale of such religious items as the cross,
medals, rosaries and the like in order to propagate the Faith and raise church funds. He
also lambasted the superstitious beliefs propagated by the priests in the church and in the
schools. All of these and a lot more are evidences of Rizals religious philosophy.

Political Philosophy
In Rizals political view, a conquered country like the Philippines should not be taken

advantage of but rather should be developed, civilized, educated and trained in the
science of self-government.
He bitterly assailed and criticized in publications the apparent backwardness of the
Spanish rulers method of governing the country which resulted in:
1. the bondage and slavery of the conquered ;
2. the Spanish governments requirement of forced labor and force military service upon
the n natives;
3. the abuse of power by means of exploitation;
4. the government ruling that any complaint against the authorities was criminal; and
5. Making the people ignorant, destitute and fanatic, thus discouraging the formation of
a national sentiment.
Rizals guiding political philosophy proved to be the study and application of reforms,
the extension of human rights, the training for self-government and the arousing of spirit
of discontent over oppression, brutality, inhumanity, sensitiveness and self-love.

Ethical Philosophy
The study of human behavior as to whether it is good or bad or whether it is right or
wrong is that science upon which Rizals ethical philosophy was based. The fact that the
Philippines was under Spanish domination during Rizals time led him to subordinate his
philosophy to moral problems. This trend was much more needed at that time because
the Spaniards and the Filipinos had different and sometimes conflicting morals. The
moral status of the Philippines during this period was one with a lack of freedom, one
with predominance of foreign masters, one with an imposition of foreign religious
worship, devotion, homage and racial habits. This led to moral confusion among the
people, what with justice being stifled, limited or curtailed and the people not enjoying
any individual rights.
To bolster his ethical philosophy, Dr. Rizal had recognized not only the forces of good
and evil, but also the tendencies towards good and evil. As a result, he made use of the
practical method of appealing to the better nature of the conquerors and of offering
useful methods of solving the moral problems of the conquered.
To support his ethical philosophy in life, Rizal:
1. censured the friars for abusing the advantage of their position as spiritual leaders and
the ignorance and fanaticism of the natives;
2. counseled the Filipinos not to resent a defect attributed to them but to accept same as

reasonable and just;

3. advised the masses that the object of marriage was the happiness and love of the
couple and not financial gain;
4. censured the priests who preached greed and wrong morality; and
5. advised every one that love and respect for parents must be strictly observed.

Social Philosophy
That body of knowledge relating to society including the wisdom which man's
experience in society has taught him is social philosophy. The facts dealt with are
principles involved in nation building and not individual social problems. The subject
matter of this social philosophy covers the problems of the whole race, with every
problem having a distinct solution to bolster the peoples social knowledge.
Rizals social philosophy dealt with;
1. Man in society;
2. Influential factors in human life;
3. Racial problems;
4. Social constant;
5. Social justice;
6. Social ideal;
7. Poverty and wealth;
8. Reforms;
9. Youth and greatness;
10. History and progress;
11. Future Philippines.
The above dealt with mans evolution and his environment, explaining for the most part
human behavior and capacities like his will to live; his desire to possess happiness; the
change of his mentality; the role of virtuous women in the guidance of great men; the
need for elevating and inspiring mission; the duties and dictates of mans conscience;
mans need of practicing gratitude; the necessity for consulting reliable people; his need
for experience; his ability to deny; the importance of deliberation; the voluntary offer of
mans abilities and possibilities; the ability to think, aspire and strive to rise; and the
proper use of hearth, brain and spirit-all of these combining to enhance the intricacies,
beauty and values of human nature. All of the above served as Rizals guide in his
continuous effort to make over his beloved Philippines.

Jose Rizal
JOSE RIZAL, the national hero of the Philippines and pride of the Malayan race, was born on
June 19, 1861, in the town of Calamba, Laguna. He was the seventh child in a family of 11
children (2 boys and 9 girls). Both his parents were educated and belonged to distinguished
families.
His father, Francisco Mercado Rizal, an industrious farmer whom Rizal called "a model of
fathers," came from Bian, Laguna; while his mother, Teodora Alonzo y Quintos, a highly
cultured and accomplished woman whom Rizal called "loving and prudent mother," was born in
Meisic, Sta. Cruz, Manila. At the age of 3, he learned the alphabet from his mother; at 5, while
learning to read and write, he already showed inclinations to be an artist. He astounded his
family and relatives by his pencil drawings and sketches and by his moldings of clay. At the age
8, he wrote a Tagalog poem, "Sa Aking Mga Kabata," the theme of which revolves on the love of
ones language. In 1877, at the age of 16, he obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree with an
average of "excellent" from the Ateneo Municipal de Manila. In the same year, he enrolled in
Philosophy and Letters at the University of Santo Tomas, while at the same time took courses
leading to the degree of surveyor and expert assessor at the Ateneo. He finished the latter course
on March 21, 1877 and passed the Surveyors examination on May 21, 1878; but because of his
age, 17, he was not granted license to practice the profession until December 30, 1881. In 1878,
he enrolled in medicine at the University of Santo Tomas but had to stop in his studies when he
felt that the Filipino students were being discriminated upon by their Dominican tutors. On May
3, 1882, he sailed for Spain where he continued his studies at the Universidad Central de Madrid.
On June 21, 1884, at the age of 23, he was conferred the degree of Licentiate in Medicine and on
June 19,1885, at the age of 24, he finished his course in Philosophy and Letters with a grade of
"excellent."
Having traveled extensively in Europe, America and Asia, he mastered 22 languages. These
include Arabic, Catalan, Chinese, English, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese,
Latin, Malayan, Portuguese, Russian, Sanskrit, Spanish, Tagalog, and other native dialects. A
versatile genius, he was an architect, artists, businessman, cartoonist, educator, economist,
ethnologist, scientific farmer, historian, inventor, journalist, linguist, musician, mythologist,
nationalist, naturalist, novelist, opthalmic surgeon, poet, propagandist, psychologist, scientist,
sculptor, sociologist, and theologian.
He was an expert swordsman and a good shot. In the hope of securing political and social
reforms for his country and at the same time educate his countrymen, Rizal, the greatest apostle
of Filipino nationalism, published, while in Europe, several works with highly nationalistic and
revolutionary tendencies. In March 1887, his daring book, NOLI ME TANGERE, a satirical
novel exposing the arrogance and despotism of the Spanish clergy, was published in Berlin; in

1890 he reprinted in Paris, Morgas SUCCESSOS DE LAS ISLAS FILIPINAS with his
annotations to prove that the Filipinos had a civilization worthy to be proud of even long before
the Spaniards set foot on Philippine soil; on September 18, 1891, EL FILIBUSTERISMO, his
second novel and a sequel to the NOLI and more revolutionary and tragic than the latter, was
printed in Ghent. Because of his fearless exposures of the injustices committed by the civil and
clerical officials, Rizal provoked the animosity of those in power. This led himself, his relatives
and countrymen into trouble with the Spanish officials of the country. As a consequence, he and
those who had contacts with him, were shadowed; the authorities were not only finding faults but
even fabricating charges to pin him down. Thus, he was imprisoned in Fort Santiago from July 6,
1892 to July 15, 1892 on a charge that anti-friar pamphlets were found in the luggage of his sister
Lucia who arrive with him from Hong Kong. While a political exile in Dapitan, he engaged in
agriculture, fishing and business; he maintained and operated a hospital; he conducted classestaught his pupils the English and Spanish languages, the arts.
The sciences, vocational courses including agriculture, surveying, sculpturing, and painting, as
well as the art of self defense; he did some researches and collected specimens; he entered into
correspondence with renowned men of letters and sciences abroad; and with the help of his
pupils, he constructed water dam and a relief map of Mindanao - both considered remarkable
engineering feats. His sincerity and friendliness won for him the trust and confidence of even
those assigned to guard him; his good manners and warm personality were found irresistible by
women of all races with whom he had personal contacts; his intelligence and humility gained for
him the respect and admiration of prominent men of other nations; while his undaunted courage
and determination to uplift the welfare of his people were feared by his enemies.
When the Philippine Revolution started on August 26, 1896, his enemies lost no time in pressing
him down. They were able to enlist witnesses that linked him with the revolt and these were
never allowed to be confronted by him. Thus, from November 3, 1986, to the date of his
execution, he was again committed to Fort Santiago. In his prison cell, he wrote an untitled
poem, now known as "Ultimo Adios" which is considered a masterpiece and a living document
expressing not only the heros great love of country but also that of all Filipinos. After a mock
trial, he was convicted of rebellion, sedition and of forming illegal association. In the cold
morning of December 30, 1896, Rizal, a man whose 35 years of life had been packed with varied
activities which proved that the Filipino has capacity to equal if not excel even those who treat
him as a slave, was shot at Bagumbayan Field. ]