Now I talk about Faiths. The Philippines is a country with people who hold strongly on the value of a certain practice of a religion, or a spiritual life. Most of the people are Catholics, then there is Protestantism, Islam, Buddhism, Iglesia ni Cristo (Church of Christ), Aglipay and many more. In my other entries, I have mentioned tools from the Filipino's survival kit which include staying happy and festive by putting laughter and being positive most of the time; generosity and hospitality that are rooted from the people's care for others; and music which gives joy and also therapy for those sorrowful days. Then there is religion. Although I see religion as not a tool in the survival kit of the Filipinos, but as the essence in their willingness to move on and move forward no matter how difficult or even tragic their experiences may be.
I was born and raised a Catholic. And because I am one, my parents made me study in a Catholic School. I also had my first communion, know the rosary and did go to mass every Sunday. And because of Christianity, Holy Week is very sacred in the country, and Christmas is still more about Jesus Christ than Santa Claus. I have noticed that many Filipinos are great devotees of their religion. The El Shaddai community, a Catholic Charismatic group founded by Brother Mike Velarde, gather every Saturday. And during their gathering, because many followers religiously go to the worship day, traffic is definite in the place where they have it. Thus, every Saturday, many, especially taxi drivers, avoid the route where the place of worship of the El Shaddai community will be held. Then every Wednesday is what the Filipinos call Baclaran Day. Baclaran is the place where a famous Catholic Church stands. Many Catholics go to the Baclaran Church on Wednesday to hear mass, or they go midnight or early morning before dawn to pray in the church. Many celebrities and those who prefer a silent prayer would do the latter. So on Wednesday, traffic transfers to this area.
Being a Catholic, and being raised as one, my orientation as a child and a teenager when it came to religion was more of this faith than any other. But as I got older, I became curious about other faiths. I met more people outside Catholicism and realized that there was really no big difference between one's faith to the other. The practice may be different, parts in the belief are, too, but the reason is pretty much the same for all--to be a better person. It seems to me that we wish to join a group or community that has the same translation and interpretation as our own. One that shall fill a certain hunger and answer the questions, personal questions, for us.
As a Catholic, I went through the motions of obligation, but did not seem to feel the importance at the beginning. Then, one day, I turned the page of a newspaper and read about a Yoga meditation center. My friend and I went to see how it was. And after we meditated, it felt nice. We felt light. And when we opened our eyes, the spiritual guru said something that I do remember up to this day. He did not say anything that moved me, but he did say something that made me stay: "Don't expect us to change you. You do that on your own." And with that simple statement, I found my spiritual home. I am not saying that everyone should join Yoga meditation, the friend who came with me went to meditation but continued to hear mass every Wednesday and Sunday. All I am saying is that this method worked for me, personally. For others, this simple statement may not mean anything, but for me, who is the youngest in the family and who grew up having others tell me what I should do, someone who assured me that I am free to think on my own, and for me to do the growth on my own, was a welcome change. So I embraced it immediately, and through my meditation and journey of a spiritual life, I realized the importance and value of each faith.
A choice of faith, I believe, is like a search on what is suitable to the individual--not one fits all. I believe this is how it goes since we all have different questions we want answered. And because of these questions, one may feel more drawn to reincarnation, and the other may not. One may feel more comfortable perceiving the greater force as God, the other calls it Universe, and another prefers Allah. But if we think about it well, what is the big difference? It seems to me...nothing. Since more often than not, most individuals want one thing--authentic happiness.
Most wars of man are caused by conflict on faith, on religion. Why should two faiths fight? Just because one does not translate life the way the other does? Why do we insist that we all should see things the same way? Why do we sometimes feel that 'our way' is right, and all others made a mistake? Maybe the unity we need is not about belonging to one way in perceiving things, not belonging to one translation, but more the acceptance that there are numerous ways, yet the goal is one--compassion for all, love. I believe that being anchored by a certain religion or spiritual life is a good thing, as long as we follow this path not because we think we become better than others, but because it is in this path that we shall learn how to care for others more.
Now as I sit here typing away, I remember our Muslim brothers and sisters, and the challenges they go through because they were born Muslim. I do not know and fully understand the Islamic faith, so my stand on it is just curiosity, because I do not know much about it, and also because I have friends and acquaintances who are Muslims. As I wrote my first book, I decided to somehow defend them and remove the stigma of terrorism, which many have connected their religion to. So there I was,walking around and looking for books which may represent their Koran. And as I paced around the place where a book fair was held, I finally found a Muslim lady with the booklets I needed. She told me what booklets to buy and she even gave one free. Then she invited me to a talk their religion had the next day. So I said, "Oh, I would love to go, but I hope you understand that I do not want to be converted to any religion." Then the nice lady looked at me, and with her sincere eyes, she smiled and replied, "I will not convert you. I just want you to understand us more. We are not bad people and we just want you to know that." I was so embarrassed with this nice lady for making conclusions on her invitation. "Oh. Okay. That would be nice," I simply said. But then I became curious about her since her face changed and I felt it had something to do with my comment, which I hated myself for. She then told me what their life was like. The every day discrimination they had to live with. The stares of rejection others gave them, and as she told me stories, I could sense her pain in her voice, her sadness.
I believe that religion has its good intention no matter what faith this is, but no matter how good the intention is, the individual still has a personal interpretation of it. Thus, there are those who are devoted to it in a sanctimonious way, others use fanaticism, and the one way I believe shall help us understand why it is there is humility. If maybe we seek God, Allah, Universe, the greater force with the thought and idea that this is a personal journey, then maybe we will respect the choice of faith of others which are different from our own.
Now I remember Rachel Corrie, an American who joined the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) and was assigned in Gaza. She was crushed to death by a bulldozer when she acted as a human shield to protect a Palestinian home. Rachel, at a tender age of 10, gave out a speech on why she cared and was concerned about poverty and equality for all men, and women. At a tender age she understood and perceived things with a big heart, and with love for all. Then she went to a place where killing happens every day, and religion being the core of this war. In the one act play, 'My Name is Rachel Corrie', which was based on Rachel's e-mails and her diary, there was a line that struck me, and this was the calling and heed of the Palestinian family that took Rachel in. As the character Rachel in the play did her monologue, she talked about her conversation with the kind Palestinian family when she wondered why they were so kind to her: "My mother in this family pleaded to me, 'Please tell them. Please tell them that not all of us here are like them. We are kind people, and we do not like what they are doing. We also want this to be over.' " The line made me shed a tear. A cry for help of innocent people who believe in goodness even at the midst of all bad. And Rachel Corrie, even as a child, had a dream. And her dream was not only for her, but for all of us. If a child can dream this big, then why don't we have this dream with her?
I went to 'The Day of Remembrance' of my lady spiritual guru once. It was a festive mood with shitar playing and sanskrit chants. Then at the end of the beautiful music the band shared with us, it was time to eat. I sat beside one of the members of the band. He was a very nice man and we talked about spirituality. Then I asked, "You are Hindu, are you not?" Then he answered, "Yes. But first, I am human just like you." I took a pause and he knew I understood what he wanted me to understand, that a religion is a way, a choice, but it does not define one to an extent that we become so different from the other. Our religion, our faith, I believe is not there to separate us from each other. It was formed to unite us.
And as people with the same label, 'human being', what indeed is the difference?
Two videos on Rachel Corrie:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UK8Z3i3aTq4&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_2Qz3E9wR8
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