Saturday, November 1, 2008

life... death.... and everything in between

So it’s Nov again. At sa ating mga Pinoy, Nov 1 is always observed as the day of the departed. Although sa totoong buhay, Nov 1 is All Saints Day at Nov 2 ang All Souls Day. Naging tradisyon na lang ng mga Pinoy na pagsamahin.

Nevertheless, eto yong mga panahon that always makes me think kung ano talaga ang nangyayari pag namatay na ang isang tao. Totoo ba ang sinasabi ng mga doktrina ng ating kinamulatang relihiyon na mayroong buhay beyond our mortal existence?

Or should I be more practical and believe that death ends it all and nothing lies beyond your last breath. And neither Heaven nor Hell is nothing like what we usually painted in our minds. Or, at the risk of sounding radical and irreverent, ask something like - does it even exist?

Kasi, sa totoo lang, sino ba talaga ang makakapag-patunay na merong life after death? May namatay na ba at nakabalik sa mundong ito at nagsabing he has been to the gates of heaven? Or has seen Satan welcoming him to the depths of hell? Wala pa di ba.

So how can we believe something like that kung wala talagang proof? And all we have is our faith, base sa kinalakihan natin at pinaniwalaan natin? Faith in what we believe is true dahil yon ang tinuro sa atin. Yon kasi ang sabi ng Bible. Yon kasi ang sabi ng Pari. Yon kasi ang sabi ng mga magulang natin.

Ok, sabihin nating walang life after death and we all end up as a ghostly spirit as soon as our heart stopped beating. Then, what happens? Saan pupunta yong spirit? Sa Heaven if you did good during your lifetime or Hell if you spent it otherwise? Again, why? Dahil yon ang sabi sa atin ng Bible, ng Pari, ng matatanda at ng mga magulang natin?

But isn’t it one big blackmail? I mean, hindi ba’t parehong-pareho lang yon ng mga pang-uuto ng Nanay natin sa atin nong maliit pa tayo? “Sige anak, pag nagpakabait ka, ibibili kita ng laruan. Pag naging salbahe ka, papaluin kita.” O kaya yong sabi ng Tatay natin na “Anak, pag first honor ka, ibibili kita ng bike. Pero pag bumagsak ka, humanda ka sa sinturon ko”.

We are told to do good and be good para ibigay sa atin yong gusto natin. Otherwise, we don’t get the prize and instead, punishment ang ibibigay sa atin. Yon ang sinasabi kong parehong-pareho. May kakabit na threat yong kundisyones. Pag mabait ka, sa langit ka pupunta. Pag masama, sa impyerno ang bagsak mo.

O sige, sabihin nating nagpaka-santo ka, malaking mag-abuloy sa simbahan and was doing lots of charity works. But at the back of your mind, you’re doing it all dahil meron kang hinihintay na kapalit. In fact, you look at everything you do as an investment. Na bawat ginagawa mong kabutihan, binibilang mo na para kang naghuhulog ng coins sa piggy bank. And in the end, ang gusto mong ROI ay ang mapunta sa langit.

Do you think it’s gonna get you to where you wanna be?

Why can’t we just do good things because we know in our heart and our mind that it is the right and good thing to do? Just do good things to our family and to the community as a whole na walang selfish motive. Yong gusto lang talaga nating maging mabait na tao, matinong member ng society without fixating on what happens to us in the after life. Coz again, naron yong paniniwala ko na if you do something good na may hinihintay na kapalit para sa sarili mo, it’s just as bad as doing something bad.

And what happens if it turned out na walang langit, walang impyerno. And after you gasped your last breath, naging spirit ka na, wala na palang kasunod. Wala yong inaasahan mong welcome party ni San Pedro sa yo with matching pearly white gates and singing angels? Natunaw yong inaasahan mong ROI. So you’ll turn out to be one sour spirit? Tatambay sa mga balete at mananakot ng mga inosenteng tao?

Tapos makikita mo yong mga taong buhay na nakakakilala sa yo, pinag-uusapan ka at ang sabi “Naku, kunwari lang naman mabait yan pero sa totoo lang, kurakot yan, manloloko, rapist at gangster pa. Mabuti nga namatay na.” Well, for me, yon ang impyerno. Patay ka na nga pero wala kang iniwang mabuti kaya walang masabing mabuti yong mga kakilala mo.

Di ba mas maganda yong maganda lang talaga ang ginawa mo nong buhay ka pa at walang ini-expect na kung ano pag namatay. You may float in the air as one happy spirit. Kung wala mang langit na naghihintay sa yo, heaven na rin ang feeling mo dahil magaganda ang naririnig mong comments sa mga taong tinulungan mo ng walang pagkukunwari. And every good word they utter about you are just like petals of flowers thrown your way. Di ba, yon ang paradise?

I know this thing has been the subject of countless debates. Marami na ang nagtalo, nag-away at siguro nagka-patayan sa argumento tungkol sa bagay na ito.

Unfortunately, kahit anong balitaktakan ang gawin natin, kahit itambak natin lahat ang documents from all the versions of the Bible, kahit gamitin natin lahat ng research papers for scientific evidence, we can not come up with anything definitive to support either sides. And in the end, it all boils down to what we believe. To what we have accepted in our hearts and in our minds as the truth.

So is there really life after death? Totoo ba ang Heaven and Hell? I’ve said my piece. And that's what I believe in. It’s up to you what you make out of it.

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