Living Spirituality Part 2

असतो मा सद्गमयतमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमयमृत्योर् मा अमृतं गमयॐ शांति शांति शांति - बृहदारण्यक उपनिषद्

Lead Us From the Unreal To Real,Lead Us From Darkness To Light,Lead Us From Death To Immortality, Aum, Let There Be Peace Peace Peace. - Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.3.28.

“Follow your inner moonlight...."- Allen Ginsberg

J. Robert Oppenheimer quoted the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad when he realized that his genius had helped create a monster, the atomic bomb. He became a pacifist.

Jun Lozada often quotes the papal encyclical that expounded Pope John Paul II's "creative subjectivism". According to this encyclical the individual is gifted by the Divine of certain talents and therefore should use such faculties for the benefit humanity. But before humanity benefits from our individual capabilities we must first undergo self-actualization.

In connection to this encyclical, Lozada also cites Maslow's Law on the Hierarchy of Needs, to expound on the process of self-actualization. He said that there cannot be democracy if the hierarchy of needs is not satisfied and has not reached the level of self-actualization, which is the last and the apex of these basic human needs. The first need is the physiological needs like food, water, etc. The second, safety and security. Third is love and belonging. Fourth, self-esteem and confidence. And self-actualization and creativity as the fifth and last need. This means that before a society can ever reach the level where they can contemplate art, philosophy, music, and self-expression, they must satisfy first their lower physical and emotional requirements. Thus, poverty must be addressed first. Unless a society be able to feed itself and acquire his basic wants he cannot aspire to go up the ladder of self-fulfillment. Only an economically stable society can truly practice and maintain democracy.

Self-actualization of a critical mass of the general public therefore translates into democracy and not the other way around. Otherwise democracy will remain a pipe dream. Without self-actualization people will remain tied to the level of a "hunter-gatherer", perenially tied to food gathering and his basic instincts. They will have no time to establish the societal institutions necessary in a democracy.

The Coming Together of a People: Popular Reaction to Jun Lozada's Message

There must be some way out of here, said the joker to the thief,

Theres too much confusion, I cant get no relief.

Businessmen, they drink my wine, plowmen dig my earth,

None of them along the line know what any of it is worth.

No reason to get excited, the thief, he kindly spoke,

There are many here among us who feel that life is but a joke.

But you and i, weve been through that, and this is not our fate,

So let us not talk falsely now, the hour is getting late.

- Bob Dylan, All Along the Watchtower

It all started with the Truth Masses for the entire Lenten Season. Jun Lozada touched a chord in the people that heard his impromptu dialogues. The call for change starting from every individual was catharsis for a public hungry for social justice and emancipation from poverty.

In just more than a month, not even mentioning the presence and influence of established civil society groups like the Black and White Movement and organized activist offshoots like the Youth Act Now, professionals and students began organizing themselves into Truth, Accountability and Reform groups. 

These are purely spontaneous organizations that has sprouted all over the country. Without backing and support from politicians, they have managed to organize from the grassroots and come together in search for common grounds and modes of communal action.

Perhaps it is their hunger for social liberation and their spirit to find hope for renewal that has prompted them to band together for a common cause.

Mostly guided by interfaith forums, they have vouched to light their own "truths" with the goal of merging in one shining light of hope and transformation for the whole country.

The emergence of this new kind of movement is an unparalleled socio-political phenomenon in the country. For the first time, these groups are a combination of social activism and spiritual quest. This kind of movement was attempted in EDSA 1 and 2 but did not evolve further.  The presence of President Cory Aquino is proof that the aspirations of EDSA 1 did not die but merely incubated itself in a people that has now decided to face its mistakes and fears. Jun Lozada provided the catalyst for the Philippine society to transfom itself to the next level. Ninoy Aquino and President Cory Aquino started it, now Jun Lozada is carrying and hoisting the banner that the Filipinos' finest hour is at hand.

On the Road

Living Sprirituality

Liberation theology focuses on Jesus Christ as not only the Redeemer but also the Liberator of the oppressed. It emphasizes the Christian mission to bring justice to the poor and oppressed, particularly through political activism.

Liberation theology also emphasizes what proponents describe as individual self-actualization as part of God's divine purpose for humankind.

- Wikipedia

In one of the homilies of the masses attended by Eng'r Lozada, the celebrant priest asked, "Buhay ka ba o nabubuhay lang?". This question has had a profound effect in me that that I dusted off my old liberation theology pamphlets to reread them.

How can we say we are religious or even on a quest for spirituality and ignore social reality? Can you say you are living up to your faith when you have not raised a finger against social evils? Do you save your soul when you let evil-doers spread their scum in society?

Even in Buddhism, bodhissatvas postpone their nirvanas in order to help their fellow men. A bodhissatva partake the role of a social activist and help their fellow being emancipate and liberate themselves from the ills of their present existence.

In both liberation theology and the bodhissatva concept, one is concerned with the upliftment of one's fellow being so that they can achieve their full potentials as creatures of the divine. Self-actualization can only be had when the social hurdles we face are eradicated. The awareness of the poor can not be focused to higher concerns unless their basic needs are addressed. An oppresive government that keeps its people under the bondage of poverty is thus actively preventing its citizenry from pursuing their spiritual aspirations. A government that promotes and tolerates social injustice is therefore against the people's divine right to self-actualization.

Jun Lozada, Bearer of the Compass

Sometimes it's hard to separate the man from the message. Eng'r. Jun Lozada, the Senate witness on the controversial NBN-ZTE deal, like a voice from the wilderness, has been all over the country spreading the word for societal transformation. With undeniable charisma he has touched the lives and imagination of the simplefolk, the middleclass, intelligentsia and the high society. Yet he has remained stubbornly humble, refusing to be aligned to any politician or party or even established civil society and activist groups.

We cannot help but believe his message as genuine. He has never showed or even hinted of any political ambition. He has repeated with consistency that all he ever hopes for is for the Filipino to awaken from the slumber induced by systemic corruption. He has called on to every Filipino to light up the truth within them and not be afraid to be the change they want to be. That from each individual the light of truth should spread to enlighten the whole of society.

Jun Lozada's call for societal transformation is also a call for spiritual renewal, as change in society goes hand-in-hand with personal revolution. He often tells the crowd that routinely gathers around him to stop the habit of always pointing at others for reform but instead start addressing their own personal truths.

Societal transformation must also not stop at replacing leaders but should target the very root of corruption and social cancer. The culture of bad governance and the defeatist mindset of the poor must be replaced with the culture of compassion and hope.

He has further explained his social analysis that for Filipinos to bring about the potential greatness of their country they must embrace a conduct and attitude that encompasses transformative vision, courage, grasp of social reality and unbending ethics.

Mr. Lozada is optimistic that the Filipino can pull it through but the all too elusive "unity" must happen first. He said that this country does not lack visionaries and good-intentioned activists but the problem lies on our arrogance against individual agendas. We all claim to be the "way". We all claim, in fact, to be the "only" way. To this Mr. Lozada proposes that we learn to respect each other's "map" and instead set our sights on the "compass" of truth for societal and personal transformation. While we will be coming from various diverse socio-religio-economic demography we all long for a just, sustainable, and peaceful Philippines. The core of the message is to follow the true north of lasting change.

In his talks around the country, Eng'r. Jun Lozada is being protected by his spritual advisers -- the nuns from various religious congregrations, the La Salle Brothers and several bishops. The nuns are led by no less than two of the country's foremost babaylans and social activists, Sister Mary John Mananzan and Sister Estrella Castalone.