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Philosophical Reflections on the song LUPA
by Rico J. Puno
A Paper for Part II of Midterm Exams in Philo 2018 - Existentialism
Castillo, Joel Reynold P.
The Song: “Lupa” (R. Puno)
Nagmula sa lupa, magbabalik na kusa
Ang buhay mo sa lupa nagmula
Bago mo linisin and dungis ng iyong kapwa
Hugasan and iyong putik sa mukha.
Ref. Kung ano ang ‘di mo gusto
Huwag gawin sa iba.
Kung ano ang iyong inutang
Ay siya ring kabayaran.
Sa mundo ang buhay ay maroong hangganan
Dahil tayo ay lupa lamang
Kayat pilitin mong ika’y magbago
Habang may panahon ika’y magbago.
Pagmamahal sa kapwa’y isipin mo.
Introduction
Existentialism as a thought and reflection of life and man’s search for
meaning has the advantage of taking into account everything that expresses
man’s reality: in prose, in poetry, in songs, in novels and even in visual arts.
This is because existentialism concerns itself not so much with a system of
thinking but more on the reflection of man’s search for meaning.
Hence, one can draw philosophical reflections from man’s expression of
his being in the world, from man’s quest for meaning, from man’s
understanding of himself in the world.
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The song “Lupa” by Rico J. Puno is loaded with meaning and
interpretation as it is an expression in art and in song of how man understands
himself and his relationship with the world around him.
The Philosophical Reflections on the Song “Lupa”
1. “Nagmula sa lupa, magbabalik na kusa
Ang buhay mo sa lupa nagmula!”
At the outset these lines appear in their Biblical context, hence, a matter
of faith in Genesis chapter 2 verse 7: “And the Lord God formed man of the
dust of the ground…” This concept is also immortalized in the formula of the
imposition of ashes on the foreheads of catholic Christians during Ash
Wednesday: “Remember, man that you are dust and unto dust you shall
return!” Beyond the spiritual meaning which the Bible and the Church liturgy
give us, these lines of the song tell us a truth we cannot deny: MAN IS A
FINITE BEING.
All philosophers in times past and even man today grapple with the
experience of “being finite.” Man in his quotidian life may at one point or
another encounter this finiteness. And so the value of humility before the truth
that “Ako ay nagmula sa lupa, at sa lupa ako’y babalik” is always there.
However, man immersed as he is in the day-to-day concerns, relationships with
others, the challenge of technological advances, even in his daily experience of
uncertainties and limitations, may forget this truth of his being finite. Such
forgetfulness may divert his focus towards living a fully human experience.
2. “Nagmula sa lupa, magbabalik na kusa
Ang buhay mo sa lupa nagmula!”