Hearing the sad news of Nelson Mandela's passing last night gave me a small window to reflect in an otherwise very hectic time. I have followed the life of Nelson Mandela my whole life and so I instantly felt a little lost now he is no longer with us. Quite quickly though I realised that the strength of his legacy will live on through all who loved and respected him. In my view he was the greatest humanitarian of the last century and I doubt his work on this planet will ever be forgotten.
My fascination with him began at school when we studied him in history but it moved into a different place when I took up my own personal studies. Over time I placed him at the centre of what I believe to be right and true in the world. There is evidence that he was a religious man but he kept his views very quiet preferring to place humanity at the centre of all he believed and did. For me, that set him apart from many other leaders in the world. You all know that I follow a Buddhist pathway in life but I don't see it as a religion. I see it as a philosophy and I see much overlap with the work of Nelson Mandela. His strength in compassion and forgiveness knew no boundaries and that is what he is best known for. His release from prison might have sparked a civil war if it were not for his ability to forgive. He had the ability to step outside his own situation and reflect on what was needed by the majority rather than the few. Nelson Mandela was aware of how divisive religion can be so by putting humanitarian values at the centre of all his debates he could win universal support for his aspirations.
Whether we are religious or not we all need to learn to live in co-operation and unity. I fear that we are not very good at that. Our egos charge ahead of us and co-operation gets hopelessly lost. Nelson Mandela showed us, by example, that there was another way to live. Our greatest tribute to him would be to follow his example and work for peace and equality through compassion and forgiveness. The news reports focused on what he had done for South Africa but I don't think Nelson Mandela saw country boundaries the way most of us do. His pleas for peace and unity spanned the globe and I think his passing will be felt right round the world.
I loved the way Nelson Mandela dealt with anger. He believed that there was no place for it and often mused that he much preferred humour. We all know how destructive anger can be and how it, ultimately, gets us no where. Imagine a world without anger....
Without anger there would be no revenge. Without anger there would be no hatred. Without anger there would be peace. Last week I went through a few hours of feeling angry but I somehow managed to put that aside to deal with the situation calmly in the end. This week I have witnessed anger from other people so we all know it is ever present. I have worked very hard through my dharma to let anger flow through me and not settle but I still have a way to go on this life long aspiration. Anger is a negative emotion and we should all be working to remove it from our lives. It is, I fear, easier said than done.
I have begun a period of reflection on what Nelson Mandela taught me and what he has left me with. I will use these reflections to steer me into a new year with new opportunities to live as he would have lived. So, I am not sure that we have 'lost' a great man because his legacy will live through so many. I still feel his spirit attached to the earth and I suspect it will always be so. I am certainly never letting go.
Until tomorrow. xx
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