Nelson Mandela: Divine Qualities, A Man Without Bitterness

March 1, 2014

Nelson Mandela passed away a few months ago. I had written this up but never got round to posting it.

I came across a wonderful story that reveals Nelson Mandela's character in the Wikipedia entry for Chris Hani.:

In April 1993, ANC leader Chris Hani was murdered by a white man. There were fears that the country would erupt in violence. Nelson Mandela spoke to the nation that day:

“Tonight I am reaching out to every single South African, black and white, from the very depths of my being. A white man, full of prejudice and hate, came to our country and committed a deed so foul that our whole nation now teeters on the brink of disaster. A white woman, of Afrikaner origin, risked her life so that we may know, and bring to justice, this assassin.
The cold-blooded murder of Chris Hani has sent shock waves throughout the country and the world. ...Now is the time for all South Africans to stand together against those who, from any quarter, wish to destroy what Chris Hani gave his life for – the freedom of all of us. ”

This was a message of reconciliation embedded in the urgent hope that the act of one bigot would not undo the delicate peace negotiations in progress at that time.

I recalled Bhagavad Geeta 16-3, in which Śrī Kṛṣṇa reviews the qualities of a divine soul. Many of the descriptions used by Śrī Kṛṣṇa could apply to this remarkable श्रेष्ठ पुरुष - great man, of our times.

तेजः क्षमा धृतिः शौचमद्रोहो नातिमानिता |
भवन्ति सम्पदं दैवीमभिजातस्य भारत ||१६-३||
tejaH kShamaa dhR^itiH shauchamadroho naatimaanitaa .
bhavanti sampadaM daiviimabhijaatasya bhaarata .. 16-3..
Vigour, forgiveness, fortitude, purity, absence of hatred, absence of pride --- these belong to the one born of divine nature, O Bharata.

• तेजः- tejaH or vigor. Mr Nelson Mandela spent over 27 years in prison. On his release on February 11, 1990, Nelson Mandela recognized that there was no time to waste. In just four years, he negotiated the transfer of power process and was established as the President of a South Africa, free from the tyranny of apartheid. He embodies more than anyone else, the spirit of Robert Frost's famous lines: "And miles to go before I sleep; And miles to go before I sleep."
• धृति- dhrti or fortitude. There is no question that Mr Mandela could have got released from prison by the simple act of renouncing violence that was a core element of the African National Congress strategy. Yet, in the circumstances prevalent in South Africa at the time, Mr Mandela refused to do so. He and his ANC colleagues had concluded that they could not give up the option of an armed struggle against the apartheid government. Nelson Mandela had no intention of giving it up and betraying his comrades even if that meant many more years in prison.
• क्षमा- kshamaa or forgiveness; Partnering with his apartheid foes led by Mr F W DeKlerk, the President of South Africa's white government is more than enough evidence of this virtue. It cannot have been easy sitting face-to-face with those who were responsible for the deaths of thousands of his comrades-in-arms.
• शौचं- shaucham or purity; This might seem a tricky one when discussing a revolutionary who was once committed to violence to overthrow apartheid. Yet, I believe Mr Mandela's refusal to run for a second term as President of South Africa demonstrated his fundamental decency. He knew it was time for others to take the reins of power. After all, they had shared the pains of the struggle for black freedom just as much as he had. When we look at other leaders who are reluctant to give up power (consider Mr Mugabe in neighboring Zimbabwe), clearly Mr Mandela did not presume that South Africa could not manage without him.
• अद्रोह- adroha or absence of hatred; Me Mandela's first cabinet reflected his commitment to a diverse South Africa. According to Wikipedia, "Mandela attempted to create the broadest possible coalition in his cabinet, with de Klerk as first Deputy President. Other National Party officials became ministers for Agriculture, Energy, Environment, and Minerals and Energy, and Buthelezi was named Minister for Home Affairs.[234] The other cabinet positions were taken by ANC members, many of whom – like Joe Modise, Alfred Nzo, Joe Slovo, Mac Maharaj and Dullah Omar – had long been comrades, although others, such as Tito Mboweni and Jeff Radebe, were much younger.[235]."
• न अतिमानिता- na atimaanitaa or absence of excessive pride; Mr Mandela had sufficient pride to lead South Africa and play the role of a senior statesman in the years since 1999 when he retired as President. Yet, you cannot run a democratic government, without respecting your peers in the cabinet.

PS: Photo of Nelson Mandela sourced from biography.com

Hari Om and Namaskaar until the next post