Somesh conducts monthly Leadership Development classes for his company’s employees. One of the very first suggestions that new joiners into the company get is: “Don’t miss Somesh’s sessions! They are very helpful for your personal and professional growth.” It was well known that Nelson Mandela is a huge inspiration for Somesh and in one session, the members asked Somesh to tell about Mandela and why he admires him so much. As he spoke passionately about Mandela, there was an interesting question for him, “If we were to meet Mandela and ask him his top advice for us, what do you think he would tell us?!” Somesh loved the question and answered with a smile, “He would tell you all to install Ubuntu ASAP!”
For all the people who are familiar with the Operating System (OS) Ubuntu – let me tell this first itself – that in this blog we are not looking into the technical stuff related to OS Ubuntu! We are actually exploring the spirit behind it! This is about the African word Ubuntu which means “I am, because of you”. In fact, the OS Ubuntu is based on and named after the African Ubuntu philosophy. Ubuntu represents the spirit of interdependence. It says that each of us is not an entity separate from various social, cultural and natural systems around us. We are and have always been part of larger systems that have been nurturing us. And this understanding, which is called by different names in different cultures, has been deeply ingrained in the great leaders that the world has seen, such as Nelson Mandela.
It’s very important to approach Ubuntu in a congruent and effective way. When we say “I am, because of you” – we are not giving people a license to criticize others for their life situations. Ubuntu is about acknowledging how the systems we have been part of – such as our family, school, college, organization we work in, our country, etc have been nurturing us and enabling various things in our lives. Ubuntu is about being grateful for various things we have been receiving. Does it mean that all these systems are perfect? Haven’t these very systems, with their various loopholes, caused pain and grief to us and many people? Yes, it’s true that the systems are not perfect. And this is where another very important aspect of Ubuntu comes into the picture – that it’s our responsibility to make things work. This is not about doing a “great service” nor “sacrificing your life” – but about realizing that the systems you are part of are a natural extension of yourself. And when you really see everything with inclusiveness, doing that which is needed to the best of your ability will naturally happen.
Somesh continued to give more insight into Ubuntu. “Ubuntu or the concept of interdependence is not about giving away our power by bringing others into the picture, but about empowering ourselves by understanding the importance of collective effort. Ubuntu was not only a favorite word of Nelson Mandela, but it is was the very way of his life. Mandela had the quality of looking at the best aspects of people and learning from them, and it was to such as extent that his biographer Richard Stengal says it is frustrating that Mandela almost never had a bad word to tell about anyone – even about the people who were very inhuman towards him. But at the same time – as we all know, Mandela’s life is not just about acknowledging the best aspects around him but also looking into what is improper around him and doing what is needed for right things to happen.”
Installing Ubuntu :
“A hundred times every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life depend on the labours of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving.” – Albert Einstein
Here are few pointers to check the level of Ubuntu in your life and increase it further :
- How often do you recognize and feel grateful for the people & systems that are making various aspects of your life happen?
- Are you part of the systems which are aligned with the kind of qualities you want to develop and the goals you want to achieve? Remember – the kind of people you assosiate with and the kind of environment you stay in have a lot of impact on you. So choose them wisely.
- Are you taking initiatives or involving in activities that are enhancing the systems you are part of?
Keeping improving. All the best!